The City of Corpus Christi and Texas Agrilife Extension have joined together for another free soil testing campaign. Have you had your soil tested lately? If not, please take advantage of this opportunity. The report will tell you your soil nitrogen, phosphorus & potassium levels and acidity level and can help you select the right fertilizer for your landscape. Stop by either store and pick up the form and bag to prepare your sample. This is limited to the first 350 samples, so don’t delay.
Not everyone has a large area in the backyard to garden, but did you know that most vegetables can be grown in containers. Clay pots, plastic pots, hanging baskets or even the new trendy Grow Bagz. Burpee Seed packets show a small pot on the label to show which varieties are easily grown in containers. Beans, beets, cabbage, carrots, collards, bush cucumbers, lettuce, mustard greens, tomatoes, peppers and squash, just to name a few. All of the greens do great in hanging baskets if you are limited on ground space. Start out small and pick a few of your favorites and try a small patio garden. Home grown…the best!!
–DeAnna
During the holidays, I made an exciting trek to Vietnam to visit my son and grandchildren. I use the word trek because of the hundreds of stairs and cavern climbing involved. Needless to say it jump started my resolution to get in shape!
The country was breathtaking and full of heritage. Each place we visited had its own culture and uniqueness. Cities and towns were full of activity and people. Food vendors, craft pieces and street markets were abundant. All were an experience to remember. I will say the traffic and motorbikes were quite challenging.
It did not take me long to notice the plants! I knew that Hanoi was similar in climate to Corpus Christi and actually hotter so I knew some plants would be similar. I still was so surprised to see all the lantana and turks cap everywhere. Peace lilies or spathphyllum were used as ground cover in many places. Budda belly jatrophas, hibiscus and allamandas were very prevalent. I certainly did smile when I saw ruellia in many yards since we refer to them as Mexican petunias. Daily flower markets held many local grown delights as in lilies, roses and landscape beds had pansies, violas and celosia. Cymbidium or ground orchids were considered very special and the sole plant grown in many nurseries. Vietnam was certainly a visual and culinary feast.
-Mary, Assistant Manager Of Our Alameda Store
January-February is prime time to fertilize your citrus plants. We recommend Espoma Citrus-tone for organic gardening. It is long lasting and it feeds the soil and the tree. Citrus-tone recommends to feed Jan-Feb as a pre-bloom application to enhance flowering and May-June as an after bloom application to encourage better fruit set. Apply at the rate of 2 cups per foot of height. Another option is to feed newly/young citrus trees ¼ pound of Fertilome Fruit, Citrus, & Pecan Food after they begin growing in early spring. Repeat feeding every 6 weeks until June 1st. Please always read the label and follow directions. Pick up our handout for more information on citrus care.
-Debbie
Fruit trees such as peaches, plums and avocados are easy to grow in South Texas. Peaches and plums require colder weather for fruit production and with our mild winters we have to look for low chilling hour varieties. Somewhere between 100-250 hours is best. We make sure the varieties we sell are self pollinating so you do not have to buy two different varieties to insure fruit production. Citrus is a winner all the way around.
In December and more in January, Sally’s been harvesting lemons from her parent’s Meyer lemon trees by the bucket load and shipping them all over the country. We think they are the juiciest, best flavored lemons ever!
Several varieties of citrus can also be grown in pots if you have limited yard space. Mexican Limes and Meyer Lemons are the two most common.
Many Satsuma Oranges are considered dwarf varieties and are very cold hardy and great container trees as well. Avocado trees can be a little harder to grow, but once they become established they are easy to maintain. We have a great selection of all fruiting trees and now is a great time to plant.
-DeAnna
Beautiful weather; makes us want to get out and do yard work, right? It’s time to prune your hardy shrubs and groundcovers like Lantana, Firebush, Esperanza and more. Wait for indian hawthorne to bloom before pruning in March. Also, hold off a few more weeks on the tender tropicals like Hibiscus and Bougainvilleas. Roses should be pruned this week if you have not already pruned them back. Valentine’s Day can be an easy reminder for your rose pruning. Also remember to spray Bonide’s All Seasons Spray Oil on Irises, Cast Iron, Hollies and Flax lilies to help prevent scale insects this spring. Wait to fertilize the lawn until you are mowing once a week, probably mid March. Fertilizer is taken up with growth and most lawns and plants are still dormant. Do begin watering the lawn and landscape again on average once a week. We have been warming up quickly and yet we’ve had no rainfall to speak of so the ground is dry and ready for water. Water slow and deep, one inch every two weeks. Your lawn and plants will thank you.
-DeAnna
I am so happy I inherited “nature-loving” and “adventure-loving” genes from my mother, Ruth Gill. Plants and animals and fish and clouds and oceans and ecosystems and weather, etc…. Just Wow!!!!! So I started my 63rd year with a marvelous adventure to Pohnpei, Micronesia, a tiny speck of an island well west of Hawaii, but east of New Guinea. Sokehs Rock is sort of a symbol for Pohnpei, and still has Japanese gun emplacements from WWII. The island is mostly mountainous cut by river valleys, with high rainfall creating thick jungle and numerous waterfalls.The atoll reef surrounding the island provides fabulous scuba diving and surfing. An early civilization created Nan Madol, a now ruined city, starting around the 8th century AD, by stacking basalt columns like logs, and backfilling with rock, coral, and soil. There are approximately 100 man-made islets surrounded by a network of canals. Local legend is that magic was used to transport the multi-ton rocks from miles away and stack them. Diving on the reef, hiking through the jungle to remote waterfalls, surfing big waves, and flying a 737 for the first time (Jim, my surfing buddy, was the pilot) were all part of a grand adventure.
-James
[content_band inner_container=”false” no_margin=”true” border=”none” padding_top=”0px” padding_bottom=”0px” ][column type=”one-half” first=”true”] 
[/column][column type=”one-half” last=”true”]
[/column][/content_band]
Valentine’s Day is a time to remember our loved ones with candy and flowers. It also is the perfect time to prune roses. Late January to mid February is the best time. Prune established hybrid teas, removing dead and small twiggy growth, leaving strong healthy canes to a plant height of 18-24 inches. Try to prune to an outward facing bud to maintain spreading, open growth. Prune shrub roses like Knockouts 1/3 to 1/2 the plant height. Do not prune climbers until after the Spring bloom, then removing only the oldest canes and cutting back healthy, vigorous canes no more than 1/3. Remove spent blooms throughout the season on all rose varieties, cutting back to the first 5 leaflet cluster. You can also begin fertilizing your roses in late February with Bayer Systemic Rose and Flower Care, or organically with Maestro Rose Glo. Gill Landscape Nursery stocks disease resistant roses (ask for them), but if you have hybrid teas, as soon as new growth appears you should begin a spray program to control insects and diseases. Bayer 3 in 1 Insect, Disease and Mite Control, takes care of all rose problems. For organic controls, use Neem Oil for insects and disease or Serenade to control diseases. A regular spray program keeps your roses healthy and happy. Remember fungal diseases are always easier to prevent than to cure.
