When Do I Pull Plants Out Of My Garden

It’s getting crunchy in my Austin, Texas garden and one inevitable question is when do I pull plants out? Knowing when to call it quits may hinge on planting your next round of crops and other considerations such as plant health and production. I’m sharing examples from my garden and essential tips for growing through summer in this video inspired by a recent client consultation. Check out my video on Fall Veggies To Grow https://youtu.be/xhKoLBb-0hE

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CHAPTERS
00:00 Key Considerations
02:12 Introduction
02:23 Crop Examples
09:51 July-August Planting Guide
11:56 Soil Preparation
14:12 Essential Tips
16:56 Outtakes

yesterday I was spending time at a client’s garden and they asked a really good question that got me thinking and inspired to make a video and that question was when do I pull plants out of my garden it’s mid July in my Austin Texas garden and as you can see I’ve got quite a lot growing behind me including some very Brown corn plants I think one of the first things to consider is the overall health and production that you’re getting out of your garden because you may have started your crops at a different time than I did and based on that timing you will have an average days to harvest that’s associated with those specific crops so it might not be time for them to come to harvest just yet also they could be stressed by the environmental factors that we’re experiencing right now it’s been a pretty mild season but the rain has started to slow up we’re not getting a whole lot of additional moisture the heat is on we’re in the upper 90s consistently and anytime you hit that 90° mark this will inhibit the overall photosynthesis and ination of many garden plants and with that they become more susceptible to pests and disease you also need to ask yourself the question what am I willing to do right now because maybe you want to take a break it’s hot it’s dry or you’ve got a good run out of your garden and you just need some time to rest and enjoy the rest of the season that’s perfectly understandable and I want to talk about the crops that you can plant right now coming up but ultimately they are a lot of the same crops that you could be growing in your garden right now so do you want to keep on growing the same crops do you want to plant more of the same crops those are reasonable questions as well as are you battling some Pest and disease are you holding out for production and it’s maybe just not going to happen these are the overall factors that you need to consider when you’re asking that question you know is it time to pull things out I’ve got the same question here in my mind and I’ve been thinking about it a lot lately and traditionally I feel like I’ve let things go too long in the garden and I’ve just held on because I was attached to these plants let’s dig into this a little bit I’m going to give you some specific examples from my garden and why I’m going to either keep them growing or pull them out at this time if you’re new to the channel I’m Scott from New Garden Road always out here to inform Inspire and Elevate you encouraging biodiversity and restoring habitat is my mission one Garden at a time first I want to talk about southern peas you may be familiar with blackeyed peas but I’m growing four different varieties this season and I didn’t start them all at the same time the first round the papao those have really produced well and this one is looking a little bit sad recently starting to get some brown leaves and drop those leaves but I’ve had two rounds of harvest from it and just this morning I was looking at it and thinking you know what I would be happy and fulfilled to pull these plants and put something else in their place this is valuable gardening real estate here in this raised bed so that’s one of the main considerations as you you move forward and making these decisions now moving on I’ve got another round of the Blue Goose Southern peas and I’ve gotten a couple of harvest off these as well and they’re still looking pretty good I’m seeing some sporadic flowering now that can be a tougher decision maybe I let them go it just all depends on whether or not I need that Garden space there are two other varieties however the Florida conch and the big red Ripper that one’s probably my favorite overall but these two have not flowered and set beans yet they were planted at a later date with these I can consider that they don’t have any issues overall I’m seeing a little bit of suncall on a few leaves but that’s not really a big deal at all and they’re starting to flower so I know in a short time I’ll be getting some PS developing on them and I’ve grown these for many years they will grow deep into the season well up to the first Frost another thing to consider with crops like Southern peas and others is that they can be cover crops this is both a food crop and a crop that you can grow in ground to enrich the soil add nitrogen but also when it comes to the soil food web it’s good to keep plants growing those plant roots and the microbes are having the relationship that’s keeping your soil the healthiest and also the foliage of these plants is keeping weeds from coming in and taking advantage so it’s a good idea to leave some plants growing if you don’t have plans to follow them with something else now I want to talk about tomatoes cuz this is one of those crops that many gardeners are deeply passionate about and some will only grow tomatoes in their spring and summer garden in my garden I don’t really give them a whole lot of space because in Central Texas it can be really challenging you’ve got to get them in early they will be at risk for some cool temperatures which can stunt their growth and then if you plant them late they get the heat which inhibits their pollination and growth so it can be really tricky that said they are one of the champions of the garden you got to get them in there and this season I grew two Vari IES of tomatoes one was a determinant and this is the marglobe it has some good disease resistance it only grows to a certain height produces mainly all at once the other one is a cherry tomato called tropical Sunset I got to say neither one of these tomatoes have done particularly well and that could be because I planted them on the late side now that we’re getting late into the season I’m starting to size them up and they don’t have any apparent pest or disease issues which look like they would make them good candidate to get out of here but it’s the level of production I’m getting a few Tomatoes but not many and they’re simply taking up this whole garden space they’re going to require that I give them additional fertilizer and water consistently if I want to hope to get any more fruit out of them so that’s a balance of resources and labor on my part to consider I’m also growing a lot of cucumbers and cucumber melons the season and while those were initially highly productive they’ve started to fade and they need a lot of pruning and maintenance and I’m just not sure whether I should give the time and energy to them or just plant new cucumbers and cucumber melons another crop that I want to talk about is corn the approach with this one is a bit more cut and dry because unlike Southern peas or cucumbers these don’t allow for a continued Harvest once you harvest those years of corn it’s all over the only reason that I’ve let them persist in my garden thus far is because I have this thing for the sound of corn and even though when they turn brown they look a bit unsightly and they’re taking up a lot of space in my garden I’ve enjoyed the sound of them as they get rustled by the wind so it’s somewhat of an experience for me and I I just feel like corn is a sacred crop you grow it from seed it gets real tall and this amazing fruit comes off of it however I feel like I’m ready to let this corn go I’m just getting a little bit tired of looking at it honestly and that’s okay because having a transition in the garden a sense of renewal can be invigorating in particular in the middle of summer when things are getting a bit oppressive while I’ve already talked about southern peas which are beans I want to expand on beans that you might be growing in your garden specifically green beans or snap beans these are unique and separate from Southern peas and long beans and some other varieties that might be able to persist a bit better in our growing region I had some that I was growing the Tas pink pod this is a Romano style Bean they set up a a third round of beans and I held out I gave them some additional water but those pods simply didn’t size up we were near 100° every day and they just kind of sat there looked really bad one day I pulled one off and I tasted it and it was really coarse and just just no good so these are different from Southern peas and long beans which I am a big advocate for growing in the summer garden I’ve got some lima beans which I am going to hold out for because I’ve had good experience with them continuing to set up through the summer plus they are a bush type Li of bean which I think when they’re closer to the ground they hold their own a bit better than some of these pole variety snap beans which just aren’t really well suited to extreme heat and the last crop that I want to highlight is squash this can be a tough one because in Austin we’ve got the squash fine boore we’ve got squash bugs and we’ve got extreme heat so this is a lot that can go on these plants because they they really need a lot of water to produce their fruit and they’re such a rewarding crop to grow in the garden I grew up in North Carolina and squash just comes off you know really easily in that region this is what you need to look at are you having insect damage are they you know really getting into your plants do you see visible signs of the squash fine boore I’ve got a few videos on growing squash that you should check out if you want to that can give you a lot of information insight and visual examples of what you might see there I’ve been covering my squash plants I’ve been uncovering them early in the morning allowing for some pollination hand pollinating and I don’t have a squash Vore infestation I haven’t I haven’t had them all year long so I’m really happy about that but I will say I’ve had squash bugs I’m on the fence with my squash because I’m growing a Vining type and under this cover it’s just it’s been a little bit a lot to deal with I do want to plant some more squash hands down so I think this is a good segue let’s talk about what we can plant right now if you have more questions and you’re still not sure about when to pull those plants out of your garden leave me a question in the comment section and if you’re interested you can reach out to me via my website I can do an on-site or a virtual consultation and I can help to get you growing so many of the crops that we just touched on beans corn cucumbers squash we can plant those from seed and we can set in transplants of eggplant peppers more Tomatoes you want to get those planted in as soon as possible you do have a a range for that planting on some of them it will vary for me I reference the Travis County Master Gardener planting guide but it can go into August potatoes is another one that I want to mention you plant those from sea potatoes and you do that in the latter half of August that can be tricky and warm season greens like Malibar spinach Mal loia Calo which is a delicious variety of amaran that I’m falling head over heels for this season you can plant those from seed or transplant right now and if you have an option and you’re looking at transplants versus seeds I think those first groupings the beans corn cucumbers squash are are best done from seed you’ll get good results that way you won’t have transplant shock but the tomatoes peppers eggplants you need to plant little seedlings from those because that conveys the timing those seeds were started 8 to 10 weeks prior to now and if you if you tried to plant from seed it wouldn’t work out well because the average days to harvest that you will find referenced on seed packages will be pushed into the part of the season when weather conditions are less ideal for their vigorous growth and production I almost forgot to mention okra the queen of my summer garden and one of the true champions of Summer you can plant those from seed right now and start harvesting in as little as 60 days there are so many beautiful varieties to choose from okra I encourage you to expand try something new there’s some red varieties and the days to harvest will vary as well so I think you have advantages when you look at that and you choose one that is faster to produce because ultimately in our Central Texas Garden I think it’s all about getting while the getting is good but that just gives you an idea of a lot of the crops that you can choose from now as you take out some crops from your garden you need to give back to that soil because those plants have actually eaten some of the organic matter that was there provided to them and you need to establish a little bit more nutrients for them so if you have a pile of compost at home you can sift some of that compost and sprinkle some into your garden bed you can add a little bit of granular fertilizer I really like the microlife multi-purpose I believe it’s a 624 that’s a good one to add in now there are different ways to do this when you remove your crops do you have bare soil maybe you don’t maybe you have a layer of mulch I think it’s a good idea at that time to pull back The Mulch and drop in the compost and fertilizer or other amendments you don’t have to go with compost you could do some worm casting some leaf mold but something along the lines of organic matter will go go to feed soil microorganisms which will translate to health and nutrition for the plants that you want to grow next now saying all that I have experimented with dropping some compost on top of my pine straw mulch which is my preferred mulch in the garden and it requires that I get down there on my hands and knees and kind of work it in because ultimately you want these amendments to get closer and as close to the soil as possible so really I think pulling back The Mulch and dropping it in is going to be the best bet because especially if it’s subjected to you know harsh summer conditions like the sun th those microbes that that will be in there will suffer pretty rapidly so it’s good to give them some protection even though we’re not talking about growing live plants in that think of your soil think of the compost as a living thing so you’re going to have to find your approach and how to get that down in there but you can also experiment with something like the ru Stout method which is going to be really easy you just drop some stuff in there and plant your plants that can be more challenging when you’re planting directly from seed because you have to pull that material back get your seeds going and also keep an eye out for any ground dwelling insects that might be like hey you know I’m breaking down all this organic matter for you and you’ve got like a salad bar alongside of it so thank you with that I have some essential tips for growing through the summer and into the next fall season utilize shade cloth this can really do a good job to help decrease the temperatures if you want to keep it up high like I’ve got it here I will have a video detailing my process and construction of this high shade cover in my garden coming up but you can do a low tunnel I’ve got one of those behind me very simple to construct with rebar PVC some clips and generally a 40 to 50% shade cloth I get mine locally at The Natural Gardener in South Austin but you can also order it online at shadecloth store.com they’ve got a really wide array of shadecloth to choose from but 40 to 50% is a good grade to allow for all day coverage and your plants will get enough sunlight to grow and produce for you but this can also help as you establish new plantings give them a little bit of a buffer because whether you’re planting from transplants or directly from seed they will be more tender initially and so some shade cloth can go a long way and I got to tell you liquid seaweed is an indispensible resource in this Garden it has a preconditioning effect which can help to strengthen the cellular structures within plants it increases cell division it helps with transplant shock you can drench your plants weekly every 2 weeks if you want to spread it out you can do a folar application those micronutrients will get into those plant leaves do this in the morning before your plants really wake up and that can go a long way in helping to eliminate some of the stresses that they will incur from our extreme environment and mulch don’t underestimate the power of mulch you want to protect that soil microbiome you’ll help to conserve moisture keep weeds at Bay and you will also reduce the transmission of soil born disease if we get a heavy rain or if you’re watering and you splash soil onto your plants that’s when that can start to occur so put a good 2 to 3 in layer of mulch whichever you prefer I like pine straw that’s a good one because it allows some moisture to permeate down trickle down into the soil some of those thicker bark mulches can become caked over time and I think they it’s harder for the moisture to get down but on that note drip irrigation is the way to go you want a slow deep soaking over time let gravity do the work for you generally a 30 minute soak can help to get that water down to a level of 5 to 6 in would be the goal if you want to hand water just do it in several passes you know don’t give that soil or those plants in containers any more than they can drink at one time come back and give them some more after that initial watering has soaked in and in that you will be modeling uh slow deep soaking like you would with drip irrigation I think that you know in Southwest these planes you got it you got it what now check out more awesome gardening videos on my channel like this video and follow New Garden Road for weekly content you can grow your own food keep it organic [Music]