By Rodessa

Fall is right around the corner—September 22nd, to be exact. What does that mean? It’s the perfect time to begin your fall gardening. The Talking Book Program has a ton of books and resources to get you started with growing your seasonal crops. Whether you are a novice or expert, have an acre of land or a small countertop, there are many ways to satisfy your green thumb. 

To start, determine what growing region you reside in. This will help you discover what vegetables grow best in your area and when you should plant them.

Below is a list of cities and their corresponding zones. Please determine your zone by your nearest major city.

Zone 1: Amarillo

Zone 2: El Paso, Lubbock

Zone 3: Dallas, Waco, Austin, San Antonio, Bryan/College Station, Houston

Zone 4: Corpus Christi, Laredo

Zone 5: McAllen

For more detailed information on zones, recommended plants, and plant dates, please refer to the Fall Vegetable Gardening Guide for Texas found within the Texas A&M Agrilife Extension website.

Direct Link provided below:
Fall Vegetable Gardening Guide for Texas – Texas A&M Agrilife Extension Service (tamu.edu)

Now that you have discovered your grow zone, you are ready to start planting! Here are a few books we’ve found to be helpful on your plant journey. Feel free to reach out to the Talking Book Program for a more in-depth search into the gardening materials we have to offer.

TEXAS GARDENING THE NATURAL WAY: THE COMPLETE HANDBOOK by Howard Garrett (DBC 18790)
The complete handbook for Texas gardening the natural way. How to design, plant, and maintain gardens and lawns, with over 600 native and adaptable plants. Organic product recommendations and resources as well.

NEIL SPERRY’S COMPLETE GUIDE TO TEXAS GARDENING by Neil Sperry (DBC 14567)
This reference book is the acknowledged source for novice and veteran Texas gardeners. Radio/TV personality Sperry tells gardeners everything they need to know about growing fruits and vegetables, lawn maintenance, landscaping, and other subjects.

HERB GARDENING IN TEXAS by Sol Meltzer (DBC 12002)
All the information you need to grow and use herbs, including herbs used to ward off insects, pests, and gourmet recipes using herbs.

EASY GARDENING FOR TEXAS by Joseph Gebran Masabni (DBC 17955)
“Full sun” in Texas means six to eight hours starting in the early morning, and shade in the afternoon. Gardening in the Lone Star State has unique challenges, but that doesn’t mean you can’t grow vegetables here. Learn what varieties to plant for the best harvest, which insects are your foes and which are your friends, what vegetables you can grow in Texas winters, and how to keep weeds to a minimum.

POSTAGE STAMP GARDEN BOOK: HOW TO GROW ALL THE FOOD YOU CAN EAT IN VERY LITTLE SPACE BY INTENSIVE GARDENING TECHNIQUES by Duane Newcomb (DB 09694)
A botanist explains clearly how to exploit the small plot to its fullest advantage through intensive methods of cultivation. Emphasis is on organic gardening.

VEGETABLE GARDENING (DB 14655)
Step-by-step guide for growing vegetables in a window box or a large garden provides instruction for buying seeds, preparing the soil, making compost, and double digging. Includes a quick and easy planting chart.

SQUARE FOOT GARDENING by Mel Bartholomew (DB 21079)
A system of gardening that the author claims consumes at least 80 percent less space, time, and money than is normally spent while still producing continuous harvests. The book is a companion piece to the PBS television series of the same name.

ENABLING GARDEN: A GUIDE TO LIFELONG GARDENING by Gene Rothert (DB 43253)
A step-by-step guide to barrier-free gardening for people with disabilities and older adults. Provides a checklist for assessing one’s gardening abilities, then offers advice on selecting appropriate structures, tools, equipment, plants, and garden designs.

ACCESSIBLE GARDENING: TIPS AND TECHNIQUES FOR SENIORS AND THE DISABLED by Joann Woy (DB 49080)
Advises gardeners with special needs on ideas, tools, and methods. Topics include garden design and layout, raised beds, container and tabletop gardening, easy composting, watering, lawn care, and accessories to facilitate physical tasks. An appendix lists sources of tools, supplies, and information.

KID’S GUIDE TO CONTAINER GARDENING by Stephanie Bearce (DB 70025)
Explains how to grow plants—herbs, vegetables, flowers—in pots, tubs, wooden boxes, or any other container that will hold soil. Discusses the advantages of these portable gardens, selecting the right plant for your climate, and keeping it growing. For grades 3-6.

SUPER SIMPLE HANGING GARDENS: A KID’S GUIDE TO GARDENING by Alex Kuskowski (DB 81571)
Provides techniques for growing plants in hanging containers and explains how to choose the right tools, soil, plants, and pots. Discusses safety precautions and includes instructions for making your own containers, including one for upside-down plants. For grades 3-6.

HOW TO HAVE A GREEN THUMB WITHOUT AN ACHING BACK: A NEW METHOD OF MULCH GARDENING by Ruth Stout (DB 53896)
The author, the sister of mystery writer Rex Stout, left New York City for the Connecticut countryside in 1929 and began experimenting in the garden. Her anecdotes record her trials, tribulations, and the new methods she devised to simplify her work.

JIM WILSON’S CONTAINER GARDENING by James W. Wilson (DB 59191)
Former PBS Victory Garden host advises people who want to explore gardening in pots, troughs, and other vessels. Provides information on containers, soil mixtures, and plants, herbs, and vegetables appropriate for various locations and situations. Includes condensed encyclopedia of plants adapted to container gardening.

RAISED BED GARDENING: A COMPLETE BEGINNERS GUIDE: GROW EVERYTHING FROM HERBS TO TOMATOES IN YOUR OWN CUSTOM RAISED BEDS by Tara Nolan (DB 115673)
A complete beginner’s guide, you will learn everything you need to know to prepare and execute your garden plan and grow and harvest your produce. The book includes: plans for building quick-and-simple beds that you can make yourself with a few common tools; details on how to build the right soil mix to fill your beds; list of the easiest plants to grow as a beginner; plant information, along with which plants work best with other plants; planting advice, including spacing instructions; advice on mulch, watering, and fertilizing; organic pest control; how to harvest and store your produce; and more.

THERESA YOUSSEF’S VEGETABLE GARDENING FOR BEGINNERS by Theresa Youssef (DB 62130)
Basic gardening guide covers soil preparation, crop selection, organic and container methods, and pest control. Provides instructions for growing eighteen vegetables and four herbs—onions, lettuce, spinach, peas, cabbage, potatoes, broccoli, beets, carrots, radishes, tomatoes, squash, corn, beans, peppers, cucumbers, eggplants, okra, parsley, mint, basil, and catnip—grouped according to hardiness.

CARROTS LOVE TOMATOES: SECRETS OF COMPANION PLANTING FOR SUCCESSFUL GARDENING by Louise Riotte (DBC 19721)
Plant parsley and asparagus together and you’ll have more of each but keep broccoli and tomato plants far apart if you want them to thrive. Utilize the natural properties of plants to nourish the soil, repel pests, and secure a greater harvest.

MISTER OWITA’S GUIDE TO GARDENING: HOW I LEARNED THE UNEXPECTED JOY OF A GREEN THUMB AND AN OPEN HEART by Carol Wall (DBC 24818)
Describes how a period of transition in the journalist author’s life marked by her empty nest, a recent illness, and her aging parents led her to forge a deep friendship with a gifted Kenyan gardener with whom she transformed her yard and shared long-buried secrets.