Bugs

Spring is here again, and as plants and flowers wake up, so do unwanted guests such as aphids and fleas. Some of the most effective ways to eliminate these pests and many others is to use beneficial bugs. We keep Ladybugs, Beneficial Nematodes, and Earthworms on hand here at Gill’s to get rid of pests and improve the health of your lawn and garden.

Ladybugs

Fun facts about Ladybugs- Ladybugs aren’t really bugs at all, they’re beetles. There are almost 400 different kinds of ladybugs in North America.

Female ladybugs can eat as many as 75 aphids in one day. They also like to eat scale, mealybugs, and spider mites.

Ladybugs smell with their feet and antennae. A ladybug’s jaws chew from side to side instead of up and down like our jaws. The color of a ladybug’s spots begin to fade as it gets older.

Ladybugs are most active when their body temperature is 75 degrees or warmer. A ladybug’s bright color warns birds that it does not taste good. When a ladybug flies, its wings beat 85 times every second. Female ladybugs are larger than male ladybugs.

Aphids are the first pest to hit in the spring and they love the new growth on plants. Buy your ladybugs now and keep them dormant in the refrigerator till your first outbreak of aphids, then release a few hundred at a time.

Use Ladybugs to help eliminate:

– Aphids
– Scale
– Mealybugs
– Spider mites

Beneficial Nematodes

Beneficial Nematodes are microscopic creatures that live in soil where they feed on the eggs and larvae of soil borne-pests. They’re voracious predators of fire ants, flea larvae, and white grub worms (the grubs that eat plant roots).

Beneficial Nematodes are the ideal organic pest control because they’re a naturally occurring predator of pests, but they don’t harm plants, animals, or people. They’re completely non-toxic and they’re easy to use.

You mix the nematodes with water, and then put the solution into a watering can or sprayer. A hose-end type sprayer is fine, as city water is fine to mix with the nematodes.

Speaking of water, beneficial nematodes do need rain or supplemental watering in order to live and reproduce in your soil, so they’re not appropriate for dry land farms or completely xeric landscapes.

Use Nematodes to help eliminate:

– Fire ants
– Fleas
– Grub worms

Earthworms

Earthworms, or Red Worms, are popular due to their many useful applications. Each Red Worm ingests its weight in organic matter every 24 hours.

They excrete a highly effective fertilizer called castings, which are high in nitrogen, phosphorus, magnesium, potash, and calcium, which are all great for your soil, grass, and plants!

These castings can also help repel chewing and sucking insects like aphids, whiteflies, and hard-shelled plant bugs; the chitinase (an enzyme) from the worm castings, which is absorbed by the plant, kills the bad bugs when they eat the plant leaves.

Use Earthworms and their castings for:

– Improving and aerating soil
– Fertilizer
– Starting compost
– Repelling chewing and sucking insects
– Fishing bait!

Now is a great time to get some good bugs and worms (ladybugs, beneficial nematodes, and earthworms) – before the bad bugs (aphids, fleas, mealybugs, whiteflies, fire ants, spider mites, and grub worms) arrive!

-DeAnna

If you’re like us, you cannot wait to get outside and get gardening! The cool, damp weather has hung around too long, but there’s lots to do in preparation for blue skies ahead. Here’s what you need to get done this month.

Check out our March 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 & wind!

1. Wrap Up Your Clean-Up

If you still have pruning and clean-up to do, there’s still a little time! Cool temps have delayed the burst of Spring growth a bit. Overwintered perennials like Lantana, Salvias, and Roses need pruning now – cut them back up to 50%.

2. Plant Your Fruits and Veggies

It’s time! We are thrilled to have a big healthy selection of Spring veggies and fruit trees this year. We haven’t seen peach and plum trees this nice in several seasons. One thing we recommend for all plantings, including veggies and fruit trees, is Nature’s Blend compost – the closest thing we’ve seen to ‘magic in a bag’! One bag can amend about 12 sq ft of clay or sandy soil.

3. Bring Back the Birds, Bees, and Butterflies!

Now is a great time to incorporate plants into your garden that attract & feed the birds, bees, butterflies, and other pollinators. They need your help finding food and shelter, and you need their help pollinating your blooming plants, increasing your veggie production, and eating bad bugs. Bees are drawn to most anything with a bloom but some fav’s are Gregg’s Mist Flower, Esperanza, & Lantana. Butterflies love Butterfly Weed, Salvias, & Mexican Flame Vine. Native plants like Turks Cap produce berries for birds, and Hummers love Duranta, Mexican Honeysuckle, & lots more!

4. Feed New Plants Now, Established Plants Soon

New plantings need a good start with a good organic plant food. We love BioTone, PlantTone, and Hastagro. Add BioTone to your soil when you plant, then use PlantTone once a month and supplement with Hastagro about every 2 weeks to continue feeding throughout the season. For established plants, wait to feed until they are actively growing – typically mid/late March or early April.

5. Flowers for Right Now

Nothing says Spring like planting flowers! The best choices this month are Petunias, Marigolds, Begonias, and Geraniums. These love the warm days and cool nights of our early Spring. Popular late Spring/Summer flowers like Vinca, Moss Rose, and Zinnias will start to arrive in April as temps stay warmer.

6. Apply Pre-emergent Now + Wait to Fertilize Lawns

Lawns are still mostly dormant and not yet actively growing. Now is the time to apply pre-emergent weed control before the weeds start growing. We recommend Dura Turf Crab Grass and Weed Preventer. Hold off on watering – water once a week at most, depending on rain. And wait to fertilize lawns until you see enough growth to mow your lawn regularly, typically late March/early April. We recommend Medina Growin’ Green or Gill Lawn and Garden Food.

Check out our March Garden Guide for more tips!

-Debbie

Growing food is all the trend as farmers markets, farm to table restaurants, and the phrase “locally grown” gives credit that the food will be the freshest available! But to grow your own? Even better!

Fall is about the best time to grow food and especially true if you are new to South Texas gardening. Days are getting shorter, a little cooler (don’t laugh), less bugs, and less problems. Selections are virtually endless. Beans, tomatoes, peppers, broccoli, all kinds of greens, carrots, turnips; and the list goes on! You’ll be amazed at how delicious and easy food gardening can be!

Top to plant now? Tomatoes and peppers. Both of these need the warm days and will appreciate cool nights. There are tons of tomato varieties. Celebrity & Tycoon are favorites for slicing; Sweet 100 & Juliet are delicious cherry tomatoes. The best pepper to plant? You can’t go wrong with a jalapeno or serrano. Good flavor, usually not too hot, & great for salsa. A great way to check how hot a pepper is; cut the top off enough to catch a little of the pepper core. Place the core top on your tongue. You will know how mild or hot it is and how much to use.

Mid-September and it’s time to start planting cool weather veggies like broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, lettuce, cabbage, turnips, beets, spinach, kale, and a garden of culinary herbs. Don’t be afraid to try your hand at planting by seed. Botanical Interest is a fantastic seed company, all non-GMO with great organic varieties.

Do you need a large planting space? Not at all! A 4×8 space with at least half a day sun is plenty for a family of 4. Water troughs and large pots make great planters for food.

Help your soil to help your plants. Adding compost, dried molasses, and organic fertilizer to new and existing garden areas will feed the soil microbes that also feed your plants. Our favorite compost is Natures’ Blend Compost by Back To Nature. If you are planting in containers, use a good potting mix.

Plan to water and fertilize with a good organic fertilizer. We love Medina Hasta Gro, Espoma Plant-Tone, and Bio-Tone fertilizer. Find more details about watering and care of your garden through out the fall season on our website.

The most important part? Have fun gardening. Enjoy your harvest!

-Debbie

These three insect groups are or will be the source of many gardeners’ angst this Spring. All three can do serious damage to food gardens from chowing on leaves to boring holes to piercing tomatoes… but don’t worry! One organic solution takes care of all.

Flea beetles are tiny – about ¼” or smaller. They leave their signature pin size chew holes in newly planted herbs & veggies. They’re also fond of flower buds just before they open.

Squash borers are the larvae of the squash borer moth. They lay their eggs at the base of the squash stem where the larvae bores into the plant. This causes the plant to die.

Stink Bugs and Leaf Footed Bugs are famous for the spots they leave on prized tomatoes. They pierce the fruit leaving holes that begin to rot. The immature-nymphs look like red spiders. But not to be confused with the nymphs of the boxelder bugs which are NOT detrimental to gardens. Boxelder bugs are a mild nuisance, but they don’t damage plants.

Your best solution for all three of these pests is Natural Guard Spinosad Soap. This organic spray controls all of these plus other garden pests very effectively. Plan to spray late in the day or early evening when bees are not foraging. It is safe for bees once the spray dries. Follow the instructions and these bad bugs will leave your food plants alone.

-Debbie

You would think with our cold winter, snow and 2 freezes in the 20’s all the insects would have frozen. But no, there seems to be an explosion of nature’s critters this spring. Hot weather insects have started early. Aphids on anything and everything, spider mites are in abundance on roses, angel trumpets, hibiscus, junipers and more. Chinch bugs are beginning in the lawns, and scale is erupting on cast iron, flax lily and more. Be a good bug scout. Look and observe, and remember a few bugs here and there are not always bad. If you see an insect infestation that won’t be controlled by nature or patience and needs treatment, come and see us to help identify the problem and get you the right solution.

-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

1. Fertilize in Fall.

It’s great to fertilize in spring, and again early summer, but fall fertilization is probably the most important of all, and the most neglected. September 15 to November 15 application makes the nutrients available while the roots are still active. This will result in better turf density (and so fewer weeds), stronger roots, and residual nutrient inside the grass runners for faster green-up next spring. Apply the recommended amount, as excess fertilizer can result in fall and winter fungus.

2. Water Properly.

A long deep soaking once a week is appropriate through mid-October, then water just once every two weeks through fall and winter, if we don’t get an inch of rain. Excess frequency of watering also encourages fungus problems. Resume once a week watering mid-March to April.

3. Watch for Insects.

Chinch bugs have been a scourge this summer! Grub damage can start showing up late summer. And there is always the possibility of Fall Armyworms or Sod Webworms in fall. Don’t take your neighbor’s advice, please bring in a sample of lawn as soon as you see any problem (still somewhat alive but showing symptoms) and maybe a photo, and let us advise on proper treatment. Don’t just douse any and all brown spots with pesticide. Some may be old drought/heat damage, some may be fungus.

4. Mow Properly.

Once a week minimum during rapid growth. More frequently is even better if you can manage it (notice how often you see the mowers on the golf course). This results in better density and therefore fewer weeds. Keep your blade sharpened for best grass health. During late fall and winter fungus season, see if you can get your yardman to sterilize his mower before getting on your lawn to minimize spread of fungal spores from other yards (good luck with that!)

5. Control Weeds.

If you have followed recommendations 1-4, you are already ahead! But the next step, if you feel it necessary, is a pre-emergent weed preventer, such as Bonide Weed & Crabgrass Preventer 9.5lb or Bonide Weed Beater Complete 10lb, applied in October and again in January. Follow label recommendations for best results, you do not want to over or under apply. We do not recommend weed-and-feed fertilizers, because plants and shrubs all need fertilizer, but weed killers can damage or kill shrubs and trees, and effective application times for fertilizers and weed killers are very different. If you have some broadleaf weeds (clover, sow thistle, dandelion, chickweed) occurring in January or February, you can spot apply a broadleaf weed-killer such as Weed-B-Gon for Southern Lawns.

-James

Brown, dry looking lawn? Check for Chinch bugs.