Jesse Jenkins

Tomatoes are by far the most sought-after fruit in the country, and we are lucky to have two growing seasons to enjoy their goodness! It’s time to get your spring tomatoes planted and we’ve got a great selection from cherry to beefsteak slicers. The list below describes our varieties available.

Tomatoes need good sun for their entire growing season. Plant them in a bed enriched with Cotton Burr Compost. You can also plant them in pots but make sure the pot is large enough; tomato plants get big. Use a good potting mix for your containers. As you plant add a couple tablespoons of Espoma Bio-tone under the roots. This will help your plants get off to a rapid start and develop a strong root system. Feed them with Espoma Plant Tone monthly through the growing season or John’s Recipe containing fish emulsion, molasses, and seaweed every two weeks.

It’s a good idea to put your tomatoes in a cage as soon as you plant them and then wrap the cage with row cover fabric. Cut the fabric to size and pin the sides together on the cage. This will help protect plants from cold snaps and our harsh winds. We carry Grow-Web and N-Sulate fabric.

Remove the cloth when the plant reaches the top of the cage. If it starts blooming before then, shake the cage gently to encourage pollination from the top of the plant down to the bottom. Row cover can also be used to protect all you tender spring vegetables.

See You Soon!

View our Tomato Chart for details on the varieties we have available this year.

-DeAnna & Debbie

Wow! Snow and 2 hard freezes has really hurt my lawn. The only thing growing are the weeds. The weather is now warm enough, but not quite sunny enough to spray your Weed b Gon Spray. Weed killer sprays will work their best with sunshine and no rain. Be sure to check the forecast to see if we are sunny for 3-5 days with no rain or your irrigation system.

Wait to fertilize once your grass is completely out of winter dormancy so it will absorb the fertilizer and give you the results you are looking for.

Have you finished pruning? It not, please prune quickly. The spring flush of new growth is about to happen since the weather has warmed up and you don’t want to miss the opportunity for Mother Nature to give you all that new foliage and then just cut it all off. Watch the video below for tips to proper spring pruning.

Once everything is pruned and new growth begins flushing it is time to fertilize. You will fertilize your tropicals and shrubs with Hibiscus Food, Rose Glo or even easier, Gill Lawn and Garden Food when you fertilize your lawn. Timing is key to a beautiful lawn and landscape once again.

-DeAnna

Driving around town, one surely has noticed the purple blooming trees and if you were within nose shot, their fragrance would make you think of grape soda pop hanging from their branches.

Meet Texas Mountain Laurel -Sophora secundiflora. This native large shrub or small tree has taken center stage all over South Texas landscapes. They are about as tough as a plant can get. They are cold hardy, drought tolerant and will grow in stony alkaline soil. They are evergreen with no disease issues other than an occasional worm that likes their foliage and it’s easy to treat with Thuricide worm control.

These Texas troopers bloom every spring but it seems this year they’re especially beautiful. I’ve noticed them in new and established neighborhoods, full of blooms. What a treat! Their beans are known to be poisonous so keep them away from young ones and pets.

We just got in a great shipment, they’re a grand addition to any landscape! See ya soon!

-Debbie

Spring is upon us once again and with that comes the flush of new growth followed by the awakening of hungry insects! One good product to help keep your new young foliage beautiful this spring is All Seasons Horticultural & Dormant Spray Oil.

Dormant Oil is an easy and organic way of deterring pests by suffocating out anything that may have overwintered on your plants, including any eggs that may have also made it through the winter. January, February and March is the only time we’re cool enough to use it. Use it much later and you run the risk of burning your plants as it is an oil. It’s easy to use- just hook it up to your hose and spray to the point of dripping. It can be used on woody ornamentals, Crape Myrtles, Hibiscus, Allamandas, and many more. I have also found that it helps to soften up the black sooty mold that tends to stay around after an infestation of aphids, whitefly, etc. making it easier to wash/spray off. It also makes the plant sprayed all shiny and new looking again!

Note: Do not use on ferns or succulents!

-Whitney

Birds, Butterflies, and Bees

March 8, 2018/Jesse Jenkins/Comments Off

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Floratam

Pro- Good drought tolerance, better disease tolerance, vigorous growth quick to heal damage and resist weeds

Con- Less shade tolerant than some varieties, less tolerant of some weed killers, less resistant to severe freeze (not a factor this far south), most coarse in texture

TamStar

Pro- Said to have good drought, disease, cold, and shade tolerance

Con- Very new introduction, so we don’t know for sure if these claims will pan out for us

Raleigh

Pro- Good shade, cold tolerance

Con- Poor resistance to drought, disease

Note: There is no St. Augustine resistant to grub worms, and there are situations too shady for any St. Augustine to grow. If shade might be a problem, buy one piece of grass, cut into plugs, plant, water, and fertilize carefully, and if it does not grow over spring and summer, consider flagstone paving, wood deck, shade tolerant groundcovers and shrubs, or a combination of these.

Note: Due to our cold winter, Floratam & Tamstar will be available beginning in April 2018!

-James

Are you challenged with caterpillars, leafminers or whitefly every year? On your bougainvillea, hibiscus, ash or oak trees? If so, now’s the time to apply Bayer Tree & Shrub Drench. Be careful though, not to use on your herbs, veggies & fruit trees.

Another great drench and less expensive, Fertilome Tree & Shrub Systemic Insect Drench doesn’t work well on caterpillars but is great for wooly aphids in hackberry trees, asian cycad scale on sago palms, lace bug on lantana, aphids and whitefly on crape myrtle or even mealy bug that attack your hibiscus every year and drive you crazy with spraying. Again, do not use systemic insecticides on herbs, veggies & fruit trees.

It’s best to monitor your plants and spot spray individual plants when needed, but we all get busy and so the systemic may be the best option for you. We have both products in stock now for your spring application.

We always recommend you use the least toxic product to get rid of damaging insects. For example, aphids get on more plants than anything else in the spring, but on the bright side, they are also very easy to control. Sharp sprays of water many times works to rinse them off the new foliage.

Whatever your insect challenge, come and see us for help in determining the best way to control them. Many times you do not need to spray but rather let Mother Nature take care of the problem with her many beneficial insects preying on the damaging insects. We have ladybugs in stock right now, a great beneficial insect and fun to watch!

-DeAnna

Did you know grubworms come from June bugs? Many folks are reporting seeing June bugs all over the porch since the first of March. They are making their mating flight to lay eggs, hatch grubs and feed off the roots of your grass. Once you begin seeing them you wait 5-6 weeks before you treat. If you have ever lost your lawn to grubs, you know the devastation they can cause. There are several ways to control grubs.

First, is the watch and monitor. If you notice sections of the lawn are prematurely wilting, or turning brown you can dig down and look for grubs. If you find more than 4 in one square foot area, then it is recommended to treat the affected areas with a granular or liquid insecticide drench.

Second, you can spray out Beneficial Nematodes. These microscopic worms attack white grubs and other soil inhabiting insects. Nematodes must be supplied with adequate moisture to help them move down into the soils where grubs are feeding. At least ¼ inch of water must be applied before and ¼ inch just after, nematodes are sprayed into the lawn. Repeat applications may be necessary to maintain a good colony of them. One container covers 2000 sq. ft.

Third, you can apply Bayer Season Long Grubworm killer which lasts for 3 months to give a chemical kill of the grubs. This product attaches to the roots of your grass and kills them as they feed. This year peak time to treat is the first two weeks of April.

-DeAnna

View our Tomato Chart for details on the varieties we have available this year.

Birds, Butterflies, and Bees

Garden Talks

We’re here to help!

We design and install, you enjoy!

Jesse Jenkins

View our Tomato Chart for details on the varieties we have available this year.

Birds, Butterflies, and Bees

Garden Talks

We’re here to help!

We design and install, you enjoy!

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