Peggy, I can't think that your advice would be considered hogging the thread at all. One quick question, should I be starting any seeds indoors now?

I would suggest the extension office closest to you for advice. There is a Master Gardener program located in most offices and it is a volunteer organization that's main goal is to help gardeners.

Texas has been really dry for the last couple years. I would suggest you start your garden with ammending the soil with a lot of compost. Planting veggies in my area (near Austin) is not something I would do until around the beginning of March unless I am using a cold frame or greenhouse. I do start some of my seeds inside then plant in the garden. Sometimes people hear Texas and immediately think always HOT but we do have our colder periods.

If you can't get hold of your local county extension agency, you might talk to greenhouses or even get in touch with Texas A&M or Tech. Most of the time there will be someone who can answer your questions.

lab fairy, do you grow cold weather vegetables? I do plan on contacting the agricultural agent to see what services he offers gardeners. All I have heard about was directed toward ranchers.

step #1---SOIL TEST..without an actual soil test done by your extension agency, you are never going to know what you need or don't need in your soil.
step #2- go to rareseeds.com and join the forum there...search the archives, read, read, and read some more...end of Feb is seed starting time in your area so you have a LOT to do in a little time...

When I was young and first married I lived next door to an elderly lady who in my mind must have been a master gardener. She taught me a lot. Here is some of her instructions.

When you set out your tomato plants don't just stick them in the ground, put them to bed. By that she meant dig a trench and lay them on their sides, covering up with dirt to their top set of leaves, she said that way they put out more root growth and bore more tomatoes.

If you want to fertilize the garden use manure tea. She would get a pile of it from our zoo or somebody's farm, about a large box full. Put a shovel full in an old white bucket and add water, let it steep for a day or so and then water at the ground level each plant you have set out. She would do this everyday, her plants were huge.

When you chop weeds, chop them off at the surface and don't dig much into the dirt, when you do you expose other weed seeds to light and they will germinate. Don't put weeds in your compost pile either.

She had a compost pile in the shade and she would put her garden waste and kitchen waste into it and she kept it covered with and old screen. She turned it about once a week and watered it if it had not rained. From her kitchen she added all the vegie waste and egg shells to.

She would sweeten her soil in the spring and fall with powdered lyme.

She put black pepper on her roses to keep the bugs off.

Birds and cutworms are bad about getting new pepper plants you set out. She would put collars around them she made from paper cups when she first set them out and it worked great.

She saved all her plastic gallon sized milk jugs and just cut the bottom out. If she had set plants out early and the weather got too cold she would set a jug over them and kind of wedge it down into the dirt a bit and it would make a mini green house. She never used the screw lids.

If I remember more later I will add it. Hope this helps. I know that when you use new ground to make a garden it will be a good one.

I live in Eastern Arizona, hard to grow vegetables here. My DH and I even built a small green house using strong plastic to help against the winds. We did tire gardens last year. We used 8 truck tires. DH cut out the rims. There are a few places here that have horses. The one man up the street a little, let us help ourselves to manure he had, we mixed, tree bark, and soil. We grew 2 types of tomato,chard, romaine and butter crunch romaine. We had spinich, squash, green beans, 2 types of green pepper. We are planning on planting other beans for soups and such. We watered either just after the sun went down, or early morn. During monsoon season we didn't have to worry that much. We used some left over t bar fence posts and had some left over chain link fence for the tomato and cucks. Once a month, gave them a some miricle grow, mixed in a spray bottle with water. I start tomato and green peppers, in the house. I use paper cups, some soil, that has nutrients needed to start a good healthy plant. Can be purchased in home depot, lowes, local hardware. I use a folding table, a blanket picked up at a salvation army and put that on the table for warmth. I have a table lamp that I put on at night. I put the plants outdoors after the last frost. I put them on the porch during the day, and bring them in at night. This sets the plants to get used to being outdoors.

ever try container gardening or winter gardening? and try http://www. gardenforum.com. they have a lot of info there for you !

Try this site: http://www.texasgardener.com/
I have subscribed to their magazine for many years.
I have never encountered another source that was so helpful for Texas specific gardens which are very different from other U.S. locations.

Buy local seeds if you can.