We find growers who grow the best plants. If plants we source are not Gill quality when they arrive here, we send them back! We have long-standing relationships with our suppliers and they know we expect the best. Through our network of awesome growers in Texas, Florida, and California, we can find most plants most of the time, but sometimes there are plants our customers need that are not available on the market. So, we’re taking matters into our own hands – just for a few things! This spring, we got a new license to grow some of our own plants here at Gill’s, and Ori and Wyatt set up our first-ever grow house! Here’s what they’ve been up to.
For our growing projects, we use the same tried and true products that we sell and recommend to customers. Most of our babies were started using Southern Exposure Seed, a seed company we love that carries lots of unique varieties. For most seeds, we start by soaking them in a mixture of water and Liquid Seaweed to encourage good germination. Then we plant the seeds in small seedling containers using our Ultimate Potting Soil by Ferti-lome. After they sprout and grow a bit, we move them into larger pots with a 50/50 blend of Ultimate Potting Soil and our all-purpose potting soil from Landscaper’s Pride, plus a little Bio-tone starter fertilizer. Once they really get growing, we use Medina Growin Green granules and Medina Super Gro liquid to keep feeding them. All organic!
Right now we’ve got Burmese and Hill Country Red okra, Hale’s Best cantaloupe, Moon & Stars watermelon, Rosita eggplant, Amethyst basil, and more that will all be ready in the next few weeks. And we’re experimenting with growing native Zizotes milkweed (Asclepias oenotheroides), which is proving to be a challenge! Once the plants are nicely rooted and we can be confident that they’ll perform well for customers, we put them out for sale here in the garden center. Some of you have already taken home our 1gal Thai Red Roselle hibiscus and 4in Holy basil!
Does this mean we plan to start growing a lot more plants?? Nope! We plan to grow interesting varieties that we can’t find anywhere else, as well as a few key plants (like geraniums) that we need more of at specific times. If there’s something you’d like for us to try growing, let us know! We won’t be able to accommodate every request, but some we might!
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