seeds

Spring is here!! Look around and you’ll see lots of happy and healthy plants enjoying the sunshine and putting on fresh new growth. We hope you feel the same way! Here are our top must-do’s in the garden this month to help you have the best Spring season and beyond.

Check out our March Garden Guide for more tips!

1. Plant Level – Not Too Deep!

When planting this Spring, DON’T PLANT TOO DEEP! Plant level with the surrounding soil (or even slightly higher) and don’t cover the top of the root ball with soil. Most plants have tiny feeder roots on the surface of the root ball that are critical for taking up nutrients and for oxygen exchange. If you bury these surface feeder roots, the plant will suffocate and decline. After you plant, remember that plants need long, deep drinks of water. Watering often does not equal watering well. Use a moisture meter to be sure you’re getting moisture down into the ground when you water.

2. Start Your Spring Veggie Garden!

It’s time! We are thrilled to have a big healthy selection of Spring veggies and fruit trees this year. One thing we recommend for starting all veggie gardens is Nature’s Blend compost – the closest thing we’ve seen to ‘magic in a bag’! One bag improves about 12 sq ft of clay or sandy soil and gets it ready for planting. That’s a good approximate ratio if you make your own compost too. Remember that you can grow food almost anywhere! Re-watch James Gill’s container gardening video for tips and inspiration.

3. Invite Pollinator Friends to Your Garden

Now is a great time to incorporate plants into your garden that attract & feed the birds, bees, butterflies, and other pollinators. They need your help finding food and shelter, and you need their help pollinating your blooming plants, increasing your veggie production, and eating bad bugs. Bees are drawn to most anything with a bloom but some fav’s are native Gregg’s Mist Flower, Esperanza, & Lantana. Butterflies love Salvias and Mexican Flame Vine too. Native plants like Turks Cap and Yaupon Holly produce berries for birds, and Hummers love Duranta, Mexican Honeysuckle, & lots more! Keep in mind that pollinators need help locating these food sources. Think about planting several of the same plant together to help make them more visible to our pollinator friends.

4. Fertilize Now – Except Lawns

Spring’s here and plants are actively growing. That means they need food, just like us! Flowers and veggies are especially heavy feeders because they’re working to produce a bloom and fruit. And you will certainly notice a difference with your ornamental plants as well. Apply a good all-purpose organic food like Plant Tone or Medina Growin Green once a month for great results. Don’t sprinkle your granular fertilizer right up against the trunk of the plant. Instead, sprinkle at the drip line, aka where rainwater would drip off the outermost leaves. That’s the zone where plants take up nutrients. After you’ve applied your granular food, circle back every 2 weeks to supplement with liquid Hasta Gro. Almost everything should be fed this time of year, except lawns. More on lawns below…

5. Apply Pre-Emergent Weed Control Now and Wait to Fertilize Lawns

Lawns are coming out of dormancy and just now starting to actively grow, which means we need to wait a few more weeks before applying fertilizer. But right now is the time to apply pre-emergent weed control to kill weeds before they emerge. We recommend Hi Yield Weed and Grass Stopper with Dimension. Remember that pre-emergent weed controls are root growth inhibitors. They work by penetrating down into the top layer of soil where weed seeds are, but not down deep enough to affect grass roots. They should only be used in areas where you have thick, healthy grass with established roots, not areas where you plan to plant more grass this spring or thin areas where you want grass to fill in. If you have weeds that have already sprouted, spray lawns with Weed B Gon, Image, or organic Captain Jack’s Lawn Weed Brew. All three are safe for Floratam St. Augustine lawns. Or you can spot treat weeds with organic Captain Jack’s Dead Weed Brew. Bottom line: control weeds now BEFORE you fertilize in late March/early April. This is why we don’t recommend using “weed and feed” type products.

Spring in South Texas starts around February 15^th– only 33 days away! We may or may not have another cold snap ahead of us, but it’s time to start planning our Spring projects and starting veggie seeds. The first day for planting Spring seeds is January 15th give or take a few days – aka RIGHT NOW! We are expanding our selection of seeds to include lots of open-pollinated and heirloom varieties like rainbow beets from Sow True Seed and Bosque blue tomatoes from Baker Creek, plus tried and true staples from Botanical Interests.

Simple Method for Starting Seeds

Starting veggie seeds indoors is great because you can keep the tiny seedlings protected until they’re ready to move outside. I’ve tried a few different methods for starting seeds but have been most successful using a damp paper towel, then folding the seed inside the towel and placing it in a sealable bag or dish. This will create a “mini greenhouse” effect and will help the seed germinate. I leave them in the bag for no longer than 24 hours, then plant them in light and fluffy seed/cutting soil in a seed starting tray or peat pot. When planting new seed be sure the soil is damp at the time of planting and always water with a light sprinkle. This will prevent your seeds from floating/washing out of the soil. I make the hole about a fingernail’s depth, gently place the seeds in the hole, and cover lightly with the damp soil. Check out my video demo of this process – quick and easy!

After the seeds sprout, you can slowly acclimate them to outdoor sunlight by moving them to a covered patio or other protected area. Be sure to keep them damp so the tiny roots don’t dry out. Then, a good rule of thumb is that once the seedlings have made their first true set of leaves, they are ready to be transplanted into a larger container or directly into the garden bed out in the sun.

Seeds to Start in January

Tomatoes!
Cold Crops and Greens: broccoli, cauliflower, kale, swiss chard, lettuce, spinach, and mustard greens
Root Crops: onions, carrots, beets, and potatoes
Herbs: parsley

Check out our full Spring planting guide here.

FYI: If you want to skip seeds and start transplants outside now, you totally can! We’ve got broccoli, cauliflower, celery, spinach, onions, potatoes, and lots of herbs that are ready to go. We even brought in a few early tomatoes this week 🙂

-Wyatt

Happy 2023! January is time to get started on garden resolutions. Planning a veggie garden? New landscape beds? More Texas native plants to support wildlife? So many possibilities, and we’re here to help. Here are our top must-do’s this month to set your projects up for success.

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. Prep Beds for Spring Planting

January is our month to plan and prep for Spring. Clean up, remove weeds, and prep your garden beds by adding some compost! We love Nature’s Blend Compost for veggie and landscape beds. A good ratio is 1 bag per 12 sq. ft. of space. If you make your own compost, that approximate ratio works well. It doesn’t have to be exact. Turn the compost a few inches into the soil with a shovel or garden forks for a good full-body workout!

2. Yes, You Can Plant in January!

Trees, shrubs, and perennials will build healthy root systems during their winter dormancy making for stronger, healthier plants in Spring and Summer. Just a few days after the freeze, we planted a butterfly garden with Texas Lantana, Mystic Spires Salvia, Texas Frogfruit, Skeleton leaf Goldeneye, and more. Yes, we plan to cover it if we get any more cold weather, but those plants are getting a head start now and will be ready to burst with growth this Spring!

3. Feed Your Citrus Trees

Meyer Lemons on the left with fertilizer, Meyer lemons on the right without!

Fertilize your citrus trees in January for more blooms, again in May/June for better fruit set, and again in September/October for nutrients. We recommend fertilizing with Espoma Citrus-Tone – all organic. Remember to fertilize trees, including citrus, at the drip line. That means spread fertilizer in a circle where the rain naturally drips down from the leaves, not right up against the trunk.

4. Start Veggie Seeds!

January is time to start tomatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, chard, onions, carrots, beets, parsley and more from seed. We carry seed-starting trays, peat pots, and special cutting/seedling soil for starting seeds indoors or on a protected/covered patio. A good rule of thumb is that once the seedlings have made their first true set of leaves, they are ready to be transplanted into a larger container outside or directly into the garden bed.

Check out our full Spring planting guide here.

5. Start Your Post-Freeze Clean Up, but Not Too Much Pruning!

Remember – wait to do any major pruning of freeze-damaged plants until February. You don’t want the plant to think its time to start putting on new growth since we still may have another cold snap. However, there’s definitely some clean-up that can be started now. As a general rule, if freeze-damaged plants are mushy and slimy, go ahead and clean out the mushy parts. If freeze-damaged plants are dry and crunchy, leave them alone. That dry, crunchy foliage will help insulate against any more possible freezes.

Ornamental grasses, like Pink Muhly or Purple Fountain grass, are an exception. They should be cut back this month. Trim them straight across (no cupcakes) 3”-4“ from the ground. Use a bungee cord or piece of rope to gather them up, then cut straight across.

6. Spend Time with Your Houseplants

Most houseplants will need more light and less water this month. Keep their leaves clean to help them take up sunlight and prevent bad bugs. Experiment with lighting/placement, and take them outside for a sunny day or 2.

FYI – the Gill team (Ori, Debbie, and Jesse) are headed to the Tropical Plant International Expo in Tampa this month. We can’t wait to tour houseplant growing operations and get the scoop on new varieties!

Come take a stroll through our garden and do a little stress-free shopping. We can help you pick out the perfect gifts that grow and other useful gifts that the gardeners on your list will love. Here are 10 gift ideas for green thumbs.

1. Gifts That Grow

Now is a great time to plant winter flowers like petunias, geraniums, and snapdragons are great right now, and they’re quick and easy to plant! Easy for Santa to sneak in and secretly plant a few flowers.

Roses, herbs, strawberries, and onions are all great to plant right now too. Or if you want to make it a truly memorable holiday, plant a tree! Remember that trees benefit greatly from being planted in Fall and Winter, including citrus trees!

2. Poinsettias and Other Holiday Classics

Poinsettias are THE classic holiday décor and centerpiece for holiday meals. They make great gifts for teachers, bosses, coworkers, and friendly acquaintances – they just make people happy!

A blooming Christmas Cactus or Kalanchoe is great too, or a small living holiday tree like a juniper, Norfolk pine, or rosemary. We can gift wrap these for you. Done!

3. Custom-Planted Pottery

Let us help you put together something totally unique! Choose the pots and plants and we can pot it all up for you. Houseplants, flowers, herbs, native plants for pollinators, and lots more can stand alone or be combined in the right pot.

4. Fine Gardening Tools

These French-made hand tool sets from Opinel have been a hit with the pros here at Gill’s. Or a nice set of pruners or loppers. Or even a quality sharp-shooter shovel. Working with quality tools makes gardening a lot more fun.

5. Soothing Wind Chimes

Lots of different tones and styles for relaxing in the garden.

6. Something for the Birds

Birdbaths, feeders, houses, seed, and native plants to attract birds to your loved one’s yard. Watching birds is better than TV!

7. Wildflower Seed Bombs

Maybe the best stocking stuffer for the planet? These little lumps of dirt contain 28 varieties of wildflower seeds that provide food for bees and other pollinators. Just place them where they make contact with bare soil, and wait for flowers to pop up next Spring!

8. Plant-Me Holiday Cards

Our holiday cards this year are completely biodegradable and they have flower seeds embedded in them! Find a sunny spot and plant the card in the ground after the holiday season.

9. Dried Flower Bouquets and Bundles

Come pick and choose different bundles and create your own dried flower bouquet or choose one we’ve put together. No watering or fertilizer required!

10. When in Doubt – Gift Card!

Can’t go wrong with a Gill’s gift card! Good for plants or services too. You could give the gift of landscape design, a food garden next Spring, a planted tree, or anything else we provide. We can help you with ideas there too!

December is here! These last few weeks of 2022 are sure to fly by. Our advice: make sure you spend some time in the garden to balance out the hectic holiday season. Here are our top to-do’s this month: what to plant, gift ideas, holiday plant care, and more.

Check out our December 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. Plant These in December

There’s always the BEST time to get plants growing and here’s a few that LOVE this season as much as we do!

Strawberries…who could resist picking these sweet jewels in the Spring?

Onions…we grow short-day onion varieties here in South Texas. Lucky for us the 1015 Texas Supersweet is one of those along with tasty Texas Early White & Southern Belle Red.

Roses…our mild winters are perfect for big, beautiful roses & the cooler temps will only make them prettier and the flower color richer.

Trees…shade, flowering, small, big, they all benefit from planting now. Good root development during the cooler months of winter gives them better growth in spring and a deeper, stronger root system to withstand the summer heat.

Ornamental Cabbage…these winter classics need to be planted early this month and enjoyed through the season! Easy care, vibrant colors, and unique texture in the garden.

Alyssum…gorgeous white blooms all winter long. Did you know Alyssum flowers and leaves are edible? They have a pungent horseradish-y flavor.

2. Tips for Holiday Plants

Fresh-cut Christmas Trees…we give all of our trees a fresh cut and get them in water immediately to preserve their freshness. Many customers ask us for another fresh cut before they take the tree home. If you decide to have us do another fresh cut, or if you do it yourself, keep in mind that you have 10 minutes to get the tree in water before that cut seals over! Check water in your tree stand daily and keep it full. If you have pets who like to drink or splash the water, try covering with a piece of foil.

Poinsettias…Think of poinsettias as succulents – because they are! They are a type of euphorbia. That means give them a good drink, but let them dry out between waterings. Also, the leaves bruise and break easily, so avoid touching them as much as possible. So tempting to touch!

Christmas Cactus…Probably the easiest of all holiday plants, and they can last a LONG time! There are stories of Christmas Cacti that have been gifted and passed down through families for 100+ years. They like well-lit areas, but not direct sunlight. Let dry between waterings, then mist the leaves as well as water the soil when its time to water.

Living Holiday Trees…Junipers, Norfolk Pines, Loblolly Pines, Magnolias and Ficus trees all make great Christmas trees that can be planted outside after the holidays. If you bring these in for decorating, be sure they have good bright natural light. Keep watered but not too much, and as soon as the holidays are done…take them outdoors for a breath of fresh air and get them in the ground.

3. Think Gifts for Gardeners!

If you have gardeners on your list this year, we’ve got you covered! Quality tools like these classic French pruning sets, plant-able Christmas cards with wildflowers seeds embedded in them, self-watering ceramic mushrooms, and lots more unique garden gifts. And of course, plants!! If they’re picky, you can’t go wrong with a Gill’s gift card.

4. Plant, Feed, Water Winter Flowers

Winter flowers are AMAZING right now! Violas and Pansies are breathtaking and Geraniums are full of buds and blooms. All that blooming makes them hungry, so take a moment and fertilize your beauties. We love Plant Tone and or Hasta Gro. Both are organic and give you big results. Have that “one more empty pot” to fill?

5. Adjust Your Houseplant Care for Winter

Most houseplants will not experience a complete dormancy period during winter, but they will slow down growth and react to climatic changes like drier conditions inside the house. Give your houseplants more light and less water as temperatures and the amount of daylight hours drop. Dust/shine leaves regularly to ward off insects. Cooler temps = drier conditions and less of the humidity that houseplants love. Try grouping them together to create more humidity, or use a humidifier.

Bring the kids this Saturday, October 8th at 10am to make some wildflower seed balls! It’s time to plant wildflowers and seed balls are such a fun and easy way to do it. We’ll have stations set up with all the supplies, including native wildflower seeds, for kids to make their own seed balls. Here’s a preview – see you Saturday!

What are Seed Balls?

We recently saw the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center’s recipe for wildflower seed balls and thought this would be a wonderful project for kids here at Gill’s! Seed balls are simply balls formed with our native clay soil + compost, some sand, a little water, and Texas native wildflower seeds. We’ll be using the recommended ‘Lady Bird’s Legacy Wildflower Mix’ and ‘Texas Bluebonnets’ from Native American Seed.

Rather than just scattering the wildflower seeds, the seed balls help to protect them from the elements. All you do is place them on the ground in a spot where they have contact with dirt. No digging required. They’ll break down and ‘plant’ themselves this Fall, then you’ll get to see them bloom next Spring!

We’ll have stations set up with all the supplies for kids to get their hands dirty and make their own batch of seed balls to take home and plant. We’ll be on hand to help out too. Going to be lots of fun – see you Saturday!

This sign outside a Dublin flower shop reminded me it’s time to plant my favorite flower, Sweet pea! Sweet peas are the official flower for April and very easy to grow. Just remember to plant seeds in September or October in South Texas and ignore the package directions to plant in spring. My dad started me planting Sweet peas when I was a little girl. He put nails in the fence slats so I could wrap twine over each nail in a zigzag fashion to support the fast-growing vines. The result was a solid fence line of colorful, fragrant flowers to snip and arrange in little bouquets indoors. I was thrilled to find Sweet peas in almost every garden I visited in Ireland. They usually adorned the veggie/herb garden, twining on a variety of supports such as bamboo pole teepees and iron arbors. If you want to try growing these beauties buy seeds now and find a sunny spot in the garden where you can provide support for the vines. Work good compost into the soil. I use Nature’s Blend. Then, fill a shallow pan with enough water to cover the seeds and soak them overnight. Next day, remove the seeds from water and roll them in inoculant powder. Plant at depth and spacing per package instructions and water regularly.

-Kathy

Food from a garden is one of life’s best experiences. You get to play in dirt, sweat with a purpose, and the payoff is just plain rewarding: nutritious, delicious foods for you and your family. Not only is food-gardening fun, but it teaches us patience, trust, and connects us to where life begins – in the soil. So let’s get started!

1. Keep it Simple

Not too big, not too much. Gardening is fun and laborious. Your first few gardens should be manageable enough for you to have fun and success with.

2. Choose Your Food

We have two great seasons for growing food. Spring (Feb. 1st – June 1st) and Fall/Winter (Sept. 15th – Jan 31st). Each offers their own bounty. Mother Nature plays a vital part in this – check out “Gill’s Spring Vegetable Planting Dates For Nueces County” to help you decide what to grow and when to plant.

3. Pick Your Spot

All food gardens need: Adequate sun, nearby water source, good soil, and proper drainage. Whether you are planting in the ground, raised beds, or in containers, 4 to 6 hours of mid-day sun is generally enough for popular edibles like tomatoes, peppers, squash, beans, and most herbs.

Above: Last year, Debbie shared a weekly log of her fall/winter veggie garden – check it out!

Planting in: The Ground

Most vegetable plants will enjoy a good 12 inches of rich soft loam to grow in. You can make your own by adding Nature’s Blend or Cotton Burr Compost, to your existing soil. Follow this with Dried Molasses to attract good soil microbes.

Here’s my recipe for ground planting:

Clean/clear area of all weeds and grass
Moisten soil a couple of days before breaking ground-good for your back!
Break soil with a dirt fork if it’s hard packed. Then till the soil.
Add compost, till some more
Add molasses and Medina Growin Green Organic Fertilizer. Chicken feed it across the bed.
Hand rake into soil, water and rest the soil, at least a few days

The end result should be good rich soil, slightly mounded and ready for planting.

Above: A raised bed we installed for one of our landscape customers – all ready to plant!

Planting in: Raised Beds

Raising the bed has some great benefits including reducing weeds, helps with soil compaction, concentrates your energy in smaller spaces, easier to maintain, and it’s easier on your back…for those of us who need all the help we can get!

Here’s my recipe for planting in raised beds:

Build your gardens up as little as 4 inches, as much as 24 inches, more is better, with cinder blocks, rocks, or treated lumber.
Add sandy loam, purchased in bulk, and Nature’s Bend Compost. Mix it up.
Add Medina Growin Green and dry molasses.
Mix in, water, and rest; a few days for the soil & as needed for you.

Planting in: Containers

Using containers for growing food is perfect for small spaces or those who just want a little something to grow…a tomato, a pepper, a few herbs. You can add a trellis for beans and a few herbs or edible flowers for a pop of color.

HERE’S MY RECIPE FOR PLANTING IN CONTAINERS:

Choose some large pots, at least 5 gallon size, 10 gallon is better. Something pretty or old used nursery pots are fine.
Fill with good potting soil. Potting Soil by Landscaper’s Pride and Premium Potting Soil by Back to Nature are quality mixes for containers.
No need for anything to rest, the soil’s already blended and the work is easy!

Look ahead for the next part of this series. We’ll talk about what to plant this spring, seeds and transplants, growing vertical, fertilizing, and watering.

-Debbie