FoxFarm Blog

Transplanting

If you live in a mild climate, you’ll keep gardening in November and December. This is the perfect time of year to transplant and divide perennials.  There are only two things you need to know:

FoxFarm Planting Mix:  Don’t transplant without it. When you dig a plant up and move it to a new spot, you have a great opportunity to improve the soil.  Work in some planting mix and you’ll add important nutrients that will help the plants succeed in their new location.

Big Bloom: You might think of Big Bloom as a fertilizer for your flower bed, but the fact is that Big Bloom has proven to be the perfect formula for transplants, divisions, and any plant that’s under stress.  After you’ve finished moving plants around, give everything a good root drench with Big Bloom. 

Overwintering

Unless you live in an ultra-mild tropical or coastal climate, you probably have at least a few favorite plants that don’t make it through the winter.  It’s worth it to dig these up and re-plant them in the spring.  In fact, you may end up with bigger, healthier plants if you do.

First, trim back any dead or diseased foliage and get the plant down to a manageable size.

If you can, give it a week or two to recover from its haircut, and then dig out as much of the root ball as possible.

Place the roots into a clean plastic or clay pot, and fill with Happy Frog Potting Soil. Water well.

Remember that you may not need to bring the plants indoors.  It might be enough to move them to a sheltered area near the house that isn’t as affected by frost, and keep burlap or floating row covers nearby to wrap them up on especially cold nights.

If you do bring them indoors, make sure that they have a good light source, and don’t worry if they drop some leaves. Most plants will go through an adjustment period as they get used to the climate inside your house.

In spring, give the plants some time to adjust before you replant them.  Set the pots out during the day, and bring them back in at night for a week or so. Then plant them carefully, trying not to disturb the root ball, and feed with a gentle organic fertilizer like Big Bloom Liquid Plant Food.  It’s especially good for helping stressed plants adapt to new conditions.

It's a Bug's Life

Fall is a great time to watch bugs in the garden. The crickets are chirping, the caterpillars are crawling, and the spiders have spun glorious webs.  We like to think of gardens as habitats for people and wildlife, so here are a few tips for the birds and the bees in your backyard:

Don’t tidy up too much.  Let flowers go to seed ---the seeds can provide a food source for migrating birds during the winter.

Resist the temptation to remove spider webs.  Spiders do a world of good in the garden, catching flies and devouring other garden pests.  Many species lay eggs in the fall, so try to leave their webs intact during this important part of their life cycle. 

Avoid toxic pesticides. Our Don’t Bug Me is an environmentally friendly spray that is effective on soft bodied insects, but make sure you only target pests that you can see, and give their natural predators a chance to munch on them first.

Use a high-quality mulch like our Happy Frog Soil Conditioner to help earthworms and other beneficial underground creatures flourish.

Last Call for Bulbs!

Still got bulbs sitting around? Now is the time to get those spring bulbs in the ground.  Garden centers have a great selection of daffodils, tulips, hyacinth, lilies, and other spring favorites. Just remember:

Many bulbs need rich, well drained soil.  Work in a generous amount of Happy Frog Planting Mix when you plant.  Typically, bulbs need to be planted at a depth equal to three to four times their size, so be sure to amend the soil to that depth.

Bulb food is absolutely essential.  Use one to two tablespoons of Happy Frog Bulb Food for every bulb you plant, and feed existing plantings of bulbs according to package directions.  Our Happy Frog fertilizers come in a water resistant resealable pouch, so you can save your leftover fertilizer for a second feeding in the spring, as soon as the bulbs begin to emerge.

Don’t forget about containers.  Most bulbs grow beautifully in pots, and you can layer smaller bulbs among and above larger bulbs for a display that lasts longer.  Use a high quality potting soil like Ocean Forest, and don’t forget the bulb food.  This is especially important for premium bulbs that you want to grow indoors during the winter, like amaryllis.

Organic Lawns

Here at FoxFarm, we’re hearing from more and more gardeners who want to make the switch to an all-organic lawn.  The benefits are obvious: a safer lawn for your kids and pets, less runoff into rivers and oceans, and a significant cost savings over time.  What’s not to like?

Start with Peace of Mind Premium Lawn Fertilizer.  It’s packed with nutrients and beneficial microbes that keep your lawn thick, luscious, green and healthy.   Apply 4 pounds per 150 square feet, using a garden spreader, and rake gently into soil and water immediately.  Feed one more time this fall, and then give it a rest through winter.

Set the blades on your mower higher, and leave the grass clippings on your lawn to decompose.  If you aren’t getting enough natural rainfall, water deeply once or twice a week.

Fall is a good time to aerate your lawn to prevent thatch build-up. You can use a spading fork for this, or buy a pair of those groovy spiked sandals (available at garden centers) and just walk across the lawn.  Rake in a layer of Happy Frog Soil Conditioner after you de-thatch to improve the health of the soil and encourage a strong, deep root system.

What About Evergreens?

It’s easy to forget conifers and other evergreens in the late summer when everything is in bloom. But they can get depleted, too.  We developed Marine Cuisine specifically for evergreens, acid loving plants like rhododendrons and hydrangeas, and vegetables.  This is a strong, fast acting, time release fertilizer that includes more than the basic minerals your plants need to stay healthy.  We’ve also added crab meal, kelp, and seabird guano.  That means that your soil is getting vital micronutrients and amino acids as well as the basic nutrition it needs.  Think of it as seafood for your garden.

Because Marine Cuisine contains soluble, fast acting nutrients, it’s important that you use them according to package directions to avoid burning plants.  A little goes a long way, but fortunately, Marine Cuisine comes in a resealable pouch so that you can keep using it all season long.

Tiger Bloom for Fall Bloomers!

Not everything flowers in the spring.  Autumn brings a new round of flowering annuals like marigolds and snapdragons, as well as late-blooming shrubs and trees.  Take stock of your garden and you might even find that summer roses are ready to produce one more round of blooms before winter.

In fact, many gardeners miss the opportunity to enjoy fall flowers.  But there’s no reason why your garden can’t keep blooming right up until the first frost. As soon as you start to see a new buds set, try a foliar feeding of Tiger Bloom. We call it a “vicious bloomer” because it is packed with fast-acting, high-phosphorus nutrients designed to help plants burst into bloom.  We like to use it as a foliar feed (just dilute according to package directions and spray it on the leaves in early morning or late afternoon to avoid sun scorch) because the nutrients are immediately available to the plant and go right to work.

And if your plants are already blooming and you just want to keep them going?  Try Big

Keep It Going with Cha-Ching

If you’re looking for a little extra horsepower to keep your flowers blooming or to keep those tomatoes producing late into the season, it’s time to take a look at Cha-Ching. However, if you’re a little laid back when it comes to following package directions, you could accidentally use too much and burn tender plants. If you’re growing native plants that take their own sweet time to bloom, higher doses of fertilizer may not be necessary. We feel that with some of these native species, you should let nature handle it naturally.

This high phosphorus fertilizer is packed with micronutrients designed to increase essential oil production.  That boosts flavor and fragrance.  It’ll also help your plants produce more vibrant colors and continue to fruit and flower late in the season.

Cha-Ching is just one member of our fabulous trio of soluble fertilizers.  Hydroponic gardeners are achieving amazing results using our high-grade fertilizers.  Each ingredient has been carefully selected to ensure optimum plant production, from the vegetative stage through harvest.  But these fertilizers are not just for hydroponic growers.  They can also be a gardener’s secret weapon.  Check them out today, and remember ---this is powerful stuff.  A little goes a long way.

Root-Pruning Container Plants

Container gardening is not just about geraniums in flower pots anymore. People are growing fruit trees, Japanese maples, ornamental grasses, and all kinds of other substantial plants in container.  Some of those containers are too big to move, and sometimes the plants are too large to re-pot.  So what do you do?  Try root pruning.

Start by scraping out a layer of soil around the plant until you expose some surface roots. Then take a shovel or a hand trowel and begin digging out some soil between the roots in the side of the pot. It’s okay to cut some of the roots; in fact, part of the goal is to relieve root down conditions and reinvigorate the plant.  Use pruning shears to clear away roots around the edge of the plant if needed.

Once you’ve cleared some soil from the top and sides of the plant, give it a good root drench with Big Bloom.  Fill in the gaps with Ocean Forest potting soil, our premium blend that’s packed with crab meal, bad guano, and earthworm castings.  Top-dress with Ocean Forest as well so the roots are no longer exposed.  Continue with your regular feeding schedule, and watch your container plants come to life!

Tiger Bloom Rocks the Tomato Patch

Say hello to Skyler, age 8, and Spencer, age 4.  They grow tomatoes with their family in Conroe, Texas, and their secret weapon (OK, it's not such a big secret at this point) is Tiger Bloom.

These 'maters went in the ground in March, and this is what they harvested in May.  We know that everything is bigger in Texas, but wow!  Good work, guys!