peppers

Join us THIS Saturday, September 13th at 10:00am here at Gill’s for Part 1 of our Fall Veggie Gardening series. Gill’s veggie gardening experts DeAnna Baumgartner and Wyatt Page will lead an informative talk on all things fall veggies. Part 1 will focus on growing early fall season crops like tomatoes, peppers, squashes, cucumbers, and beans. We’ll do some gift card giveaways and field all your veggie gardening questions!

FREE event – 10-11am – No RSVP required.

Click below to watch DeAnna’s preview video:

We can’t wait to see everyone! Stay tuned to our events page and follow us on Facebook and Instagram where we’ll continue to post updates about talks and events. We have lots more to come this fall!

Natural gourd birdhouses are the best! They host a wide variety of birds who use the seeds and pulp inside to make their nests. Join us at Gill’s this Saturday, September 20th from 11am-1pm for a fun garden art project – painting gourd houses! We’ll provide a pre-drilled gourd with a leather hanging strap plus all the painting supplies. Take home your creation and hang it up for birds to make their home this fall!

Limited to the first 50 guests of all ages – $10 per person. Reserve your tickets here, or purchase the day of!

Click to watch Ori & Caleb’s preview video:

February is time to get your spring veggies going! We’ll be stocked with all your fav spring veggies and probably some you’ve never tried before. Join DeAnna Baumgartner and Wyatt Page, Gill’s managers and Texas Certified Nursery Professionals for an informative talk about how to plan and start your veggie garden. They’ll cover everything from what varieties to plant, crop rotation, organic pest prevention, soil health, fertilization, and much more. Free and open to everyone – bring your veggie questions! We’ll be doing some giveaways for Gill gift cards + other fun stuff!

FREE event – No RSVP required.

Click below to watch DeAnna & Wyatt’s preview video:

We can’t wait to see everyone! Stay tuned to our events page and follow us on Facebook and Instagram where we’ll continue to post updates about talks and events. Lots more to come!

It’s prime time for planting peppers! We’ve got more varieties of peppers this spring than we’ve ever had at Gill’s – from classic jalapeños to native chile pequin to rare varieties and super hot reapers! Peppers are generally considered easy to grow, but there are a few key things to know if you really want to have a BIG harvest. Check out our simple tricks + video guide now!

Sun & Soil

First off – peppers love warm weather and lots of sun. The sunniest spot in your garden is where you should plant your peppers. At a minimum, peppers need 6 hours of sun per day for good growth and production. If you’re growing in the ground in heavy clay or sandy soil, use our beloved Nature’s Blend compost to add nutrients and better structure to your native soil. About 1 bag of compost per 12 square feet of bed space, or the rough equivalent if you’re making your own compost. If you’re growing peppers in containers or raised beds, we highly recommend Gardener’s Magic from Landscaper’s Pride. It’s a nice, loose mix specially formulated for raised beds and it doesn’t need any amendment. Just pour and plant.

Choose Your Varieties – Are You More Mild or More Wild??

We currently have almost every pepper on this list available here at Gill’s! From the mild capsicum (bell pepper) all the way up to the scorpion and reaper. We’ve even got some rare varieties in big 1gal sizes like Yellow Reaper and Chocolate Ghost. Did you know that the horticulturalists who developed super hot peppers in recent years didn’t just do it because they like wildly hot flavor? Their main clientele are hot sauce makers who can make a lot more hot sauce with far fewer peppers. Here’s a fascinating podcast episode about it.

Stake Em Up

Pepper plants are somewhat fragile, and to keep them from getting knocked over by water or wind and breaking, we recommend staking them up. We like to use a single 2-3′ tall bamboo or takiron stake. Loosely tie the main stem of the pepper plants to the stake using pliable green garden tie tape and you’re good to go.

Pick Early Blooms

Pepper plants will start blooming almost immediately after planting, but the plants are still too small to produce fruit. So, pick off the early blooms to redirect energy into growing more foliage. Once the plant is bigger and more robust, then let it bloom and start producing.

Not Too Much Water!

Water your peppers every day for the first week or 2 to get them established, then reduce your watering frequency. Once established, let them dry out between waterings then give them nice deep drinks. Watering too often invites some potential for root rot, decreases your production, and decreases heat and flavor. You want your pepper plants to tough it out – not too much water.

Feed, Feed, Feed!

Like all veggies, peppers are very heavy feeders. If you don’t fertilize regularly, you will not get a good harvest. Use our tried and true method: Medina Growin Green on the 1st of the month, then liquid Hasta Gro on the 15th. Set these reminders/alarms in your phone and you’ll be making fresh salsa all summer.

Watch Wyatt’s Pepper Planting Video Guide!

Rain in the forecast, wonderful temperatures, holidays with family and friends = AMAZING time to garden! We’re all busy planting, re-designing, fertilizing, and getting ready for outdoor fun with guests. Here are our top tips for making the most of a very important month in the garden.

1. Feed Your Plants, Trees, and Lawns Too

Feeding your plants this month is a must. This includes lawns, trees, and most plants. Everything is actively growing, which means they’ll need more food to continue looking their best. Medina Growin Green is a great multi-purpose food for landscape plants, shrubs, trees, veggies, lawns, you name it! For blooming perennials, annual flowers, and veggies we really like using a good organic granular food like Medina Growin Green, Plant Tone by Espoma, or Rose Glo in combination with Medina Hasta Gro liquid. Feed with the granular on the 1st of each month, then follow up with liquid Hasta Gro on the 15th. Add these reminders to your calendar and you can’t go wrong!

Yes, you can still fertilize your lawn, even though our lawn watering is limited. Using a good organic lawn food, like our go-to Medina Growin Green, promotes root growth and long-term health, which makes lawns more tolerant of less water. Ideally you’d want to water the fertilizer in, but you don’t have to. Medina Growin Green is gentle and won’t burn your lawn. You can apply it now and water it in slowly over a few weeks. If you have trees in your yard, keep in mind that fertilizer and water need to be applied at the drip line, aka where rainwater naturally drips off the outer edge of the canopy. Therefore, if you apply fertilizer to your lawn and water it in for the trees, your lawn will get the benefit too. You can also try to time your lawn fertilizing with a light rain. We typically don’t recommend waiting for rain to fertilize since a heavy rain would wash most of the fertilizer granules away. But, given the watering limitations, taking advantage of a light rain is a good solution.

2. Watering Wands Win!

Hand watering with a watering wand that has a cutoff valve is the most efficient and best way to water, especially for new plantings. Watering plants low to the ground keeps water from escaping via wind and evaporation and keeps water off the leaves which can invite fungal issues. Watering slowly (by turning down the pressure on your watering wand or kinking your hose) ensures that more water gets down to the roots instead of running off the surface.

Keep in mind that hand watering and drip irrigation are allowed during current watering restrictions. You can hand water any day before 10am or after 6pm, and you can supplement with drip irrigation once every other week. We carry the pro watering wands that we use here at Gill’s as well as moisture meters, timers, and other supplies to help make the most of your water.

For any new plantings, including turfgrass, you can apply for a temporary exemption to watering restrictions and use sprinklers and irrigation systems in order to help get plants, lawns, and trees established. We can help you file for the exemption if you like – it’s a straightforward process.

3. Plant Blooming Perennials for Pollinators

April is time to add some blooming perennials to attract pollinators like butterflies, bees, and birds to your garden. You support pollinators (and the planet!) and in return they help you have more blooms, better production on your veggies, and a more vibrant landscape! Remember – April is when we start seeing hummingbirds! Add a few of their favorites like this native salvia greggii, native flame acanthus, red yucca, or firebush and make your backyard a preferred stop.

4. Plant Your Warm Weather Veggies

It’s time to plant hot peppers, squash, zucchini, basil, beans, and more! When starting veggies, the trick is to get the soil as active and alive as possible. Amend your existing soil with Nature’s Blend Compost (about 1 bag per 12 sq. ft.), then add a little Bio Tone starter fertilizer with mycorrhizal fungi and a good handful of worm castings when you plant each plant. Then follow our trusted fertilizer schedule – granular food (like Medina Growin Green or Plant Tone) on the 1st of the month and liquid Hasta Gro on the 15th! Remember that veggies use a lot of energy and need these regular feedings to produce – you WILL get more and better-tasting fruit with a good fertilizer schedule. Plus, strong, vigorous veggie plants are less susceptible to pest damage.

5. Mulch! Not Just for Good Looks…

We all know that fresh mulch is like a fresh coat of paint for your garden – instant makeover! But did you know that applying a proper 3” layer of natural mulch keeps underlying soil temps more than 20 degrees cooler?! A good mulch layer keeps weeds at bay, and as it breaks down over time, it add nutrients to your soil. And perhaps most importantly right now, a good mulch layer retains moisture, which means big water savings.

6. Get Ready for Guests

Get outside and enjoy the gorgeous weather and prep for gathering with family and friends! For the quickest and easiest impact outdoors, think hanging baskets full of periwinkles, coleus, hummingbird falls salvia, bougainvillea, and more overflowing with color. Some pops of color plus fresh mulch in your beds and you’re ready to host! For indoors, our favorite flower arrangements are those cut fresh from the garden and landscape, or we have some cute dried arrangements too!

Photos from Debbie’s Fall/Winter Food Garden

Growing Fresh Food – Part I

So now that you’ve done all your decision making and soil prep, let’s talk about planting. Most spring veggies love warm days and cool nights. 70’s and 50’s are perfect for all spring veggies and herbs. South Texas spring starts early and ends early as the heat of summer takes over. To maximize your planting, plant early in the season but be prepared to protect warm weather plants in case of late season cold fronts.

Seeds & Transplants

Most all edibles grown here can be started from seed. Again it is an experience everyone should try. Some plant seeds sprout in several days and some just a few. Our Botanical Interest Seeds are non GMO and many are organic. The link to our hand out from last week gives you some ideas of what can be grown from seed with good success. You can start many of your seeds in small containers (even those old egg cartons), so you can keep an eye on them before transplanting in your garden space. Use a good seed starting soil mix like Fertilome Seed & Cutting Mix. Keep them in a warm, sunlit area with moist soil. Label what you plant, so you can remember who’s who. Once they are up with their first set of real leaves, they can be planted. I have also started many of my gardens with seed sowed directly in the soil. Again making sure to mark what is where not to confuse tiny sprouts with weeds. Some of my favorites are pole beans or bush, swiss chard, squash, turnips, beets, carrots, collards, cilantro, basil, cucumbers, and okra.

Transplants give you a head start on some of the edibles that can take time to start from seed. Tomato, peppers, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, and onion are just a few you will find in our nursery during spring. Most herbs are found in transplants as well giving you instant flavor with a snip of a sprig! Herbs and most leafy greens can and should be trimmed on as you want them, allowing the mother plant to be a continued source of food and flavor throughout the season.

Ready to Plant

Lay out the plants with room to grow. Give yourself room to be able to harvest your food. This also allows air circulation to help prevent disease and bug issues. Dig your holes only as deep as the transplants or follow the planting depth on the seed package. Mix a little Rocket Fuel, adding Plant Tone or Bio-tone to the hole, mix into the soil, place your seed or plant, firm up soil around them, water, and repeat. When you’re all done, mulch the area to help with water retention and weed prevention. I like the pine straw as it’s fluffy and aids in supporting the new tender plants.

Spring Veggies & Herbs

Tomatoes are America’s favorite home grown edible. Picking a handful of cherry tomatoes or one ripe slicing is all the enticing you’ll need to try your hand at growing them. Starting them now allows the plant time to get to size & begin to bloom so they will set fruit before night temps get too hot. Hybrid varieties are bred for disease resistance and better fruit production. Heirloom varieties are flavorful and have unique colorations. They are not as resistant to many of the diseases tomato plants can get. All tomatoes need to have some support. A cage or trellis works great. This helps support the plant when they are heavy with fruit. There are basically 2 types of tomatoes, determinate and indeterminate. Determinate produces most all its fruit at one time and indeterminate produces less but over a longer period. Many of the cherry type tomatoes are indeterminate.

Others to plant now:

Since it is still winter and cold is probably not done yet, you could start a few of winter fav’s like broccoli and cauliflower. Neither takes too long to produce so worth planting.
Seed potatoes and onion sets should be planted now. Being a root plant they both like very good drainage. Planting them in raised beds or large containers work great. Other root edibles like beets, turnips, radishes offer double the bounty; you can eat the tops and the roots.
Leafy greens like Swiss chard, lettuce, kale, spinach can tolerate some cold weather. Your garden can be your smoothie bar with just a few of these growing!
Cucumbers, beans, peas, and climbing spinach are vining plants and will need support. You can use your fence, build your own with poles and heavy twine or simply add a trellis to your garden.
Peppers, okra, eggplant, and most melons need more heat and will not tolerate much cold. These are better started later in spring for better success.
Herbs for spring include basil, cilantro, mints, thymes, rosemary, oregano, parsley and sage.

Now that everything is planted:

Water everything well and check your garden area daily for water needs. Your young plants and seeds will need to stay hydrated but not drowned. They may even need 2 waterings a day when our humidity is low, winds are high & sun is shining.

After a week, fertilize with Hasta-Gro plant food. It’s organic and safe. I use the hose end to make it easy. It mixes for you. You should do this once to every other week.

Finally, I like to take a picture of my newly planted garden and then again each week to see how fast everything is growing. You will be amazed!

-Debbie