Jesse Jenkins

Temperatures may not feel like it yet, but it’s time to start making the transition into an exciting new Fall planting season! There’s a lot to do in August to set yourself up for big garden success this Fall and beyond. Here are our top must-do’s!

Check out our August Garden Guide for more tips and remember that trees, shrubs, and perennials can be planted 12 months out of the year! The only difference is the amount of water they need depending on temperatures and wind!

1. Water to Maintain Depth Moisture!

Yay for rain!! It looks like there might even be some more in the forecast late next week! Since we have the luxury of good depth moisture, our goal with watering this month should be to maintain it. For lawns and established plants and trees, this means watering less frequently, but watering deeply when you water. New plantings will require water every day for the first couple weeks to get the roots established, but again, think deep drinks so the roots dive deeper. Use a water wand with a cut-off valve to make it easy on you and conserve water. Pro tip: Conserve water by watering at ground level, not spraying from above. This way, water soaks down to the roots rather than evaporating off the leaves.

2. Start Planting for Fall Pollinators!

Important fact: birds, bats, bees, butterflies, beetles, and small mammals that pollinate plants are responsible for bringing us one out of every three bites of food. Plants attract and provide food for them to keep the cycle going. For example – plant Zinnia and sunflower seeds now, and they’ll be ready to feed migrating birds this Fall. Plant salvias now, get roots established, and they’ll be gorgeous this Fall and covered in hummingbirds, butterflies, and bees. Take it a step further and plant Texas natives! They provide for pollinators and require less water once established. If you’re excited about planting natives for pollinators, check out Homegrown National Park! It’s a nationwide movement to plant natives and restore native biodiversity at home. Just by planting a few native plants, you can get your yard on the map and become part of the Homegrown National Park.

3. Pick Out Your Seeds!

Watching your plants grow from a tiny seed is exciting and rewarding! Our Fall Vegetable Planting Guide provides the specific seed-planting dates to help plan your Fall garden. In early August, we’ll receive the new 2024-2025 seeds from our favorite seed suppliers, including heirloom vegetables, new releases, and wildflower seeds. Use peat pots or seed starting trays to start seeds indoors this month, then move to a covered patio once they sprout. This will protect the seedlings and slowly acclimate them to outdoor temps.

4. Prep Your Garden Beds

August is the time to start prepping Fall veggie beds! Finish your Summer harvesting, clean out your beds, and pull weeds. To get your soil ready, we recommend mixing Nature’s Blend Compost or Cotton Burr Compost into your soil to replenish nutrients and loosen the soil before planting. About 1 bag per 12 sq. ft. is good. Once prepped, add a thick layer of pine straw mulch, which will help retain moisture, keep weeds from sprouting, and keep the soil cooler until you’re ready to plant. As you plan your space, think crop rotation – don’t plant the same veggies in the exact same place you planted them last season, or you encourage pests and diseases.

5. Mulch for Moisture Retention

We know fresh mulch is the quickest way to refresh the look of your landscape. Proper mulching has other big benefits, especially during hot weather. A good 3” deep layer of mulch will keep your plants and the soil moist and cool for longer after you water or after it rains. Not just a little cooler – we’re talking more than 25 degrees cooler!! Give the main trunks or stems of your plants a little space – mulch 3” deep throughout the bed, but no more than 1” deep against the main trunks/stems of plants.

6. What About All the Weeds??

With all this amazing rain comes lots of weeds! We can’t apply weed killer to lawns right now because temperatures are still too high – we need to stay below 90 degrees to be able to treat existing lawn weeds. For now, keep the lawn mowed to prevent weeds from going to seed, and apply pre-emergent Weed Stopper with Dimension to prevent new weeds from sprouting. For landscape beds, we recommend spot treating weeds with an organic contact killer like Horticultural Vinegar or Captain Jack’s Deadweed Brew. For pesky Bermuda grass in beds, spot treat with Grass-B-Gon, and for our old friend nutsedge (aka nut grass), use Sedgehammer. Keep in mind, Bermuda grass and nutsedge will likely require several applications to eradicate.

There really is something to being a creature of habit. Oftentimes James and I are flying down the highway, pass a roadside nursery, look at each other, nod, make a U-turn and stop for a “quick” visit. Just as much as the plants, we enjoy meeting the nursery owners and hearing their stories, how they got started and where they’re going. We love greenhouses and what grows in them! It’s really cool to find, for instance, a mature crown of thorns that’s been in a big old cracked pot for 20 years and has taken on a crazy interesting character and form.

This summer, on the way to our cabin, we stopped for a few nights at Ted Turner’s Vermejo Ranch in Northern New Mexico. Yes, Ted Turner of CNN, environmentalist and land conservationist. Vermejo is a ranch with about 550,000 acres, 2,000 miles of gravel roads, 7,500 elk, 1,200 bison, 1,000 pronghorn antelope, 300 bighorn sheep and 1 greenhouse.

Of course James and I spotted the greenhouse right away. Come to find out, they offer tours of the greenhouse and garden. Sign us up! The last day of our stay, we met our guide, Jess from Maine, and got our tour. Most fortunate for us, she has been solely in charge of the greenhouse and garden plant selection, production, and maintenance for the past seven years.

Last year Jess grew 800 pounds of tomatoes, many heirloom – wow! In summers she grows lettuces, Swiss chard, radishes, micro-greens, cucumber, multicolor carrots, miniature eggplant and in the fall she grows arugula, kale, broccoli, and all year long she grows herbs and edible flowers like snapdragons, pansies, viola, marigold, yarrow and calendula. It’s a great reminder to me to use flowers to dress up my dinner plate!

Jess’ greenhouse and garden space is limited, so she opts not to grow potatoes and onions because they take up more space, are easy to acquire through her local vendors, and don’t enhance the culinary experience as much as other specialty crops. She prefers purchasing her seed from Johnny’s Seed out of Maine, her home state, and Baker Creek (sold at Gill’s), both offering extensive selection of unusual seed. The Vermejo chef is from Italian heritage, so he’ll often persuade Jess to try a seed selection close to his family’s homeland and heart.

Jess is very clear she practices pure organic gardening. No man-made chemicals. She believes in the squishing method to control bugs, like between your thumb and index finger, and complimentary plantings. For example, she has a big chamomile crop that attracts hundreds of lady bugs that then eat the insects off her squash and cauliflower.

Her greatest pleasure is watching the kitchen staff work with her produce, and the guests as they enjoy her garden greens, edible flowers and herbs. One of our dinners the appetizer was Peruvian Ceviche made with rock fish, cilantro, watermelon radish, apples, and cucumbers. Oh my, amazing!! And, she’s married to the pastry chef, so she gives him a heads up of herbs coming on, like chives, that would complement his creations.

And finally, she loves taking the Vermejo guests on tours of her growing operation. Jess delights when a young guest spots a huge cucumber tucked in amongst the leaves of the mother plant, or a huge purple tomato, ready to be harvested. She loves picking leaves off basils, mints, rosemary and thyme, challenging the guests to “name that herb”.

Jess is experimenting, recording and learning best practices for greenhouse gardening and bringing the flavors of the freshest harvests to Ted’s Vermejo guests in Northern New Mexico – truly farm to table. What a great stop along the road!

– Sally Gill

It sure feels like summer outside, but in order for fall tomatoes and peppers to have time to produce lots of fruit, we gotta plant em now! Here are a few tips for growing the most and the tastiest tomatoes and peppers.

1. Count Your Days to Maturity

The average tomato, like our beloved Celebrity slicing tomato, needs about 70-80 days to mature and produce fruit. That means they’ll be ready around the beginning of November if we plant today. Similarly, Jalepenos and bell peppers need 60-80 days to maturity. Be sure to get them planted now or very soon so you can get a good harvest before we have chances of cold weather which tomatoes and peppers can’t handle.

2. Adequate Spacing + Cages for Support

When planting, keep in mind that tomatoes should be planted a good 4 feet apart, and peppers should be 2.5-3 feet apart. This gives them room to grow to their full potential, ensures good airflow around the plants, and helps prevent pest outbreaks. Remember – tomato cages are your friends! It’s important to cage the tomato right when you plant so you don’t risk breaking branches if you try to add a cage later. A tomato cage works great for supporting pepper plants too. And be sure to have some flexible green garden tie tape to help secure floppy branches, especially when they get heavy with fruit! The flexible tape is nice because it’s soft and won’t cut into the plant like string or wire would. Yes, we have some!

3. Follow DeAnna’s Tried & True Feeding Schedule

Remember that plants use lots of energy to produce fruit, so they need plenty of good food! Use compost and Biotone Starter Plus you plant to promote good soil microbes and bigger roots. Then take DeAnna’s advice on feeding: apply a quality granular fertilizer (Plant Tone or Medina Growin Green) on the 1st of the month, then supplement with liquid Hasta Gro on the 15th. Add these reminders to your calendar to make it easy. Follow this schedule and you’ll have tomatoes & peppers to share!

It’s almost that magical time of year again when ruby-throated hummingbirds make their way through the Coastal Bend on their way south for the winter! Expect to start seeing hummingbirds around town any day now, with peak numbers around mid-late September, right in time for the Rockport-Fulton Hummerbird Celebration. With our hungry guests arriving very soon, it’s time to set the table with all the right hummingbird plants! Here’s what and how to plant to make your yard a preferred stop on the migration path.

1. Plant Tubular Blooms in Shades of Orange and Red

If we think about our list of top-notch hummingbird-attracting plants like Firebush (pictured), Flame Acanthus, Firecracker (russelia), Salvia greggii, and Coral Honeysuckle, to name a few, they all have tubular blooms that are perfect for a hummingbird’s long, skinny beak. And their blooms are all shades of orange and red! Hummingbirds have a high concentration of cones in their retinas which filter color differently than what we see. To hummingbirds, the red spectrum appears more vividly while blues appear more muted. That said, scientists have run experiments with different color blooms and found that hummingbirds learn very fast which blooms have the most nectar, regardless of bloom color. As a local example, we know that hummingbirds also love Duranta‘s blooms which are purple and not tube-shaped. Lantanas are another plant that hummingbirds seem to love in all colors.

2. Plant in Groups, Not Just 1 or 2

When planting for hummingbirds and other pollinators, make your food sources easy to find. Instead of planting 1’s and 2’s of hummingbird plants spread out across the yard, plant a few or several of the same plant in a group. This helps mimic how most plants are found in nature, helps the hummingbirds spot them more easily, and provides a higher concentration of nectar. If you have limited space, go with 3 of the same plant rather than 1 of each. We had a customer call Gill’s this week to ask about hummingbird plants for her balcony…on the 13th floor! That may seem like a stretch, but hummingbirds can fly up to 500 feet – if they have a good reason to fly up to your balcony, they can and will!

3. Supplement with High Quality Organic Food and Shallow Water

The right plants will get you more hummingbirds, but it doesn’t hurt to supplement with some feeders too. They need all the energy they can get for their long journey. Place your feeders in easy to access spots since they need to be cleaned regularly. And don’t use the fake red dyed “nectar” that you might find at big box stores. Use a high-quality, nutritious food that’s truly made for hummingbirds. We’re big fans of organic Hummingbird Momma, which is the only nectar we carry. And don’t forget about water! No hummingbird haven is complete without a shallow bird bath or fountain. They can’t stand in deeper water, so look for something very shallow!

Fall planting season is here!! September is the best time to plant almost everything. And the recent rain is excellent news for getting started! Here are our top 7 must-do’s this month as we head into our favorite season in Corpus Christi and the Coastal Bend.

Check out our September Garden Guide for more tips!

1. Ready, Set, PLANT Veggies, Herbs, Citrus, and Fruits!

It’s time! Tomatoes, peppers, & warm weather edibles should be planted by now, or at the latest, early September. Plant cool weather veggies & herbs anytime in September and remember to shelter them from still-intense sun and keep watered. When planting, you can’t go wrong with organic BioTone starter fertilizer + a good handful of Earthworm Castings. Neither of these require precise measurement, and they make an incredible combo for building stronger, deeper roots, preventing pests, and creating an active soil environment for plants to thrive.

Here’s our Fall veggie planting schedule. And save space for citrus trees, figs, and other fruits to round off your garden grocery store! They’ll all be arriving before or right around mid-September.

2. Plant Trees and Shrubs for the BEST Start

Plants that are cold hardy (trees and woody shrubs) will benefit greatly by planting during our fall season. They’re under less heat stress, and they grow more roots through the fall and winter, making them stronger and ready to take off next spring. More roots, stronger plants, and less watering! Oak trees, Crape Myrtles, Hawthorns, Yaupon Holly, Plumbago, Boxwoods and a host of other trees and shrubs should be planted starting this month for the best start.

3. Plant to Support Pollinators!

We’re bringing in lots of new plants this month with our pollinator friends in mind! While you’re choosing what to plant, consider adding Texas Natives like Turk’s Cap and Lantana that birds and bees love. If you want to attract and support butterflies, try native butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa), Gregg’s mist flower, and lots of different blooming salvias. So many gorgeous options! Bring in some pictures of your outdoor space and we can help you plan the perfect pollinator garden – big or small. You can DIY or we can plant it for you!

4. Set the Table for the Fall Hummingbird Migration!

Ruby-throated hummingbirds will soon make their way through for the fall migration! These tiny birds are BIG eaters. They stop here in the Coastal Bend to fuel up before their non-stop flight across the Gulf of Mexico. Host them in your yard by planting some of their favorite foods! Hummingbirds find plants using their excellent vision and are attracted to bright colored blooms, which indicate a high-sugar food source. Some of our favs for South Texas are Flame Acanthus (aka hummingbird bush), Salvias (like native Salvia greggii and Salvia leucantha), Cape Honeysuckle, Firecracker plant, Coral bean – the list goes on! Plant a few of these and hummingbirds will find them. And don’t forget to visit the Rockport-Fulton HummerBird Celebration September 19-22!

5. Make Way for New Growth with Light Pruning and Clean-up

Chances are you have established plants that could benefit from a clean-up after working so hard all summer. Wait until about September 15th and give them a light pruning to make way for new growth this fall. A good rule of thumb for most plants is to prune up to 1/3 (not more) in the fall, then wait until January to do a heavy pruning/cutback. If you have questions about how to prune specific plants, you know who to call!

6. Watch Your Watering and Adjust as Needed

We’ll keep repeating – water to maintain depth moisture! That means water slow and deep. Conserve water and force those roots to dive deeper for moisture. If you use an automatic sprinkler system, take some time this month to give it a good audit. Make sure all your sprinkler heads are working properly, and make sure you are applying a good 1″ of water, evenly, when you water your lawn and established landscape beds and trees. The easy way to do this is to get some simple sprinkler gauges (pictured) and place them in different locations. You may find that different sprinkler zones need various different run times.

7. You’re Invited! Gill Garden Talks and Events this Fall!

Gill Garden Talks and Events are back this Fall! We’re kicking it off with Kids Fest at KEDT studios on September 14th where we’ll be on hand giving away plants, seeds, and other fun garden stuff! Stay tuned here and on Instagram and Facebook for details of each event. We’ve got a few more that we can’t announce just yet 🙂

The slow, soaking rains this week followed by slightly cooler temps make for excellent planting weather. We dare say it’s feeling a little fall-ish! Even though it’s still warm out, right now is the time to plant your fall veggie garden to ensure you can get a good harvest. Here’s our guide to growing the best veggies this fall – plenty for you and plenty to share.

1. Pick Your Plants – Know Your Timing!

Last chance to plant tomatoes and peppers! The average tomato needs 70-80 days to mature and produce fruit. That means they’ll be ready around the mid-late November if we plant now. Similarly, most peppers need 60-80 days to maturity. Be sure to get them planted now or very soon so you can get a good harvest before we have chances of cold weather which tomatoes and peppers can’t handle. While we’re reaching the end of the window to plant tomatoes and peppers, cool weather veggies like broccoli, cabbage, kale, Swiss chard, and cauliflower are just arriving! Even though these can handle cooler temps, you still need to get them in the ground in September to ensure you’ll get a good harvest. Radish and carrot seeds should be started this month as well. Take a look at our Fall veggie planting schedule. And save space for citrus trees, figs, and other fruits! They’ll all be arriving this week and next!

2. Prep and Amend Your Soil

Corpus Christi clay soil and sandy soil in Rockport or on the island both need a boost to make them suitable for growing veggies. Very simple – add compost! Whether you’re in clay or sand, we recommend 1 bag of Nature’s Blend or Cotton Burr compost per 12 square feet to establish a veggie bed. Just work the compost into the first 6-8 inches of the native soil and you’ll have a nice loose and bioactive mix ready for planting. You can use the same rough formula when filling raised beds, or use our Gardener’s Magic soil blend which is formulated for raised beds and already has the compost and other nutrients mixed in – just pour and plant! You can add even more life to your veggie soil by supplementing with earthworm castings, dried molasses, and Bio-Tone starter fertilizer with mycorrhizal fungi. Think of these as probiotics for your soil. Just like our gut microbiome keeps us healthy and balanced, an active soil microbiome will help your veggie plants perform optimally…bigger root systems and more fruit!

3. Give Your Plants Good Spacing and Support

If you’re following this guide, get ready for big growth! Be sure to give your plants adequate spacing to grow to their mature size. For example, tomatoes should be planted a good 4 feet apart, peppers should be 2.5-3 feet apart, and cucumbers, squash, brocolli, and cauliflower should be planted 18″ apart. Good spacing not only gives them room to grow to their full potential, but also ensures good airflow around the plants and helps prevent pest outbreaks. While plants are small, add/build your support structures! We carry tomato cages, wooden trellises, pre-made bamboo trellises, and bamboo poles or t-posts if you want to build your own. And be sure to have some good flexible garden tape!

4. Water Wisely

New veggie plants need water every day, preferably in the morning. Once established, you can water some plants less frequently. The best thing to do is to check your garden every day. You’ll get a good sense for which plants are thirstier than others. Soaker hoses can be a big help. Just snake them through your veggie beds and turn on the tap or use a timer. When watering by hand, think like a soaker hose – water slowly and gently at soil level. Watering over the top of your plants or splashing soil up onto the plants invites fungal disease and pests. A good mulch layer can help prevent soil from splashing up onto your plants, plus prevent weeds and help retain moisture. We love pine straw mulch for veggie gardens because its so easy to work with and it does a better job at suppressing weeds.

5. Fertilize Regularly

If you want your veggies to feed you, you gotta feed them! Plants require LOTS of energy to produce fruit. If you take anything away from this blog, remember DeAnna’s organic fertilizer regimen: granular Plant Tone on the 1st of the month, followed up by liquid Hasta Gro on the 15th. The granular fertilizer will slowly break down and feed your roots, while the liquid Hasta Gro sprayed over the leaves will make the foliage thick and strong. If you want strong plants and amazing veggie production, follow this schedule!

6. Be Ready for Pests

Insect pests in the veggie garden are pretty much inevitable, but controllable. Just like watering, the best way to control pests in the veggie garden is to inspect your plants every day and catch any problems early. We recommend having these 3 organic products on hand: Bt for caterpillars, diatomaceous earth for crawling insects like ants, and spinosad soap for beetles, aphids, and spider mites. If you’re not sure what’s eating your veggies, send us a photo or bring in a sample and we can identify and help you control.

7. Harvest Consistently!

If you follow this guide, you’re going to be set up for a bountiful harvest! It’s very important to harvest regularly so you get to enjoy all your efforts. Some veggies, like beans, squash, and cucumbers will need to be harvested daily! If you’ve grown cucumbers before, you know that one day they’ll look perfect and ripe, then the next day they’ll be twice the size and beyond their prime – huge and fibrous and flavorless. Keep in mind too that birds, bugs, and other critters like ripe fruit too. Harvest it before they do! When you harvest regularly, you’re also helping the plant redirect energy to producing more fruit.

We’re gearing up for lots of fun talks and events this Fall, starting this Saturday at the KEDT Kids Festival! Here’s a preview of what we’ve got planned – projects for kids, our 1st ever drawing club, plus informative talks about using native plants and trees in your landscape. Stay tuned here and on our social media pages for more details as we approach each event. Mark your calendars and read more about each event below!

Saturday, September 14th – 9am-1pm – Kids Festival at KEDT Studios, 3205 S. Staples

We’re back for another awesome Kids Festival at KEDT at 3205 S. Staples! Stop by our booth for free flowers, seeds, and gardening goodies for kids. In addition to fan fav characters Daniel Tiger and Nature Cat, this year’s Kids Festival will feature make & take crafts, a Salsa dance party, the Veteran’s Memorial High School Mariachi band, and more celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month. Attention all parents and kiddos!

Saturday, September 21st – 10am-2pm – Medina Day at Gill’s!

Andy Chidester, passionate gardener and fertilizer expert from Medina Agricultural Products, will be set up here at Gill’s doing giveaways, discussing new products, and sharing tips for making the most of your fall fertilizing. Stop by any time from 10-2 to chat with Andy and learn more about organic fertilizer and soil health. Talk to the makers of our 2 favorite fertilizers: Medina Growin Green and Hasta Gro! We love Medina’s new slogan, “Yogurt for the soil”.

Saturday, September 28th – 10am-11am – Native Alternatives to Common Landscape Plants with Wyatt Page, TCNP

Join Gill’s Assistant Manager, Wyatt Page, for an informative and practical talk about how to incorporate Texas native plants into your landscape. He’ll discuss lots of different commonly used landscape plants side by side with natives that can take their place. Not only will the natives use less water and be more beneficial to pollinators, they’ll look gorgeous too. Big congrats to Wyatt who is now a Texas Certified Nursery Professional by the Texas Nursery and Landscape Association!

Thursday, October 3rd – 6pm-7:30pm – Cenizo Garden Drawing Club – RSVP only

Are you into plants? Do you like to draw? Then come draw plants with us at Gill’s! Our Cenizo Garden Drawing Club welcomes art and plant enthusiasts to an open & friendly gardening community to practice their drawing skills and get to know the plants around them. Join us as we share gardening tips and draw specific plants or gardening still lifes. No drawing experience? No problem! We welcome all levels. Each session is led by a professional artist to help your progress if you choose. This will be a semi-regular event limited to 20 people each session. More details and RSVP info to be announced!

Saturday, October 12th – 10am-2pm – Kids’ Wildflower Seed Ball Party

Bring the kids to get messy and make some wildflower seed balls! October is time to plant wildflowers and seed balls are such a fun and easy way to do it. Seed balls are simply balls formed with our native clay soil + compost, some sand, a little water, and Texas native wildflower seeds. Instead of planting them, you just place them in contact with the ground and they plant themselves! We’ll have stations set up with all the supplies for kids to make their own seed balls to scatter wherever they want to see wildflowers emerge next spring. Great for ages 2-12.

Saturday, October 19th – 10am-4pm – Corpus Christi Bonsai Club Display and Demo

Stop by on Saturday, October 19th to see some incredible bonsai specimens! The Corpus Christi Bonsai Club will be here at Gill’s all day to do demos, discuss the art of bonsai, and show off some beautiful trees. Fun fact – several of our native trees like Yaupon Holly, Ebony, and Cedar Elm are great for bonsai!

Saturday, October 26th – 10am-2pm – Kids’ Pumpkin Painting Day

In honor of National Pumpkin Day, we invite the kids to come paint pumpkins! We’ll have small/medium sized pumpkins plus all the paint and supplies ready to get wild and get creative! Great for ages 2-12. Come paint pumpkins just in time for Halloween!

Saturday, November 2nd – 10am-11am – Success with Texas Native Trees with Mike Montgomery, Gill’s Tree Expert

Join Mike Montgomery, long time tree expert here at Gill’s for his talk focused on Texas native tree varieties that thrive in our area. He’ll cover proper planting, pruning, safety, fertilizing, watering, and more. Perhaps most importantly, he’ll give you lots of ideas for choosing the right tree for the right spot. Bring your tree questions – Mike’s got answers!

Fall is here and it’s time to fertilize lawns, trees, and blooming perennials, plus continue to feed veggie gardens and fall flowers. We carry several different fertilizers with various different formulations, but Medina products are our fav. Read more below about how to fertilize this fall and be sure to join us for Medina Day this Saturday! Andy from Medina will be here at Gill’s with samples, giveaways, and new products, ready to answer your fertilizer questions.

Time to Fertilize Lawns – Organic Wins!

Over the years, we’ve tested and carried many different lawn fertilizers, both synthetic and organic. The appeal of most synthetic lawn fertilizers is high nitrogen content for a quick “green up”. While synthetics can give you quick green growth, they don’t do much for the roots or soil. What we’ve found is that synthetic lawn food is like an energy drink, whereas organic lawn food is like a well-balanced meal. Organic lawn food adds good living micronutrients to the soil which promote deeper and healthier roots. That means your lawn will be greener for longer, plus more resistant to drought and disease.

These days, our #1 go-to lawn fertilizer is organic Medina Growin Green– simply the best! One 40lb bag covers 3,000 square feet of lawn. We can loan you a spreader for easy and even application. Once you apply, water in slowly and deeply. The granules may not all dissolve and disappear after your first watering and that’s OK. The nutrients will slowly work their way down into the soil over a few waterings. This is why you don’t want to try to fertilize before a rain. Light rainfall is not enough water, and heavy rainfall is too much water too fast, which will wash most of your fertilizer away instead of down into the soil. Remember – our optimal window for feeding lawns in the fall is mid September to mid October. Game on!

Feed Your Trees at the Drip Line

Like lawns, trees typically only need food once in the fall and once in the spring when they start actively growing again. Keep that bag of Medina Growin Green handy because it’s our fav food for trees too! When feeding and watering trees, be sure to do so at the drip line, not up close to the trunk. The drip line is the outer edge of the canopy where rain water naturally drips off. It’s also the area underground where the tree’s feeder roots live and take up the most water and nutrients. The bigger the tree, the bigger the canopy and the further out the drip line and feeder roots will be. Apply your fertilizer at that drip line and water it in slowly and deeply. When feeding trees, you’re not looking for instant visible results, you’re taking advantage of the time that they’re naturally growing and giving them a good meal to support their long-term health.

Feed Blooming Perennials Once a Month This Fall

Blooming perennials in the landscape, whether they’re recently planted or well-established, will benefit greatly from regular feeding (about once a month) this fall. Can you guess what fertilizer we love for blooming perennials like Firebush, Turk’s Cap, Duranta, Lantana, and so many more?? Medina Growin Green! Just sprinkle a handful around the base of the plant and water it in. Another benefit of using organic fertilizer is that you don’t have to be super precise, because you don’t risk burning. James Gill says “think of sprinkling pepper on eggs” to know roughly how much fertilizer to apply. It doesn’t take much to be effective. While you’re doing your fall cleanup, remember that a light pruning in the fall will help make way for new growth. Only prune up to about 1/3 of the plant as needed, then apply your fertilizer.

Feed Flowers and Veggies More Often – Use DeAnna’s Schedule!

Fall flowers like petunias, snapdragons, calendula, and dianthus use lots of energy to make those beautiful blooms. And our veggie gardens require lots of energy to produce an abundance of good-tasting fruit. The most common problem we see with both annual flowers and veggies is not enough regular fertilizer to keep them performing their best. Keep it simple and use DeAnna’s tried and true prescription: feed with a good organic granular fertilizer (like Medina Growin Green, Plant Tone, or Rose Glo) on the 1st of the month, then feed with Medina’s liquid Hasta Gro on the 15th. Add reminders or alarms for these dates in your calendar so you don’t forget.

Join Us This Saturday for Medina Day at Gill’s!

Andy Chidester, passionate gardener and fertilizer expert from Medina Agricultural Products, will be set up here at Gill’s doing giveaways, discussing new products, and sharing tips for making the most of your fall fertilizing. Stop by any time from 10-2 to chat with Andy and learn more about organic fertilizer and soil health. This won’t be a garden talk, just a casual meet and greet event. Bring your questions and pick Andy’s brain about plant food! We love Medina’s new slogan, “Yogurt for the soil”.