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Questions and Answers:Q. I am trying to grow vegetables in my greenhouse over the winter such as tomatoes and squash. Any suggestions? A. Warm season vegetables such as tomatoes and squash need lots of room, daytime temperatures in the 80's and nighttime temperatures in the mid 50's for optimal production. In addition they will need at least 6 hours of direct sun. You will need to provide an artificial environment for them to grow that might get expensive. For greenhouse growing in this part of the country during the winter, I would suggest cool weather crops such as spinach, cabbage, broccoli, and lettuce. You won't really need much heat, and you can open it up for ventilation on a nice day. However, I would save some room to start the warm weather crop seedlings at the end of January. A heating mat available from most on-line nursery suppliers will get them up quickly. They will still need protection from freezing. Most cool weather crops can handle a dip into the 30's without a problem. Q. What is considered a hard freeze? A. A killing freeze where the temperature drops below 32 degrees for several hours and kills all vegetation or tender green plant material. Q. What is a tender perennial? A. A tender perennial is a perennial that is best suited for a climate warmer than where it is growing. They can survive in winter if they are protected with mulch or potted and brought into a warm area. Sometimes, plants listed as tender perennials such as bougainvillea will surprise you and simply die back to the ground and show up the next spring bigger and better than ever. Q. When can I plant fruit trees? A. You can plant bare root fruit trees anytime from now until the end of January. Container trees can be planted any time of the year as long as you can provide moisture during the hottest periods. New fruit trees will need a deep soaking once a week for the first year. Q. I love sweet peas. When can I plant the seed? A. Sweet peas are grown for their beautiful sweet-smelling flower and bloom in the early spring. Plant the seed in rich garden soil in early January for best results. Q. The action in my compost pile really slows down this time of year. What can I do to keep it alive? A. Even though bacterial and microbial action has slowed in the cooler weather, you will still need to turn the pile regularly to keep it healthy and provide oxygen to the bacteria. Try putting a tarp or a piece of greenhouse plastic over the pile to keep it warm. Don't forget to add green items such as vegetable kitchen scraps to keep it working nicely. A little added moisture is OK, but don't let the pile sit in water or it will rot. Compost is ready when it smells and looks like earth and the items composted are no longer recognizable. Q. I have planted some lavender plants and after several years there is still no blooms. The plants are huge, but every year nothing happens. What am I doing wrong? A. The lavender fields you see growing in France and west of our area are growing in soil with a higher Ph than what our soils provide. In other words, the soil is more alkaline. Adding bone meal or agricultural lime to the soil may help. You will still need to keep the Ph in the range of 6.5-7.5. Lavender likes poor soils; so don't add much nitrogen fertilizer. If you do, add it right after the bloom period. I prefer the Spanish Lavender for this part of Texas. It is a reliable bloomer and doesn't need much care. Click Here to Ask Me a Gardening Question
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