10/18/2026
Hometown Gardener 10/18/26 We are having real fall weather now. Everybody is happier. Saturday was absolutely gorgeous. We did some business but not near what we needed and expected. We judge our regular clientele to be among the most intelligent and informed in the area. We already have folks waiting patiently for the shipment of Afghan Pines we sell as Christmas Trees. Those will come in November. Those of you who check this page often know that every day I post something about the advantages of Fall planting. I know some of you are literally running out of room for new plants. That's good. The problem is simply this. Who reads gardening articles? Who checks and posts on gardening pages? Gardeners do. While most of you understand the message the folks that need to get the message are non-gardeners. John Q. Public.
What you can do to help is mention fall planting in your own posts. Better yet, when you have the chance to speak with a neighbor or a newbie always let them know that planting in fall instead of spring is much better. I had a hard time with this myself when I was a regular guy going with common knowledge. Only after I opened Wichita Valley did the truth come to me. For example, we plant onions, asparagus crowns, and potatoes in January. The coldest month of the year. In my early years of horticulture I noticed lots of folks wanted these things in April. I felt bad about losing these sales. Now I just tell them, "You're too late. We are sold out." So really fall should be our busiest season. Not spring. An atypical winter can kill but the trend now is for warmer winters. The USDA recently changed our winter hardiness zone from 7b to 8a based on these warmer winters.
Our former A&M County Extension Agent, the late Mark Terning had a deep pile of leaves in the corner of his backyard. He spent one winter checking soil temps under that leaf pile. I don't remember how cold that particular winter was but what hit home for me was he never reported a temperature below 50(f) that winter. Summer by comparison is the real killer here. This summer was pretty bad. Day after day I read about gardeners lamenting the fact that The Heat killed their favorite veggies/flowering plants. In truth, The Heat does not kill. The lack of humidity and rainfall kills. Inside our greenhouse the temps average a good ten degrees hotter than outdoors. The plants inside are fine. It is very humid in there. Our people stay out of the greenhouse as much as possible during summer. We have a big exhaust fan to get that hot air out of there.
So astute gardeners are leaving their leaves. I see lots of posts stating that fact. Still, John Q. Public rakes the leaves and throws them away. (???) Then pays money for mulch. How do we reach him? Gardening by example and people talking to people. Some people think that we are just trying to boost sales waiting for April. They are wrong. We are honestly speaking the truth and horticultural science backs us up. We say, "Just try it and see." Results speak.
I am so happy I was allowed to live long enough to see this happen. Now let us go beyond the doors of astute gardeners to common practice. Let's get everybody on board. Perhaps I will be lucky to live to see that too. It has been a long time coming. I am still learning my trade. Many concerned that I am selling the place and retiring. Yes I am selling to get out of debt. The banks won't touch me. I am borrowed out. I am never retiring because I love what I do. I will always be around as long as I can walk and talk. I have a plan to keep it all going. We may have to move somewhere else. Please continue to support us and help educate. When times got slow I borrowed to pay bills and employees. I had no other choice. We are still the only total organic nursery in Texoma. We were selling natives long before they were available elsewhere. Our plants are raised outdoors and acclimated to the weather. Plants raised and sold in greenhouses are acclimated to TLC. You choose.
The act of planting seed or transplants is an act of faith. An investment in the future. Stack the odds in your favor. Give local nurseries your business. The Megazons just want your money. We will tell you and sell you the real goods. Grown here. Not Florida, California, or Georgia, etc. Local natives survive all drought, heat, cold, weather as we have it. Nobody else does what we do like we do. We are getting close to 40 years at this location. I am over 40 years in the biz. Help us out and I will take the For Sale signs down. My realtor is also my friend. Be healthy. The best kind of wealthy. Eat local, shop local. buy local, grow local. Be a locavore. Peace and Love to all.
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