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Do you have a gardener in your family that you just don’t know what to buy them? Think about a new pair of pruners. Or rose gloves that reach up to your elbows. They’re great for pruning thorny plants like roses, bougainvilleas or pyracantha. We also have moisture meters, rain gauges, outdoor thermometers, candles, windchimes, birdfeeders, hummingbird feeders, and more. We have fruit pickers to help harvest their fruit up high in the tree. How about a tub- trug to hold plant clippings or soil as you work around the yard.

One of my favorite parts of gardening is, accessorizing! We have concrete statues of dogs, cats, pigs, frogs, St Francis and more. We also carry metal yard art from Mexico and Haiti. Beautiful ceramic pottery, fountains and birdbaths. Or for the new gardener, how about the Corpus Christi Garden Book. Still not sure what to buy? How about a gift card to Gills. That way they can shop year-round at both stores and buy what they need when they are ready. I know I would love any of these.

-DeAnna

Last week, I shared my before & after soil prep of our veggie garden at home. I tried to plant before last Friday’s rain but did not make it. Good thing, as I realized I had a few areas holding too much water. So after some shoveling to correct the problem, we planted our hearts out Saturday evening and Sunday afternoon. We planted by transplants, tuscano kale, seabor kale, redbor kale, broccoli, cauliflower, green cabbage, red cabbage, bright lights chard, rubarb chard, tango celery, thyme, dill, and an artichoke for fun. Then we sowed Botanical Interest seeds of cherry belle radish, purple top white globe turnip, cilantro, kuroda carrots, carnival blend carrots, gourmet blend beets, and red sails lettuce. Before seeding in our root beds, I mixed Bio-tone and Rocket Fuel in the soil. Both of these are very beneficial in root development. As we planted transplants, we added just Bio-tone into the hole, mixed it with the soil, and then planted. This is because we foliar feed with Hasta Gro which helps with both root and plant development. Our last step was a few bales of pine straw to help with water, weeds and looks. Now we say a blessing and a prayer that our garden will be bountiful with plenty to share!

-Debbie

Here’s a repost of DeAnna’s fertilizing guide from earlier this year:

“Anytime between mid-September and mid-October is prime time to fertilize the lawn, trees, shrubs, vines and groundcovers. Fertilizing while it is still warm is best because plants are still in their active growing season and taking up the nutrients provided. Once the weather starts cooling down plants begin going into dormancy and therefore are not as likely to take up the nutrients needed for the fall and winter. Remember to water in the fertilizer with at least a ½ inch of irrigation. Never depend on the rain to water in your fertilizer, because as you know, it never rains when predicted, and also never gives us that perfect ½ inch. It either rains too much, too little, or not at all. Making sure the timing is right and proper amount of water is applied assures your lawn of getting the full benefit of the nutrients it needs to maintain healthy leaves and roots for the dormant season. We carry our Gill Lawn and Garden and also several organic lawn fertilizers. Never use Weed and Feed if you have any trees or shrubs in the yard. Trees are a broadleaf just like a weed, so it will try to kill them as well. Weed killers and weed preventers can be used in October once our temperatures moderate in the 80’s. We will talk about them more as the season approaches.”

-DeAnna

Anytime between mid-September and mid-October is prime time to fertilize the lawn, trees, shrubs, vines and groundcovers. Fertilizing while it is still warm is best because plants are still in their active growing season and taking up the nutrients provided. Once the weather starts cooling down plants begin going into dormancy and therefore are not as likely to take up the nutrients needed for the fall and winter. Remember to water in the fertilizer with at least a ½ inch of irrigation. Never depend on the rain to water in your fertilizer, because as you know, it never rains when predicted, and also never gives us that perfect ½ inch. It either rains too much, too little, or not at all. Making sure the timing is right and proper amount of water is applied assures your lawn of getting the full benefit of the nutrients it needs to maintain healthy leaves and roots for the dormant season. We carry our Gill Lawn and Garden and also several organic lawn fertilizers. Never use Weed and Feed if you have any trees or shrubs in the yard. Trees are a broadleaf just like a weed, so it will try to kill them as well. Weed killers and weed preventers can be used in October once our temperatures moderate in the 80’s. We will talk about them more as the season approaches.

-DeAnna

The 2 days of freezing weather did not help our lawns at all, but I think there may be more happening than just the cold weather. I am hearing customers finding grub worms in the lawns, flowerbeds and potted plants. I have also seen chinch bugs in lawn samples brought in for diagnosis. I would first check the lawn for insects before treating for fungus or fertilizing. If you are uncertain you can dig up a shovel width sample of soil, grass and all wrapped in newspaper or placed in a box for us to look at.

Once we determine insects, fungus or neither, it is time to think about fertilizing. Once the grass is actively growing to the point you are mowing once a week, then it is time to apply fertilizer. I always say, “you can put a bowl of food by a sleeping dog and he won’t eat till he wakes up.” The same is true for the lawn. Since we want our lawns to recover quickly and look good again, timing is key. We need to make sure it has woke up from winter dormancy.

There are also lots of weeds in the lawn. Pre-emergents such as Weed and Grass Stopper with Dimension prevent weed seeds from sprouting and should be applied in January to stop Spring weeds, but can be applied year around for weed prevention. Existing weeds can be killed with Weed b Gon hose-end spray. It is most effective applied with 3-5 days of warm weather and sunshine in the forecast and no watering or rain for at least 3 days. Also make sure you are watering slow and deep enough since we have had several months of record heat. With a little time , patience and TLC the lawns should recover and look great once again.

-DeAnna

Fall vegetable gardening is right around the corner. It seems too hot to even think about gardening, but you should start now to ensure a successful crop this fall. It is recommended to begin planting tomatoes and peppers mid- August. Many seeds begin the first week of September. I usually plant my tomatoes in September, but the longer you wait to plant, the bigger you need to buy.

First, you need to pull up the last of the tomato plants from your spring garden. Any other veggies that are looking summer worn need to be pulled also. They will never recover for a fall crop anyway.

Next you need to weed the garden. You could try covering the garden for a few weeks with plastic to solarize which will kill most weeds, but this usually is done earlier in the summer for a couple of months of solarization. Hand hoeing or tilling can be done depending on the size of the garden.

Be sure to thoroughly water the ground a day or two ahead to soften it since we have had no rain for weeks. Once all the old plants and weeds are removed, it is time to work in compost. The more compost the better. And you know what that means if you have ever dug in our soil. Heavy clay soil is not conducive to rapid root development. The better the soil prep, the better the plants grow.

The more roots a plant develops, the easier it is for the plant to take up valuable nutrients and water. Be sure to use a good quality compost. We carry Cotton Burr Compost, Natures Blend Compost. I have always said,” You need a $50.00 hole for a $5.00 plant.” Life does begin with the soil, so always spend a little extra time, effort and money when it comes to soil prep. Your plants will reward you.

-DeAnna

It likely is not working properly! Just like your mower needs the sparkplug adjusted, oil changed, blade sharpened, and maybe a wheel or starter rope replaced, things will go wrong with your irrigation system. But since it operates while you are in bed, you don’t know what needs fixing. I had not operated my sprinkler system since October last year due to the rains, and before starting it up last week, I did a maintenance check. I have Program D on my controller programmed with no start time , 2 minutes on the first valve, and 1 minute on every other valve. I turn the dial to Program D and manually activate, then go around the yard with a pad and pencil and note all problems. Some newer controllers have a test function built in, very handy.

This is what I found in my yard:

Valve 4 had a head that was grown over with grass, and could not rise up, so all water was just running over the curb (quick fix, just cut around with a serrated knife to sever the grass runners).
Valve 7 had a head with a nozzle twisted 90 degrees (another quick and easy, grab the nozzle with Channelock pliers and twist it back so all water is going on the lawn, instead of half of it into the street).
Valve 12 had a head with a nozzle plugged with a bit of trash, so the head would pop up but no water coming out. This was a much more technical fix, that is, bopping the popped nozzle on the head gently but persuasively with the afore mentioned Channelocks until the trash was ejected and a good flow resumed. If this fails, you will need to keep a hold of the head as the water flow is shut off, screw off the plugged nozzle, and clear it by blowing back through the orifice, or poking a thin wire or broom straw back through it.

I recommend performing this test once a month, to most efficiently utilize water and to avoid discovering sprinkler malfunctions by finding dead patches in your lawn. You should also seasonally adjust your controller from one day a week operation in summer to once every two weeks in fall, and then turn it off for winter, only activating manually every 3 or 4 weeks if there has been no rain, or immediately preceding a forecasted hard freeze event. Replace your program backup battery as needed. Otherwise at any power outage your program, including the current date and time, will be lost and you will need to reprogram. This video from Texas A&M on the Cycle Soak Method describes how to set your timer for best utilization of water, but recognize when he says 5 to 6 minutes run time, that is for spray nozzles, and you will need a longer run time for the valves that supply water to rotors or drip tube.

-James

Living With Snakes

First and foremost, I want to say that gardeners should love snakes! Snakes are a very important part of our ecosystem, and they keep away rats, mice, and other pests from our houses and gardens. With all this rain, you have a much higher chance of running into snakes in your yards and garages (hopefully not in your house). Most snakes are good, but there are a few that you should watch out for. In our area we have coral snakes (red-and-yellow, Kill-a-fellow!), rattlesnakes, and water moccasins. If you see a snake near you, the best thing is to leave it alone! If it’s a garden snake, then it’ll keep your garden in top shape by deterring unwanted rodents. If you’re unsure if a snake is venomous, please call Animal Control (361-232-5627) BEFORE you try to relocate/dispose of it. –Marta

Make Room For These Friendly Snakes!

Time for vinca?

We all love our vinca (a.k.a. periwinkle) and the time is finally right for them!! With the rainy spring this year we delayed bringing them into the garden center. They are susceptible to Phytophthora Stem Blight and Root Rot Fungus primarily caused by heavy rains. Preventing fungus is always better than curing it once it appears. Water management is the main preventative measure. Frequent watering, even in moderate to dry sites, can make conditions favorable for development of branch blight and root rot. It is also important to provide excellent drainage. When preparing a planting bed, thoroughly dig up the entire area adding plenty of organic matter such as Cotton Burr Compost.Treat the area with Actinovate, a biological fungicide to help prevent the disease. Space the plants 8-10 inches apart and mulch heavily with Hardwood Mulch to prevent water from splattering off the soil. Also never water over the top of the plant. Always water slow and thorough on the ground below the plant. It looks like we’re going to have warm dry days ahead which is what makes vincas happy!! –DeAnna

rain

Living With Snakes

Time for vinca?

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