Brazos Market Gardening

Wooden crates of tomatoes, okra and yellow squash on a pickup tailgate at the end of vegetable rows in early morning haze

Growing food in the Brazos Valley, season by season, and getting it to market.

Cool season

  1. A raised bed of young broccoli, kale and lettuce in dark mulched soil in autumn light, with a coiled drip line and a watering can

    Fall is the real planting season here

    The second spring that most newcomers miss, and how to plan for it in August heat.

Warm season

  1. Drip irrigation emitters wetting straw mulch at the base of tomato plants in early morning light

    Watering through an August that will not end

    Drip lines, mulch and early mornings keep a summer garden alive on less water.
  2. Tall okra plants with pale yellow flowers and green pods against a hazy summer sky, with pea vines below

    Okra, black-eyed peas and the crops that like the heat

    A short list of vegetables that keep producing when everything else gives up.

Any time of year

  1. A garden spade pushed into dense dark clay soil with deep dry cracks, beside a wheelbarrow of compost

    Heavy clay, and what to do with it

    River-bottom soil cracks in August and turns to glue in January. It can still grow excellent vegetables.
  2. A halved ripe heirloom tomato on a cutting board beside a small jar of tomato seeds soaking in water

    Saving seed from a good tomato

    Pick the best plant, ferment the seed for a few days, and dry it slowly.

Market days

  1. A small farmers market table under a canvas shade awning with crates of peppers, sweet potatoes and greens

    A Saturday market table

    Shade, ice, small bills and a display that brings people over.