<![CDATA[Texas Home Gardener Newsletter]]>

<![CDATA[Texas Home Gardener Newsletter]]>https://brandonbeasley.substack.comhttps://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Zmv3!,w_256,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6dffe285-8a3e-4555-bc8c-9e275a1703f5_1280x1280.pngTexas Home Gardener Newsletterhttps://brandonbeasley.substack.comSubstackFri, 04 Sep 2026 12:27:31 GMT<![CDATA[We are growing... seriously ]]>https://brandonbeasley.substack.com/p/we-are-growing-seriouslyhttps://brandonbeasley.substack.com/p/we-are-growing-seriouslyThu, 20 Aug 2026 12:01:36 GMT I’m sure you noticed I been quiet lately and you have my sincere apologies. However there has been a lot going. We are now selling artisan soap.

That's right. Clean natural whole body soap, and I use it everyday. This product leaves you a clean fresh feeling you will not get from a big box store. The mint flavors are my favorite. The aromatics are phonomal. It clears you sinuses and opens your pores for a spa like adventure you will only find in an over priced retreat.

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I've searched for a product that I can stand behind and this my friends is it. All of the soaps contain the following ingredients:

Coconut Oil

Canola Oil

Soybean Oil

Organic Shea Butter

Water

Sodium Hydroxide Lye

Olive Pomace Oil

Sunflower Oil

Fragrance

Come one over to our new domain

www.texashomegardener.com

Website for products

or click the tab at the top of the page. I am confident that if you get this on your hands you will love it just as much as I do.

So as always tell a friend,share a post And let's grow together.

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]]><![CDATA[The latest harvest]]>https://brandonbeasley.substack.com/p/the-latest-harvesthttps://brandonbeasley.substack.com/p/the-latest-harvestSat, 20 Jun 2026 14:01:06 GMT

The latest harvest included more okra than last time. Cayenne peppers, cherry peppers and a couple of jalapeños.

We use the peppers to make a peppers sause to put on the your and to use them before they go bad.

Below, cayenne pepper sauce. Cut off the stems and into the processor.

The we did the same thing to cherry red peppers.

Then into the processor.

And finally some jalapeños and seranos. Just a few.

Below you will see all three. With white vinegar and olive oil blended in.

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]]><![CDATA[Garden Tour 6/6/26]]>https://brandonbeasley.substack.com/p/garden-tour-6626https://brandonbeasley.substack.com/p/garden-tour-6626Fri, 12 Jun 2026 11:28:51 GMTWe harvested some of the berries fruit and peppers.

Below blackberries in different stages of ripeness.

Also okra on the plant picked and cayenne peppers.

And finally, a short video of the lime tree progress.

This is just some of whats happening in the garden.

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]]><![CDATA[Where will we be this weekend?]]>https://brandonbeasley.substack.com/p/where-will-we-be-this-weekendhttps://brandonbeasley.substack.com/p/where-will-we-be-this-weekendSun, 07 Jun 2026 02:33:12 GMT

When we are selling at a site, we will post the date and times here. Trade shows, flea markets and farmers markets.

Stay tuned

]]><![CDATA[Howdy folks I'm back!!]]>https://brandonbeasley.substack.com/p/howdy-folks-im-backhttps://brandonbeasley.substack.com/p/howdy-folks-im-backSun, 07 Jun 2026 01:53:45 GMTThere are some new developments at Texas Home Gardener. We are now selling vegetable plants and herbs.

We had a good day at big daddy's flea market in Tool Texas. Met some nice folks and sold some plants. We have been busy, but the posts will get going again.

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Below are some of the pictures from the garden as of May 30th.

There's okra, black berries, some of our trees, and a few peppers.

Maybe you think you don’t have a green thumb. I say it’s just got a little dirt on it. let me help you clean it. There’s green underneath.

Don’t forget to tell a friend and share a post and let’s grow together.

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]]><![CDATA[Celery ]]>https://brandonbeasley.substack.com/p/celeryhttps://brandonbeasley.substack.com/p/celeryMon, 29 Sep 2025 01:16:36 GMT

green vegetable on black table — Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

We have all had grocery store celery in some form. But, there a several varieties out there you can try your hand at.

It takes 2 years for celery to complete is life cycle. So, if you're planning on harvesting seed from them 2 years is the time it takes before bolting. It takes a long cool season to grow this vegetable. So northern climates are likely best. Once they sprout, you can pick them at any time. Younger early celery is tender. older celery had a firmer texture.

The plant requires lots of water and needs to be moist most of the time. Do not let it dry out. They are heavy drinkers. Use moisture retaining soil such as heavy organic. No sand. It will drain too quickly. Temperatures below 40 for too long will cause the plants to start bolting, making them bitter. The ideal temperature is between 50 and 70.

green vegetable on gray wooden table — Photo by Valentin Balan on Unsplash

I’m sure you have had celery stalk. But try the leaves. They pack a lot of flavor and are great for soups and salads. You can also try carrot leaves. i suggest trying them when the temperature is above 80 degrees. They will be less bitter.

Give it a try you might be good at growing celery. It will freeze well. It won't be crunchy but will still add good flavor to your food. The only time I have grown celery in in hydroponics. It was a Chinese breed the resembled Cilantro with a celery taste. It grew well and bushy. About 12 inches high. Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures to show.

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]]><![CDATA[Herb storage]]>https://brandonbeasley.substack.com/p/herb-storagehttps://brandonbeasley.substack.com/p/herb-storageSun, 31 Aug 2025 23:28:26 GMTWell, we got it done. We picked holy basil, sweet basil, lemon thyme and lemon balm. 1 one-gallon bag full each. we could have went harder on the lemon balm and lemon thyme.

We then cleaned them in a white vinegar and water solution with baking soda. 20% vinegar and a few shakes of baking soda.

The dirt and bugs come crawling off. Look closely.

Afte cleaning and rinsing, we place the herbs in the dehydrator.

Once these have dried for 24 hours we are ready to store them in shackers. At this point you can add them as seasoning on meats, salads, or in tea. As long as it stays dry it will last as long as any other seasoning you buy in the store.

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]]><![CDATA[Eggplant progress ]]>https://brandonbeasley.substack.com/p/eggplant-progresshttps://brandonbeasley.substack.com/p/eggplant-progressSun, 17 Aug 2025 13:47:02 GMTThe eggplant is and awesome vegetable. It is full of vitamins. It helps reduce inflammation, boosts the immune system and is good for your skin. Filled with calcium and perfect for strong bones and teeth. The purple skin is great for digestion if you can get it down. It's pretty tough eaten raw. Baking or grilling will soften it. I have a pretty good feeling that soaking it is citrus juice overnight will soften. The acid should break it down. It doesn’t have a strong taste. It will, however, soak up the flavor of the sauce you put it in.

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The recipes seem to be endless. From baba gonoush, to eggplant parmesan to eggplant chips. The choice is yours. Most of the time I chop it up and grill it with other vegetables.

They were planted as 6-inch sprouts with soil supplemented with bone and blood meal. They are close together as with most of my garden this year so I will have to fertilize heavily.

Ideally, they should be planted 2 feet apart, and they will grow about 2 feet high.

The first 2 came quickly and I pulled them when they were a medium size. About the size of a softball. There are several types of eggplant.

A group of purple eggplant on a yellow background — Photo by nilufar nattaq on Unsplash

Round plumb shaped eggplant is shown above. Below there is long zucchini shape.

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flat lay photography of four purple eggplants — Photo by charlesdeluvio on Unsplash

What you normally see in the stores are the American eggplant. It looks like a cross of the 2 images above. Experiment and try them all and see which type you like best.

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]]><![CDATA[Pickling cucumbers]]>https://brandonbeasley.substack.com/p/pickling-cucumbershttps://brandonbeasley.substack.com/p/pickling-cucumbersSat, 02 Aug 2025 13:18:00 GMTSo this this our first canning of cucumbers. Canning is a huge deal for us. If we do have an abundance of something we can save it for later. That helps us increase our food stores in house. So, doing this for the first time is monumental. Yes, that is the right word.

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These are what we used to get this done. So along with the mason jars we used distilled white vinegar. Pure cain sugar for sweetener and bread and butter seasoning.

There are many pickling options out there but, this is the first one we choose.

We will see the results soon. 4 weeks minimum is what we have to store them for. You can however, leave them for as little as a few hours or days. The flavor will continue to develop with time.

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Get your cucumber game together and join us one this lifelong journey.

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]]><![CDATA[Eggplant]]>https://brandonbeasley.substack.com/p/eggplanthttps://brandonbeasley.substack.com/p/eggplantMon, 21 Jul 2025 01:15:57 GMTAt my house we cook eggplant. Most of the time we grill it. But there are many other recipes that use the vegetable. Baba ganoush a dip is comprised of pureed eggplant and spices. Great with middle eastern and Mediterranean dishes. Fried baked and into lasagna and many, many others. So, let’s talk about how to grow it.

It will not germinate until the soil is 50 degrees. I can tell you for a fact that it does not like temperatures over 102. In 2023 the temperature got up to 106. The eggplant was 2 feet tall and ready to flower. But, at 106 the plant is merely trying to survive. So, it dropped the flowers and just continued to grow more branches. However, as soon as it fell to 100 and below, the flowers reappeared and began to make the fruit. And boy did it take off.

Below you will see the eggplant flower. The temperature has been mild this year by Texas standards. We haven’t hit 100 yet. Above you will see the eggplant bed. I planted a lot of them in a small space. So, I will need to fertilize them well. Of course, we are using a slow-release triple 10 fertilizer.

Below you will see the eggplant video.

The eggplants have started to show since it took those pictures. I placed a link below. I will keep you posted on the progress as they come along. They get pretty large so I may have to support them with stakes.

Eggplant showing video

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]]><![CDATA[Alocasia Negra]]>https://brandonbeasley.substack.com/p/alocasia-negrahttps://brandonbeasley.substack.com/p/alocasia-negraSat, 05 Jul 2025 15:31:46 GMTSee planting video.

I love plants of all kinds and one of my favorite plants is the elephant ear. It is large tropical and beautiful. It was an impulse buy as it was on sale at the H.E.B. The stock image below is a green one. But the one I planted is a darker color. Almost purple.

a large green leafy plant in a flower bed — Photo by Ted Balmer on Unsplash

It’s a lovely plant, but still small. I am placing this one inside near a window. Below, you will see the care label. Read this carefully and follow the instructions to get the best results. I find that it’s best to check online before you purchase or at the very read the label in the store.

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See planting video.

On the care label notice it says indirect light. This is nonnegotiable. It will burn and die in direct sunlight. With that said it is perfect for indoor or under shade around a heavily shaded tree. Also, notice the label says the steams will grow 2 to 3 feet tall. Be sure you have room for this plant as it can get quite large.

The plant has been in a 4-inch pot for about a month. It is doing well and it’s time to get it transplanted into a larger pot to help reach its full potential.

See the new leaves sprouting above. That is a good sign. I added bone meal and expected to see a lot of growth over the coming weeks.

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]]><![CDATA[Basil hoop house]]>https://brandonbeasley.substack.com/p/basil-hoop-househttps://brandonbeasley.substack.com/p/basil-hoop-houseThu, 03 Jul 2025 11:44:29 GMTSo, the temps have been around 90 to 96 degrees so far. Basil does not like it too hot. When the 100s plus come; and they will. We will need to keep that harsh evening sun off the basil. I have 2 basil plants. Sweet basil and holy basil. Both have the same needs and will be planted next to each other.

My remedy is a hoop house with a 40% shade cloth. That will cut out 40% of the sun’s intensity.

Below, you will see the finish shade. The kit comes with 16-inch poles connectors and clips. The clips you will see on top.

I drilled holes in the raided bed border and tapped the rods into the hole. The added a connector. Then pushed the rods into the connectors until it formed a hoop.

Then I draped the shade cloth over the hoops after planting the basil. Next, I added the clips to hold the cloth over the hoops and watered liberally. We should start to see lots of growth in the next few weeks.

After that I added the orange spray nozzles. I put 2 in there to ensure I get plenty of coverage.

Thanks for visiting and please remember. Tell a friend, share a post, and lets grow together.

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]]><![CDATA[Adding fertilizer]]>https://brandonbeasley.substack.com/p/adding-fertilizerhttps://brandonbeasley.substack.com/p/adding-fertilizerSat, 28 Jun 2025 15:43:24 GMTSubscribe to our rumble channel

I needed to add some extra fertilizer to the garden. The plants are packed in tight and have to share a limited amount of nutrients. Plus, I used a topsoil compost that has less organic matter because it was cheaper. I had to get at least 100 40lbs bags then I lost count. That cut the cost by 2/3.

Ideally, I like to use a 10-10-10 fertilizer but in this case, I used a general tomato and vegetable blend.

We have tomatoes is various stages of growth. Red, yellow, and green. The peppers and melons also really need more nutrients, and they were fertilized as well.

You can see above there is a lot of dead branches. I will remove those later. I expect in the new week or so there will be many more tomato flowers and more tomatoes coming.

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]]><![CDATA[Garden tour 6/8]]>https://brandonbeasley.substack.com/p/garden-tour-68https://brandonbeasley.substack.com/p/garden-tour-68Sat, 14 Jun 2025 12:23:13 GMTWe've been eating tomatoes. So much so that I’m kind of tire of tomatoes. I did say I was going to go hard on them this year and it’s paying off.

We had about 15 tomatoes. But that is just the first round. Each plant made 1 tomato. Some made 2. The tomato plants are flowering again, and we will have many more next time. The plants are bigger, and they are creating 4 to 6 flowers each. So, we will be prepared to make salsa will the next batch. Stay tuned.

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]]><![CDATA[Good morning chickens]]>https://brandonbeasley.substack.com/p/good-morning-chickenshttps://brandonbeasley.substack.com/p/good-morning-chickensTue, 10 Jun 2025 14:15:21 GMTI let the chickens out this morning. The kids normally do it until I get a chicken door.

The ducks and the young chickens were a little shy.

I stepped outside they give them some space. Still, they wouldn’t come out.

Inside I checked for eggs but the kids normally get them earlier in the morning.

So no eggs this time. Remember to tell a friend share a post and lets grow together.

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]]><![CDATA[Garden tour 5/2/25]]>https://brandonbeasley.substack.com/p/garden-tour-5225https://brandonbeasley.substack.com/p/garden-tour-5225Mon, 02 Jun 2025 14:25:26 GMTI completely forgot to post this.

We are making progress. There are a lot of yellow leaves due to all the rain.

Left to right. Lemon balm. All the lemon balm plants, cuccumber watermelon canalop in the same raised bed. Third row. Prickly pear cactus last row lemon thyme.

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]]><![CDATA[Garden tour June 6th, 2025]]>https://brandonbeasley.substack.com/p/garden-tour-june-6th-2025https://brandonbeasley.substack.com/p/garden-tour-june-6th-2025Sun, 01 Jun 2025 14:14:30 GMTWe have progress!! I love these sunflowers.

These sunflowers are 5 feet tall now. The others are coming along, red, white, and orange.

Above are lemon balm and lemon thyme at the bottom. Then white zinfandel grape and goji berry.

I set up the irrigation system to help save water and direct the water directly on the plants. it will be critical in the Texas summer.

I really like the orange sprayers. the cover a lot of area will one sprayer. I ordered more of them.

Below are the brass emitters I am trying out this year. They are sturdier but do not water heavily. They are more of a mister.

Notice how fine the mist is. I’m not sure it will be enough in the summer. I may have to run the for an hour. it is very likely i will replace them with the orange.

Below you will see the red and blue drippers. i put them on my squash. they kina dribble. Each one has its pros and cons. You just have to find the one the works best for you.

The line extends out from the drippers, and it’s tied off on the end and plugged.

I will add orange emitters when they come in this next week and plant the remainder of my squash.

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]]><![CDATA[Duck field trip. ]]>https://brandonbeasley.substack.com/p/duck-field-triphttps://brandonbeasley.substack.com/p/duck-field-tripSat, 10 May 2025 12:40:16 GMTWe decided to take the ducks out for a field trip.

They are having a ball. And have gotten so big.

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]]><![CDATA[East Texas Arboretum ]]>https://brandonbeasley.substack.com/p/east-texas-arboretumhttps://brandonbeasley.substack.com/p/east-texas-arboretumFri, 02 May 2025 18:58:13 GMTWe took a quick trip to the East Texas arboretum. We got in an out before the storms started rolling through.

There was a large farm house on-site. We couldn't go inside but could take photos from the doorways.

And of course beautiful flowers.

It was a real nice time.

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]]><![CDATA[The garden is coming along]]>https://brandonbeasley.substack.com/p/the-garden-is-coming-alonghttps://brandonbeasley.substack.com/p/the-garden-is-coming-alongFri, 02 May 2025 09:09:33 GMTSo the raised beds were built from lumber out of a demolished house. And 40 bags of soil were added today. These were mostly 2x12x16. This one is 2x6.

Then we planted tomatoes peppers and sunflowers together.

The left picture is canalop watermelons and cucumbers. I know they are close together but we will add a lot of extra nutrients for them. The bottom of the beds are covered with wood shavings removed from the chicken coope.

Below you will see the trellis i am trying for the tomatos and metal beds with lemon thyme and lemon balm.

They have been sitting on pallets for a while. Peppers were already starting so we had to get them in the grown. We used 40lbs bags of topsoil/compost and will supplement with 5-10-5 organic fertilizer. Later we will continue to add wood shavings and straw from the chickens. That should do it.

We are going to see how this string trellis works out. It's not as sturdy as wire. The melons and cucumbers will have a fence wire trellis and we will put them in melon nets. Stay tuned.

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