Lawn Care

*Working organic material into your soil helps plants thrive*

“Organic gardening” is a broad term that in its simplest form means caring for your garden or landscape without the use of synthetic fertilizers or harsh pesticides, but for many of us, it means so much more.

Organic gardening is a lifestyle that involves looking at how things interact as a system, knowing the steps you take to “go organic” play a key role in that system. Let it be a bad bug, fungus, or even watering issues, there are organic solutions that are safe and work with nature. One of the biggest steps is creating and maintaining healthy soil.

Plants start from the ground up and having good soil is a key factor for healthy plants. You can work organic material into your garden like compost and organic fertilizer to help the soil.

Our soil is living and has all types of beneficial microbes and fungi living in it. While using a synthetic fertilizer may give the plant some of the nutrients it needs, it does nothing for the soil. Using an organic fertilizer and compost to amend your soil gives living organisms in the soil the nutrients they need to thrive.

If your soil is thriving, your plants can thrive as well. A healthy soil and a healthy root system make for a stronger, healthier plant that will need less water and less maintenance.

Having an organic garden encompasses a healthy more sustainable approach to the way we live; our homes, community, and world! Organic approach is made of small factors that play a big role in a system that keeps your plants healthy and not only that… it keeps us healthy!

Remember, put good in and get good out!

-Wyatt Page

Fall is OUR ABSOLUTE BEST TIME for planting veggies, trees, and just about everything else! It just feels good! Here are our top to-do’s in the garden this month. PLUS – to kick off October, James Gill is giving a Garden Talk this Saturday, October 1!

Check out our October 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. Don’t Miss James Gill’s Garden Talk!

Join us this Saturday, 10/1/22 at 10am for James’ fall gardening Q&A. James is mostly retired these days, which means he has more time to surf and share gardening wisdom with all of us! Bring your plant questions, or just come listen and learn. One attendee will win a $100 Gill’s gift card 🙂

2. Plant Food

Some of the best… Broccoli, Cauliflower, Lettuce, Cabbage, Carrots, Beets, Radishes, Cilantro, Nasturtiums, and the list goes on. Remember – veggies are heavy feeders. We recommend feeding with organic Plant Tone on the 1^st of each month, and again with liquid Hasta Gro on the 15^th.

Watch: Coastal Bend Veggie Gardening Guide

3. Plant Fall Flowers

Take advantage of the weather while the days are still long. It’s the perfect time to start cool weather Impatiens, Marigolds, Snapdragons, Violas, Petunias, Calendula, Begonias – the flowers and colors that say, “FALL!”. Warm days help flowers develop roots so they can look their best during the cooler months ahead.

4. Feed Your Lawn + Prevent Weeds

Fertilizing this month helps develop strong roots for healthy growth next Spring and Summer. We recommend organic Medina Growin’ Green or our Gill Lawn & Garden Fertilizer. Both can be used in all areas of your landscape. Prevent weeds in your lawn by applying Weed Beater Complete or Crabgrass & Weed Preventer.

Read: Fall Lawn Care

5. Plant for Hummingbirds and Migratory Birds

Right now is a great time to plant all kinds of blooming plants that hummingbirds and other migratory birds need. Some of our favs for South Texas are native Flame Acanthus (aka hummingbird bush), Salvias (like native Salvia greggii and Salvia leucantha), Cape Honeysuckle, native Turk’s Cap, native Beautyberry, native Loquat, Firecracker plant, Coral bean – the list goes on!

6. Plant Trees for The Best Head Start

We’ll say it again… it’s all about growing roots. Trees planted in Fall grow more next Spring & Summer. Live Oak, Burr Oak, Magnolia, Anacua, Cedar Elms, & Wild Olive are some of our South Texas fav’s.

Read: The Advantages of Fall Planting

Feeding your lawn and garden during Fall (mid-September thru early November) provides the nutrients needed for Fall & Winter; AND a healthy start for next Spring.

While the soil is still warm, plants and lawns are actively growing. They take up and store food, but not so much as it gets colder. Fall fertilizing helps your lawn and landscape look their very best now. Prime time is passing quickly so don’t put this off.

We highly recommend our Gill Lawn & Garden Fertilizer. Around here we call it Gill Food. It is specifically blended for our area. It combines fast, slow, and organic forms of nitrogen with micronutrients. Think of it as a great meal for your landscape!

Also high on our list is Medina Growin Green Organic Fertilizer, made from humate, poultry manure, & molasses. It provides balanced nutrient supply, improves soil health, and nutrient availability.

Both of these need to be watered in to work. So plan to water with at least ½ inch of irrigation. And please don’t wait for it to rain… we all know that’s dependable… or not… LOL

See ya soon!

-Debbie

November in South Texas is all about spending time outdoors and gathering with family & friends. Cool weather, crisp evenings, outdoor fires & a beautiful garden… a welcome invitation. Here are our tips to help.

Check out our November 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. Spruce Up With Fall Flowers

Here’s our list of Fall/Winter flowers – tons of choices for outdoor color to redo pots & inground plantings. Flowers take a little time to grow and bloom. Plant early this month so they can be WOW for the holidays! Once they’re all planted, give them a good meal of organic Plant Tone or Hasta Gro.

2. Plant Trees and Shrubs

Now is the best time to plant cold-hardy shrubs and trees. They grow & develop a good root system for better success next Spring and Summer. They will need water & care, just not as much as during warmer seasons. Always fertilize when you plant and follow our watering instructions.

3. Last Chance to Feed Your Lawn!

Fertilize now if you have not done so this Fall. Our top choices: Medina Growin’ Green or Gill Lawn & GardenFood. Apply pre-emergent for winter weed control & treat brown spots in lawns with peat moss or Nature’s Blend Compost to help with fungus control. You can also lay new sod or overseed with winter rye grass in lawn areas that are unsightly.

4. Freshen Up Inside and Out

Time to freshen up before the guests arrive! If you have houseplants that aren’t looking their best, take them to a shady spot outside on a warm day to get some fresh air. Some fresh air + a shot of liquid Hasta Gro works wonders for houseplants. There’s plenty to do outside too: pull weeds, trim shrubs a little to shape, rake beds, then feed your plants with a good organic fertilizer such as Plant Tone or Rose Glo. Finally, add new mulch to give everything a polished look! Water once a week if we don’t get rain.

5. Fall Herbs For Holiday Cooking

Cooking without herbs would be such a waste of thyme! Sage, Rosemary, Cilantro, Parsley, Fennel, Dill, (and Thyme) are just a few herbs that thrive in our Fall & Winter months. Limited space? A sunny spot, container & a few favorite herbs is all you need. We can even pot them up for you.

Take-All Root Rot (TARR), or Take-All Patch, is a serious fungal disease affecting St. Augustine and Bermuda grass lawns in the Coastal Bend. I have diagnosed 4 cases in the last 7 days, with lawn damage ranging from a few small dead spots up to an 80% dead lawn overrun by weeds, which last year was a great source of pride to the now-dismayed owner.

High soil pH, soil compaction, too much or too little fertilizer, too much or too little irrigation, or herbicide injury are all stress factors that can make lawns more susceptible to TARR. TARR is related to but different from Large Patch (Brown Patch), which we commonly see in Fall and Winter. Large Patch results in temporary brown roughly circular patches during Winter but the lawn revives in Spring, whereas TARR kills roots and runners completely and the lawn will not recover on its own.

TARR, like Large Patch, can be spread by mowers, foot traffic, birds, and wind. TARR cannot be cured or eliminated, but it can be suppressed by cultural practices or by fungicide use. We prefer to treat organically by spreading one 3.8 cubic foot bale of Canadian peat moss over 1000 square feet of lawn in October or November, followed in March by Natures Blend compost at one bag per 50 square feet of lawn. We have had good results in restoring lawns with this method. Or you can choose to apply Fertilome F-Stop fungicide granules in October, November, December, and January, once a month. For patches 3 feet across or more, I recommend plugging Floratam St. Augustine into the dead areas, with a little Natures Blend compost beneath and on top.

First visual symptoms of TARR are yellow patches or strips, followed by thinning brown patches of lawn with a few unhealthy tufts of green, showing some dead brown runners and darkened, weak, unhealthy roots. Confirmation of TARR requires a microscope to observe a network of black filaments running over the surface of infected stolons (runners). Bring in a sample of diseased but still living runners (not completely brown and dead), and we can advise you on best cultural practices to have the best lawn possible.

– James Gill

If your lawn is showing symptoms of this disease (see last week’s blog), you can treat with Disease EX fungicide with the active ingredient Azoxystrobin. Or treat organically by top dressing with Peat Moss in the Fall followed by Natures’ Blend Compost in the Spring. If you suspect any problems with your lawn, we can diagnose and help find the right solution. Watch Wyatt’s video on how to collect a grass sample.

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.

James Gill had his annual Get Ready for Spring garden talk here at Gill’s last weekend. As always, it was a big hit – standing room only! In case you missed it, we decided to do a recap:

Pre-Spring Lawn Tips

Prevent and treat Take All Root Rot using Peat Moss: Rake out dead grass, spread Peat Moss, and water it in. Wait until dry to water again.
Know when to water your lawn – if a screwdriver is hard to push into the soil, its’ time to water. If it pushes into the soil easily, you’ve got enough moisture.
Wait to fertilize your lawn until it’s growing, and you need to mow it once a week – usually March
If you get Bermuda grass in your landscape beds, use Grass B Gone
There’s not a practical way to remove Bermuda grass in your St. Augustine lawn – the best way is to keep your St. Augustine healthy (watered and fed) and it will choke out the Bermuda

To Prune or Not to Prune?

Prune Now

Lantana
Esperanza
Plumbago
Hibiscus
Firebush
Jatropha
Grasses
Shrub Roses

Do Not Prune

Crape Myrtles
Citrus Trees
Bougainvillea
Fig Trees

Prune AFTER Spring Bloom

Azaleas
Mountain Laurel
Indian Hawthorn
Climbing Roses

Fertilize Citrus Trees Now

Use organic Citrus Tone
Spread inside and just outside the drip line (where water drips off the tree branches and leaves when you water it)

-James