Maybe you have already harvested the peas, radishes and lettuce from your garden, but you want more. Or you realize you should have planted a second row of green beans because you never have enough. If you are longing for more of your favorite vegetables, you are in luck. Now is a great time to plant a second crop of several vegetables, which will be ready to harvest in September and October.
Hopefully you bought some extra seeds at a garden center in the spring, or maybe there are some still available.
Fall Vegetable Harvest
While it is too late to plant vegetables like peppers, tomatoes, melons and pumpkins, you can plant these eight vegetables through mid-August and harvest them this fall:
1. Green beans. You can plant green beans from now through mid-August to harvest a second crop this fall.
2. Lettuce. I like to sow lettuce seed in large flowerpots on my deck. I usually grow a pot of black-seeded Simpson lettuce, and two weeks later, I sow a packet of mixed lettuce varieties in a second pot. That way I can harvest from one pot one week and switch to the second pot the next week. Consider planting more than one variety so you have plenty of lettuce to choose from.
3. Carrots. Carrots planted in the vegetable garden in August are often some of the sweetest, especially if they mature in the cooler days of fall. It is important to thin rows to one carrot every inch or 2 after the carrot tops are a couple of inches high. Otherwise, you will end up with carrots that are crooked and small.
4. Swiss chard and spinach. Swiss chard and spinach can be planted through mid-August for harvest in October. These vegetables grow best in cool temperatures. Both vegetables are great fresh in garden salads or boiled.
5. Peas. There are two main types of peas — snap peas and snow peas. Depending on the variety you select, plants can grow 2 feet tall. They need to be supported with fence. I like to use chicken wire. I plant a row of peas on each side of the fence, about 2 inches away from the fence.
6. Broccoli. Broccoli is another vegetable that prefers cool temperatures. You can start broccoli seed on your deck or patio and transplant seedlings into your garden in mid-August. Broccoli can handle a little frost. You can harvest broccoli through the end of October.
7. Radishes. Radishes are often the quickest vegetable seed to go from planting to harvest in the garden. Radish seeds usually germinate in less than a week, and some varieties are ready for harvest in a month. So, feel free to plant up to three crops of radishes between July and September.
8. Onions. A second crop of onions can be planted in July or August and harvested by the end of October. Onion sets work best for fall harvest.
______________________________________________________________________________
GRASSHOPPERS AND THEIR CONTROL
Grasshoppers are among the most widespread and damaging pests in Texas. There are about 150 species of grasshoppers in the state, but 90 percent of the damage to crops, gardes, trees and shrubs is caused by just five species.
They are:
Differential grasshopper, Melanoplus differentialis. Black chevron markings on the hind femur help identify this species. Adults are 11⁄8 to 13⁄4 inches long. They move into fields from weedy borders and can be very destructive to crops. They are seldom found in grassland.
Red-legged grasshopper, Melanoplus femurrubrum. Adults are 7⁄8 to 11⁄4 inches long with red hind tibia. This species is especially damaging to alfalfa and other legumes, but they can be a problem in other crops, too. They are not a problem in grassland.
Migratory grasshopper, Melanoplus sanguinipes. This species is very destructive to both grasslands and cultivated crops. Adults are 7⁄8 to 11⁄8 inches long. These grasshoppers are strong fliers and may swarm over long distances.
Two-striped grasshopper, Melanoplus bivitattus,. Adults are 13⁄4 inches long with two light stripes that extend from the eyes to the wing tips. They eat mostly weeds but will also move into cultivated crops.
Packard grasshopper, Melanoplus packardii. This species prefers sandy soils with light grass cover. They are the least damaging of the five species, but large numbers of them can be a problem in both grassland and cultivated crops.
A sixth species is not as damaging. It is the: Lubber grasshopper, Brachystola magna. The lubber grasshopper prefers weedy areas but can be a problem in crops also, especially cotton. It is seldom a problem in grasslands. Adults are 13⁄4 to 2 inches long. These grasshoppers are flightless and their limited mobility makes them less damaging than the top five species. Lubber grasshoppers will feed on dead insects, even their own kind, in certain situations.
Grasshoppers cause some damage every year, but they become very destructive during outbreaks. The main factor affecting grasshopper populations is weather. Outbreaks, or exceptionally large populations, are usually preceded by several years of hot, dry summers and warm autumns. Dry weather increases the survival of nymphs and adults. Warm autumns allow grasshoppers more time to feed and lay eggs. Grasshoppers have a high reproductive capacity. The female lays an average of 200 eggs per season, and sometimes as many as 400 eggs. If favorable weather increases the number of eggs, nymphs and adults that survive, the grasshopper population may be dramatically larger the following year.
Biology
Grasshoppers deposit their eggs 1⁄2 to 2 inches below the soil surface in pod-like structures. Each egg pod consists of 20 to 120 elongated eggs cemented together. The whole mass is somewhat egg-shaped. Egg pods are very resistant to moisture and cold and easily survive the winter if the soil is not disturbed. Grasshoppers deposit eggs in fallow fields, ditches, fencerows, shelter belts and other weedy areas, as well as in crop fields, hay fields and alfalfa. Eggs begin hatching in late April or early May. Hatching peaks about mid-June and usually ends by late June. If spring weather is cool and extremely dry, hatching may be delayed and continue into July. Young grasshoppers are called nymphs. They look like adults but are smaller and have wing pads instead of wings. Nymphs go through five or six developmental stages and become adults in 40 to 60 days, depending on weather and food supplies. The adults of grasshopper species that damage crops become numerous in mid-July and deposit eggs from late July through fall. Usually only one generation of grasshoppers is produced each year.
Biological Control
Grasshoppers have many natural enemies that help control their populations. A fungus, Entomophthora grylli, often kills many grasshoppers when the weather is warm and humid. Infected grasshoppers strike a characteristic pose at the top of a plant or other object. The grasshopper grasps the plant in a death embrace with the front and middle legs, while the
hind legs are extended. It dies in this position. Fungal spores develop in and on the grasshopper’s body, then become airborne and infect other grasshoppers. Another natural enemy is a protozoan, Nosema locustae. Its spores have been incorporated with bran to make insecticide baits such as Semaspore®, Nolo Bait® or Grasshopper Attack®. These baits kill some nymphs but almost no adults, though infected adults lay fewer eggs. Baits act too slowly and kill too few grasshoppers to be useful for immediate control. Other natural enemies include nematodes called hairworms and insects that feed on grasshoppers, such as the larvae of blister beetles, bee flies, robber flies,
ground beetles, flesh flies and tangle-veined flies. Birds (quail, turkey, larks, etc.) and mammals also eat grasshoppers, but have little effect on large populations.
Monitoring Populations
Farmers and ranchers should start watching for grasshoppers early in the season and begin control measures while grasshoppers are still nymphs and still within the hatching sites (roadsides, fencerows, etc.). Treating grasshoppers early means 1) having to treat fewer acres and use less insecticide, 2) killing grasshoppers before they cause extensive crop damage, and 3) killing grasshoppers before they can fly, migrate and lay eggs. Also, smaller grasshoppers are
more susceptible to insecticides than larger ones. You can estimate the size of a grasshopper infestation by surveying nymphs or adults with the “square foot method.” Count the number of grasshoppers that hop or move within a square foot area. Then take 15 to 20 paces and sample another square foot area. Make 18 samples in all. Then add the numbers from each sample and divide the total by two to obtain the number of grasshoppers per square yard. If most grasshoppers you see are first to third instar (wingless and generally less than 1⁄2 inch long), divide the number by three to give the adult equivalent. Count fourth instar and older nymphs as adults.