Pepper and tomatoes do well in sunny, warm locations. You can probably plant those right now. Maybe buy them as seedlings this year, and try growing them yourself next year. I would wait until fall to plant your garlic. My green beans do well in warm weather. I just keep replanting all summer until the first freeze.

My cilantro is sprouting up right now, even though it's still kind of cool out. You could probably get away with planting that. A nice bonus is cilantro is easy to grow from seed. Plus I didn't have to plant any cilantro this year, because last year's crop (despite my best efforts) re-seeded itself. I have so many cilantro plants growing right now I will have to pull a few up to transplant my basil into my herb garden.

If you treat parley well, it will come back next year. Beware though - it will grow big and need it's own space. Parsley is a little more tricky to plant from seed. Case in point - I planted about five containers of parsley last year, and only one set of plants came back. Start multiple containers of parley inside, harden them off, and transplant outside.

Good luck with your first garden. Expect a few bumps in the road, and just keep thinking of all the fresh veggies you will get to eat. Also, think about pest control. I hear armadillos can be a real nuisance in TX. Here we have rabbit troubles, but a good fence keeps them at bay. You might have to deal with more bug problems than I do here in WI. Think seriously about whether you want to use chemicals or look at more organic options. Whichever direction you take, just make sure you read up on it. Finally, consider how you want to water your plants. Here in WI we usually get a sufficient amount of rain most seasons. I know it can be a wee bit dryer in TX. Consider investing in drip irrigation, or at the very least a rain barrel. Good luck!

Mollysmom, for information very specific to your location, contact your county extension agent. He/she can point you in the right direction online or can even put something in the mail to you. Or you can even do a search like:

tamu corpus christi vegetable planting chart

Tamu stands for Texas A&M University. I live in a very small town and they have a chart for my county that works great. If you visit the extension office, there are skillions of pamphlets that you can have to take home. I hope this helps you some.

Kristi

mollysmom, I wouldnt expect much in the way of success if you plant tomatoes right now. It is a bit late to start them as the temps will be too high for fruit set pretty quickly.
About the only thing I know you could plant right now and have good success with would be okra.

Here is a link that might be useful: link

You are probably too late for a spring crop of tomatoes but you should be able to get a fall crop for your area. Tomato pollination can only occur within a certain range of temperatures, which get too high in the summer in the South.

I do think you can still plant many plants and have success.

You can probably still plant: okra, winter squash, summer squash, pumpkins, watermelons, peppers (transplants), cucumbers, sweet potatoes, and muskmelons. All of these should still be fine. I started squash and pumpkins in July last year and they grew fine in the summer. (My summers are hot and humid.)

If you want any cool weather crops you will have to wait until the fall planting season, which you should have dates from your cooperative extension service.

The cool weather crops include: beets, lettuce, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, collards, mustards, garlic, English peas, spinach, and radishes. (The lists do not include all vegetables, but the more common ones should be there.)

If you want cilantro, you should also do that during fall and winter because it will bolt very quickly in the heat. You could probably plant it now but you want to harvest it young .

Does anyone know if the city of Corpus sells compost? I am trying to fill a raised bed. Any suggestions?

Google "compost corpus christi" or here's a link.

Kevin

Here is a link that might be useful: Texas compost suppliers

Any time you purchase compost from a local municipality be sure to ask them what all is in their compost. Frequently I've found that greenery that has been treated with herbicides are added in just as frequently as "clean" greenery. If you are trying to grow sensitive vegetables or tender new growth plants, you may find it dies before it has a chance to grow. I have found that it is better (not necessarily faster) to find a local horse stable and volunteer to take away some of their oldest manure as well as friends and neighbors leaves every fall and spring. Dig down as far as I can, throw the manure and leaves in, then add the dirt back in.... It all breaks down and your soil will reward you for years.