October 4, 2018
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| Join us for the Fruit Tree Workshop this Saturday at 10am. |
September was the hottest month ever recorded in Tampa. Not the hottest September, the hottest month out of any month ever. Crazy. And not all that surprising. These last few weeks have not felt like autumn at all, just hot, humid and sticky. But the mornings and evenings are starting to feel a little better, and before you know it, I'll bet we start complaining about the cold.
Do you know what is loving this heat? Our veggie garden. We finally finished the last of the seeds and plants this week, and the warm, sunny afternoons are making everything grow like crazy. The seeds are coming up incredibly fast. We just planted radishes and arugula Sunday, and by Wednesday morning, they were already emerging. I can already taste the fresh salads.
A little extra heat makes me look on the bright side too. If we are a little warmer in the summer, maybe we'll be a little warmer in the winter and that means that all of our tropical fruit trees will sail through the winter without needing to be covered again. Wishful thinking, right? Mother Nature is unpredictable, no it is probably better to be prepared for whatever might happen.
And what better place to get prepared to protect your favorite fruit trees than the Fruit Tree Workshop this Saturday at 10am. If you love your fruit forest and need to expand, want to get started or just want to learn about the different fruit trees that grow in the area, come out and join us. Our girls will keep you cool with some lemonade, and after the workshop we'll have samples of some of the fruits to taste. It's going to be a great weekend to have some fall fun in the garden.
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Happy Gardening, The Kerby's Nursery Family 
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| We'll show you how to get great harvests. |
Cultivating Great Harvests
When you plant shrubs and trees in your landscape, you probably plant them well, keep them watered, but at some point, you probably ignore them a little bit. After all, they are just a plain-old shrubs or trees, and while you want them to grow, you aren't always looking for much else from them. That story is different when it comes to fruit trees. You want fruit trees to grow, bloom and harvest as much as possible. That means you need to pay a little extra attention to them. So make sure you are following our tips below to get the best harvests possible.
1) Don't Plant Deep - It's easy to be super-excited about your new trees and get wild with the shovel and dig a way-to-deep hole. Trees want to be planted level or slightly above the existing soil level. Plant too deep and trees will never establish well.
2) Start Trees with Great Soil - Healthy trees have healthy roots, and healthy roots love Kerby's Planting Soil. Mix new soil at a 50/50 ratio with the native soil.
3) Water Well - Sometimes I feel like a broken records saying Water, Water, Water, but watering is critical for everything you do in your garden (including for you!). Consistent, deep waterings will make sure that your tree gets established well.
4) Plant for Pollinators - Bees are the primary pollinator for a variety of fruit trees. To encourage bees to come to your fruit forest, plant some of their favorite flowers: Salvias and Heather are two of our favorites.
5) Watch for Pests - Fruits need insects to pollinate, but sometimes the wrong kinds of bugs will find your trees too. Spraying on a regular basis when the trees are not flowering can help keep pests away. Our favorite sprays: Neem Oil or Captain Jack's Deadbug Brew.
6) Feed your Tree - To really boost a tree's health, ferilize regularly. Use The Kerby's Special fertilizer monthly in the first year and in spring, summer and fall for the second year and beyond. A spring application of a minor elements spray can also be helpful to make sure a tree has all the nutrients it needs to produce great harvests.
When you love your garden, it's not work, it's play, so get outside and get your hands dirty, have a little fun and bring on the great harvests.
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Make
Fall Happen |
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Onion Sets Grow Your Own Red or White - $4.99 Supersweet - $5.99 |
Pumpkins, Pumpkins, Pumpkins The coolest pumpkins and gourds in town. |
Fall Mums
Make Fall Happen with these beauties. 10" Pot - $17.99 |