GROWING AND EATING PAPAYAS
Back in the 1960s when I was in college and seminary, I worked part time for 2 different grocery stores. I do not remember seeing Papayas in the produce sections. … (read article)
THE CHALLENGE OF GROWING TOO MUCH OKRA
Here in the Coastal Bend of Texas, it is hot, humid, and dry in mid-August. I thought the only vegetables growing this time of year would be the sweet potatoes … (read article)
THE BENEFITS OF EATING RIPE PEPPERS
Growing up, my parents only raised and ate green bell peppers. They tasted fine in ground up bologna, boiled egg, green peppers and mayonnaise on toasted bread. They were okay … (read article)
MY EXPERIMENT IN GROWING SWEET POTATOES
When I first started gardening here in the sugar sand (inland coastal dunes) of Aransas County, Texas back in 2008, I tried Sweet Potato slips. Even with drip irrigation, the … (read article)
EATING STRAWBERRIES FROM POTEET, TEXAS
During the first week of April this year before the “Stay At Home” order, we traveled from Rockport to Poteet, Texas about 30 miles from San Antonio. We went to … (read article)
THE JOY OF EATING PINKEYE PURPLE HULL PEAS
Today I picked a peck of Pinkeye Purple Hull Peas and spent three hours shelling them to get about a gallon of peas. A peck is ¼ of a bushel. … (read article)
THE CHALLENGE OF RAISING CORN IN ROCKPORT, TEXAS
I have raised corn for the past 13 years here at the Preserve in Aransas County. Every year there has been a challenge to raise the corn to maturity, so … (read article)
TIPS ON ORGANIC GARDENING AS WE GROW OLDER
I didn’t realize how many definitions of ‘tips’ there are until I looked it up on the internet. I am using it here as a ‘helpful hint’. The last blog … (read article)
ORGANIC GARDENING IN THE 70s
In the 1970s, I had a 7’x8’ former sand box as my garden in my small back yard on the Franklin Mountain foothills in El Paso, Texas. Organic compost was … (read article)
SEMI NO TILL GARDENING
In the early 1960s, my Grandmother Green moved into town from the farm in Southeast Missouri. She had a 20’x30’ garden area with sandy soil containing very little organic matter. … (read article)
ENJOYING THE FRUITS OF THE WINTER GARDEN
January has provided a wonderful variety of vegetables from the garden and fruits from citrus trees for each of our three daily meals. Tonight, we had turnip and mustard greens … (read article)
SUCCESSFUL WINTER GARDENING IN 2020
Yes, it helps to be in the Coastal Bend of Texas, 300 yards from Copano Bay which moderates temperatures, and to have 12 years of experience in the sugar sand … (read article)
Succulents having a very long moment in the sun
Succulents have become the cool kid in the garden during the last couple of years. Honestly, I thought the trend would wane, but the popularity of succulents is only growing … (read article)
Maggie’s Garden
Hello Gardeners and fellow Green Thumbs! As Spray-N-Grow’s newest blogger, allow me to introduce myself. I am the daughter of Melanie and the grand-daughter of Spray-N-Grow’s founders, Bill and the … (read article)
For NYC plant lovers, where there’s a will, there’s a way!
On a recent trip to New York City to visit my daughter, I literally walked miles and miles throughout Manhattan. Of course, I noticed all the lovely plants along my … (read article)
PROBLEMS: PLANTING TOMATOES IN THE SUMMERTIME
Here on the Coastal Bend of Texas, the summer temperatures run in the 90s with the humidity usually over 80%, especially with the high water table we have had for … (read article)
Full Sun in Texas is not the same as in Maine
We all have bought a plant with the tag that indicates it needs 6+ hours of full sun. Unfortunately, plant information tags do not consider the vast differences in the … (read article)
CELEBRATING: BOTH THE SPRING HARVEST AND CLEAN-UP
WOW! What a wonderful spring garden in 2019. The four squash plants produced over 30 squash which we have eaten various ways as well as given away. I have gathered … (read article)
Gardening Lessons From My Cell Phone
As you may know from my prior blogs, I grow all my plants in containers and elevated raised beds. The flowers live on the upstairs deck. The vegetables and herbs … (read article)
DELICIOUS VEGETABLES IN MY SPRING GARDEN PART ll
All together I planted 21 pepper plants with 15 of them grown from seed under the grow light. Eight of the 21 are planted in row 3, one is in … (read article)
DELICIOUS VEGETABLES IN MY SPRING GARDEN
Yes, I have complained about too much rain this past fall and present spring, which has raised the water table to where it is visible in the low areas next … (read article)
WHITE FLIES INVADED MY GARDEN
On Sunday, April 7, 2019, we had a driving rain here in the Rockport, TX area that left us with 1.3” of rain which raised the water table above ground … (read article)
CITRUS FRUIT THAT I GROW AND ENJOY
Here it is the middle of March, 2019, and we are still enjoying the Temple and Blood oranges left in the refrigerator. The cold makes them even more delicious. Just … (read article)
LESSONS FROM MY SPRING GARDEN, 2019
It is important to get an early start on spring gardening here along the South Texas Coast because the hot humid weather often descends in May. I started under the … (read article)
GROWING WITH GREENHOUSES
All things considered, gardening can be thought of as the art and science of environmental engineering. When we grow plants we take great care to control the soil, water quality, amount of … (read article)
POTATOES: A STAPLE FOR THE HOME GARDENER
Continuing our journey through the Nightshade family, this week we will be discussing a perennial favorite: potatoes. Like the chillis described in my earlier entry potatoes are indigenous to the … (read article)
GENERATIVITY AND MASTERING GARDENING SKILLS
Yesterday, February 25th, I picked 15 ripe tomatoes which have been producing since the beginning of this year. I also picked the last gallon of English Peas of the 14 … (read article)
POLLINATORS
If you’ve been paying attention to ecological news over the past decade then you have likely heard of the pressing issue of pollinator decline, particularly the decline in honeybee populations … (read article)
A BRIEF HISTORY OF CHILI PEPPERS
With winter drawing to a close and spring rapidly approaching the time has come to select our plants for the season. If you are gardening just about anywhere there is … (read article)
STARTING SEEDS UNDER A GROW LIGHT
I have been starting seeds under a grow light since 1986. I do this to get a larger variety of vegetable plants than are available at a nursery or store. … (read article)
GIFT GIVING FROM THE GARDEN
One of the principles I learned from the life and teachings of Jesus was to give a gift (whatever it is) with no strings attached and without expecting anything (even … (read article)
NEW YEAR! NEW GARDEN!!
At Spray-N-Grow, we divide the gardening season into three parts: dream, plant and love. I am starting the dream phase. As gardeners, we often spend as much time dreaming about … (read article)
MY GARDEN IS BOTH A LABOR OF LOVE AND WORK OF ART
As I design my garden each fall and spring, I start with rotating my vegetables on a dirt canvas that needs to be recharged with compost and organic fertilizers. These … (read article)
MY CITRUS TREES IN 2018
In August a year ago, Hurricane Harvey blew between 70-90 Grapefruit off my two Rio Red trees. It also blew off fruit on all my other citrus trees. The Persian … (read article)
COVER CROPS
As autumn sets in and the beginning of winter draws near we are faced with the question: what to plant in the winter garden? Of course there is the standard … (read article)
TOO MUCH RAIN MAKES GARDENING DIFFICULT
Here along the Texas coast we have had over 20” of rain from September 1 to October 25, 2018. September was hot and humid until a cold front came in … (read article)
IS YOUR GOAL OF LIFE “SIMPLIFICATION”?
Nearly a century ago, Supreme Court jurist, Oliver Wendell Homes wrote, “I would not give a fig for the simplification on this side of complexity, but I would give anything … (read article)
Vacation Inspiration for My Garden
I just returned from a cruise of the Baltic Sea. My daughter is a musical theater actress and was performing on a cruise ship touring the sea. The trip was … (read article)
HOW TO DEAL WITH NOT ENOUGH AND TOO MUCH RAIN?
Hurricane Florence has dumped over 20” of rain over most of the Carolinas. The sea surge plus major flooding over much of those states will make gardening there this next year … (read article)
Maintaining and Repairing Gardening Equipment
The July and August weather was very hot, humid and dry on the Texas Coast this year. As soon as I stepped outside, my clothes would become soaked in sweat, … (read article)
SHARING SPRAY-N-GROW WITH RELATIVES AND FRIENDS
In the spring of 2016, my wife and I took a trip to Ft. Myers, Florida to visit with Harvette’s sister and her husband. They had a new RV which … (read article)
THE HEALTHY PRINCIPLE OF PERSEVERANCE
Murray Bowen, the founder of Bowen’s Family Systems wrote in the 1980s that we were entering a period of Societal Regression brought about by high anxiety over limited resources, over-population … (read article)
THE JOY OF EATING SWEET CORN
In the 1940s, I grew up eating yellow field corn and garden sweet corn. The field corn was picked when it was most tender, boiled, and usually cut off with … (read article)
“WHEN YOU HAVE FRIED OKRA, YOU DON’T NEED MEAT”
My Mom said that her whole life, but we always had some kind of meat with our fried okra. My wife says she has fried enough okra to fill our … (read article)
ARE BIRDS GOOD OR BAD FOR THE GARDEN?
My Dad’s favorite avocations were gardening and bird watching. As I was growing up in Missouri and Michigan, I do not remember Dad having any problems with birds in his … (read article)
MY BATTLE WITH LEAF FOOTED STINK BUGS
The Leaf Footed Bug is from the stink bug family of insects. These include Shield Bugs, Harlequin Bugs, Green Squash Bugs and other squash bugs. They all emit an obnoxious … (read article)
How Does My Garden Grow?
Gardeners always ask me, “what products do you use in your garden?” We try to test every product we sell in a staff member’s garden. Of the more than 80 … (read article)
Oh My Vincas!
I am in love with my bed of vincas. They are planted in an elevated bed on my upstairs deck. I can see them from my bedroom and living room … (read article)
Recharging Potting Soil
Soil in pots, containers, and raised or elevated beds is more quickly depleted of nutrients than garden soil. Both are depleted by plants using nutrients but potting soil does not … (read article)
ROOT KNOT NEMATODES IN THE SPRING OF 2018
It is May here in Rockport, Texas. After having significant rain in January through March, we are now in drought conditions. The temperature during the last half of this month … (read article)
DO I WANT WEEDS AND GRASS IN MY GARDEN? (PART II)
I retired and moved to Rockport, Texas in 2007 so we could be closer to our son and his family in Houston, as well as to fish and bird watch. … (read article)
DO I WANT WEEDS AND GRASS IN MY GARDEN?
The answer to the above question is “No!” and “yes”. The reality is I probably don’t have a choice. In the late 50’s, my grandmother Green moved off the family … (read article)
THE USEFUL AND USELESS GARDEN CATALOGUES
Back in the 1980s in El Paso Texas when I started ordering seeds from Garden Catalogues, I would usually get the catalogues in January and February. Now here in Rockport, … (read article)
THE ATTACK OF THE TOMATO HORN WORMS
On or about April 18th 2018, my tomato plants were attacked by an army of Tomato Horn Worms. Over the next 3 days I found over 40 horn worms from … (read article)
BE GENTLE WITH THE EARTH
How a person treats their pet when they are alone says a lot about a person’s character as being kind and caring or mean and coercive. Sweet Pea, our 9 … (read article)
Spring Forward
It’s that time again! The days are getting longer, seedlings are sprouting in trays and garden boxes, and my pomegranate, fig, and pear trees are starting to dress themselves in … (read article)
AVOID: IDLE HANDS AND AN IDLE LIFE
Monasteries were formed before and during the Middle Ages to help a community of Monks, laymen, and sometimes Sisters and lay women to survive and find spiritual nurture of their … (read article)
Hybrid versus Heirloom
This year I spent more time reading about plants and not just shopping for them. As I shared in my most recent blog, I purchased my tomato, pepper and herb … (read article)
TEMPLE ORANGES FOR A 100TH BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION
On February 4th, 2018, my Aunt Clarence celebrated her 100th birthday in Roswell, NM. She outlived my mother, and her two brothers who were all younger than her. She and … (read article)
My New Way of Buying Plants
I always have loved shopping for plants. It’s usually an all day trip to various stores and garden centers in Rockport and neighboring towns. Almost like a scavenger hunt, searching … (read article)
GROWING HEALTHY ROOT CROPS
2018 has been a good year for root crops. I planted turnips, carrots, and radishes around the 1st of November, 2017. As usual I planted the Purple Top turnip seeds … (read article)
Why Have a Fenced In Garden?
In El Paso, Texas I had a 5 foot tall rock wall around all of my backyard. In the desert there were no deer or other varmints. However, the rock … (read article)
GARDENING AFTER HURRICANE HARVEY
On August 24, 2017, Hurricane Harvey made land fall directly over Rockport, Texas. My wife and I left early in the afternoon of the 24th and stayed with friends in … (read article)
New Year, New Gardens
I have always felt that good things come from situations in my life that are not good. Like a Hurricane. Category 4. Direct hit on my town, my home, the … (read article)
Hurricane Winds & Floods Bring New Plant Life
If you live in an area affected by one of the recent hurricanes you have likely noticed some new arrivals in your lawn and garden. Strong weather events such as hurricanes and … (read article)
Arbor Delay
A friend of mine recently got me thinking about fruit trees. Robin and I are next door neighbors with adjoining backyards and a mutual interest in growing food; we quickly … (read article)
HOW MUCH TO WATER THE GARDEN?
It has been very hot, dry, and humid here in Rockport, Texas, this summer. My garden friends and I have discussed how much in minutes and how often to water … (read article)
PRACTICAL WISDOM SAYINGS
My Grandpa Green, a farmer, only had one arm and hand which he could use. My Dad was born in 1916. By the time he was 10, he and his … (read article)
GROWING GARDEN COVER CROPS
It is late July and the only vegetable growing in my garden is about 25 feet of okra. The other 6 ½ rows are bare except for a few weeds. … (read article)
The Hand that Stills the Barley
Off the west coast of Scotland, the southernmost of the Inner Hebrides, lies an island whose economy relies almost entirely on the availability of a single crop. Barley is the … (read article)
MY GARDENING SUCCESSES AND DISAPOINTMENTS
After 35 years of organic gardening and 10 years of battling root knot nematodes in the sugar sand of the Texas coast, I have had a major discovery and success … (read article)
Why I Garden
It’s so hot in Rockport, Texas that both the people and the plants are wilting. Because my plants are all in containers, watering is always a daily task. Now, it’s … (read article)
Knee High By the Fourth of July
The fourth of July always reminds me of my grandfather, Bill Stewart. He was a farmer in Marissa, Illinois. He raised a few cows and grew soybeans and corn. The … (read article)
GROWING VEGETABLES IN THE SUMMER HEAT
Here it is the middle of June and what do I have growing in my garden here on the Texas coast? We are having 10 hours of sunlight with the … (read article)
Turning Up The Heat
Hello friends! I want to apologize for my long absence. I have recently been overseas with extremely limited access to electricity and the Internet. It was a wonderful trip and … (read article)
PLANTING FRUIT TREES ON RAISED BEDS
I grew up on a farm in SE Missouri in the 1940s. Even when Dad was still farming with horses and mules, he planted on raised rows about 6 inches … (read article)
When Something Goes Wrong In The Garden
My spring vegetable garden was doing very nicely. The tomatoes, peppers, squash, zucchini, and cucumbers, all planted in containers, were growing taller each day. The plants were green, pretty, and … (read article)
THE JOY OF GATHERING THE FRUIT OF MY GARDEN
My mentor in psychology is Viktor Frankl, the German prison camp survivor, who wrote, MAN’S SEARCH FOR MEANING. He describes three kinds of values that give life meaning. The creative … (read article)
THE MANY USES OF MOLASSES
I grew up eating molasses mixed with butter on toast or biscuits. My grandmother made “Egg Butter” by mixing molasses, egg, cinnamon, and butter in a skillet, cooking it until … (read article)
More Than a Pretty Face: Flowers in the Edible Garden
By now, I’m sure you all have realized that I am a huge fan of growing food in whatever space is available. As the saying goes, #growfoodnotlawns. But if you … (read article)
I FEED BOTH THE SOIL AND THE PLANTS
Life is made up of linear thinking where decisions are either this way or that way, and circular both/and thinking where the cause is the effect and the effect is … (read article)
Beauty is in the Eye of the Gardener
Since moving to Rockport, Texas to join Spray-N-Grow full time, I have gardened at three different homes. The first two were traditional homes with massive live oak trees in the … (read article)
MY FAVORITE GARDENING TOOLS
Developing mastery skills with hand tools is important whether it is carpentry, mechanics, plumbing and/or gardening. These skills provided me with a sense of usefulness, competence, independence, and affirmation of … (read article)
The Gardener as Artist
Something I have always loved about gardening is the cultivation of a unique garden style. The potential combinations of individual elements are infinite, and none of them is inherently wrong. … (read article)
How to Build a One Plant Cucumber Trellis
I love our Elevated Garden Planters and have two on my patio. The 22” tall bed has three peppers, two oregano plants and marigolds (to discourage bugs from eating my … (read article)
Why am I an Organic Gardener?
Organic Gardening is not only something I have been doing for the past 32 years, it is part of my Identity. Organic Gardening provides a significant perspective to my meaning … (read article)
What Are The Organic Fertilizers That I Use?
During the 33 years that I have been an Organic Gardener, the cost of obtaining various organic fertilizers has increased. The price of chemical fertilizers has also increased. Using organic … (read article)
The Gardening Tip I Learned From My Oregano Plant
I planted my fall tomatoes in early November. It was very, very late to plant them but the fall was brutally hot, especially in October. I added some Greek and … (read article)
TIPS FOR USING WALL O’ WATER
I planted my tomato seeds under the grow light the week after Christmas here in Rockport, Texas. I planted the plants in the garden during the first week in February … (read article)
You Can Garden Anywhere
Welcome to my gardening Blog. I am Melanie Lyon, Bill’s oldest daughter. There isn’t a time in my life that I don’t remember gardening with someone in my family. Of … (read article)
A New Leaf
Spring is in the air! I know that winter hasn’t let up for everyone just yet, but here in Central Texas, the trees are budding out, the wildflowers are popping … (read article)
Sheet Composting: My Introduction to Organic Gardening
I am a 75 year old retired Pastoral Counselor. My avocation for the past 33 years has been ‘organic gardening’. However, I was introduced to organic gardening at age 6. … (read article)
Welcome to My Little Corner of the (New) World
Hello, my gardening friends! My name is Allyson. I am the second-youngest granddaughter of Mr. Bill, Spray-N-Grow’s own creative, caring, and, if I may say, rather clever founder. I am … (read article)
