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Garden Blog January 2023

Tim’s Garden Center Notes

Garden Blog by Tim Thompson – Your Hometown Garden Guy

This Garden Blog will specifically talk about tips for January Gardening in Wimberley, Texas! We hope you enjoy the read. The freakish weather patterns, hot and cold, dry and wet, from the poles and the tropics have become the mainstays of our Texas forecasts. Due to this, I suggest that you learn what you need to do to protect your home, family, and garden, and stay ready to act when necessary. For instance, I have learned to wrap and insulate the outdoor faucets and pile mulch around the roots of some shrubs and trees. Besides leaving one faucet dripping on the coldest nights, we cover our wellhead, pressure tank, and all associated plumbing and plug in a couple of lamps under the cover. Bringing in tropical plants and draining hoses is also a good idea!

Garden Blog January Chores

While this is the “quiet season” in the gardening world, there are a few essential chores for Wimberley gardeners to remember.

Chief among those is tree pruning. Click this link to see all the Tree Pruning Products available at the store. Dormancy means less stress on the trees, and the insects that can spread disease from one open wound to another are usually gone for the season. Most trees need only dead or damaged limbs removed as well as any that rub against one another or a nearby structure. REMEMBER THIS IMPORTANT THING: For the same reasons you would want your surgeon to do so, be sure to sterilize all your tools between patients. Using a 10% bleach solution will prevent the spreading of any pathogens from one tree to another. As extra protection against disease, I recommend you paint your cuts with pruning sealer as soon as they are made.

Practice pruning that is safe for your trees. Make clean cuts that cannot collect rain that would encourage rot. Don’t leave stubs, but rather prune right up to the collar from whence a branch begins to grow. All pruning tools should be sharp and clean to avoid spreading disease.

Pruning can be an inherently dangerous job. We want you to have a terrific, healthful gardening season this year and every year, so please do remember that any job involving ladders, sharp tools, or power equipment requires the utmost attention to safety. Wear protective gear appropriate to your task, especially gloves and eye and hearing protection. Be careful.

Garden Blog Fruit Tree January Care

Fruit trees require slightly different treatment. In very young trees, choose two or three balanced leading branches, and remove all others, always finishing the ends of the branches with an angled cut just above an outward facing bud. As they mature, remove branches that threaten to cross or rub, and all those growing toward the center of the tree to encourage a wide-open canopy with lots of air circulation and sunshine down into the center of the tree. This task will maximize fruit production and minimize disease problems. After the first few years of shaping cuts, only maintenance pruning should be necessary.

Garden Center Vegetables

January is the time to remember some delicious veggies. Potatoes are planted this month and into early/mid-February to get them ready to produce tons of tubers later in the spring. We’ll have a ready supply of both red and white certified seed potatoes beginning early in the month. Pick up a free copy of Tim’s Tips for growing potatoes, as they are grown in a distinctive
manner.

Asparagus is also grown in an unusual fashion, and we have the crowns available now. They are already two years old, and a year or two should be plenty to get them established and producing lots of delicious spears for your table in the early spring.

If you have not yet planted your bulb onions, you still have time, but they should be planted by mid- February. We’ll keep all your favorite varieties in stock to produce loads of sweet, tasty bulbs later this spring.

Our gardens may appear dead, but they are only down for their annual sleep, and are full of life, nonetheless. The roots of perennials and trees are exchanging minerals and water with the earth even as they bring nutrition to rosettes and buds in preparation for the season just a few weeks away.

Take the opportunity this winter to enrich the soil in your garden to replace the nutrients used in making all those tasty, nutritious veggies last year. Our gardens grow all year on the soil we create now. Enrich it as needed with organic material, like compost, manure, or peat moss, and add trace minerals if you haven’t added them for a while. Add cottonseed meal or blood meal, rock phosphate or bone meal, and add greensand for potassium, and get ready for a great gardening year!

January 10, 2023Uncategorized, , , , , , , 0 Comments
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Garden Blog December 2022

Tim's Garden Center Notes

Garden Blog by Tim Thompson - Your Hometown Garden Guy

It’s easy to let the shopping and plans of the holiday season take our attention from the things that matter the most in our lives. The love we hold for one another is what gives real meaning and importance to our lives. Take a moment today to show someone that you care about them and strike a victory for human kindness.

The weather this season has been uncommonly seasonal- cool, with a fair amount of rain. The long-range forecasts are widely varied, so we’ll likely just have to follow the forecasts week by week. Storing soil moisture during the winter can make a real difference in the growing season next year, so, we are hoping for plenty of soothing, replenishing rains.

December Tender Plant Care

For the most tender plants in your garden, be sure to give them a little extra care. Water them well before especially cold spells, and cover the most susceptible with frost cloth, floating row cover, cloches, or wrap them in sheets or blankets. Remember that covering them alone might not be enough in extreme cold. For very cold temperatures, provide them with a heat source, such as a light bulb, heat tape, or a heater under their covering.

Fruit Trees For Sale In Wimberley, Texas

At the King Feed Garden Center you can find fruit trees and bushes year-round, but this is the traditional time to plant them. Planting now gives them the longest possible time to develop a strong root system before they must rely on it to get through their first Texas summer. We have a full selection of the best-adapted varieties for the Hill Country, all of which can thrive and be productive here. We carry only well-rooted container-grown specimens that are grafted onto the hardiest of rootstocks for Texas. They are grown for us by several local growers. Come by and let us help you choose from our peaches, apples, plums, pears, nectarines, figs, grapes, blackberries, and more!

December Vegetables For Sale In The Garden Center

Winter vegetable gardening continues this month as we begin planting bulb onion plants. There is no rush because the recommended planting date for onion plants is January and February here, but planting now, with the right weather conditions, can produce extra good crops. The short-day varieties constitute the best-adapted family for growing here in the Wimberley valley. This includes Texas Grano Supersweet 1015Y and its new, improved version, the Texas Legend, which are still the top favorites here. Texas Yellow Granex (grown in Georgia as the Vidalia onion) and Southern Belle Red are longtime favorites, and we’ll have a plentiful supply through mid-February. Several other well-adapted varieties are sometimes available as well, and all do well here. Cool weather and short days at the beginning of our onion-growing season stimulate lots of leaf growth, which in turn, produces large bulbs as the days lengthen and the weather warms next spring. Pick up a free Tim’s Tips planting guide for bulb onions. They’re easy to plant, fun to grow, nutritious, sweet, and delicious!

We won’t have certified seed potatoes available until next month, but now is the time to begin to prepare their planting beds. They do best in well-drained beds raised slightly above grade and enriched with lots of decomposed organic material, including an extra source of phosphorus, like bone meal or rock phosphate. Mix it up now and let the nutrients age for the best results in January and February.

One of the first things I learned in gardening was helping my dad spray our fruit trees, ornamentals, and shade trees with dormant oil. It is perhaps the easiest, cheapest, and most environmentally friendly way to control pest problems. Spray the trunk, branches, and twigs of woody tissue deciduous plants after the leaves have fallen with dormant spray, also called by many other names like Volck oil and horticultural oil spray. Insect egg cases and fungal spores will be encapsulated and rendered powerless in your garden. One treatment is all that’s needed. It’s as simple as that!

Few things of beauty in our lives last as long as a majestic spreading shade tree or a distinctive and colorful ornamental tree. All the Texas oaks: live, burr, red, Monterey, Sierra, chinquapin, and lacey, as well as cedar elms, make wonderful shade for generations to come. Our Texas mountain laurels, Anacacho orchid trees, Mexican plums, Texas redbuds, crape myrtles, and desert willows all make strong, lasting ornamental statements. If you are looking for a lasting, meaningful gift, a tree is a constant reminder of the person who gives it.

Speaking of gifts, we have lots of ideas for the gardener in your life. Please feel free to ask any of us in the nursery. We are gardeners as well as nursery professionals, and we’d be happy to share with you some of the things that make gardening easier and even more fun!

December 1, 2022December 2022 Wimberley Gardening Blog, , , , , 0 Comments
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Fall and Winter Gardening Blog

Tim's Garden Center Notes November 2022

Tim Thompson - Your Hometown Garden Guy

As blisteringly hot as the recent summer was, our autumn has been surprisingly mild– even coolish! I am sure most of you will join me in casting your vote for a mild November with plentiful rain to fill our aquifers and soothe the land as well as the gardeners. Fall and Winter gardening is upon us! Speaking of temperature, our average date of the first freezing temperature is usually around November 20th, depending on your elevation, so you will want to be prepared for that soon. In my years of living here, the first frost occurred as early as October 28th, and as late as January.

Thank YOU For Being A King Feed Customer!

Thank you for your patronage this and every year. The season of thanks is upon us, and we’re filled with gratitude that you have welcomed us into your lives to help fill your needs for home and ranch goods, pet needs, and everything you need for a beautiful garden! We wish you Peace, Love, and Flowers to fill your every dream!

Fall and Winter Gardening

Accordingly, you’ll want freeze protection for the potted plants and tropicals that have spent the summer beautifying your decks, porches, and yards. For fall and winter gardening, you will want to plan ahead. Prune them lightly if needed, and if in the same soil for a year or more, they need fresh dirt and a little more root space. Using the next larger-sized pot, repot them with fresh quality potting mix. If any of them show signs of pest problems, then take care of those issues before bringing them inside your house. Find a nice cozy winter spot for them, preferably with a bit of daily sunshine. Most will be happy in your home for the winter but try to keep them out of the drying drafts that heat vents create. If you have indoor plants that you are trying to keep just above freezing, that can accomplished in a garage, utility room, or well house. Plant caddies with wheels will make the job much easier with your larger plants. Remember that some of your outside plants will need protection as well. Plants that are only marginally winter-hardy here will benefit from extra root insulation on the coldest nights. Six inches of mulch is one of the most effective solutions, but anti- transpirants like Cloud Cover® or frost protection fabric such as N-sulate® can help as well.

Fall and Winter Gardening Protection Products

Whenever truly wintry weather sets in and no one knows exactly when that will come- remember that well-hydrated perennials, shrubs, and trees will be much more able to withstand extreme temperatures. Try not to forget your outside plant friends even when
they are asleep for the winter. Water them if we go too long without rain and top their root zone with a few inches of mulch for extra protection from cold temperatures and from the drying winter air.

Fall Yard Tasks

Winter is the perfect time of year to get rid of any annoying poison ivy and poison oak on your property. Their leaves usually turn brighter to orange in the fall, making them easier to find and eliminate. Their leaves have three leaflets 2 to 4 inches long whose edges can be toothed, smooth, or lobed, and all three variations can occur on one plant. Save yourself time and trouble by using a product specifically made for them, not regular garden Roundup, which is not made for this purpose. The best products for this job contains Hi-Yield Triclopyr Ester.

Onion Plant Growing Tips

Onion plants will be available later this month, usually by Thanksgiving if the weather is good, and that begins the onion-planting season, which continues into February. You can begin to prepare a spot for them in your garden now by building a bed at least four inches above the grade of the surrounding soil. (Raised bed gardens are perfect!) They like loose or sandy, well-drained soil with plenty of organic matter. While they prefer soil with a slightly acidic pH, you can add organic material, such as peat moss, compost, or manure and use sulfur to help lower the high pH of our soil in Wimberley for a perfect onion bed.

Fall and Winter Flowers Bring Color To Yards and Houses

As the wintery weather wears on, our gardens will begin to take on seasonal colors like browns and grays. You’ll be especially glad you had the foresight to plant your flower beds full of beautiful cool weather bloomers like snapdragons, pansies, violas, and dianthus. Plant them with a few handfuls of blood meal and bone meal mixed into the soil for season-long color that will brighten up your garden plot’s winter blahs.

King Feed Fall and Winter Gardening Center Gifts and Decorations

We have lots of wonderful gift ideas in the Garden Center for you and your loved ones. From decorating items like garden benches and pottery to toys, clothing, shoes, boots, jackets, books, and garden whimsy of all kinds, don’t forget your hometown store, King Feed, when you shop for that someone special in your life. Commerce around the world may feature sales days advertised as seasonal specials, but King Feed brings you good old-fashioned value and fair prices all day, every day.

November 3, 2022Fall and Winter Blog November 2022, , 0 Comments
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October 2022 Wimberley Gardening Tips

october 2022 garden center products wimberley texas
October 2022 Garden Center Products - Wimberley Texas King Feed and Hardware

Fall 2022 In Texas

Beautiful, mild weather similar to what we are currently having is our big payback for persevering through this year’s brutal Texas summer. It’s perfect weather for working in your garden and lawn, and there is plenty to do in the garden this time of year.

It is nearly always time to plant one blooming bulb or another! Keep up with the latest selections of fall-planted deer-resistant bulbs as well as all your favorite bulbs to force indoors for fun and beautiful decorating and gift uses. We sometimes run out of paperwhite narcissus and amaryllis due to their popularity, so we encourage you to shop early for the best choices. Many varieties will bloom as early as January! For best results, plant bulbs with a handful of blood and bone meal or one of our premixed bulb boosters.

Fall Vegetable Gardening Time Is Here

It is finally time to plant all your favorite cool-weather veggies. Swiss chard, cabbage, cauliflower, spinach, broccoli, mustard greens, turnip greens, lettuce, endive, arugula, Brussels sprouts, pak choi, carrots, and others can be planted now, and some can be planted repeatedly through the cooler months. Don’t forget certified seed garlic and shallots from King Feed Garden Center—they’re delicious in so many of our favorite dishes! You can also plant beets, carrots, and radishes from seed and strawberries from transplants now. Enjoy fresh salads and delicious, nutritious cruciferous vegetables.

fall vegetable plants for sale
Fall Vegetable Plants For Sale - King Feed and Hardware

Fall Mums For Sale!

Mum flowering plants are a striking decorative touch, especially with other fall-colored leaves and gourds. You’ll find them right now in different sizes in our well-stocked nursery. Some are new varieties that will especially make your décor pop, and they are only available at independent garden centers like ours. Come in and choose your favorites. While you’re in, have a look at our brilliant selection of pretty choices for your cool-season flower beds: pansies, dianthus, violas, and snaps to keep the color going all year!

You can soothe the winter problems of mud in the house and ‘blah’ brown dormant lawns by greening with a pretty carpet of easy-to-grow winter ryegrass. With very little effort, you can start a pretty, green lawn that will last all winter long and help protect your existing lawn against the harshest winter weather and erosion. Just pour the bag of seed into your lawn spreader and walk around the yard a few times, lightly water, or wait for a shower, and you’ll be in the green in no time. We sell it by the pound and in a 50 lb. bag that will cover a little over 5,000 square feet. Because it’s growing in the cooler months, it uses little water and takes almost no care.

Wildflower Seeds Are In The King Feed Garden Center

6 Wildflowers That Benefit The Texas Ecosystem - Click To Read

Texas Wildflower Seeds For Sale

At The Store Are Below

Don’t miss the prime wildflower seed planting season! Texas Bluebonnets, several different wildflower mixes, and individual wildflower seed packets are available and ready to move to their new home at your place. Many wildflowers are the primary food and living choices of local and migratory butterflies. For the very best results, first, remove most of the competing vegetation from a contiguous area or prepare random strips or patches of ground and disturb the soil by tilling or raking. Sow the seed, rake lightly, and water as needed to keep the soil moist for a while, then stand back to enjoy the genuine beauty of true Texas color in the spring. In case you are wondering: Using a broadleaf weed killer on your lawn will kill many or most of the wildflowers growing there, so don’t use them near your wildflowers.

Winter 2022 Plant Preparation

As we head into the winter, it’s a good time to begin thinking about how best to protect your plants from winter weather. For trees and shrubs, top dress the root zone with one inch of compost, then top that with two to four inches of mulch. For tender plants that you cannot bring inside, begin to scout around for things you can use to wrap or cover the plants, like blankets, tarps, boxes, buckets, or bags. Remember that all plants are colder tolerant when they are thoroughly hydrated, so keep your garden well-watered if rainfall is insufficient.

It’s been an unusual year for Wimberley lawns. A relatively wet spring brought lots of new growth, but an ultra-dry summer followed, leaving sad and stressed lawns. Preparing those lawns ready for winter is one of the chores we want to take care of this month. The food we developed especially for Wimberley lawns, King’s Premium Lawn Food, is the recommended product available for the job. Its slow-release nitrogen, extra iron and sulfur, and a full complement of micronutrients will fulfill your lawn’s nutritional needs all winter long. We also have an ample supply of popular certified organic foods: Sustane 8-2-4, and Milorganite, both of which will improve your soil while slowly feeding your lawn all season.

October 17, 2022October 2022 Wimberley Gardening Tips, Vegetable Plants, , , , , , , , , , , , , 0 Comments
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September 2022 Wimberley Gardening Tips

After a memorable summer of some of the worst weather Texas ever produced, most of us are ready for something new. We can be thankful that traditional September weather is a lot more agreeable. The average high temperatures for this month go from the seventies to around ninety. Plus, we have the medium rain chances. All in favor, say “aye!” September in Wimberley, Texas, is the perfect time to stop by all the cute shops. For instance, you can find so many unique retail shops and restaurants on the Wimberley Square.

Nothing says autumn like the brilliant colors displayed by some of our favorite native trees, and this is the absolute best time to plant trees in south Texas. We have mostly evergreen native tree cover in the Hill Country, but the deciduous trees that splash fall color across the hills are some of the most gorgeous. If you’d like more reds, oranges, golds, and yellows in your landscape, then consider planting Red Oak, Bigtooth Maple, Prairie Flame leaf Sumac, Texas Ash, American Smoke Tree, Shumard Oak, or Cedar Elm. You can specifically find the Red Oak, Prairie Flame Leaf Sumac, and the Cedar Elm in the garden center at the store.

We started September 2022 with a 10% sale on all plants in the garden center and nursery. You missed a great sale that had everything on sale from trees to vegetables. If it was a plant, then it was 10% OFF!

Whether you plant one of these Texas beauties or another well-adapted tree, remember that trees are some of our best defenses against the effects of climate change. Their ability to lock up carbon in their tissues while creating fresh, breathable oxygen for us. Planting now gives them the longest possible time to become well-rooted and established before having to face their first Texas summer. Pick up your free copy of Tim’s Tips for Planting Trees and Shrubs in the Garden Center. Plus, you can plant a tree for the future of Texas!

September Garden and Yard Chores

Every September chores include dividing your iris, amaryllis, cannas, daylilies, liriope, and wood ferns. Gently dig around the existing clumps with a sharp shovel or garden fork and loosen them into smaller bunches with your fingers. Trim the tops back by as much as 75% with sharp scissors or clippers. Spread out the roots and replant your new clusters into garden soil enriched with cottonseed meal and rock phosphate or blood and bone meal, and water them thoroughly. You’ll be glad next year when you enjoy even more of these beautiful and reliable perennials.

Keep Your Yard Green All Fall

Mid-September through Mid-October, is one of the recommended times for planting grasses from seed. The temperatures have usually moderated, and rainfall is more likely, making it exactly the time to get turf started. Try one of our native grass seed mixes, the Wildflower Research Center’s Habiturf, or good old-fashioned common Bermuda, fescue, and Gulf Annual Ryegrass. All do fine when started at this time. Please feel free to pick up a free copy of Tim’s Tips: Planting Grasses from Seed, available only at King Feed.

Autumn is a great time for building new compost piles. With the bounty of fall leaves from shrubs and trees and the grass clippings from lawn trimming, you’ll be able to start up an extensive collection of organic materials that can decompose over the winter and be ready to add to your garden in the spring. Composting is not difficult, but there are a couple of practices that can guarantee reliable results every time. You can find them in your free copy of Tim’s Tips on Composting at the store.

Fall Vegetables and Fruits To Plant

Be sure to leave room in your garden for the cooler season vegetables, available beginning this month. Broccoli, cabbage, kale, Brussels sprouts, strawberries, lettuce, Swiss chard, spinach, endive, mustard greens, and lots of other delicious greens will be ready to choose from our garden center. Choose from our full assortment of little starters or seeds in the garden center. Plant them as soon as the weather begins to break for the best results, reinforcing the nutritional value of your soil with compost, cottonseed meal, and rock phosphate as needed.

We will also have the full range of beautiful cool season flowers beginning toward the end of this month. Lots of gardeners swear that cool season flowers usually take less weeding, watering, and fussing than their warmer season cousins. Pansies, violas, snapdragons, ornamental peppers, mums, dianthus, and ornamental kale and cabbage will brighten up your fall and winter flower garden. We’ll have those and lots more choices all winter long! 

Winter Yard and Garden Preparation

Winter cover crops provide “green manure” to decompose in your compost or till into your garden to increase the fertility of your soil. Sometimes they directly provide the nitrogen stores in your garden soil, as with legumes like clover, iron and clay peas, or hairy vetch. Some, like Elbon rye, can even be useful for controlling nematodes in your veggie garden. One of the most popular, Gulf Annual Ryegrass, also known as Winter Rye, is mostly used to keep a pretty and green presence in yards and to reduce muddy spots and erosion. It can be planted right over your existing lawn without disturbing your existing turf. Plant them all over the next sixty to ninety days for the best results.

  • gulf annual ryegrass seed

    Gulf Annual Ryegrass Seed

    Gulf Annual Ryegrass Seed is perfect to plant in Winter. This Oregon-grown, premium quality grass seed provides quick, temporary cover. It’s fast to germinate, so you’ll be able to see…

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August 2022 Garden Blog and Tips

Wimberley's Hometown Garden Guy - Tim Thompson

Surviving Hot August Weather In Wimberley, Texas

Our average high temperature for August is about 96°, and that would be a welcome respite from the hellish temperatures of June and July here. Remember, though, that August weather is at least as unpredictable as every month in Wimberley, Texas. A high-pressure dome or a tropical storm can change things in a hurry. If you are a native-born or a transplanted Texas, then you know to be prepared for anything. Plan accordingly. My Ancestry DNA tests found overwhelmingly Scandinavian roots in my family, so I am acutely aware of the need for protection from solar radiation, especially in the long summers here and especially in South Texas. Sunscreen, long sleeves, and wide brim hats are more than a good idea- they are a necessity for gardening in Wimberley, Texas. Remember: What we used to call a nice, healthy tan is now known as skin damage! Be heat safe. Drink plenty of water while you’re tending to your garden. Nothing hydrates the human body or your garden plants better than clean, clear water. Do your gardening early in the day or as the sun is setting, out of the hottest parts of the day, and be sure to take frequent rests in the shade.

Conserve Water To Help Protect Swimming Holes

Both of our towns amazing swimming holes have become unsafe for people to go swimming. This sad news came at the end of July 2022. Due to low amounts of rain and the Texas heat, Jacobs Well has completely stopped flowing for the 4th time in recorded history. Also, our other beautiful natural swimming park Blue Hole is unsafe to swim at too.

Weed and Insects Control For August

This is your last chance of the year to get rid of those nasty sticker burs that have taken over so many lawns during the past year. Pre-emergent weed prevention, as well as organic corn gluten are ways to control grassy weeds like sticker burs, crabgrass, goose grass, and dallisgrass. Although they do not affect already-growing weeds or grasses, they are quite effective in preventing the germination of the seeds of these annual grasses. This month is one of the recommended times for application if it has been about three months or so since you last applied. If your problem is severe, then you may have to diligently apply it about every three months during the growing season to regain some control. The next recommended time for the application will be next February. Many folks have complained of the multitudes of fleas and chiggers this year, which often happens when the natural balances of insects are disrupted by extreme weather patterns. Plain sulfur granules, like DisperSul®, sprinkled around with a lawn spreader and lightly watered in will deter and kill these and many other pests. It’s a natural mineral, it’s good for our alkaline soil here, and you may find that it repels snakes as well. Beneficial nematodes can help as well.

Some nasty diseases are transmitted by this year’s plentiful mosquitoes, to say nothing of the discomfort of stings. Do what you can to avoid offering your blood as their meal with insect repellants, which are now available in organic and all-natural choices as well as the traditional DEET-based products. You might want to try one of the new wearable, battery-operated clip-on bug repellants such as Off! A clip-on that does not require you to apply anything to your skin.

Solarizing is the practice of sterilizing your garden soil to get rid of pathogens, nematodes, weeds, and weed seeds, and this is the best time of year to do it. If you have some space not currently being used, as is often the case between seasonal plantings, rake a thin layer of fresh, not-yet-fully-decomposed compost or manure into the top layer of soil, lightly water, and cover it with transparent plastic. The combination of heat gain from the greenhouse effect and heat from the decomposing compost will get rid of many of the problems in that area. Weighting the edges with soil or wooden planks will slow venting and increase the temperatures under the plastic, increasing its effectiveness. At this time of year, leave it for two to four weeks, then uncover and garden away!

August Insect Control

Several common insects will swarm during August, optimizing their colonies and sending our new queens to create new colonies. Ants and several other insects will appear to balloon in population for a few days, appearing in unusual places like your bathtub or well house, then settle into their new homes and get on with their lives. Some of their short lives will be spent annoying us and so, I am reminding you that there are safe, effective treatments for control of all pest problems. Come in and we’ll be happy to help.

A Wimberley Plant Store With Vegetable Plants

There is still time to plant tomatoes, peppers, pumpkins, and squash now, so they will be ready for setting fruit as the temperatures moderate over the next couple of months. Toward the end of this month, you can still squeeze in another crop of cucumbers and green beans, planted directly into your garden from seed.

sweet banana pepper plant wimberley
Sweet Banana Pepper Plant Wimberley, Texas King Feed
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Early Girl Tomato Plant - King Feed Wimberley, Texas
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Ghost Pepper Plant - King Feed Wimberley, Texas
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Sweet 100 Tomato Plants - King Feed Wimberley, Texas
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Chile Pequin Pepper Plant - King Feed Wimberley, Texas

We hope the end of summer and the beginning of the new school year is wonderful for you, and we look forward to seeing you back in the nursery as soon as you incline to visit. We have kept things green and thriving for you!

Peace and Love and Happy Gardening!

August 9, 2022August 2022 Wimberley Garden Center Tips Blog, Vegetable Plants, , , , , , , 0 Comments
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July Garden Center 2022 Tips

By Tim Thompson - Your Hometown Garden Guy

As the days get shorter from now through the end of the year, many central Texas gardeners report that their fall gardens are sometimes easier to grow than their typical spring gardens. Having the warmer temperatures toward the beginning of the planting season does make it more important to make sure your fledgling plants have enough water, but those warmer days will get your garden growing much faster than in the warm-cool-warm temperature swings of spring.

July Vegetable Gardening Tips In Wimberley, Texas

You garden will welcome new crops of tomatoes, peppers, squash, cucumbers, corn, okra, eggplants, pumpkins, and other warm season favorites this month. Early August is a better time for green beans and peas, and September and October will mark the time for leafy green crops and Cole crops such as broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, collards, and kale.

Wimberley Summer Organic Garden Insect Control

Biting and stinging insects have resumed their annual visits at our house as usual this year. Scorpions, fleas, ticks, chiggers, and fire ant populations have boomed, but you can fight them effectively without damaging the budget or the environment. Lots of bugs take advantage of our summer warmth to swarm and multiply, and you’ll see that evidenced by thousands of identical insect cousins crawling all around a small area in or around you house. Others seek refuge in our homes for the cool air and running water. These are problems that you can deal with safely and effectively. Several principles of pest management apply:

1. Instead of attempting the impossible task of ridding your environment of insects, concentrate on reducing their population and controlling their location.

2. Preventing insect infestation is much easier and less expensive than remediating a serious bug problem once it has ballooned out of control.

3. Using targeted pest control products that will kill or prevent infestations, rather than all bugs including the beneficial ones, will better control the overall pest problem around your house. Examples include Nolo Bait for grasshoppers; beneficial nematodes for outside ants, chiggers, fleas, and other ground-dwelling bugs; and boric acid powder for roaches and ants inside the house. Several companies make liquid boric acid bait packs for safe use in the kitchen and the rest of your home. We also use granulated sulfur to discourage pests around the house, under the deck, and around the barn and well.

 This is the perfect time of year to scout the gardens around town to see which plants are thriving and performing well in our latest stretch of 100° plus days. The native plants that have made it on the little rain we’ve had this year are a testament to the rugged nature of well adapted plants. Water-saving, reliably cold-hardy, faithfully beautiful, and at-home in the Hill Country plants are the hallmark of a successful garden in Wimberley. If you need help choosing some, then ask one of our knowledgeable nursery professionals at the King Feed Garden Center. We have always carried an extensive collection of native and well-adapted plants and everything you need to help them get started and live long, productive lives.

July 2022 Things To Do In Wimberley, Texas

Relentless triple digit days can get tiresome, but Texans have historically accepted that challenge and made the best of it. Patio tables with umbrellas, shade trees sheltering the yard, misting systems cooling the back porch, ice cold beverages to cool the fevered brow, grilling dinner outside instead of heating up the kitchen indoors- all of these are cultural coping tools we use. Don’t forget visiting one of Wimberley’s aquatic jewels to cool off your days. Blue Hole Regional Park and Jacob’s Well Natural Area are just a phone call or web visit away from a reservation to uniquely gorgeous and cold swimming. Check them out- they are absolutely awesome. If you're looking for a Wimberley restaurant with outdoor seating, then you should definitely visit Chill's On The Creek! They are a family friendly restaurant with a huge outdoor patio shaded by beautiful trees. Plus, they have a full bar for adults.

pumpkin small sugar pie plant
Pumpkin, Small Sugar Pie Plant Wimberley, Texas

July is your last chance to plant Jack O’Lanterns, pie pumpkins, ornamental pumpkins, and other varieties of squash. They are easy to grow, and our sizzling summer weather is right for them. They just need some decent garden soil and excellent drainage, so planting in hills or raised beds works well here. Since pumpkins are insect-pollinated, it’s important to be careful about the use of pesticides in your pumpkin patch. Plant half a dozen seeds of your favorite variety, then thin them out to the three strongest seedlings after the third set of leaves appear. Leave plenty of room between hills and allow them to ripen on the vine for the best produce. If you want to avoid some of the ground scars on the skin, put a handful of straw under each fruit after they set fruit. Check the number of days to maturity on your favorite variety and count backwards from the date you want to harvest to make sure you plant in time. 

Starting July 2022, all of the Organic Botanical Interest Seeds are 40%! Hurry to grab your while supplies last. Also, check out some of the July popular products at our store!

organic seed sale july 2022 wimberley texas
Organic Botanical Interest Seed Sale

Stay safe, take care of one another and, as always, spread peace, love, and flowers!

Tim’s Garden Shopping List

For a gorgeous front yard and backyard lawn!

• King's Premium Lawn Food custom blended

 for all Wimberley grasses, shade trees, and shrubs

• Disper-Sul sulfur pellets 

• Sustane 8-2-4 organic fertilizer

• Milorganite organic lawn food

• Ironite 

• King’s native grass mix 

• Sahara Bermuda grass seed

• Fescue seed for shady areas

Healthy ornamental trees and shrubs !

• root stimulator

• compost, manure, or peat moss

• pine bark, cypress, or midnight mulch

• Agriform planting tablets

• pruning shears or saw

• shovel

• rock bar or pickaxe

• bark protector sleeves

• fence material for deer protection

• tree fertilizer stakes

To nurture flower beds:

• flower seeds and transplants

• flower bulbs 

• compost, manure, or peat moss

• root stimulator

• bedding plants, perennials

• tools: rake, garden fork, shovel

• flowering plant food

Growing wholesome, nourishing food  

• vegetable transplants & seeds

• grapevines and berry plants

• fruit trees

• hoses, drip irrigation, sprinklers

• cottonseed meal or blood meal

• bone meal or rock phosphate

• shovel, rake, fork, cultivator

• root stimulator

To be prepared 

• bamboo fabric gloves 

• watering wand, and sprayers  

• garden tools

• frost protection fabric and spray

• pots, planters, hanging baskets

• thermometer and rain gauge

• potting soil, topsoil, manure, sand, compost, mulch, soil conditioner

• weed blocking landscape fabric

• deer repellants

• fencing supplies: posts, fence fabric, post clips, fence staples

• weed control

• insect control

• raised bed garden frames

• flea & tick control  

• pruning paint

• whimsical iron garden décor 

The best gifts for all the gardeners in your life! You can find several of these products specifically at King Feed and Hardware.

• King Feed Gift Cards

• Music of the Spheres windchimes

• retro galvanized watering cans

• bird baths and fountains

• garden tables and chairs

• garden gnomes  

• tin buckets & planters

• Talavera pottery from Dolores Hidalgo

• glazed pottery in all sizes

• bird feeders for every decor

• iron and wooden trellises & arbors

• whimsical Talavera glazed animals

• copper and zinc plant markers

• garden benches and statuary

• Sloggers® hats and rainboots

• cooling foggers and misters

• garden thermometers & clocks

• garden art and sculpture

• solar garden lights

• Smart Pots fiber planters and raised beds

• ready-to-plant raised bed frames

July 17, 2022July 2022 Wimberley Garden Center Tips Blog, Vegetable Plants, , , , , 0 Comments
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