Vegetable Garden

The “Veggie Team”, a group of Brazos County Master Gardeners, selects the varieties of vegetables grown and conducts demonstrations on planting, maintaining, and harvesting (check our event calendar). This part of the Demonstration Idea Garden (DIG) and the efforts of the Veggie Team demonstrate growing vegetables in raised beds or small spaces, using research-proven Earth-Kind® gardening techniques.

Two Earth-Kind gardening techniques regularly used at the DIG are amending the soil with compost prepared at the DIG, and mulching to preserve moisture, discourage weeds, and cool the soil. In September and October of 2010 the following vegetables were planted and harvested the amount listed in ( ). The produce is donated to the Twin City Mission, which is a regular practice at the DIG. Twin City Mission is the foundation of support for those in need in the area. Whether it is shelter, meals, clothing, household items or whatever.

See images of our Vegetable Garden here.

Vegetables planted for the fall 2010 season included:

Artichoke, ‘Green Globe’ (immature)	Mustard Greens (1/2 lb.)
Beets, ‘Detroit Red’ (8 oz.)	Porter (14 oz.); Solar Fire (6 lb. 12 oz.)
Broccoli, ‘Pacman’ (2 lbs.)	Radish, ‘Cherry Belle’ (4 lbs.)
Brussel Sprouts (immature)	Roma II (4 lbs. 8 oz)
Cabbage, ‘Early Jersey Wakefield’ (immature)	Shallot (immature)
Cauliflower (immature)	Spinach ‘Bloomsdale Longstanding’ (6 oz.)
Garlic (immature)	Swiss Chard ‘Ruby Red’ (2 lbs. 8 oz.)
Green Beans, ‘Derby’ (1 lb. 5 oz.)	Tomato (harvested green) Champion (1 lb. 8oz)
Onion (immature)

Helpful Resources

Two resources have been developed to assist you in planning your vegetable garden. The Vegetable Planting Guide for Brazos County shows the suggested planting dates for our area. Recommended varieties and the number of days to harvest are listed in Vegetable Varieties for Brazos County.

Where to Buy

Garden seeds, bedding plants and other supplies are available at area garden centers. In addition, seed catalogs are full of helpful information on new varieties and products. The catalogs include pictures and descriptions of the best heirloom and newer varieties of flowers, fruits and vegetables. The description usually includes their adaptability to climate, resistance to diseases and insects, flavor, size, color, expected number of days to maturity and the number of days for harvesting. Note: Temperatures above 86 F cause stress on fruit and vegetable plants. Heat-tolerant varieties should be more healthy and productive in this climate, soil and water.

Growing Conditions in Brazos County

The Bryan-College Station area is in USDA Planting Zone 8b, or the Lower South Zone. The average date for the first freeze in the fall is Nov. 28, and the average date for the last freeze in the spring is March 5.

Raised Vegetable Beds

Construction of the DIG vegetable garden as a series of 10 raised beds made from wood landscape logs and concrete blocks, ranging in size from 7 to 32 square feet.

See our Vegetable Garden Raised Bed Brochure for details.

Raised beds offer many advantages for the home gardener: