What to Plant Now: July 11 - 17

We just passed the New Moon phase and are now approaching the First Quarter and are in Waxing Crescent. It’s a good time to plant warm season leafy greens and cover crops to protect the soil. During the waxing of the moon (the period extending from the day the moon is new to the day it reaches its fullest point), the moon pulls moisture upwards. Seeds do well during this time because moisture is available at the surface of the soil.

As things heat up these next couple months, be sure to do weekly foliar sprays with liquid seaweed to provide plants with hormones and nutrients needed for heat stress and to prevent disease and pests.

Direct Seed or Transplant Warm Season Greens

• Edible Amaranth
• Egyptian Spinach (Molokhia)
• Lamb’s Quarter 
• Longevity Spinach / Okinawa Spinach
• Malabar Spinach
• New Zealand Spinach

Texas A&M Agrilife Extension Leafy Greens Growing Guide.

Seed in Cereal Grains & Cover Crops
For the health of your soil, moisture retention, and to prevent weeds, keep your soil covered at all times with cover crops, compost and mulch. Bare soil invites weeds. Consider planting summer cover crops, such as buckwheat, millet, sorghum, or southern peas. Add compost, then mulch, to other bare soil areas. An inch or two of compost, and then two or three inches of mulch. 

• Buckwheat
• Millet
• Southern Peas
• Sorghum

For more ideas on Ornamentals, Perennials, and Herbs, visit the Central Texas Gardener and The Natural Gardener lists online. Download the Texas A&M Extension Planting Chart and Varieties Chart on our website.

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