Ask The Expert

  • We have had pigweed in our vegetable garden for the last 2 years. Just trying to find a product that I can use to kill it before it gets started this year. Would like to know when to apply and how much to use. The garden has about 4000 sq ft. We start planting in mid april and finish about mid may. Thanks in advance for any advice. Bennie

    2/26/200811:51:22 AM Link 0 comments | Add comment

    20% Vinegar, Natural Weed Control

    Bennie,

    You can use our Natural Weed Control or 20% Vinegar and Orange Oil to kill the weeds in the garden. Both the Natural Weed Control and the Vinegar will be used at full strength, you will need to mix 2 ounces of Orange Oil (as a surfactant) per gallon of vinegar. Both products are non selective so they will kill just about anything they touch so be careful when spraying around existing plants. You can purchase the products mentioned on our website and we will ship them to you via UPS Ground. If you have any other questions please let me know. 

  • We live in San Diego Ca, are in the process of tearing out an 24 year old Bermuda lawn that was in poor condition after a remodel 3 years ago. My husband wants to replace it with regular grass. any suggestions?

    2/26/200811:50:57 AM Link 0 comments | Add comment

    Lawn Questions

    Vickie,
    There are many varieties you can choose from:
    Tif Green 328 / Tif Way 419:These hybrid Bermuda grasses have a dark green color, fine textured leaves, and are tough and durable.  They are low growing resilient turfgrass that are highly tolerant to heat, drought and heavy traffic. They are ideal for homes with full sun, pets and children, since they can take abnormal abuse and recover from the damage. 
    Bermuda-Excellent drought tolerance, Excellent wear tolerance, Tolerates low mowing (extremely low for ultra dwarf varieties), Heat tolerant, Salt tolerant, Establishes rapidly, Usually poor shade tolerance, ideal for homes with full sun, pets and children, since they can take abnormal abuse and recover from the damage.
    Zoysia- Dense turf prevents weed invasion, green dense turf in summer when cool-season grasses are off-peak, moderate to Excellent shade tolerant, good salt tolerance, resists many insects and diseases, heat tolerant, good drought tolerance, excellent wear tolerance, tolerates close mowing, excellent cold tolerance.  
    Check with some local nurseries to see what varieties they would recommend.

  • I have a ranch in northwest Navarro County. I have several big Post Oaks. On one I recently noticed that the trunk had a piece of bark that looked like it had been striped down. Now it appears that the bark on the entire trunk of the tree has separated from the tree. From searching on the web, I found information on the TFS web site that point to hypoxylon canker . At the moment the only symptom is the bark separating from the tree. If it is hypoxylon canker, would it be better to go ahead and cut the tree down now? It is not in an area where it would fall and damage anything. I really hate to loose this tree, it is beautiful and old. Thanks

    2/26/200811:50:14 AM Link 0 comments | Add comment

    Sick Tree Treatment, Tree Questions

    Sharon,

    If you want to save the tree you can have an arborist come out and give you a diagnosis on what is wrong with the tree and ways to remedy the problem, if the tree is salvageable the best remedy is to improve the health of the tree and since the fungal problem is within the tree you can apply our Sick Tree Treatment, horticultural corn meal, and our Soil Food Select 6-2-2 around the drip line of the tree and water them in. But I would recommend having someone come out and take a look at the tree first. 

  • I do high pile (6'), high heat composting. I neglected to turn my pile for a while and it went cold and stayed cold, after a few months i came back and turned it in the hopes that the air-ation would spark microbe activityand it would heat up again and get back to composting. However it has now been 2 weeks and the core temp has not gone above 60 on warm days (60's) or below 50 on cool days (30's). What can i do to get this unfinished pile cooking again ? Oh by the way i'm certified organic so keep that it mind. Thanks, Scott

    2/26/200811:49:38 AM Link 0 comments | Add comment

    Compost

    Scott,

    Is the temperature measurement Fahrenheit or Celsius? Bat Guano, manure, and molasses are good ways to feed the microbes in the compost pile, check your moisture level in the pile if it is too dry composting will not occur, add water and one of the mentioned above to the pile and turn once more. About a week after amending the pile and turning check the temperature, ideal composting temperature will be 55 degrees Celsius or 131 degrees Fahrenheit.

  • When we moved into our new home the homebuilder said there was compost and Bermuda grass over it. We have now learned that it was nothing but fill dirt from the construction and very little if at all compost. Short of tearing up the yard what can I do. A neighbor said he used an aerator and then filled the holes with compost and top dressing? Juan

    2/26/200811:49:17 AM Link 0 comments | Add comment

    7-2-2, Lawn Questions

    Juan,

    Don't tear up the yard just yet, your neighbor was correct. Aerate the lawn and apply a 1/2" layer of compost along with a good slow release organic fertilizer like our Premium Lawn Food 7-2-2. Aerating will allow air, fertilizer and compost to get down and help break up compacted soil delivering nutrients to the grass roots. 

  • Last year I had a real problem on my tomato plants with baby stinkbugs, there were thousands of them and they really ruined a lot of tomatos. How do I control them so I don't have a repeat of the problem this year? Thanks, Ralph

    2/26/200811:48:46 AM Link 0 comments | Add comment

    Gardens

    You can use Neem Oil, Liquid Sea Weed, or our Organic Insect Control, spray the vegetables when you start to see problems. Another product you can use is our Anti Fuego Soil Conditioner, the mix of molasses, orange oil, and humate will help condition the soil and control the insects. You can purchase the sea weed, organic insect control, or the Anti Fuego at any Garden-Ville store or online. Check your local garden center for the Neem Oil.

  • Hi, We bought a house in Round rock last fall. The lawn was not fertilised in spring and also in fall last year. In winter we started growing a lot of weeds ( dandelions, crab grass and another weed that more like a vine.) Though I did pull out most of the weeds, infact we tilled one part of our lawn because it had too many of the vine weeds, they grew back though slowly. Could you please let me know what i need to do to get rid of the weeds and fertilise my lawn? Thanks.

    2/26/200811:48:26 AM Link 0 comments | Add comment

    7-2-2, Lawn Questions

    Since your yard is so stressed due to lack of nutrients I would suggest you aerate the lawn and apply a 1/2" layer of compost and fertilize the yard with a good slow release organic fertilizer like our Premium Lawn Fertilizer 7-2-2. Until you build the health of the soil the grass is going to be invaded by weeds, keep pulling the weeds that come up and make sure you water regularly during the hot dry summer months. Visit our store in Georgetown (250 WL Walden Road 512-930-1715) talk to Gordon tell him what is going on and he can get you the right products for the job.

  • How long after applying pre-emergent to kill sand burs can I plant bermuda grass seed? Ron

    2/26/200811:48:00 AM Link 0 comments | Add comment

    Lawn Questions

    Ron,

    When using an organic pre-emergent you can plant Bermuda grass seed after a good rain or a couple of watering cycles.

  • I live in the Pacific Northwest and have several long gravel paths in my yard. What can I do about grass and weeds that are popping up through the gravel?? Should I spray them with something ..?? Help please!! Do I wait until spring or do it now?? I am afraid by spring it will be awful!

    2/26/200811:47:38 AM Link 0 comments | Add comment

    Natural Weed Control

    Deidre,

    To kill weeds in your pathways you can use our Natural Weed Control, spray the weeds with the product at full strength in the heat of the day and they should be dead by the next day, the coverage per container will vary with the concentration of weeds in the pathways. You can purchase the Natural Weed Control on our website and we will ship it to your home via UPS Ground. If you have any other questions please let me know. 

  • I live in san antonio and was wondering when should i start to fertilize my st. augustine? should i start in spring? and i also have bermuda tiff grass inmy front yard, when should i fertilize that? also should i put out a weed killer or anything else that will help me control the weeds in my tiff grass?

    2/26/200811:47:12 AM Link 0 comments | Add comment

    7-2-2, St. Augustine

    Paul,

    Right now is a good time to apply compost and fertilizer to your yard, if you use an organic fertilizer like our Premium Lawn Food 7-2-2 you will not have to worry about which fertilizer to put on what grass since organics are designed to build the health of the soil, the grass will get the nutrients it needs from the soil. For spring weeds you can apply corn gluten meal at a rate of 20lbs per 1000 square feet. You can purchase the fertilizer, compost, and corn gluten meal at any San Antonio Garden-Ville location.

  • I live in Austin Texas and have St. Augustine grass, does this grass need to be cut down to 1 "t after the first freeze and clippings bagged?

    2/26/200811:46:43 AM Link 0 comments | Add comment

    Lawn Questions, St. Augustine

    Sherry,

    When mowing St. Augustine you will need to keep it around 2", for the first mowing of the season I would recommend you bag the clippings to remove the blades that are brown and follow up with a good 1/2" layer of compost and application of an organic fertilizer on the entire yard to ready it for spring and the hot summer months to follow. Our Premium Compost is a great compost to use on lawns since it has nitrogen, trace minerals, and organic matter that lawns need at this time of year. You do not want to "scalp" the yard because it will allow the grass to become susceptible to disease. If you have any other questions please let me know.

  • I live in Austin Texas and have St. Augustine grass, does this grass need to be cut down to 1 "t after the first freeze and clippings bagged?

    2/26/200811:46:34 AM Link 0 comments | Add comment

    Lawn Questions

    Sherry,

    When mowing St. Augustine you will need to keep it around 2", for the first mowing of the season I would recommend you bag the clippings to remove the blades that are brown and follow up with a good 1/2" layer of compost and application of an organic fertilizer on the entire yard to ready it for spring and the hot summer months to follow. Our Premium Compost is a great compost to use on lawns since it has nitrogen, trace minerals, and organic matter that lawns need at this time of year. You do not want to "scalp" the yard because it will allow the grass to become susceptible to disease. If you have any other questions please let me know.

  • I live in central Floridaand have had roses for the past six years. When I arrived here in Nov., I cut back the roses as usual. Usually they come back quickly, but this year they look sad with little green growth which looks stunted. Can I save these roses and how Thank you

    2/26/200811:46:04 AM Link 0 comments | Add comment

    Rose Food

    Hi Fran,

     

    Pruning roses in Central Texas in done in February.  The day we tell everyone is easy to remeber, Valentine's Day.  Your roses were pruned a little too early and that is why they are not leafing out quite yet.  A good rule of thumb is clip back no more than a third of the bush, encouraging full folliage.  The roses should pop out in March, once this takes place feeding them Garden-Ville Rose Food.  For now, you can water your roses with seaweed deeply every 7 days, this helps the plant pop out of shock by nuturing it with sea minerals.

  • I live in Orange, Texas where hurricane Rita took her toll not only on our homes but our yards! The Bermuda grass from a neighbors yard has invaded my yard, flowerbeds and when I try pull it up by hand, it has little runners everywhere. How do I kill this mess so I can replant my San Augustine without using some heavy duty chemical like Round Up? That is what one of the landscapers said he used and I told him "no thank you"! HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    2/26/200811:44:23 AM Link 0 comments | Add comment

    7-2-2, Lawn Questions

    Danna,

    To kill off the Bermuda in your beds I would suggest you use either our Natural Weed Control or 20% Vinegar, the Natural Weed Control is a mixture of the 20% Vinegar and Orange Oil (used as a surfactant). Each product is a non selective herbicide and will kill everything it comes in contact with, so when applying make sure you keep any overspray from coming in contact with plants you want to keep. As for the lawn, if you want to kill off the whole lawn and start over you can use the two products mentioned above, once the grass is dead till it in along with a 2-3" layer of compost and lay the sod. If you do not want to go to that extreme you can spot treat with the vinegar or Natural Weed Control and plug the areas with St. Augustine. After you lay the sod broadcast a good organic fertilizer like Garden-Ville's Premium Lawn Fertilizer 7-2-2 and water it in with Medina's Soil Activator.

  • Hi, I have just purchased a new property and found that all the garden beds are lined with black plastic. The mulched looked as though it had not been moved for some years and was damp and wet. I have since removed the old mulch but whenever I disturb the soil there seems to be a bunch of insects below the soil mosquito looking insect that swarm around the soil. Are these insect good for my soil ? How can I get rid of them if not? Thanks

    2/26/200811:42:12 AM Link 0 comments | Add comment

    Anti Fuego, Gardens

    Jose,

    You will want to remove the plastic from the soil, the plastic will not allow water to pass through creating problems with your soil. There is a good chance that you may have mosquitoes and other insects as well as a fungus in the soil. Once the plastic has been removed you will want to turn some compost and the existing mulch into the soil, follow up with an application of Anti Fuego Soil Conditioner mixed at a rate of 4 ounces per gallon of water to get rid of the pests. After a couple of days apply beneficial nematodes to get rid of any larvae that are in the soil. If you want to put down a weed barrier below the mulch you can purchase landscape fabric from any home and garden center, the landscape fabric will allow air and water to pass through while keeping the weeds from coming through, if you put your mulch at a thickness of 4" or greater you should not need the landscape fabric. You can find the Anti Fuego on our website, if you would like to order the nematodes you can call or email me.  

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