veggie gardening

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

The weather was warm & dry last week and I have been watering a little each morning and evening. It is keeping our plants perky. I did our first Hastagro feeding on October 17^th, after fixing my cutoff hose with a new end and invested in a new hand sprinkler. My old one was used as a chew toy. Even though we hoed and pulled weeds before prepping our garden….guess what’s already coming back? The war is coming and I am hoping to have a new secret weapon to use…its organic, smells great and it works….more on that soon. Our seeds are sprouting nicely; all the transplants doing well, the mystery chewers have found the swiss chard already. Think I’ll start with a pan of beer for snails and slugs. If that does not fix it, I will try Dipel Dust or Spinosad. Both are natural and very effective for most chewing critters!

Maybe then I’ll drink the beer☺

-Debbie

A lot of folks are asking how to get their tomatoes, peppers, squash and cucumbers to put on more fruit. The answer might be as simple as you need more bees! Pollinators like bees and butterflies are a critical part of any successful garden, so make some space for bee attracting plants. Some of our favorites are Pink Fairy Duster, African Blue Basil and Calendula.

This stuff works! We tried it out last week on a patch of weeds here in the nursery in a side by side comparison with 20% Vinegar. Within about 5 minutes (I kid you not!) the weeds started drooping. They were dead within an hour. It was amazing! I was floored by its effects. Not only did all the weeds die (even tough ones like spurge, sedge, plantain and horse herb), but they stayed dead. The Vinegar made the weeds droop, but within 3 days they were back with a vengeance. Burn Out is made of clove oil and citric acid, so it smells great and is pet and people friendly. It kills the root without translocating to other plants, making it perfect for veggie gardens! We really like it, so we got a concentrate and a ready-to-use spray. We think this is a winner!

-Marta

“What smells so good in the kitchen?” my family asks. “Just sautéing the onions.” I reply. Funny how the pungent tear evoking root awakens our noses and our stomachs that something incredibly good is bound to come from of it. Its onion planting time and the first ones are here and ready to plant…just in time for the holidays! Onions need lots of sun, good drainage, fertilizer, and time if you want larger bulb onions. Harvesting green onions is just a month or so of growing, plucking and eating. Because onions are a root vegetable, they can rot in our hard clay soil but planting them in raised gardens or large pots to help soil moisture makes it easy and more successful. We grow short day onion varieties in South Texas and our favorites are Bermuda White, Southern Belle Red, and the famous 1015Y Texas Super Sweet . See our Garden Guide on growing onions in South Texas. You’ll soon be hearing…” What smells so good in the kitchen?”

-Debbie

Pre Spring tips…do now & save time later!

Do

Apply Pre-emergents Amaze or Hi Yield Weed and Grass Preventor with Dimension to prevent spring weeds.
Spray All Seasons Oil to kill and prevent scale insects this spring on flax lily, cast iron plant, irises, pittosporums & hollies.
Treat for lawn fungus as a cure and preventative due to damp weather with F-Stop or Bayer Lawn Fungus Control, organically with Serenade or Natures Blend.
Prepare veggie gardens for spring plantings. Pull up all old vegetables, and rework the soil with Cotton Burr Compost or Natures Blend.

Don’t

Prune indian hawthorns, azaleas, or carolina jasmine since they are an early spring bloomer.
Prune tropicals, ex. hibiscus, bougainvilleas, lantanas, plumbagos, etc..
Spray a weed killer (it is too cold to be effective).

It’s time to start planting your spring garden. This week we will have a fresh shipment of onion sets, seed potatoes, and a few varieties of tomatoes. There is also time to get another round of broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower going before it gets too late. New shipment of 2016 seeds are here if you prefer to start your tomatoes and peppers early by seed. Use Natures Blend to prepare the garden soil and Frost Blankets to protect tender veggies from the cold nights.

-DeAnna

Not everyone has a large area in the backyard to garden, but did you know that most vegetables can be grown in containers. Clay pots, plastic pots, hanging baskets or even the new trendy Grow Bagz. Burpee Seed packets show a small pot on the label to show which varieties are easily grown in containers. Beans, beets, cabbage, carrots, collards, bush cucumbers, lettuce, mustard greens, tomatoes, peppers and squash, just to name a few. All of the greens do great in hanging baskets if you are limited on ground space. Start out small and pick a few of your favorites and try a small patio garden. Home grown…the best!!

–DeAnna

veggie gardening

Pre Spring tips…do now & save time later!

Do

Don’t

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