The Gill’s Garden Talk series continues this Saturday, 2/18/23 at 10am! Join us for Organic Veggie Gardening: Promoting Life with Wyatt Page, Gill’s Assistant Manager and passionate veggie gardener! Wyatt has an impressive garden at home and spends his days talking veggies here at Gill’s. He’ll share all kinds of tips for better food production, safe pest prevention, veggie garden design, and more. Bring your veggie questions. One attendee will win a $100 Gill’s gift card, and we’ll do some other giveaways too! Watch Wyatt’s video invitation and tomato tips below – see you Saturday!
Video
As of right now, NOAA (our preferred source for weather forecasts) shows cold weather starting Sunday night (1/14) through Wednesday morning (1/17), with temperatures dipping below freezing Monday and Tuesday nights. That means we’re busy preparing to protect plants here at Gill’s! We want you to be prepared too – here’s how.
1. Water all plants well. It sounds counterintuitive, but watering will help keep the ground temperature warmer by filling tiny air pockets in the soil.
2. Cover cold-sensitive/tropical plants (like Dracenas, Ti plants, Crown of Thorns, Schefflera, Ixora) and tender new plants. Cold-tolerant plants that were recently planted in the ground (like trees, Boxwoods, Hawthorns, etc.) do not need to be covered, just watered well.
- Gather supplies now, but wait until Sunday afternoon/evening to cover your plants. Keep your eye on the weather – it could change!
- We have pre-cut frost blankets and frost protection cloth that can be cut to your desired shape, or you can use quilts, bedsheets, towels, etc.
- Make a tent to capture ground warmth. Wrapping plants like a lollipop will not be effective. Make your tent and use whatever you have to weigh down the edges, like anchor pins, bricks, firewood, garden hoses, rocks, etc. Remember – the most important thing is to capture ground warmth. The ground temperature will remain warmer than the air. Watch Wyatt’s demo video below!
- Consider cutting back tall shrubs. If you have taller shrubs like Esperanza that would be difficult or impossible to cover, consider cutting it back to a few feet tall so you can cover it.
3. Bring in potted plants. Since potted plants don’t have the advantage of retaining ground warmth, they are more susceptible to cold temps. Bring them into the house or garage if you can. If they are too big or heavy, water them well, lay them over on the ground, and cover the whole plant (pot and all) with the tent method.
We can’t cover all of the information about freeze protection here, but you can give us a call or stop by if you have questions. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram where we’ll continue to post how-to’s and updates.
Click to Watch – How to Cover Plants for the Freeze!
The Mesquite trees say Spring is coming! Join us here at Gill’s this Saturday, 1/28/23 at 10am for James Gill’s ‘Get Ready for Spring’ garden talk. James will go over proper pruning techniques, what to plant, how to fertilize, and lots more. Bring your gardening questions! Our talks are always free, fun, and open to everyone. And one attendee will win a $100 Gill’s gift card! Watch James’ video invite below. See you Saturday!
Spring in South Texas starts around February 15th – 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
If you know you are watering well, but still see edges of lawn near the sidewalk and driveway that look dry and wilted, you might have chinch bugs. Here’s a quick video on how to identify.
Once you determine that chinch bugs are present, you can treat with hose-end Cyonara or Diatomaceaus Earth for an organic control.
Keep in mind: Chinch bugs are more likely to attack a dry stressed lawn before a healthy, well-hydrated lawn. Give lawns a deep drink (a good 1” of water) once a week, in the morning. Deep drinks encourage roots to grow deeper, which makes lawns more resilient to dry conditions and to pests.
B.Y.O.C. (Bring Your Own Container) Party
Do you have an empty pot begging to be planted? Or an interesting container you’d like to repurpose as a planter?? Bring it to Gill’s this Saturday for our B.Y.O.C. party! Bring your container, choose your plants, and plant it up! Use our potting shed and potting stations – we’ll provide the potting soil + potting tips, and we’ll clean up the mess. Here are a few ideas and things to consider.
Think Drainage!
All container gardens need drainage holes. This is a must. Either find something that already has holes, like this partially rusted-out iron kettle, or find something that you can easily cut or drill some holes in, like an old cooler!
Similar Watering Needs = Compatible Combinations
Combine plants in your container gardens that have similar watering needs. For example, you wouldn’t want to pair a cactus with a tropical houseplant in the same container. But you could do a desert bowl with different cacti + succulents or a jungle container with different houseplants. We also love combining flowers with veggies and herbs – similar watering needs and they look great together.
Think Contrasting Sizes + Textures + Colors
This is where you can really make things pop. Find something low-growing that spills and hangs to pair with plants that stand taller as a backdrop. Color, size, and texture combinations are endless.
Re-watch James’ Container Gardening Video for more tips and inspiration:
See you this Saturday! We’ll be potting all day 9 am to 5:30 pm – come by anytime.
Right now is a very exciting time for us South Texas Gardeners. It doesn’t feel like it yet, but our Summer season is coming to a close, and our best growing season is right around the corner. That’s means it’s time to decide what you’re growing and get going! Here are our tips for getting started.
Plan Your Garden
It’s veggie time – start by thinking about what you like to eat! You can produce a surprising amount of food for you and food to share in a small backyard (or front yard) garden. If you have limited space, containers or small raised beds are great. Watch James’ guide to container gardening – Grow Food Everywhere! Consider mixing Fall flowers like Marigolds, Lobelia, or Violas with your herbs and veggies.
Start Your Seeds!
If you’re starting from scratch (seed), right now is the time to start cabbage, squash, beans, and lots of others. Here’s our schedule for popular Fall veggie seeds. Also, check out Wyatt’s video demo about starting seeds – it’s not the only way, but it really helps with germination. If you prefer transplanting, we’ll start getting all our Fall veggie plants in the next week or 2. Our Texas growers have been prepping for a big Fall.
Clear out Weeds and Tired Plants
As our Summer veggies and cover crops finish their life cycle, harvest what you can and clean out the rest. When you start prepping your soil for new plants, you’ll be encouraging new growth, including weeds. So, take your time pulling weeds and get as many of the roots as you can.
Prep Your Soil
If you’re planting in the ground, your soil needs a good turning before planting. This is a good time to add some compost as well. By turning about 1 bag of Nature’s Blend compost into every 12 sq. ft. of soil (or a similar amount if you make your own compost), you create a perfect environment for young plant roots to take hold. If you’re prepping raised beds, we love Gardener’s Magic soil. It’s specially formulated for raised beds; just dump the bags in and start planting.
Think Trees Too
Fall is THE best time to plant trees in our area. Cooler temps mean less watering for you and less stress on the young tree. Planting in Fall also gives the tree roots plenty of time to get established before temps warm up again next Spring/Summer. New citrus and fruit trees have arrived this week, and lots of our South Texas favs like Cedar Elm, Live Oak, and Crape Myrtles are here with more en route. Check out Josh’s citrus planting demo – lots of these planting tips are great for all kinds of trees.
Since the freeze, we’ve all been busy cleaning up, waiting for some plants to recover, AND lots of new planting. We thought it would be helpful to go over some basic planting tips to be sure your plants get off to a strong start.
