11/01/2026
Hometown Gardener 10/1/26 Hello November. Trust you all had a great Halloween. This is the month where we normally get our first freeze. El Nino is still kicking so let us hope for above average precip. October was a good month for rainfall with most of us coming in above 5". A freeze is not such a big deal although it will eventually croak your tomatoes and peppers along with many warm season flowers and favorites. Cool season veg and flowers will take it in stride. The front of the nursery is lit up right now while we are busy seeing very few paying customers, Martha and Julie are making new plants most of which should be planted fall/winter. Micheal Fiore, please do another reel on why we should plant in fall instead of spring. Or, repost the old one every week. It was a keeper. The rest of you can help by example.
Your neighbors may think you crazy. "Aren't you afraid those will freeze," they'll say. "I know it will freeze," is your answer. "I plant in fall every year, check my garden out?" That oughta raise an eyebrow. This is why all of our furry and scaly friends build their homes underground. Or, under a nice warm rock, or both. It is warm underground so the growth from the leaves goes to feed underground roots. Everything is not a tomato... Thank God.
In between cold snaps we get some fine weather in Texoma. Flies and mosquitoes have gone away although you might see a butterfly or several even in January. Snakes go to sleep as well. Good for you snake-phobic folks. Don't care for wasps nesting on your patio? They sleep too. Longer I live the more I appreciate cold weather. I can do more work and work harder without worrying about heat stroke. Just can't grow a tomato. But you can keep some in the greenhouse if you own one. Otherwise you can sneak past the first few freezes using row cover, blankets, bean cans, etc., just like we do in spring. My personal best was I kept one tomato going for three years using our greenhouse. After the third season I went ahead and let it freeze. The main stem and branches were getting real leggy and woody. I felt sorry for it.
Hummingbirds are heading to South American tropics. They fly non-stop across the Gulf (about 1,500 miles give or take) but is a shorter route than staying over land. If you live near the Gulf Coast make certain you have some good nectar for them to fuel up before the flight. It took many years for us to figure out the red dyes we used in feeders was not good for the hummers. Sooner or later we should realize that sugar water is no match for natural nectar. If you love'em feed them the best nectar that grows in your area. I was a normal person and I am guilty of sugar water and used red dye too. No more. My hummers get coral honeysuckle, flame acanthus, mexican petunia, and other treats from now on. I have witnessed hummers feeding on mesquite tree sap from holes made by sapsuckers. They know how to forage and teach their young. We should not tempt them with sugar water. Easy meals can go away when the feeder gets old or the person feeding moves away. I often admit to folks that I have made and or fallen for every bad habit in the book. I love my birds. All of them. I am still learning to follow Nature.
Survival of the fittest is the watch word for the Naturalist. It is a good thing to return a fallen chick to the nest. Often as not though the parents will abandon it. Seems cruel but that is Nature's way. I have to remind myself all the time that all of these critters and plants have survived millenia without the help of humans. Sometimes the bird or animal lives due to our efforts. I remember Wild Bird Rescue once had an owl that was totally blind. It had learned to survive using sound (echolocation?) like bats do to know where solid objects were. It was lucky someone brought the owl to the rescue center. It lived a good life with human supervision. In the wild this owl would not have lived long. I learned quite a bit working with blind people at Beacon Lighthouse for the Blind. Some of these folks could do some pretty amazing things using their other senses. That cane came in very handy. I became very close to some of them.
I have a busy day for this afternoon so I will close this one short. Now is the time to plant. My old mentor John Dromgoole used to say, "If you need proof just plant something in fall. Plant the same thing in April as the Megazons instruct us. See which one does better when The Heat and drought kick in." I miss John. Hope he is doing well. I miss you folks too. This should be our busiest season. It has not, nor has it ever been. Hope to see this improve. I have a friend now in Micheal Fiore at Smith's Gardentown. He feels the same and reaches a bigger audience. You have questions? I have answers. Wichita Valley is still the only totally organic nursery in Texoma. Hope I live to see that change as well. Eat well, sleep well, be well.
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