Texas Gardener Finally Plants Her Fall Patio Vegetables In 5 Gallon Grow Bags After A Hotter Than Normal Fall Made Her Wait Later Than Last Year

In San Antonio, fall vegetable gardening did not start on time this year. A hotter than normal fall kept the cool-season crops waiting, and gardener Tonetra finally got her transplants into the soil later than she did last year.

Potted plants on a sunny patio with fallen autumn leaves.

Her channel, @TonetrasGarden, calls its fans Royals, and this was the second video in her container garden series. The setting is a patio, the containers are 5 gallon grow bags, and the idea is that anyone with a small space can do the same.

“We Have Been Waiting So Long” In Zone 9b To Plant

Tonetra gardens in San Antonio, Texas, in zone 9b. She says everyone there had been waiting a long time to get fall plants in the ground, and the warm weather pushed her a bit later than last year.

She grew every one of her transplants from seed, using a Texas fall garden starter kit. Her garden is in full sun out in the raised bed, while the patio spot gets dappled shade.

That timing matters because the weather decides when the crops can go in, and she says it depends on the season each year. Her patience paid off with a full set of bags ready to grow.

She Planned Her Patio Around The Sun, Not The Furniture

Before any planting, Tonetra rearranged her patio. The morning sun hits one area and the evening sun hits another, so she lined the bags up along those two spots to give the plants as much light as possible.

Because grow bags are portable, she can slide them around if the light changes. That flexibility is one of the biggest advantages of container gardening on a patio.

She filled the bags with Miracle-Gro potting mix, using two bags of 50-quart mix to fill the bags nearly to the top. She smoothed out any clumps and worked in a handful of fertilizer to give the plants a head start.

Four Cool-Season Favorites Went In First

Cabbage came first. She chose Copenhagen cabbage, which she says does well in containers and raised beds, produces early and still makes big heads for a compact plant. She set it right at soil level and pressed it in.

Next were red giant mustards, a mustard green that starts out green and turns a deep burgundy in fall and winter. “You have to have this variety in your seed collection,” she said, and she made sure to mix the fertilizer in so it would not burn the roots.

Broccoli followed. She grew Di Cicco last year, and it did well in the South and grows fast.

Last was Lacinato kale, also called dino kale, which she loves for its color, structure and leaf texture. It is hardy, she says, and keeps producing through the winter.

Turnips And Sugar Snap Peas Went In From Seed

Two crops were sown directly in the bags. In one she planted purple top turnips, hoping for six turnips from a single bag. She dropped about 12 seeds in, two to a divot, and one in the middle, just to be sure enough would sprout.

Holes do not need to be deep, and she said seedlings should pop up in about 4 to 5 days if the soil stays moist. She added that you should label your containers if you are not sure what you planted.

The other bag got sugar snap peas, about 12 seeds sown roughly an inch deep, one per cell. For support she used tomato cages as a trellis, and she warned that a pointed cage leg can poke a hole in the bottom of a grow bag, so go gently.

Together the bags make a small but varied harvest: leafy greens, a heading cabbage, broccoli, a root crop and a climbing pea. That mix lets a small patio produce different kinds of food from the same few square feet.

“A Few Hand Scoops Will Go A Long Way” On Top

Her finishing touch was compost. She topped the bags with Black Kow and said a generous layer helps “green these babies up,” because it soaks down into the soil and feeds the plants.

She planned to add compost to the seeded bags once the seedlings germinate. A little scratching with your fingers helps work it in.

Tonetra promised to keep updating the series as the plants grow, so followers can see how the bags perform through the season.

Tips For Starting Your Own Patio Garden

Her method boils down to a few steps that work almost anywhere. Pick the sunniest spot you have, because most vegetables want as much light as they can get. Use bags or pots large enough for the roots, and fill them with fresh potting mix rather than garden soil.

Feed the plants at planting time and again on top with compost. Keep seeded containers evenly moist until sprouts appear, and give climbing plants like peas a trellis from the start so the roots are not disturbed later.

Finally, match your crops to your season. Cabbage, broccoli, mustards and kale all thrive in cooler weather, which is why Tonetra plants them in fall in Texas. Waiting for the weather, even a little longer than planned, is part of the rhythm of the garden.

Willow and Hearth