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Plant of the Week

Your Fall Cabbage Heads Split Wide Open Right Before You Cut Them — Here’s the Watering Swing Behind It

You watched your fall cabbage all season, and just when the head finally felt solid and ready to cut, it cracked wide open. That moment...

By Ethan Brooks · Sep 14, 2026

Field Notes

Dragonflies Suddenly Swarming Your Florida Yard Are Wiping Out the Mosquitoes You Hate

Your Fall Carrots Split Down the Middle Right as You Pull Them — Here’s the Watering Swing Behind It

The California Yard Habits That Quietly Invite Rats Right Up to Your House, and the Ones to Break First

8 Reasons Your Florida Pollinator Garden Has Plenty of Flowers but Almost No Butterflies

From the Garden

What Those Red Seed Pods on Your North Carolina Magnolia Are Really Telling You This September

7 Florida Herbs Worth Growing Along Your Porch This Fall for More Than Just Cooking

The Native Texas Shrub Worth Planting This Fall So Its Roots Beat the Stress of Next Summer’s Heat

7 Mulching Habits That Save a Struggling Florida Fruit Tree Faster Than Another Round of Water

Your Fall Carrots Come Up Forked and Twisted Instead of Long and Straight – Here’s the Soil Slip Behind It

In Bloom

Your Fall Broccoli Forms Tiny Buttons Instead of One Big Head – Here’s the Cold-Shock Slip Behind It

Your Fall Onion Sets Sprout Green Tops but Never Bulb Up Underneath — Here’s the Spacing Slip Behind It

How to Deep-Water Your California Shade Trees Before the Next 100-Degree Stretch Hits, Before the Damage Shows

Gardener's Selection

Feeding Your Fall Peppers the Wrong Thing Now Gives You Big Leaves and Almost No Fruit

The One California Fruit Tree Rats Raid First in Fall, and the Simple Way to Keep Them Off It

Your ZZ Plant Grows Tall and Leggy Instead of Full and Bushy — Here’s the One Change That Fixes It

The California Native Shrubs That Screen Your Yard Better Than Arborvitae in the Spots Where It Always Fails

Your Fall Cabbage Heads Split Wide Open Right Before You Cut Them — Here’s the Watering Swing Behind It

The Potting Shed

Store Your Fall Sweet Potato Harvest Wrong and It Rots in Weeks — Here’s the Curing Step Everyone Skips

What North Carolina Gardeners Do to Get Native Perennials That Come Back Stronger After a Drought Year

7 Florida Native Shrubs That Bloom Bright When Gardenias Sulk After a Brutal Summer

Who Actually Pays in California When Your Neighbor’s Dying Tree Finally Falls Into Your Yard

The Native Texas Vine That Drapes a Fence in Fragrant Blooms Without Wilting in the Summer Heat

Gravel Weeds Keep Pushing Through Your Path No Matter How Often You Pull Them — Here’s How to Stop Them at the Root

Your Christmas Cactus Quietly Stalls Through Summer Because of One Care Habit — Here’s the Fix Before the Holidays

The Pine Straw Mistake North Carolina Gardeners Make That Leaves the Door Wide Open for Fall Weeds

What It Really Means When Fence Lizards Suddenly Vanish From Your California Yard, and the Pests They Quietly Kept in Check

Simple Habits That Bring Fireflies Blinking Back Across Your Central Texas Yard Every Summer

Your Clematis Grew Tall but Barely Bloomed – Here Is the Fall Diagnostic Move That Can Help Next Season

How North Carolina Gardeners Rescue Potted Porch Plants Before the Next Heat Wave Cooks Them in Their Pots

Your Fall Lettuce Turns Bitter and Shoots Up a Tall Stalk Before You Can Harvest – Here’s the Heat Slip Behind It

The Underrated Native Texas Wildflower That Quietly Pushes Rats Away From Your Backyard Beds

Take Late-Season Cuttings From Bedding Geraniums for More Plants Next Season

The Garden Almanac

Field Notes

The One Thing North Carolina Squash Plants Need Before Vine Borers Hit or You Lose the Whole Crop

How To Keep a Potted Gardenia Alive Through a Central Texas Summer Without Scorching the Roots

Your Hydrangea Blooms Are Browning at the Edges This Fall – Here’s the Cause and How to Stop It

Your Hostas Turn Yellow and Fade as Fall Sets In — Here’s the One Cause Behind It and How to Reverse It

Where You Are Most Likely to Find Large Fire-Ant Mounds in North Carolina Yards and How to Spot Them Before You Step In

What It Means When a Kettle of Broad-Winged Hawks Circles Your Central Texas Yard Each Fall