It’s mid-September, but no one remembered to tell the weather. Despite the continued heat, keep planting.

Planting at the right time is the number-one way to become a more successful gardener here in North Texas. That remains true no matter how hot it is. It’s so important that I created an entire planner to keep you on track, and I am SO EXCITED for the release of the 2027 version. Stay tuned!

If you delay fall planting because of the high temperatures, your plants may not have enough time to mature and produce before freezing weather arrives.

Do not adjust your planting dates. Adjust your care habits.

Whether you are transplanting seedlings or sowing seeds directly into the garden, maintaining consistent soil moisture is critical right now.

Freshly sown seedbeds may need to be watered twice daily to maintain the moisture seeds need for germination. Transplants require daily watering during their first few weeks in the garden while they become established.

Never allow your plants to wilt. Cucumbers, squash, pumpkins, and other cucurbits may wilt temporarily during the hottest part of the day even when the soil contains adequate moisture, but your other vegetables should not be allowed to wilt. Repeated wilting weakens cellular structures and interrupts essential biological functions.

I know it’s a pain. Believe me. I’m definitely not thrilled about hitting the gym while it’s still dark outside just so I can get my garden chores done early. But I am obsessed with my Halloween pumpkins and will rearrange my entire schedule to give them the water they need to grow BIG and BEAUTIFUL.

If you’re still worried about transplanting in the heat

If you missed last week’s email, I put together a guide to help calm your fears about transplanting seedlings into the garden right now. This is one of the most common questions I’m getting from students and followers.

What I’m doing in my garden

My vegetable garden is finally starting to look better as I slowly transition it into the fall season. Yesterday, I prepared one of my vegetable beds for direct-sowing radishes, beets, carrots, and lettuce. You can watch the process in this Instagram reel.

After two years of amending, the soil in this bed is in great shape. It’s light, loose, and easy to work. Even so, I add compost before every new planting because I want to continue improving the soil over time.

Compost improves drainage and soil texture, encourages microbial activity and helps balance pH. Although it contributes nutrients, vegetables need more fertility than compost alone can usually provide. That’s why I also mix an organic slow-release fertilizer into the soil before planting.

I teach this entire process in detail in my Building a Garden From Scratch and Soil Health & Composting classes. Both are available now inside The Dallas Garden School.​

For care and maintenance, I’m focusing on deeply watering my actively growing vegetables, including pumpkins, cucumbers, and squash. I’m also fertilizing plants throughout my landscape to help them recover. Because we have irrigated so heavily during this brutally hot, dry summer, nutrients have been leached from the soil more quickly than usual. Consistent fertilization is especially important for containers right now.

If you do nothing else in the garden this weekend, fertilize your vegetables, annuals, and container plantings.

Your weekend garden game plan

Here’s what you should be doing in your garden this weekend.

Vegetables and herbs

Start indoors from seed: Kale, lettuce, spinach, chives, cilantro, fennel, parsley, and dill.

Sow outdoors: Bush beans, beets, carrots, kale, leeks, lettuce, onion seeds, parsnips, peas, radishes, spinach, and turnips.

Plant as transplants: Basil, broccoli, cabbage, Chinese cabbage, chives, cauliflower, cucumbers, kale, leeks, lettuce, rosemary, sage, thyme, and spinach.

Flowers

Sow cold-hardy annuals outdoors: Agrostemma, ammi, bells of Ireland, bupleurum, calendula, centaurea, daucus, feverfew, godetia, Monarda ‘Lambada,’ larkspur, nigella, orlaya, poppies, rudbeckia, scabiosa, strawflower, and sweet peas.

Plant as transplants: Marigolds, petunias, calibrachoa, coleus, celosia, ornamental peppers, petchoa, mums, and asters.

Plant cold-hardy annual transplants: Ammi, bells of Ireland, calendula, campanula, centaurea, daucus, delphinium, feverfew, foxglove, godetia, Monarda ‘Lambada,’ orlaya, poppies, rudbeckia, scabiosa, strawflower, and sweet peas.

Care and maintenance

• Deeply water actively growing vegetables, annuals, and containers as needed. Check them daily during this heat.
• Fertilize vegetables, annuals, and container plantings.
• Do not prune shrubs or trees. Wait to do major pruning until plants are dormant during winter.
• Set out feeders for migrating hummingbirds. Make nectar by dissolving one part plain white sugar in four parts water. Clean and refill the feeders regularly. The hummingbirds are here, and they are making me so happy!
• Provide fresh water for birds, pollinators, and other wildlife. Change it daily.
• Check squash, gourds, and pumpkins daily for squash vine borer damage. Look for yellow frass oozing from the base of the stem. At the first sign of damage, treat the affected stems with an organic Bacillus thuringiensis product labeled for this use. Squash vine borers are manageable, but you have to catch them early.

Recent classes available to watch

If you’re already enrolled, don’t forget that our recent classes are available to stream inside the school. You can catch up on Cottage Cutting Garden with Cold-Hardy Annuals, Best-Ever Fall Vegetable Garden and Spring Flower Bulb Magic whenever it works for you. The replays are included with your enrollment and ready to watch now.

Upcoming live classes

Awesome Alliums: Onions & Garlic​
Wednesday, September 23 at 6:00 p.m.

The Winter Vegetable Garden​
Friday, October 2 at 12:00 p.m.

Native & Perennial Flower Gardens​
Wednesday, October 14 at 6:00 p.m.

These classes are included with enrollment in The Dallas Garden School, along with immediate access to the complete on-demand class library, our private student community and the opportunity to ask me your gardening questions.

If you’re tired of piecing together generic gardening advice that doesn’t account for our North Texas weather, soil and planting seasons, come join us. We’ll help you understand exactly what to do and when to do it.

Have a great weekend, and keep planting!

Callie​
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P.S. If you loved this email as much as I loved writing it, don’t forget to forward it to your friends and family. Share the joy of better gardening in North Texas!