Caterpillars

How about that nice rain last Sunday?! And we have chances for more – hooray! Rain makes everybody feel better – plants, people, weeds, bugs… Here are a few important to-do’s for making the most of a good rain and keeping potential issues from getting out of hand.

Water + Mulch to Maintain Depth Moisture – Very Important!

This may sound counterintuitive, but you need to continue watering regularly even when we’re getting good rainfall. Supplemental watering after a rain will help push moisture further down into the soil and allow the soil to hold depth moisture for a longer period. This is very important during spring before we reach warmer summer temps. The better depth moisture we maintain now, the deeper plant roots will grow, which will allow plants to withstand warmer temps and longer periods between waterings. Keep in mind, it takes far less water to improve and maintain depth moisture than it does to rebuild it once the soil gets really dry. And remember – mulch is your best friend! A good 2-3″ mulch layer works wonders for retaining moisture and reducing water needs. It also insulates roots and keeps them cooler and healthier.

If you’re interested in capturing a large amount of rainwater every time it rains, reach out to us here to discuss adding rainwater cisterns to your landscape. You’d be surprised how much you can collect. Just 1 inch of rain on 1,000 sq ft of roof = 600 gallons of water!

A Few Easy Solutions for Bugs After a Rain

If you haven’t noticed already, you’ll soon notice a lot more bug activity in your garden. Don’t worry, and don’t over-treat, just stay observant. For 2 very common culprits, aphids and spider mites, use organic Spinosad Soap. If caterpillars are causing a lot of damage in the veggie garden, you can use organic Bt spray or dust. To prevent mosquitos, use organic Mosquito Dunks or Bits in your rain barrels, bird baths, and anywhere you have standing water. They’re harmless to birds, pets, and other bugs, but they prevent mosquito larvae from hatching. These can also be used to create very effective mosquito traps. Just fill a bucket with water and some leaf/grass clippings, and add a dunk or granular bits.

You may have also seen fire ant mounds appear out of nowhere after the rain. We’ve had good success using organic Come & Get It Bait to take care of them. If you have other bug questions, give us a call or stop by.

What About Weeds?

If you’re thinking of treating for weeds, keep in mind that most weed killers need several days of sunshine to be effective. So, not a good idea to use them when we have intermittent rain in the forecast. Instead, the best plan of attacking weeds right now is to take advantage of the soft ground and pull em up! One of the most satisfying sounds in the garden is that “pop” you hear when you pull a weed and get the entire root. And once again, mulch is your best friend for suppressing weeds too!

-Jesse

Woohoo for rain here in town and in the watershed!! Makes for a lot of happy plants and people. But with rain comes a major increase in bug activity, some of which can cause major problems. Here are the main offenders to watch out for and how to get rid of them.

Dreaded Aphids

You’re bound to encounter aphids sooner or later. They’re commonly found in the veggie garden and attacking new growth of landscape plants like hibiscus, Indian Hawthorn, and even Texas Sage. If it’s just a few, you can blast them off with a steady stream of water. Or use organic Spinosad Soap or systemic Cyonara if the outbreak is bad and causing a lot of damage. Ladybugs are also a great natural control – they love eating aphids.

Disgusting Spider Mites

Look for these little white specks and fine webbing…spider mites! They’re also common in the veggie garden and they like plumeria, junipers, and all kinds of houseplants. Spinosad soap is a good control.

Menacing Mealy Bugs

Look on the tips, stems, and undersides of the leaves for these white insects clustered together. If they go unnoticed for a short period of time , they will produce a protective cottony barrier over their bodies to protect themselves. Many times we hear “I have a white fungus on my plants”, but it’s usually mealybugs. Spinosad Soap and Cyonara can be used to kill these pests. Multiple applications may be needed. Thorough coverage is a must, and we recommend spraying once a week for 2-3 weeks to make sure you have killed them all. If you only have a few clusters of them at the tips of your plants you could smash them with your fingers and rinse, or cut off the affected tips and throw away the bugs in a sealed bag.

Hungry Caterpillars

Look for 2 main signs and you’ll know its caterpillars: big holes chewed through leaves and black speckles of frass (poop). If you inspect your garden every day and it’s just a few chewed leaves here and there, you can usually find the caterpillar and relocate it. If they’re causing more damage than you’re comfortable with, you can treat with organic Bt. The active ingredient, Bacillus thuringiensis targets caterpillars only. It’s harmless to birds, bees, pets, and people. We carry Bt in a hose-end sprayer, a hand spray bottle, and in powdered form called Dipel Dust. The nice thing about the dust is that its super easy to sprinkle and you can easily see where you’ve applied it.

Annoying Ants

If fire ants are present underground, you’ll see their mounds pop up after a rain. We’ve had good success using organic Come & Get It Bait to take care of them. Sprinkle on the mound, and they’ll take the bait down into the colony and die. You can also drench the mound with Spinsosad soap or Orange oil.

Nasty Squash Borers

Your squashes are in danger! Squash borers love to bore into the mases of the stem of your squash plants and eat them from the inside. To prevent them from getting in, spray the stems of your squashes with Spinosad Soap. You can also inject your squashes with a simple solution of Bt to kill them if they’re already inside. Just mix Bt with water as the label recommends, then fill a syringe and inject the base of the stem.

Gross Scale Insects

The photo above is a leaf from a Cast Iron plant that a customer brought in. This one happens to be infested with 2 different types of scale insects. Notice the white specks and the brown gunky spots. There are many different types of scale that go after our common landscape plants like Cast Iron plant, Flax Lily, Hibiscus, Indian Hawthorn, and more. Have no fear! All-Seasons Horticultural & Dormant Oil Spray is here! Horticultural oil is a mineral oil solution that works by coating the insects and suffocating them. It’s safe and harmless for humans, pets, birds, and other wildlife, but very effective against scale insects and other plant pests. Just don’t use it when temperatures get above 90 degrees or you’ll risk burning your plants. If temps warm up, use Neem Oil sprayed in the evening.

Artistic Leaf Miners

Have you seen these abstract paintings on the leaves of your pepper plants? Leaf miners! Aside from their obvious scrawlings, they typically don’t affect plant health much. If it’s just a few leaves here and there, just remove those leaves and carry on. If it’s a lot of damage, remove the affected leaves and spray the remaining leaves with spinosad soap or neem oil, which will signal to the flying leaf miners that this is not a good place to land and lay eggs.

Flying Flea Beetles

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. Spinsosad soap will take care of them. Plan to spray late in the day or early evening when bees are not foraging. It is safe for bees once the spray dries.

Grubby Grub Worms

We’ve been seeing June bugs, which means grub worms will follow soon, typically early to mid May. If you want to prevent them from doing damage to your lawn, use Bonide Insect and Grub Killer granules. In this case, ‘season long’ means about 3 months. So, you may need another application in mid July.

Abundant Pill Bugs

Pill bugs aka rolly-polies are everywhere right now. They’re actually crustaceans, not insects. They usually don’t cause much damage to plants, but if they’re out of hand, you can treat with organic Sluggo Plus. Or, you can get them drunk… Fill a cat food or tuna can half way with beer, and the pill bugs will crawl in, get drunk, and drown.

Vampiric Mosquitos

They’re sure to be hatching as we speak… To prevent mosquitos, use organic Mosquito Dunks or Bits in your rain barrels, bird baths, and anywhere you have standing water. They’re harmless to birds, pets, and other bugs, but they prevent mosquito larvae from hatching. These can also be used to create very effective mosquito traps. Just fill a bucket with water and some leaf/grass clippings, and add a dunk or granular bits.

Start from Seed or Plants

Late August is an exciting time at Gill’s. We’ve received our 2026-2027 veggie seeds, and we’re stocking up on tomato plants too. You have your choice right now – start from seed or start with tomato plants that are ready to go. Sure, starting from seed is more work, but you also have a lot more options, especially for heirloom varieties. We recommend starting seeds indoors or on a shady, protected patio. We like using plantable Peat Pots or our growing trays with lids + organic Espoma seed starting soil. Once the seedlings sprout and grow their first true set of leaves, they’re ready to plant outside. Or skip the seeds and start growing some tried and true tomato plant varieties now, like Tycoon, Juliette, Early Girl, and the beloved Celebrity.

Prepare Your Soil & Spot

Pick a spot for your tomatoes that gets at least 6 hours of full sun each day. They’ll need it to be able to produce flowers then fruit. If you’re growing in the ground in clay or sandy soil, you’ll need to add some compost to create a better soil structure and add nutrients. Our fav for veggie gardens is Nature’s Blend Compost. Add about 1 bag per 12 sq. ft. of bed space. If you’ve got your own compost pile, use a similar approximate amount. If you’re growing in raised beds or big pots, you can’t go wrong with Gardener’s Magic soil – it’s specially formulated for container gardening with some compost and other nutrients. Just pour and plant!

Prune Up + Plant Deep

Tomatoes are one of the only plants that you can plant deep without suffocating the plant. In fact, tomatoes benefit from being planted deep because they grow new roots off the main stem. So, simply pinch the lower leaves off the stem, leave the main ones up top, dig a deep hole and plant the tomato all the way up to the top leaves. Some gardeners even like to dig a shallow trench and plant tomatoes on their side to let the roots grow down from the stem. Either way, more roots = more fruits!

BioTone + Worm Castings When you Plant

This is truly a winning combo for root health. When you dig your hole, mix in a small handful of Bio-Tone starter fertilizer and a large handful of worm castings when you backfill. The Bio-Tone contains mycorrhizal fungi which form a symbiotic relationship with plant roots and gives you a much more robust root system. Worm castings add refined nutrients, make soil more absorbent, and even helps prevent fungal disease and insects. Think of Bio-Tone and worm castings as gentle superfoods for your plants!

Cage Now, Not Later!

It’s very important to give tomatoes a support structure, whether it’s a tomato cage or a simple trellis system. Either way, the key is to install that support when you plant, not later. That way you can gently train and tie the plant onto the support as it grows, rather than trying to bend and twist a big floppy tomato plant and risk breaking branches. Cage now, not later!

Follow Our Fertilizer Schedule

The most common problem we see with veggie gardens is not enough regular fertilizer to keep them performing their best. Tomato plants use lots of energy to produce fruit, so they absolutely need regular fertilization. Keep it simple and use our 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. If you stick to this schedule, you’ll have lots of tomatoes to enjoy and share.

Treat for Pests + Prevent Fungus

Your 2 main issues to watch out for when growing tomatoes are hungry caterpillars and fungus problems. You can prevent fungus by simply mulching around your tomato plants so wet soil doesn’t splash up onto them when you water. Horticultural cornmeal applied around the base of the plant can help also. For caterpillars, you just need to be vigilant. Inspect your plants often and look for chewed leaves and frass aka black specks of caterpillar poop. If it’s just a couple of caterpillars here and there, you can easily relocate them. If you have an infestation, you can use organic Bt spray or Bt powder (Dipel Dust) to control.

Water Early and Often + Mulch!

You’ve likely heard us preach about the benefits of watering in the morning vs. the evening. This is especially important for tomatoes. As DeAnna says, you wouldn’t want to run a race all day and only have water at the finish line. Tomatoes need to be well-hydrated in the morning, or they’ll be very unhappy during the hot part of the day. While the weather’s still warm, they will likely need supplemental watering in the afternoon too. Once temps cool down and plants mature, you’ll be able to back off on watering some. Mornings can be hectic – we get it! If you run short on time to water in the morning, consider setting up an automatic soaker hose in your tomato bed. We carry soaker hoses and simple timers that are easy to attach to any hose spigot. And don’t forget to mulch! A nice 2-3″ thick layer of natural mulch will be your best friend especially while temperatures are still hot. Mulch helps retain moisture from watering and insulates plant roots to keep them cool and happy.

The asps are out! It’s been years since we’ve had a big asp outbreak. These stinging hump back caterpillars love oak trees, yaupons hollies, burford hollies, hawthorns, altheas, and hibiscus. I saw a fresh hatching no bigger than a pea on some hollies the other day. Take a close look at your plants and see if you find any skeletonized leaves. Spray thoroughly on the tops and bottoms of the leaves with Spinosad, or Liquid Sevin as a contact kill. Thuricide can also be used, but the caterpillar has to ingest the leaves to be killed and that takes a couple of days.

Leafcutter bees are also a problem now. These bees are generally passive and not very aggressive. However they can sting and will do so if handled or aggravated. You usually never see the bee, but you do see the damage left behind. They cut perfect semi-circles out of the leaves of soft tissued plants such as crape myrtles, hibiscus, plumbago and roses. We first noticed the damage on our kapok trees. They take the leaves and roll them into perfect tubes to block their nest openings. No treatment is necessary since the nesting period of the female is usually just a couple of weeks. The scalloping of the leaves will not kill your plants, it just leaves them unsightly to some. These bees are great pollinators, so I say, “let them do their thing”.

-DeAnna

Don’t Worry About Leafcutter Bees!

Leaf cutters always cut extremely neat semi-circles and ovals, unlike caterpillars which leave irregular holes in leaves. They prefer soft tissue plants such as roses, plumbago, hibiscus and crape myrtles. There is no chemical control since they do not eat the leaves they cut. Nesting season is very short, so after a week or two, they go away… thank goodness!

Feed Your Veggies

Vegetables are heavy feeders. Use Espoma Plant Tone once a month to keep your vegetables producing through the season.

Watch Out For Cabbage Loopers

It’s time for tiny green looper worms to be eating the leaves of your broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower. Use
Hi-Yield Thuricude or Fertilome Dipel Dust to control these pesky worms. It is completely organic and safe up to the day of harvest. Just rinse and eat!

New For Your Garden: Watercolor Rose

It’s a color extravaganza! The flowers may be simple in style, but they’re captivating to watch as they change colors completely with each day. Hues of yellow, pink, cerise & ruby are carried atop loads of clean deep green leaves on a very bushy full plant. Dark red new shoots add to the show. This beauty is delicate to look at and tough as nails when it comes to garden performance. Complimented with a moderate apple fragrance; we think you’ll enjoy this one in your rose garden!

Oak Tree Caterpillars

Be on the look-out for oak tree caterpillars in your oak trees. They cluster together in large groups feeding on the leaves of your trees or you may notice poop under your tree (on your patio or walk.) They can be killed with Thuricide sprayed onto the leaves or with Fertilome Borer, Bagworm, Tent Caterpillar Spray containing Spinosad. If your trees are too large to spray or you just don’t want to, they will not kill your trees. The tree will leaf back out in the spring. I have had customers say that early in the mornings they could hear them chewing the hard oak leaves. Crunch, Crunch, Crunch!

Pansy Time

Pansies love the cool days of fall and winter. Plant them in full sun. Use Hi-Yield Blood Meal at the time of planting for larger and more profuse blooms. Once they become established use Maestro Rose Glo to keep them blooming throughout the season. You can also plant their dwarf counterpart violas. They have smaller leaves and blooms, but tolerate heat and moisture better.

Powdery Mildew on Mesquite Trees

With the cooler temperatures, shorter days and heavy rains in the past few weeks, powdery mildew fungus has attacked mesquite trees. Since the trees are getting ready to drop their leaves for the winter, it is not necessary to spray them. They will leaf out and be fine next Spring.

Rust on Plumeria

Plumeria are suffering from rust fungus caused by the same weather conditions. The undersides of the leaves have yellow- orange or reddish brown pustules. Since you should be withholding water from the plumeria so they can go dormant for the winter, be sure to gather up the leaves as they drop and discard in the trash. It is not necessary to spray unless the condition re-occurs in the spring.

Our Thoughts On Living Christmas Trees:

There are some great alternatives to cut Christmas trees. Norfolk Island Pines are one of the most popular because of their look. They are layered like many fir trees and resemble a Christmas tree. Hollywood Junipers and Blue Point Junipers are another alternative with the look of a true Christmas tree. They grow well in our area and can be planted in the ground after the holidays or kept as a container plant and used for years to come. Yaupon holly trees are also great with their red berries this time of year. Magnolia and Ficus Trees can also be used. All of these can be strung with lights and used indoors for a couple of weeks before needing to be put back outside in their normal environment. Be creative. Look around the patio and see what you have to decorate. It’s always fun to decorate a non-traditional tree and surprise your family and guests!

Bugs On Your Garden Greens?

Thanksgiving morning James noticed inch worms and flea beetles on his coveted greens he is growing in pots. He grabbed his trusty Natural GuardNeem Ready To Use and with a couple of pumps of the spray bottle, problem solved! The Neem acts as a repellent for beetles and caterpillars and kills soft bodied insects like aphids. It also helps to control powdery mildew.

Some Cedar elms have gold leaves, some just starting to turn!

This photo was taken at our Airline store this past Monday. This is a great example of how like plants, growing right next to each other, behave differently. One has turned gold, the other is still very green. Both are very healthy, just on a little different time schedule! And…please note, it’s the same in spring – there’s always one to leaf out later that causes concern but more often than not, it just decided to sleep a little longer!

BUTTERFLY HOST PLANTS

With spring around the corner, now’s the time to start planning out your butterfly garden! And we are ready with plants that not only attract butterflies, but feed their caterpillars. You’ve probably heard of Milkweed for monarch caterpillars, but did you know that Parsley, Dill, Fennel, Rue and Passion vine also attract butterflies? These host plants are sure to attract Eastern Black Swallowtails, Gulf Fritillaries, and Monarchs. And don’t forget about great nectar plants like Almond Verbena, Pentas, and Duranta. Put these plants in your garden and the butterflies will be sure to thank you!

WOW – WHAT A WEED EXPLOSION!

You can still apply pre-emergents like Amaze or Weed and Grass Preventer with Dimension to prevent weeds, but the temperatures are still fluctuating with cold fronts and cloudy damp weather, so I would wait a little longer on applying weed killer sprays i.e. Image or Weed B Gon. They work best with warm weather and sunshine. Remember to apply your pre-emergents in October to prevent winter weeds and again in January to prevent spring weeds.

TO PREVENT SCALE: If you have not sprayed Bonide All Seasons Oil on your Flax Lily, Irises, Cast Iron, Pittosporum, and Hollies, there is still time to spray to prevent spring insects like scale.

LAWN FUNGUS: The cool, damp rainy weather is perfect for fungus to thrive , so apply F-Stop Fungicide, Bayer Fungicide, or Liquid Systemic Fungicide to either prevent or to cure. An organic alternative is to spread Nature’s Blend Alfalfa Humateacross the lawn at the rate of 1 bag for 50 sq. ft.

TIME TO START VEGGIE GARDENING!

Tomatoes are here in all sizes. We have 6 packs, 4 1/2″ and 1 gallon. It is starting to get late on the 6 packs, so buy them now! You can still wait a couple of weeks to plant if you plan on buying the 1 gallon size. Peppers will be here once our night time temperatures stay above 50 degrees. If you plan on planting more broccoli, cabbage or cauliflower, plant them now since it is getting late. It is also getting late to sow seeds of beets, carrots and spinach. Last chance for onion sets and seed potatoes. Time to begin seeding beans, squash, cucumbers, corn and radish.