Winterize Your Texas Garden

Before you winterize your Texas garden, most of the gardeners in America have winterized theirs in September or October. We are still growing fall gardens into November and sometimes into December before that first frost hits here in Texas.

There have been many years that I have personally gone outside on Thanksgiving morning and again on Christmas morning to pick fresh, delicious green beans for the green bean casserole.

Also, carrots and onions may be harvested in November but then we turn around and plant more that don't get pulled up until the very end of February.

Winterize Your Texas Garden - 12/04-12/10/2023

Monday, December 4, 2023

David and I at a rest stop in Arkansas. We forgot just how pretty it is.

Good morning! We are near Fort Smith, Arkansas this morning having a good breakfast at the Holiday Inn Express. We got here around 5pm last night after driving all day long. We left the farm just after 7am, David, my sister, and me, headed for Branson.

I booked this trip back in August when I received an email from Pastor Pete with Cowboy Fellowship inviting folks to go to Branson with him for Christmas. We used to go to that church and I thought it would be great fun to go to Branson again. We went four years ago, before we moved to the farm, in April of 2019 for the first time. We have not had any vacation at all for three years, the last one being the week of November 9, 2020 and if you missed it, you can read about it here. Of course, Amazon pulled some garbage, changing things while we were gone so we had to spend our final day working on Amazon at the condo instead of enjoying ourselves. I wonder what will happen this time?

Anyway, Matt is staying with the animals and running things. Hopefully, our people will show up and help him as much as possible this week.

We will be getting to Branson by lunchtime and then our first show is tonight after dinner with the church group. We will be going to see the Duttons perform (not the Yellowstone Duttons).

We left the hotel before 8am and David decided he wanted to drive to Danville, AR instead of going to Branson which meant an extra three hours in the car and a lot of twists and turns and going up mountains. If you don't know, we did a pastoral stint in Danville from August of 1998 to February of 1999 when the church tossed us out just six weeks after we moved into a beautiful new home that the district built for the pastor. We did a lot of work on the home. The people were just awful to us. We went to San Antonio from there.

So four years ago, we stopped by and they had trashed that beautiful home and the inside was torn apart and no one was living there. What a shame.

Today, there was a car there. We are not sure if someone lives there now but the siding was all moldy and dirty, just nasty.

Back in 1998, we helped build a beautiful home in Danville, AR. We moved in, spent Christmas here and the church threw us out after 6 weeks of being in this home.

We finally went on to Branson and got here before 3pm. The first thing we did was go to the Branson.com building and pick up a ticket to one show for my sister Norma. I bought the ticket and I spelled my last name for the lady. Then she asked my first name. I replied "Juanita" and I showed her my receipt with my name on it. She asked, "Why is your name spelled like that?"

LOL! Because that is how you spell Juanita. She said she thought it was with a W. Oh brother...

Then we went to downtown Branson and found Dick's 5 and 10 and did some shopping. After that, it was time to check into the hotel. We are staying at the Holiday Inn Express near the Walmart.

We went across the street to the Grand Jubilee Buffet for dinner and enjoyed some good food. Then it was on to our first show, The Duttons. Oh my stars! That family is amazing and incredible. I thoroughly enjoyed the show. We are with the Pastor Pete group from Cowboy Fellowship Church and amazingly, he and his wife sat next to us at the show.

My sister opted out of this incredible show so she spent the evening here at the hotel. Tomorrow, I do not know what we will do in the morning but in the afternoon, we are visiting Titanic and tomorrow night, we are seeing Country Christmas after dinner.

Titanic Museum Attraction in Branson is lit up at night. It looks cool!

At night, the whole city is lit up beautifully for Christmas. I was having so much fun looking at all of the beautiful lights. It is now after midnight but I am excited to be here on our first vacation in over three years. Good night.

Branson is all lit up for Christmas!

Winterize Your Texas Garden - General

To winterize your Texas garden, you can start at the end of October by covering some of your crops with a two inch layer of hay or mulch such as your garlic bed, onion bed, strawberry bed, blueberry plants, and any root beds that will be overwintered. I know that in the past, down here in South Central Texas, we never got ice or snow but now, we get something crazy every year now. It is always best to be prepared.

Drain and put away your garden hoses unless you are still watering some crops.

Pick all of the fruits before the first freeze except for roots. Pull up the dead plants and put those on the compost pile. If the plants are diseased, put them in the trash or burn them if it is allowed in your area. No diseased plants should go on the compost pile.

Get the heaters set up in your greenhouses and make sure they work just in case it gets cold.

Move all of your potted plants inside the greenhouse for the winter. Don't wait until the last possible second or you may lose some.

If you have a bed of asparagus, right now, there should be fern-like plants growing. Leave these alone until the first frost. Once that hits, they should turn yellow. At that point, cut them all down to about an inch above the ground. Some folks wait to mulch their asparagus beds until after the first frost for this reason.

Tuesday, December 5, 2023

We had a breakfast up in the lobby of the hotel early in the morning. I did not sleep much but that is almost always how it is the first night in a new bed. David did not sleep much either. The breakfast was some eggs and turkey sausage with a few other things. At least the coffee was good.

Norma and I went to the Aquarium with a big octopus on the outside of it. It was a beautiful aquarium with an amazing assortment of fish. It always amazes me how God went into such great detail to design gorgeous fish that no one would see under the deep dark water for a very long time.

Then we went across the road to a little mall and walked around. However, the place was filled with senior citizens from a tour bus. You could not go anywhere. I was trapped in one store and had to get out but I could not move. We finally got out and I was done. I called David to come pick us up for lunch. We ate at Shoney's which is right in front of our hotel.

Today was the first big Titanic day. At 1:30pm, the three of us boarded the Titanic Museum Attraction, holding our tickets. Norma was supposed to let the ladies at the desk know who she was because she was a special guest of some of the crew. She would not do it so I told one of the ladies. She said, "Oh, yes" and came back with a large gift bag with at least 12 Titanic items, including the book Norma wanted signed by the Titanic crew. Norma was beside herself. She was given a VIP lanyard to wear and then an officer stepped out and presented her with the White Star Line flag. She was just so excited.

The clock on the Grand Staircase of Titanic

She wanted to see every nook and cranny of the Titanic and it took us over an hour before we came to the Grand Staircase. It is beautiful, with four tall Christmas trees and a lot of other Christmas decor. At the foot of the Grand Staircase, we were met by a crew member who talked to us about the staircase and then escorted us up to the top. Then we were on our own, touring every bit of it.

David did not wait with us. He toured the whole thing and was back at the hotel before we even got to the Grand Staircase. Once the three hour tour was over, we went to the gift shop. Norma bought a bunch of things in addition to all of her VIP gifts. I bought some nice things, including a new Titanic jacket.

Norma will be going back on Thursday afternoon for another tour and to meet Jamie and Savannah who were both off today. David and I will be at a play so she will go alone and she will get to be on Shop The Ship With Jamie live and in person! She is so very excited about it.

Norma is a Titaniac, a number one fan of Titanic and can tell you just about anything about the ship. Honestly, she should move to Branson and work there. She would love it.

We ate dinner at Cracker Barrel because Norma had never eaten at Cracker Barrel before. It was delicious. Then we went to see Pierce Arrow in concert. Norma loved the concert.

We met the band and then went back to the hotel. I did not get to bed until midnight.

Us after the show with Pierce Arrow.

Winterize Your Texas Garden - Flowers

Winterize your Texas garden by deadheading all of your roses in your rose garden. Cut off or pull down any dead stems. Once the first frost hits, mulch the roses. Give them a nice thick cover, at least two inches thick.

Deadhead your zinnias and save the seeds for next year. Pull up all of the stems and put on your compost pile.

Wednesday, December 6, 2023

This morning, started out with an early wake time and complimentary breakfast. It was cold at 25°. I did the laundry on my floor with two loads. There is only one machine. $2 to wash and $2 to dry per load. David picked up some Tide in a gas station last night on the way to the show.

The dryer took forever to dry the clothes and not all were completely dry so I had to hang them up to dry. After the fun of laundry, we went to Walmart to buy Norma some pants. Then we drove around a bit and finally found Salt Grass at some mall downtown. We arrived early so Norma and I walked around and found a Bath And Body Works. Keep in mind that I live out in the country. There is nothing so when I saw Bath And Body Works, I got excited and went in. It was my first time in over four years!

I bought a few lotions and a new fragrance spray for Christmas. Norma got some lotion. We paid and then went into Salt Grass where we met Pastor Pete and his wife, Abby for lunch. We had a good visit. They left and we had tickets to the Hollywood Wax Museum.

The Wax Museum was really good. The Robin Williams wax was spot on. Lucille Ball was not quite right in the face. Something in the cheeks was off. There were a lot of others. I will add some photos to this later.

We went back to Walmart to buy forks, knives, and paper plates because we brought our leftovers from Salt Grass back to the room. Did you know that you can buy whiskey in Walmart in Missouri? You sure can't in Texas. I was walking by some Christmas gift displays and I saw different whiskeys. I thought that they must be fake because everyone knows that you can't buy liquor in Walmart, just beer and wine. I stopped to really look and, yes, it was real. I wonder how many other states sell hard liquor in Walmart. I found that very interesting.

Then we drove around to the Tanger Outlet Mall and shopped a bit. After that, we stopped at Andy's Custard because Norma kept asking to go. We all got something we shouldn't have and it was sweet and delicious.

We took it to go and ate it back at the hotel. I feel like I will be having a diabetic coma now. Soon we will be leaving for tonight's show, The Hamners. We are tired but I know we will enjoy the show.

The Hamners was an illusion show with birds, cards, and cutting a woman in half. It was interesting. I fell asleep three times during the performance. I think it is because I hardly slept at all each night. The pillows are too thin and crappy and it is exhausting to drive all that way and I could not recover from that before we were having to be everywhere. I got no rest on the trip. If I can't fly next time, I will just stay home. I am way too old for 14 hour car trips.

Winterize Your Texas Garden

To winterize your Texas garden, once you are done growing in it, add compost on top of the soil to add nutrients back in for your spring garden. Or you can grow a fall cover crop and then till it into the soil in early spring. Cover with mulch for the winter.

Mulch any of your hardy herbs such as oregano, thyme, sage, and chives for the winter. Of course, many herbs will succumb to the first frost if they are in the ground. If you have them in pots, just move them indoors or in a heated greenhouse as stated above.

Thursday, December 7, 2023

We did not do anything this morning except go back to Dick's 5 and 10 store because Norma wanted to buy more things.

Then we had lunch at a Fifties Diner. It was good. Normally, David shares his dessert because he is not supposed to be eating sugar. He got some chocolate/peanut butter pie and it looked so good. He would not give me any. I did not take any myself because I thought we would get dessert after the meal so I screwed myself out of something sweet because I went through the line first. Funny thing is he did not finish his pie but I couldn't have it so I was not happy.

Norma on the bridge giving the ship's wheel a spin.

Norma posing with Jamie on the Grand Staircase of the Titanic Museum Attraction in Branson, MO.

After lunch, we took Norma to Titanic at 1pm to spend the afternoon there and to be live on Shop The Ship With Jamie! I went in with her and met Jamie and Savannah and got photos with them with Norma. They were thrilled to meet her as she is a Titaniac and a long time viewer of the Thursday Facebook show. Then David and I were off to the Sights And Sounds Theater to see Queen Esther with Pastor Pete's group.

The Christmas tree outside of the Sights And Sounds Theater.

The Christmas tree lit up after the performance at Sights And Sounds. It is spectacular.

The Sights And Sounds Theater was beautiful and very large. The show was fantastic. There were live animals and things going on on three sides. Scenery was coming down from the ceiling and up from the floor all the time. It was so awesome.

We went to the 3:30pm show. I thought we would be done by 5:30pm but it was not over until 6:10pm. Then the group we were with wanted a photo on the stairs. When we got out in the parking lot, it was a madhouse with a very long line to get out of there. We sat through four traffic light signals once we got out because there were so many cars. There were 2,100 people in attendance at the performance. David asked an usher so that is how I know.

Then we had to go to Titanic and find Norma. It was dark and we were hungry. We found a "Mexican" place. I have never before had enchiladas without sauce but they served three kinds on one plate. None of them had sauce but they all had a slice of cheese on top. Don't get me wrong. They were good but they were not real enchiladas.

We were going to go see some Christmas lights but I was way too tired. It was already after 9pm at this point. So we went back to the room and got everything all packed up. I set the alarm for 5:15am to go home.

UPDATE March 9, 1024: Above used to be the video of the second half of Shop The Ship With Jamie where my sister co-hosted on board the Titanic in Branson today. For some reason, the camera stopped midway. I am hoping they can send the first half to Norma. For some reason, they took both parts down off of the Titanic Facebook page. Someone there was kind enough to send her this half. When or if she gets it, I will put the first half up for your viewing enjoyment of my little sister.

They never did put the first half of the show back up and now, March 9, 2024, they removed the second half of the Shop The Ship show that my sister did. I think it was very rude. Norma did a great job but someone there did not like it so they pulled it down.

Winterize Your Texas Garden

Remove trellises and other supports from all of your garden areas and give them all a good hosing down when you winterize your Texas garden. Clean them. If something is broken, either pitch it or fix it so it is ready to go for next spring. Take stock of what new supplies for the garden you need to purchase and be sure to do it before the next growing season. For instance, make sure your hoses don't have cracks. If they do, toss them and order new ones. Amazon always has these items if your local garden stores do not.

Are your gardening gloves ripped? Toss them and order a new pair. Do you need to bring in some new garden soil? See if you can get it now because it will only cost more by next spring. Order your spring seeds from your favorite seed provider. I can help you with this one. Your favorite seed provider should be David's Garden Seeds®! We already have brand new seeds for spring right here or you can buy them individually on the website.

Friday, December 8, 2023

We stopped at an Oklahoma rest stop after we left Arkansas.

We got up around 5am, got dressed, packed up the rest of the way and left the Holiday Inn Express in Branson by 6:10am with no breakfast, just some coffee. We got out of town and I was starving. It got light and we finally found a McDonald's almost two hours away from Branson where we got Egg McMuffins and I was happy again. The trip without stops or traffic problems is just over 11 hours. We stopped a lot to use the facilities. The traffic in the Dallas area, Austin, and San Antonio was horrible so it slowed us down considerably. It took us 14 hours to complete the trip. We finally arrived back at the farm at 8:10pm.

What a miserable way to spend 14 hours! Next time, we fly. My back and neck hurt. The dogs were so happy to see us. The cat couldn't have cared less.

Winterize Your Texas Garden

A nice layer of mulch or hay can protect plants and bulbs for the winter.

A nice layer of mulch or hay can protect plants and bulbs when you winterize your Texas garden.

You want to add a layer of organic matter like leaves or compost. Then cover with a nice layer of mulch to winterize your Texas garden. While you are at it, order plenty of mulch for spring because it will only cost more next spring. Stack it up in your garden shed or your garage.

Saturday, December 9, 2023

I woke up this morning in my own bed with my own firm pillow! What a welcome relief from the Holiday Inn Express pillows that are much too soft and collapse when I put my head on them. I used two but you would never know it.

Norma took care of the rabbits. It seems she really likes them. I had to take care of all of the chickens.

I opened the store at 10am and then went back in the house. Just one customer came today.

I spent a great deal of time trying to transfer service from Norma's old Straight Talk iPhone to the new one I got her for Christmas. Then Matt came over and he spent literally hours all day long on the phone with Straight Talk. Still not done by bed time...

In the meantime, we came back to my Christmas tree being set up in the living room but the lights were not connected. I tried to get them all working but the very top is not lit. I cannot find the light plug in that section. This tree will be trashed at the end of the holiday season. Anyway, Norma decorated it and it looks pretty good now except for the darkness at the top.

Norma decorated the tree and house for Christmas. She is sitting by the fireplace.

This afternoon, Norma and I went to Walmart and got a few groceries. I was too tired to do much. We were going to grill steaks tonight but the wind really picked up so we couldn't. Instead, Matt picked up Church's chicken and I made salad to go with it. I also sauteed some fresh mushrooms. Svengoolie was a replay so we watched Grand Theft Auto and I fell asleep. Then we watched Christmas With The Kranks and I stayed awake for that.

When he got home tonight, Matt sent me 2 photos he took with his new iPhone of Orion's Nebula. Very good detail.

Closeup of Orion's Nebula. It is really nice detail.

Winterize Your Texas Garden

This is now our compost area. We get a lot more out here than we ever got in the city.

Make your own compost this winter so when spring comes, you have plenty of new mulch to add to the garden. Do you know how to make your own compost?

Get a compost container or use a large trash can with a lid or even an old barrel. Put some soil in the bottom. Then each day, add kitchen waste to it and cover with a thin layer of dirt. Every time or every other time you add things, stir it with the shovel or spin your compost bin to mix it up and to help the kitchen waste to break down quicker.

Here are some thing to add: ground eggshells, coffee grounds and disposable filters, used paper towels, vegetable and fruit peels and ends, onion skins, potato peels, salad that has started to turn, tree leaves, dead plants that are disease-free, grass clippings, etc. If you will do this every day, you will have a nice collection of compost for your spring garden in no time.

Sunday, December 10, 2023

It was a beautiful sunrise this morning.

Good Sunday morning! It is 37° Fahrenheit right now on the farm. So cold...I hate having to go out and take care of all of the animals. I am going to freeze! My feet were like ice all night long. I should have put socks on...

David made breakfast while I fed the indoor animals. Norma is still here. We will be going to church today so she can share her Titanic adventures with her new friend, Donna.

Matt is on the phone at his house right now at 7:30am with Straight Talk at his house because he has better internet at his house and Norma's new phone is still not activated. How stupid!

It has now been over 24 hours and Straight Talk still has not transferred the service over. I guess I wasted my $169.00 plus the monthly fee of $70 that I pay for my sister's phone.

Okay. After many more hours, Norma's new phone is activated. Time is 2:45pm. What a mess this was.

Today was the second Sunday of Advent. At church, the candles were lit and an Advent devotional was read.

Today was the Second Sunday of Advent. We missed the first one last Sunday as we were traveling to Missouri.

Winterize Your Texas Garden - Trees, Bushes, Plants

Some new trees that we got from Fanicks Nursery.

Before the first frost hits, make sure that you thoroughly water all of your trees and bushes so they stay hydrated before having to go through winter.

Cut back perennials and they will grow better in spring. Annuals should be pulled out of the garden beds along with all weeds. Weeds have a way of growing constantly.

Return from Winterize Your Texas Garden to Year Five On The Farm

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