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Plant of the Week

Your Fall Carrots Come Up Thin and Hairy With Whiskery Side Roots – Here’s the Soil Slip Behind It

Pull up a batch of fall carrots and find a tangle of thin, whiskery roots instead of smooth taproots, and it is easy to assume...

By Ethan Brooks · Sep 10, 2026

Field Notes

7 Fast-Growing Florida Fence Vines That Cover the Whole Fence Without Cracking Your Foundation

These Backyard Predators Are Hunting the Hummingbirds at Your Feeder – Here’s How to Drive Them Off

7 Florida Native Shrubs That Bloom Longer Than Knockout Roses and Never Melt in the Humidity

The California Poolside Plants That Stay Neat on Their Own Through Summer Heat, No Constant Cleanup Required

From the Garden

7 Florida Yard Conditions That Are Quietly Inviting Foxes to Den Near Your House This Fall

The Easy California Patio Changes That Quietly Turn It Into a Hummingbird’s Favorite Daily Stop

7 Florida Native Ground Covers That Fill In Where a Banana Plant Would Take Over Your Yard

Your Fall Kale Suddenly Wears Sticky Curled Leaves and a Gray Film – Here’s What May Be Behind It

What North Carolina Gardeners Do To Get Camellias That Bloom Nonstop Through the First Cold Snaps

In Bloom

The California Avocado Varieties That Actually Thrive in Containers on a Small Patio, and Which Ones to Skip

Why Fire Ant Mounds Are Suddenly Popping Up All Over Central Texas Yards This Fall

Something Is Clipping Your Fall Bean Seedlings Off at Soil Level Overnight

Gardener's Selection

Something Is Eating Ragged Holes in Your Fall Cabbage Leaves Overnight — Here’s the Green Culprit Hiding Underneath

9 Spots Where North Carolina Gardeners Should Never Hang a Hummingbird Feeder If They Want the Birds to Stay

What It Really Means When a Black Bear Starts Raiding Your California Fruit Trees in Late Summer, and How to Keep It Away

This Garden Center in San Antonio Feels Like a Storybook

Your Fall Carrots Come Up Thin and Hairy With Whiskery Side Roots – Here’s the Soil Slip Behind It

The Potting Shed

Your Fall Broccoli Sits There for Weeks and Never Forms a Head – Here’s the Cool-Weather Slip Behind It

Why Carpenter Bees Keep Drilling the Same Spots on North Carolina Homes and the Yard Habit That Invites Them Back

The Common-Looking Texas Yard Tree That’s More Toxic Than Rattlesnake Venom

Your Fall Broccoli Leaves Turn Blue-Green and Curl at the Edges – Here’s the Nutrient the Plant Is Begging For

The North Carolina Native Perennials You Plant Once and They Come Back Stronger Every Year Without Replanting

7 Things Florida Gardeners Wish They Knew Before Planting a Banana in the Yard

9 Texas Nurseries Where Native Perennials Cost Less Than at Big-Box Stores

Do These 3 Things for Your Hydrangeas This Fall, and Skip the 2 That Quietly Cost You Next Year’s Blooms

Something Is Tunneling Under Your Fall Lawn and Leaving Raised Ridges — Here’s the Culprit to Stop Now

The Best California Botanical Gardens Where Gardeners Quietly Gather Free Native Plant Ideas Worth the Drive

Fall Radishes Grow All Tops and No Bulb Beneath the Soil — Here’s the Crowding Slip Behind It

Why Watering Your California Garden at Noon During a Heat Wave Quietly Backfires on the Plants You’re Trying to Save

Your Fall Cucumber Vines Yellow From the Bottom Up as Nights Cool – Here’s the Feeding Slip Behind It

Your Fig Tree Grows Lush Leaves but Sets No Figs – Here’s the One Thing It’s Missing

Your Fall Zucchini Sets Fruit but the Tips Rot and Soften Before They Size Up – Here’s the Culprit

The Garden Almanac

Field Notes

Skip the Fall Rake – Here’s What Actually Happens to Your Lawn When You Mow the Leaves In

Skip English Ivy Around Your North Carolina Tree Trunks and Plant This Native Groundcover That Won’t Climb and Choke Them

This Texas Nursery Grows Only Native Plants and Sells Out Every Spring

Your Christmas Cactus Keeps Dropping Segments Onto the Windowsill — Here’s the Real Cause Before You Repot It

The Native North Carolina Perennial That Fuels Migrating Monarchs Right Through October’s First Cold Snaps

7 Florida Native Fence Plants That Keep Bugs Out of Your Yard Better Than Any Spray