veggie gardening

Since prehistoric times, man has been planting and harvesting crops according to the phases of the moon. In a nutshell, it means that various plants do best when planted or harvested at certain phases. All crops that produce their yield above ground should be planted during the Waxing (New to Full) Moon. The first week is especially good for crops that have their seeds on the outside, and the second week (between the 1^st quarter and the Full Moon) is the best for crops that produce seeds on the inside. Some examples of first quarter plants are asparagus, cabbage, celery, and spinach. During the second quarter from the half full to full moon plant beans, peas, peppers, squash, tomatoes, and cucumbers. During the third quarter or Waning Moon (Full to New Moon) is the time to plant root crops. Plant potatoes during the dark of the Moon. Onions, rhubarb, grapes and berries should also be planted at this time. No planting is to be done on the day of the New Moon or Full Moon and some say “Never plant on Sunday”. Whether you believe in planting by the moon or not, it is always good to try something new. My grandparents always planted by the moon, so this year I think I will try to see if it makes my garden grow better.

DeAnna

With cooler months finally upon us, now is the time for planting some of my favorite winter annuals, one being the ever vibrant, versatile and easy to grow Nasturtium. Here are some things you may or may not know about this lovely little flower:

Nasturtiums are edible, flowers and leaves. The flowers make a beautiful addition to the top of any salad and add a peppery flavor. During the mid-twentieth century people used nasturtium seed pods as a replacement for pepper by drying out the seeds and grinding them. The bloom can be dusted with sugar and used to decorate a holiday cake.

Nasturtium Salad c/o Sunset Magazine

They’re not picky and grow well in any type of soil. They love sunshine and don’t like to stay wet.
They make a great companion plant. They help deter aphids, white fly, squash bugs and other pests. Plant alongside veggies like tomatoes, cabbage & broccoli.

Gill Garden Guide: Fall & Winter Annuals

-Whitney

This year for Christmas we mailed 9 boxes of Myer lemons to family & friends around the country with our favorite lemon yogurt cake recipe. The Myer lemon is native to China and is a cross between a true lemon and mandarin orange. We have 2 Myer lemon trees growing at my family’s home, producing over 400 lemons a season.

And you’re wondering, what the heck do you do with that many lemons. Squeeze and freeze in ice cube trays for lemons all year long!! So here’s a great lemon cake recipe; easy and delicious plus photos of cakes our friends made! Enjoy!!

Makes 1 Loaf, Barefoot Contessa

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt
1 1/3 cup sugar, divided
3 extra large eggs
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest (2 lemons)
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (meyers lemon best!)

For The Glaze:

1 cup confectioners’ sugar
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8 1/2 x 4 1/4 x 2 1/2 inch loaf pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper. Grease and flour the pan.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt in one bowl. In another bowl, whisk together the yogurt, 1 cup sugar, the eggs, lemon zest, and vanilla. Slowly whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. With a rubber spatula, fold the vegetable oil into the batter, making sure it’s all incorporated. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 50 minutes, or until a cake tester placed in the center of the loaf comes out clean.

Meanwhile, cook the 1/3 cup lemon juice and remaining 1/3 cup sugar in a small pan until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is clear. Set aside.

When the cake is done, allow it to cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Carefully place on a baking rack over a sheet pan. While the cake is still warm, pour the lemon-sugar mixture over the cake and allow it to soak in. Cool.

For the glaze, combine the confectioners’ sugar and lemon juice and pour over the cake.

-Sally

The City of Corpus Christi and Texas Agrilife Extension have joined together for a free soil testing campaign.

Have you had your soil tested lately? If not, please take advantage of this opportunity. The report will tell you your soil nitrogen, phosphorous & potassium levels and acidity level and can help you select the right fertilizer for your lawn, landscape, vegetable, and flower gardens.

Stop by our store and pick up the form and bag to prepare your sample – limit 3 per homeowner. Samples can be returned to us, then the results will be mailed directly to you.

-DeAnna

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

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

Growing Fresh Food Part I, Part II

Photos from Debbie’s Last Fall Veggie Garden

We talked about watering and fertilizing last week. Now the fun stuff – watching your garden grow! Each day as you walk the garden, keep an eye out for seedlings emerging and harmful insects and disease, especially as your veggies grow.

Now I must tell you that there will be lots of insects in your garden, most of which are not harmful and many beneficial. Spiders, bees, ladybugs, lacewings, are your garden helpers eating many of the harmful insects. Toads, lizards, and even wasps will prey upon the nuisance critters. So be careful and use caution when using insecticides or fungicides.

In the multitude of choices, I always recommend an organic or non-chemical approach to start. Most common issues are caterpillars, aphids, spider mites, & stink bugs. These are easily controlled with organic products like Thuricide for caterpillars, Neem Oil for aphids, and Spinosad for stink bugs. Serenade is a natural fungicide that controls things like powdery mildew on squash, blights on tomatoes, and black spot on berry plants. A light application of Nature’s Blend around your plants will suppress fungus spores that can splash onto the leaves. Snails and pill bugs (rollie pollies) can be controlled with Snail & Slug Bait or a pan of beer. Of course, You can always be the control….squish!

Nature happens in your garden; lots of good and some not so good but don’t angst too much. It’s ok to have a few bad bugs and few marred leaves. Pick them off, throw them out and treat if necessary. When in doubt, bring us a sample of what’s happening and we’ll help you with the best solution for your situation!

Happy Growing!

-Debbie

weed-b-gon — **Weed B Gon** kills many different types of broadleaf weeds without harming your grass.

Days are staying warm and our lawns are growing. Now’s the time, sometime in the next few weeks, to get your lawn, trees and shrubs fertilized. Great for the spring application is our Gill 13-1-3 Lawn & Garden Fertilizer for all your trees, shrubs, vines and groundcovers. Also feeds the vegetable garden. One bag covers 6,000 square feet.

Winter weeds many times will just go away once your lawn starts growing. Some lawns, though just have too many weeds and need some pro-active weed killing. Ortho Weed B Gon For St. Augustine is safe to use on Floratam St. Augustine and comes in an easy to spray hose-end bottle and kills many, many different types of broadleaf weeds without harming your grass.

Image is great for grassy weeds like grassburs and also works on nutsedge and some broadleaf weeds without hurting your St. Augustine, also available in a easy to use hose end sprayer.

Post emergent weed killers are best used when it will be warm & sunny for a few days.

turf — Kill weeds before they sprout with **Hi-Yield** pre-emergent.

Another great weed management product is pre-emergent Hi Yield Grass Stopper With Dimension. It can be used any time of year to keep weed seeds from sprouting – in the first place!!

We know it’s a lot to learn. Please know we’re happy to help you make the best product choice for your landscape. And remember, it’s always important to read the label before using any lawn product. Come see us!

– DeAnna