fall

Our son Trevor flew in this week from the Northwest for a week of family time. One of his favorite pastimes in Portland, Oregon is disc golf. Who knew, Ingleside, Texas has two good disc golf courses at Live Oak Park.

Early Sunday morning James, Trevor, our dog Callie, and I loaded up to spend the morning watching Trevor play the very challenging 18 holes.

Wow – what beauty! Winding trails, old windswept Oaks, Yaupon Holly bursting with berries, blooming grasses, American Beauty Berry loaded with purple berries, Redbays and Palmettos blanket the park. It was a sight to see for us and is a very important food source for our local & migrating birds and other wildlife that live in the area.

We have so many natural treasures around us – the Welder Wildlife Refuge, Goose Island State Park, Botanical Gardens of South Texas, Oso Bay Wetland Preserve, Mustang Island, National Seashore, and Live Oak Park! And no better time to visit than now, with crisp Fall air and cool temperatures! Happy Thanksgiving!

–Sally Gill

Even though I love flowers in the garden all year long, for sure Fall and Winter annuals are my favorite. I think it’s because they thrive in cooler temperatures (just like we do), they don’t take much care, and I love their strong colors and soft, sweet scents.

I had an aha moment yesterday when I took a pause from my long “to do” list to go out into the garden – I immediately felt better! The deep green foliage, the brilliant colors – the purples and reds and oranges and yellows – gave me peace. It was a reminder to me to slow down, get outside, and enjoy God’s gifts.

– Sally Gill

Welcome to 2022! January is the planning month for South Texas gardeners. Time to think about what/where/when/how, and most importantly, why to plant! Here are our top January to-do’s to set you up for a fun and successful Spring.

Check out our January 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. Set Your Gardening Intention

What are your reasons for gardening this year? Could be for stress relief, exercise, improving the environment, growing and cooking delicious food, attracting birds, or just enjoying being outside. Think about why you want to garden first, then use the month to plan your new garden spaces, clean up beds, and prepare your planting areas.

2. Keep Planting – But Watch The Weather

Our South Texas Spring is only about 45 days away! Pleasant weather brings the itch to start planting everything, but January weather is quite unpredictable, and temps can drop suddenly. January is a perfect time to plant trees & shrubs, greens & herbs, and cool weather flowers, just hold off on the tender tropicals.

3. Fertilize Your Citrus Trees

Use organic Citrus Tone by Espoma once you’ve finished your harvest. This helps your citrus get ready to bloom this Spring and produce a bumper crop next Fall-Winter. Reapply in June. You can feed in between with organic Hasta Gro.

4. Plant Climbing Roses

Our favorite climbing rose, the Peggy Martin variety, are blooming like crazy right now. Climbing roses benefit from being planted now and should not be cut back until after they have totally gone out of bloom. Other shrub roses should be cut back late January/early Feb to promote new growth and more Spring blooms.

5. Houseplants – Find a Good Spot

The key to vibrant and healthy houseplants is often just finding the right spot. A good starting point is to place near windows that get good indirect light for at least some portion of the day. Be sure to keep houseplants away from A/C and heat vents, which will dry them out. This Pilea is happy on a high shelf about 5 feet from a Western-facing window that gets indirect/dappled light through the trees outside.

6. Lawn Care

This Winter we’ve been diagnosing and treating fungal issues in lawns including the dreaded Take-All Root Rot. Check out our tips for prevention which include applying Peat Moss and making sure that you are not overwatering. For weeds, Bonide Weed & Crabgrass Preventer will help stop weed seeds from sprouting. Weed Beater Complete kills existing weeds and helps stop new weeds from sprouting.

Last week Keith shared with me his Swiss Chard success story. Years ago, he remembers (I don’t) James and I gave Sandy & Keith a pot of Swiss Chard for Christmas. Knowing that Keith is a gardener extraordinaire, we knew it was the perfect gift for them. Keith grows it all – Brussel sprouts, cabbage, broccoli, tomatoes, peppers, greens, herbs, and on and on! The Swiss Chard was such a hit with their family; it’s now one of his annual plantings.

Planted in the Fall, Winter or early Spring (now!) you’re guaranteed a good crop of tasty greens. Sandy is the family’s cook extraordinaire! She often stir-fries Swiss Chard, including the stalks, olive oil, garlic, a little lemon and salt for something simple and quick. Or, one of her favorite recipes is Seared Scallops with Bacon Braised Chard – she does it all.

Sandy and Keith make a very great team; we love them and their garden successes!

-Sally Gill

We have a passion for teaching and seeing your gardening success, and we know that gardening can seem challenging to the beginner since there’s so much to learn. That’s also the beauty of it – you can spend a lifetime gardening and still be learning!

We thought it would be fun to hold a talk for newcomers (either new to gardening or new to South Texas) to teach some secrets specific to our area. Here’s what James and Wyatt say would be their #1 piece of advice for newcomers. They’ll be discussing these topics and more this Saturday here at Gill’s – free and open to everyone!

James Gill – South Texas native, landscape designer, Texas Master Certified Nursery Professional (TMCNP), 42 years gardening and landscaping experience:

“Timing is so important! You don’t get beautiful tomatoes in April by planting them in March. And you’ll harvest way more strawberries in Spring by planting them in Fall. Maintaining a healthy lawn is much easier if you anticipate the seasonal periods that potential lawn problems are most likely to occur. Consistent gardening success is based on planning ahead, and we are here to help you with that.”

Wyatt Page – South Texas transplant, avid gardener, Garden Center Assistant Manager – 5 years gardening experience:

“Always start with the soil! It’s the home for your root system – the health of your plants is based on the quality of your soil. Here in South Texas, we have a somewhat tough soil for planting, but learning how to work with it will make you a successful gardener.”

Spring is in full swing and everyone is ready to get their lawn and landscape in shape for the season. Take these 3 steps to healthy grass that looks and feels great.

Remember – a healthy lawn keeps weeds and disease away. If you are having a problem with either, we can help! Bring us a sample of your grass, and we’ll diagnose and supply the best solution.

Wait for the right time to fertilize. Grass has just started to come out of Winter dormancy, and as we continue to get warmer, it will grow quicker. Once you are mowing your lawn once a week, you know it’s time to fertilize – wait until then! If you fertilize too early, before the grass is actively growing, the fertilizer will not be able to do its best work. We recommend using organic Medina Growin’ Green or our Gill Food. Feeding your lawn at the right time will give it the nutrients it needs to thrive through our Summer until we fertilize again in the Fall.
Water thoroughly, not frequently. As we start to warm up, lawns need to be watered once a week with one inch of water. You should maintain this watering now through the Summer. It’s always better to water thoroughly not frequently in order to maintain adequate soil moisture. If you find water running off into the gutter before you get one inch, you need to break your watering into two or three applications on the same day (Cycle Soak Method of Lawn Irrigation). The second and third watering will push the water down deeper into the soil, to help grow a deeper root system.
- Pro tip: Use the Tuna Can Test. Place an empty tuna or cat food can in the area where you are watering, or where your sprinkler is watering. Water the area until the can fills up with 1” of water, and you’ll know you’ve watered thoroughly.
Nature’s Blend: your lawn’s best friend. If you have dead or thin areas in your lawn, now is the time to fix them. Begin with raking out the dead grass in those spots, then spread a thin layer of Nature’s Blend compost across the dirt (about a quarter inch thick). The organic material will encourage new runners in those areas so they can start to grow and fill in. For any dead area 3ft. wide or greater, we recommend plugging in small pieces of sod. If the majority of the lawn is dead, it’s probably time to till, regrade, and re-sod.
- Pro tip: You can spread Nature’s Blend on your lawn 2-3 times a year to enhance your soil structure and prevent Take All Root Rot.

We’re so happy with the results we’ve seen from spreading Nature’s Blend that Gill’s is now offering this service! Give us a call if you’re interested in having us come out with our compost spreader and do the work for you.

– Wyatt

It’s transition time for South Texas backyard farmers. It’s good to remove your tired plants that have finished their growing cycles, yet bare ground in the Summer can turn into a weedy mess… and fast! Help your garden and your muscles by planting a cover crop. These are plants that grow quickly, provide weed control, and help reduce soil compaction, which will make prepping for planting veggies this Fall a lot easier.

One of the best for Summer are Cowpeas aka Black-eyed peas. They are considered one of the most heat-adapted legumes in the US. They have dense growth to suppress weeds, provide nitrogen to the soil, and will help improve the soil once they are turned under. Extra benefit – you just might get to harvest fresh black-eyed peas from your own garden! They’re easily grown from seed.

If you love flowers, Zinnias are one of our favorites and you can enjoy their bouquets all Summer, while keeping weeds from taking over! Sunflowers are also fun to plant. Both of these also grow easily from seed.

How to plant….

Once you’ve cleared your area, do a quick turn of the soil, sprinkle an organic plant food… we love Espoma Bio-Tone or Medina Growin Green, follow the seed planting guide on package, and water. Give them a daily watering and soon you’ll have a new garden that looks great & helps keep your soil ready for planting Fall veggies!

Happy Summer Gardening,

-Debbie

August is almost here! It’s time to start making the transition into an exciting new Fall planting season. Here are our top must-do’s for this coming month.

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. Choose Plants that Provide for Wildlife

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. Take it a step further and plant Texas natives! They provide for pollinators and require less water once established.

2. 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. Most new seeds are already here! Look out for some of the rare and heirloom seeds we’re bringing in over the next couple weeks! We’ve been researching how to use liquid seaweed to improve seed germination. Worth a try! Another tip: use peat pots or seed starting trays to start seeds indoors, then move to a covered patio once they sprout. This will protect the seedlings and slowly acclimate them to the outdoor heat.

3. Prepare Your Garden Beds

August is the time to start preparing for Fall vegetables. Clean out 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.

4. Water Sufficiently AND Efficiently

With our temps and lack of rain, it’s vital to water your plants and lawn sufficiently AND efficiently. The goal with summer watering (with or without watering restrictions) should be to create depth moisture. 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 to get the roots established. 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.

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 dry and hot weather. A good 2-3” deep layer of mulch will keep your plants and the soil moist and cool for longer after you water. Give the main trunks or stems of your plants a little space – mulch 2-3” deep throughout the bed, but no more than 1” deep against the main trunks/stems of plants.

6. Beware of Bad Bugs

White cottony clumps on tips, stems, and undersides of leaves in summer are most likely mealy bugs! People often think these are a fungus because of their appearance but one squish with your fingers will tell you they’re insects feeding on your plants. They especially love Hibiscus, Jatropha and some Salvias. We’ve been seeing a lot of spider mites too. You’ll notice a fine webbing and small sandy speckles (see photo). The mites themselves are usually on the underside of leaves. Both can be treated organically with Spinosad soap, Bee Safe 3-in-1 spray, or Neem Oil during cooler evening hours.