Need help with planting guide

Hello,

I wanna plant some vegetables but I have no idea what I am doing.. I already planted lettuce and its growing nicely. I wanna find some starters of Tomatoes, broccoli, and Califlower and try to grow them... When is the best time to put them in the ground here.
thanks
tamlamb

It's probably a little late for the brocolli and cauliflower,but you can still plant tomatoes with no problems.

It just depends on how hot it gets.The cole crops need a cool spring to grow well.The way this spring has gone,you might still be ok...I'm not sure for your zone.

We usually put those things in the ground the middle of March around here in 7a.

Some of those cole crops might still do ok if you have a cool summer and lettuce likes it cool too. Or if it gets hot your tomatoes will love it, green beans like it warm too, either way you will have something, vegie gardening is such fun, I can hardly wait for my first ripe tomato. Try some summer squash too, they grow fast and the bush types are fairly compact if you don't have much space.

Well since this is help with planting guide I have a question. I am also new to the whole gardening thing. Last year I killed everything, my tomatoes, flowers & a few herbs. This year I am doing much better. I have started small once again. My vegtable (tomatoes & peppers) are growing nicely, but here is my question. I have a red pepper plant 2- tomatoes, yellow pepper all in one row. I water every day. I notice that my peppers are wilting so I just water the tomatoes & leave what runs off to the peppers. Is the water requirements the same or do they differ for the peppers? I live in Dallas is it is starting to get hot. Will my plants survive this heat? How long does it take to start seeing peppers? I planted the last week of April. Appreciate any help.

My peppers need more water than tomatos. I think the tomato roots are significantly deeper than the pepper roots. At least judging by the roots I pull out at the end of the season.

I have 2 pepper plants in one of my tomato plants (needed a little more isolation). I have to hand water them so I don't overwater the tomatos.

I'm in the desert not TX, but it is already pretty here. We've had our 1st 100deg day already.

Chris

Even here in the (mild!) midwest my sweet pepper plants need a lot more water than the tomatoes, but they appreciate all the water they can get. Usually I water the peppers 2" per week, with tomatoes about 1 1/2" per week. I have experimented planting peppers deeply into soil, like tomatoes, but found their stems rotted before they could develop rootlets.

Anyone have ways to get peppers to form extra roots?

Kathy

Generally,If it wilts,then water it more. Peppers will wilt down in the heat of the day to conserve moisture.I've seen it happen on perfectly irrigated plants. But,as a general rule,they're moisture loving and as their roots are more shallow than tomatoes,they need water more frequently.

Appreciate all your help. Stupid me I should know when they start to wilt I am most likley starving them to death. Since the weather is getting hot down in these part should I water like I have been daily or should I do every day or so. I am currently giving the tomotatoes approx 1 1/2 gallons of water. I will let you know how it goes & if I get any peppers. I am getting tons of cherry tomatoes but have not yet seen any buds on my beef stock. I am very excited that I will at least have cherry tomatoes, yum!

Luna,

Do you mulch your vegetables? A thick layer of mulch, will keep the roots cooler and cut down on watering. Also you may not be watering deeply enough at one time. It's important the water reach down below the root zone.

One way to check soil water depth is to take a short piece of pvc pipe and shove it into the ground near but not at the base of your plant. Then take something flat that will fit inside the pipe and a long stick to shove out the core of soil you sampled and see how deep the water is penetrating. Then you can adjust how much and how often you need to water.