Interview with Master Gardener Bishop Bond

What can we do in our garden in November?
It's not too late to plant green top vegetables (broccoli, cabbage, lettuce, beets, carrots and brussel sprouts.) The broccoli and cabbage plants can survive if we get a light freeze or frost. When we need a salad for dinner, I just go out and pick off enough leaves for the meal.

Broccoli, cabbage and red leaf lettuce

When I asked about a freeze date, Bishop Bond kind of chuckled. Obviously, you can't pin nature down to a freeze date. If it doesn't freeze, (which it frequently doesn't) your tomatoes and peppers can continue producing until you pull them out to plant your spring garden. Sometimes, you just take the gamble and plant the tomatoes anyway. A 4 pack of  tomato plants is about the same price as a tomato at the store. Your investment just might pay off..
What are you doing now in your garden to prepare for a Spring planting? 
I had a lot of problems with blossom rot this year. In reading up on it, I learned that blossom rot is a result of uneven watering and a lack of calcium in the soil. I plan on working a couple of bags of medina fertilizer into the soil in January. It's available at Lake Hardware.
I have a friend who set up a sprinkler on a PVC pipe to water the garden evenly and he only waters during the day to avoid diseases that can be introduced by wet soil overnight.
He motioned to one bed that was weeds on one half. He said about two weeks before planting, he was going spray roundup on the weeds and turn them into the soil to prepare for planting. Except for the Bermuda grass, he was going to pull that. The soil level in a raised bed tends to decrease for a variety of reasons and needs to replaced. A few bags of peat moss or black cow can add needed nutrients and replace the lost soil.
If you mix river sand into the gumbo here it actually makes pretty good garden soil, but it is hard to do by hand. You would need a tiller. If you want to build a raised bed, you can buy dirt from Texas Garden Soils (9306 FM 523 Freeport, TX)
What pests have you had in your garden this year and how do you get rid of them?
I've had stink bugs and you have to pick them off by hand. Last year my wife bought me a small, hand vac to use to suck up the bugs. It's great. tomato worms you have to pick off by hand (I've read they are easiest to find in the mornings). They lay eggs when the plants are about 2/3 mature. Sprinkle the plants with Sevin dust until they start to bear fruit to prevent eggs. I've also had squash bores this year. They're hard to find, you just have to pick them off the plants.
To keep fire ants out of the garden, sprinkle Amdro around the edges of the garden, but keep it away from the plants. Also, don't use Amdro with root plants such as potatoes, onions, or carrots.
With the drought this year, what can we plant in the garden that will do well in dry conditions?
My okra did well this year and the blackberries. Sister Bond uses the okra in soups and seafood dishes. She also has a great recipe for a gumbo type dish that is healthier than traditional gumbo. (I think we will need to get that recipe for a future post.)
Random Tips
Use old nylons to tie up your tomato plants when they need additional support. (Support hose?)

His peach trees produced well this year. When looking for a peach tree, look for a species that requires 300 or less freeze hours. The fewer the better, but at least less than 300.
Figs also produced very well this year.
He bought some Kiowa blackberries and they produce huge blackberries.