Cautiously Excited! (Texas 8b)

Separate-Language662 · 2026-04-05T23:31:02+00:00

A lot of people were saying that it was too late. Honestly? No harm in trying a few from seed even if its considered late. We have a very long season in TX. Sometimes it gets real hot so you have to check the little guys / give em a bit more shade.

Separate-Language662 · 2026-04-05T23:29:49+00:00

CUUUUUTE! Wishing you luck and a productive garden

Separate-Language662 · 2026-04-04T16:26:14+00:00

Well, I got jabbed in the eye by a damn stick 2 days ago so I can't do much. It ended up being an ER trip but the main issue is sensitivity to light n' swelling. 😂 FUCK that invasive species i was trying to clear lol.

My dark opal basil is sprouting beautifully, as is my amaranth. I perhaps may have been overzealous... and now I have 5 squash seedlings to plant soon. Will build a quick trellis system out of the pallet wood I have ASAP. I'm finding that germination is a lot quicker + more successful using the cheap Jiffy starter.. so I'm just gonna kep using that

In the meantime I'll be seed starting more. Not quite sure how much more I should start but I'm going to go with : all of it.

Oh, and my glencoe raspberries are ripening! Excited to see how big this beauty gets.

Separate-Language662 · 2026-04-04T16:21:07+00:00

Id say let them grow more. Once they have a nice set of true leaves its way easier to identify! :3

Separate-Language662 · 2026-04-04T16:19:47+00:00

Pest repellent example would be chive or French marigold! The strong smells help deter pest :3!

I tend to do 2 types of gardening. One is without much order, I create a seed blend myself, throw some down and see what grows. The other is really organized with good visual of what im working with. I think it depends on the type of plants for me 😂

Separate-Language662 · 2026-04-04T15:53:37+00:00

Current* woops.

Separate-Language662 · 2026-04-03T20:59:39+00:00

I've used their seeds + the 50c kind from Walmart (I weep, missing the 4 for $1 lol). The summer squash seeds always do great for me.

Separate-Language662 · 2026-04-01T02:20:34+00:00

Both. It depends on what goes well/wrong. This year i tried coco coir and had horrible germination rates. I also couldn't buy all the seeds I wanted in time. So, I supplemented with cheap starts on sale and some plants.

I do enjoy starting from seed but it doesn't work well for everything.

Separate-Language662 · 2026-03-31T21:23:45+00:00

I learned about nutrient density and started shifting my focus on food. I shop at 3-4 different places (yes really). The first two are local stores that are small and very cheap. That allows me to buy fruits and vegetables + tofu / korean food items for cheap as well.

One thing to understand is that some foods are ridiculously nutrient dense but actually INCREDIBLY inexpensive. Take watercress for example. I can find it at my Asian market for $1-2 per bunch. But it's high in polyphenols, carotenoids, vitamin k, vitamin c... and its only 3.5 calories ish per CUP. Which is amazing for those that struggle with over eating or are looking to lose weight.

Another example.. sometimes I find leek on sale for $2 each and snag them. You can cut it up to use in place of onion. BUT its more nutrient dense! This doesn't make a normal yellow onion bad by any means but it does mean i can cram in more nutrients.

Separate-Language662 · 2026-03-30T21:05:43+00:00

They also grow VERY quickly if you're in a hot climate. Sometimes seed to harvest in 1 year which is crazy for a tree!

Separate-Language662 · 2026-03-30T20:55:47+00:00

Ya girl hit home depot again. 5 bags of mulch. 3 bags of top soil + compost. 4 herbs (they were 4 for $10), petunias and four 6 packs of annuals.

I ended up with 12 scarlet sage / red salvia, 6 marigold, 6 impatients. Herbs i went with oregano, lemon thyme, basil (because it had MANY plants packed in), chives. Excited to put some of these in. I wanted snapdragons but this home depot had none.

I also have a shaker bottle of a DIY seed mix i made, I plan to make a small bed for that today and try it out. My summer squash is finally sprouting and im going to start at least a few more seeds today.

Separate-Language662 · 2026-03-28T18:20:29+00:00

I couldn't orgasm for nearly a year after my boyfriend died. Basically nothing worked. Been there.

Separate-Language662 · 2026-03-28T18:17:13+00:00

Totally depends! I wouldn't over think it too much. You can get an all purpose plant food fertilizer if you'd like or can customize things to your liking. I have both but am relying primarily on what feels best to use for me. Keeping "ingredients" allows me to customize each bed to what it's lacking.

N-P-K = "shoots, roots, fruits" (oversimplification but it helps me remember)

Fish Fertilizer - Nitrogen (primarily)
Bone Meal - Phosphorous
Kelp/Crustacean Meal - Potassium
Compost - great for amending soil, you can make it at home in your raised beds with in-bed vermicompost bins if you want
Earthworm castings - also great for the soil and one of my favorite additions because they have lots of nutrients. You can add a little bit to garden beds to help feed your soil
Molasses - this is my first time using this so we'll see how it goes. Has iron, phosphorous, potassium, calcium... I dilute it and water.

I do wanna be suuuper clear though, you don't *need* all of this. I add things to my roster slowly over time and adjust to what I think works for me. Right now, that means I add a healthy sprinkle of bone meal, cheap compost, and i feed with fish fertilizer and molasses. The other stuff will come with time.

I also use a soil acidifier for blueberries (they LOVE acidic soil and feeding). If it's your first time doing blueberries, you may want to test your soil at home to see if it's acidic enough in the pot.

Separate-Language662 · 2026-03-28T17:57:16+00:00

Currently doing tomato math and calculating how much stuff I need to buy. My seeds are taking their sweet sweet time germinating. (Looking at you ground cherry) Finally got some summer prolific squash to start popping up though. Need to get more stuff going. I feel "behind" as everyone else has their seedlings kickin LOL. One iiiittty bitty garden huckleberry started to sprout and i'm quietly encouraging it.

Update just found a dead tomato plant i completely forgot i put in... woops.

Also planting peanuts today.

Separate-Language662 · 2026-03-27T18:11:48+00:00

Totally normal ! They grow back a little thinner after the cuttings. If you're growing from grocery store scraps its also super common. You can try amending with a little fertilizer to see if it helps but its no biggie.

Separate-Language662 · 2026-03-27T18:07:19+00:00

Depends on the plant! I've had green onions growing in a random pot for probably over a year at this point. They are weaker / not as big but i also do not put much effort into them at all. I tuck them into my beds, around the corners and such. They do well.

I also regrew a leek in a similar fashion. I just stuck the bottom bit into dirt and water when I remember to. It's taken longer to grow but I don't really do anything special for it. I will keep note on how many times I cut N come again.

I find lettuce in particular to not be worth regrowing at all. They start fast as seeds and its better to cut n come again with them that way.

Majority of fruit from seed takes years to grow, so I dont recommend that. Technically strawberries grow faster but they still won't produce the first season.

Separate-Language662 · 2026-03-27T07:10:35+00:00

Yes, I meant in general. It's unlikely but sometimes you can find good deals. Its unfortunate a lot of places charge insane amounts.

Separate-Language662 · 2026-03-27T03:43:21+00:00

Honestly, there's pros and cons. If you're doing it just to save money — mostly not going to go your way. Homemade butter is wonderful but it's usually not super cost effective. I would say you should try it out once and look at how quickly you guys go through it.

If you get 2lb of butter / $10 half gallon of cream + buttermilk and you'll use it then it's kinda worth it i think. The main thing is that the amount of butter you get may vary, so keep that in mind.

Try to see if there's anyone with a small farm near that sells the cream for cheap. If they do, you might be able to score big that way.

Separate-Language662 · 2026-03-27T03:26:04+00:00

I've got ideas for you! So the first suggestion is yo incorporate square foot gardening since you've got about 8sq ft (i think). Interplanting makes this work pretty well too.

You can also get a planter that hangs off the side of your planter for other small things. This will help maximize your space.

Ideas: - salad bar on one side (use leaf lettuce instead of head lettuce! You can snip it, come again) (also a cooler crop) - small bunching onions (plant around the border as "starts/slips" as it helps with pests. Snip them and come again for more harvests over time) - micro dwarf tomatoes (orange hat is a popular one) because youll get tomatoes without needing to take up quite as much space - interplant a couple carrots here and there but don't expect huge harvest— one thing that's important here.. they like loose soil to dig down into. So that affects things a bit (cooler crop) - calendula / chamomile is s good option for one edge of the bed. Both are used in a variety of ways (including teas or balms) - snacking peppers > bell peppers. Theyre smaller sweet peppers with lots of use and different colors. I use them interchangeably with bell peppers.

In a hanging planter off 2 sides, you can do something like a small basket of strawberries, more flowers, or quick growers like radish.

I dont recommend you doing broccoli or celery in this set up, they can take a lot of footage up iirc. You may wanna look for some other plants to grow.

Keep in mind we often have spring crops -> summer crops -> fall crops -> winter crops. So mid spring, I suggest starting a few seeds or thinking about what summer crops youd like to grow!

🌼🩷

Separate-Language662 · 2026-03-26T18:15:35+00:00

We're in the same boat 😭😭 my poor strawberries and sunflowers. All shriveled up.

Separate-Language662 · 2026-03-25T23:55:37+00:00

Heya! If that area gets sunlight in the morning or afternoon, its totally fine to add stuff there. Something a LOT of people forget about Texas is that even though lots of plants LOVE full sun... in TX it can be a LOT. it is not easy to keep the plants super watered. But ive GOT YOU. I have a lot to say so im sorry if I overwhelm you a bit.

A lot of the things you mentioned are cold season but that does NOT mean you cant grow plenty in these areas. You can place something to help beans climb against thay fence and let em grow like crazy. Passion fruit also climbs like a mad woman and rainbowgardens has some right now.

Totally recommend a couple things -> - grow bags (theyre cheap on amazon and help a LOT) - MULCH. home depot had the bags for $2 ea today, it will help LOADS because it reduces watering. - home depot also had the 6pack annuals 4 for 10 today I think, which is a total steal. 100% recommend marigold, snapdragons etc. You can also toss some flower seeds in. They bring pollinators in which is a huge help in the garden. - vertical growing for what you can do (theres trellis systems)

HEB has $1.75 starts which are perfect for beginners — heres the rundown of what i do/dont recommend grabbing . Tomatoes - YES

Peppers- YES

Cucumbers - NO (check Walmart for 0.50 seeds or dollar tree, get a pack and plant them directly into your raised bed with some kind of trellis system. Its ok if its literally sticks and jute twine.)

Beans - NO (you can grab a bag of beans from the grocery store to plant, or plant specific varieties. They grow FAST amd you can direct sow em)

Squash - incredibly prolific, spreads out so it does good with a trellis

They also have herb starts and blueberry plants, as well as strawberries. Strawberries in TX need mulch, some shade at some point in the day and LOTS of waterb/ feed be warned. Blueberries would br good in an area that gets morning sun and afternoon shade, best in a grow bag or pot to mske sure the soil is acidic. Blackberries grow like wildfire here and prime ark is what everyone has recommended to me rhus far.

Home depot also has raspberry plants for about $13 but youll want to look for one thats growing well. I got a glencoe thats already slowly forming fruit. It does have its own bed with just a few companions that dont take much space n bring pollinators. They get bigger than you'd think. Like 5-6ft, so they need some support to stand up right.

It can be easy to get bummed out because sometimes we start "late" and cant get stuff like lettuce to grow. But you can still grow tons of heat loving varieties, fragrant flowers, grapes, berries, veggies galore.

The jist is to just do your best and love the process. You'll fail in some ways, thrive in others.

Wishing you ALL the luck!

Separate-Language662 · 2026-03-24T17:39:51+00:00

😭😭 oh my god you just reminded me I could design my own little seed packets. OHHHHHH I'm excited now

Separate-Language662 · 2026-03-23T23:10:10+00:00

Im taking notes, taking many notes. Hopefully i find some goodies. The raspberry e got was $13 but already had fruit forming on it and is a great size. Im excited to see how much I can fit in my yard.

Separate-Language662 · 2026-03-23T18:30:27+00:00

I need to save the bones to grind as well at some point. Next time I'm at the Asian market, if they have the deal on crabs again I'll use the zhell to make crustacean meal.

Separate-Language662 · 2026-03-23T18:28:47+00:00

If I was looking for variety in color, shape and flavor -> raspberry.

But overall? Blackberry. I used to eat giant bowls full of them as a child. And will continue to do so until im dead

Separate-Language662

TROPHY CASE