Every year I get caught up in the Holiday Rush, not camping at the store waiting for the opening bell but the frantic need to get this and that done before the calm of our South Texas winter.  Planting, feeding and pruning- they are the chores of Fall.  But  those efforts do yield a yard of red bouganvillas and orange tangerines, gardens of flowers, fruits and herbs during the most pleasant time of the year when we want to be outside enjoying our gardens.

Being able to share these rewards is our most favorite gift to give at the Holidays.   Sending a box of sunshine via our beautiful grapefruit or oranges or tangerines, with that special tropical treat of Starfruit and Sapodillas lets our friends and family know that we wish them good health and happiness for Holidays.  And taking the flavors of our fruits and bottling them as a jelly or jam lets us all savor them long after the harvest.

Fresh fruit, jellies, jams and marmalades, quick bread and fruitcakes – consider sharing the bounty of your garden this Holiday.

With a little bit of Fall in the air, we will all be able to enjoy the outdoors a bit more this weekend. And in the spirit of Trick ‘r Treat, we have a treat for you. Come out the Nursery this weekend, the end of our Annual Fall Sale, and tell us you saw the picture of Frick in her cooler weather attire. You will save an additional 50% on our available Bamboo or Bromiliads or seedling sapodillas and canistels. No Trick.

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If you ever tried a certain fruit and it was all you could do to keep from spitting it out? Or perhaps there is the fruit that you taste that you were sure was the most wonderful taste in the world. For many tropical fruits they can taste terrible today , but absolutely delicious tomorrow. That may seem strange, after all the fruits at chain grocery stores sit there for days and I’ve never eaten apple that made a lot of difference whether I ate today or next week.

Fruits that are called Sapotes and the avocados are called climacteric and are gener- ally picked while they are still hard and then allowed to finish ripening on the counter. There are certain changes in color or texture that signal the fruit is mature but it needs to finish aging before you can enjoy their true flavor. The Chico Sapote and Black Sapote are two such fruits that we are enjoying now .

When it comes to feeding those you love whether its your family or your plants, you want to make sure that you are providing all their nutritional requirements. And just we have the food pyra- mid, plants also require certain nutrients in differing amounts. The three we always hear about, Nitrogen, Phosphorous and Potassium (N-P-K) are considered the major elements because they typically make up the bulk (by volume) of nutritional needs. The micronutrients, things like Magnesium (Mg), Calcium (Ca), Iron (Fe), Sulfur (S), Zinc (Zn) along with 10 other elements are also a critical part of feeding your plants. If any one of them is not present in sufficient amounts, the reactions that take place inside the plant cells are affected and your plant can not grow and thrive correctly— no matter how much nitrogen is present.

Here in South Texas, the alkalinity (saltiness) of our soil fre- quently binds up the micronutrients so they are not able to be absorbed by the plants. An easy way to overcome this limitation is to apply the nutrients directly to the leaves. Using a liquid spray you can readily overcome deficiencies in many of the minor elements to maximize the growth potential of your plants.

Talk to us about some of the choices you have in making sure your plants have a full plate.

This winter really took the stuffing out of the tropical trees and us. Two episodes of really cold weather had major impact on many of the fruit trees we grow but it looks like we are finally getting to the end of the clean up. Though we were disappointed about the damage we had, we were able to see where our windbreaks were the most—and least effective. As some of you may have heard, we have cancelled the Mango Festival for 2011. Continue reading →