Growing Your Own Food In Lubbock Is A Challenge, But Also A Joy

I didn't mean to start a food garden this year; I was going to keep it simple with some herbs in containers. However, my compost heap decided to have a glow-up, and the results have been a rollercoaster of emotions for me.

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What Can You Grow In Lubbock? Potatoes!

Turns out you can grow potatoes completely by accident. I threw some skunky old potatoes in my compost, chopped them up roughly with my shovel, and then they grew!

I was able to tell the plants were going to be potatoes because I pulled one plant up, which was still attached to a (very degraded) potato piece. Since I put these potatoes in the dirt way back in January (and did have to "save" them from a frost with leaves and a turned-over trash can), I was already able to harvest my taters (you know a new potato is "done" when the green, above-ground part has died off). It's not a huge crop, but enough to gift some and make a meal for myself. It's magic!

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What You Can Grow? In Lubbock

The pototes were not the only volunteers this year. I also have pumpkin vines, which have been a source of happiness and stress over these last months. They will cycle through looking fantastic and then looking puny (I suspect they have squash bugs), and while they have bloomed, they have not produced any baby pumpkins. They are long past the time frame they should have been, so my pumpkin crop may be a bust. If I had managed pets better, I probably would have had better results.

Is It Past Time To Grow Anything?

If you are reading this when I wrote it (June) you may think you've missed your chance to plant anything. Not so! According to Lubbock Master Gardeners, you can sow eggplant and watermelon outside, or start some cruciferous veggies inside. They made an awesome plant map for our area. Check it out here.

Don't Get Discouraged

Gardening will always have ups and downs, from unexpected little disasters to wonderful, happy surprises. There is so much you can grow in Lubbock if you have a little patience, have realistic expectations, and are willing to gain wisdom incrementally year after year. And if you ever have Lubbock-specific questions, you can always check the Lubbock Master Gardeners' website for really wonderful advice.