Ethan Brooks, Author at Complete Gardening

Gardening Tips

Tomato Watering Rhythm to Reduce Wilting, Cracking, and Slow Growth

Tomatoes are frustrating when they wilt in the morning, crack just before harvest, or sit there barely growing…

By Ethan Brooks · Jul 18

Gardening Tips

Your Lantana Stops Flowering When the Heat Peaks – Here’s the Care That Keeps It Blooming

Lantana is supposed to thrive in the heat, so watching it go quiet with blooms during the hottest…

By Ethan Brooks · Jul 18

Gardening Tips

16 Perennials That Bloom Twice as Long When You Deadhead Them, and What Happens the Year You Skip It

If your favorite flowers seem to quit blooming halfway through summer, the problem might not be your soil…

By Ethan Brooks · Jul 18

Gardening Tips

Your Hydrangeas Look Weak This Summer? Here Are the 5 Late-Season Moves That Push More Blooms

Sad, floppy hydrangeas with hardly any flowers can make a whole yard feel tired by midsummer. The good…

By Ethan Brooks · Jul 18

Gardening Tips

Your Tomatoes Need Smarter Watering, Not More – Here’s How the Roots Actually Want It

Most gardeners reach for the hose the moment their tomatoes look stressed, but adding more water is not…

By Ethan Brooks · Jul 18

Gardening Tips

The 20 Smells Squirrels and Chipmunks Can’t Stand – Put These Where They Keep Digging

If squirrels and chipmunks keep tearing up your flower beds and stealing your bulbs, you are not alone.…

By Ethan Brooks · Jul 18

Gardening Tips

Your Tomatoes and Cucumbers Look Stalled – Here Are 16 Feeds That Get Them Bulking Again

You planted your tomatoes and cucumbers with big hopes, and now they just sit there, green but going…

By Ethan Brooks · Jul 18

Gardening Tips

Filling a Big Planter? Here’s the Trick That Saves You Bags of Soil Without Starving the Roots

Potting mix is not cheap, and watching yourself pour bag after bag into a giant planter can feel…

By Ethan Brooks · Jul 18

Gardening Tips

Cut Your Delphiniums Back Right After They Flower and They May Rebloom Later This Season

Delphiniums are one of those plants that stop you in your tracks when they bloom, then leave you…

By Ethan Brooks · Jul 18

Gardening Tips

Your Carrots Grew Forked and Twisted Instead of Long and Straight – Here’s What Went Wrong

Pulling a carrot from the ground and finding a tangled, forked mess instead of a tidy root is…

By Ethan Brooks · Jul 18

Gardening Tips

Grow These 12 Plants and Rabbits Stop Treating Your Flower Beds Like a Salad Bar

If you have ever walked outside to find your tulips chewed down to nubs, you already know rabbits…

By Ethan Brooks · Jul 18

Gardening Tips

Your Pumpkin Vines Are Sprawling but the Fruit Rots Where It Touches the Ground — Here’s the Fix

Watching a big, beautiful pumpkin slowly rot on its underside is one of the most frustrating things that…

By Ethan Brooks · Jul 18

Gardening Tips

If Your Cucumber Leaves Are Curling and Speckled, It May Not Be Heat – It May Be Spider Mites

Midsummer heat gets blamed for a lot of cucumber problems, but when leaves start curling and showing tiny…

By Ethan Brooks · Jul 18

Gardening Tips

The Deadheading Habit That Can Keep Your Petunias Blooming Instead of Fizzling Out by August

Petunias are some of the most cheerful plants you can grow in a container or garden bed, but…

By Ethan Brooks · Jul 18

Gardening Tips

If Your Cucumber Vines Keep Yellowing in the Heat, It May Not Be Water – It May Be This Nutrient

Watching your cucumber vines turn yellow in the middle of summer is genuinely worrying, especially when you feel…

By Ethan Brooks · Jul 18

Gardening Tips

Chipmunks Are Tunneling Under Your Raised Beds – Here’s How to Get Them to Move On

Soft soil that keeps sinking, a few mysterious holes near the bed frame, and a handful of tulip…

By Ethan Brooks · Jul 17

Gardening Tips

Your Fig Tree Leaves Are Turning Yellow and Dropping — Here’s What They’re Telling You

Few things unsettle a gardener faster than watching a fig tree shed its leaves while they turn a…

By Ethan Brooks · Jul 17

Gardening Tips

Your Cucumber Leaves Are Speckled and Turning Bronze — Here’s the Spider Mite Fix

Tiny specks are appearing across your cucumber leaves, the color is fading to bronze, and the vines look…

By Ethan Brooks · Jul 17

Gardening Tips

Your Cucumbers Are Growing Curled and Misshapen – Here’s the Pollination Fix That Straightens Them Out

Pulling a curled, fat-ended cucumber off the vine is genuinely frustrating, especially when the rest of the plant…

By Ethan Brooks · Jul 17

Gardening Tips

If Your Hydrangeas Green Up Beautifully but Never Bloom, One Pruning Slip May Be the Reason

Your hydrangea pushed out a full head of leaves this spring, looking as healthy as ever, but not…

By Ethan Brooks · Jul 17

Gardening Tips

If Your Coneflowers Fade by Mid-July, They May Not Be Worn Out – One Habit May Be Cutting Them Short

Watching your coneflowers go quiet in mid-July can feel like something went seriously wrong, especially when the rest…

By Ethan Brooks · Jul 17

Gardening Tips

If Your Zucchini Stops Setting Fruit in the Summer Heat, One Overlooked Habit May Be to Blame

Zucchini plants are famous for producing more squash than most families can eat, so when they suddenly stop…

By Ethan Brooks · Jul 17

Gardening Tips

If Your Tomatoes Stall in the July Heat, One Cheap Kitchen Ingredient May Get Them Growing Again

Tomato plants can look perfectly healthy in July and still stop producing flowers, drop the ones they have,…

By Ethan Brooks · Jul 16

Gardening Tips

If Your Petunias Quit Blooming by Midsummer, One Overlooked Habit May Be Cutting the Season Short

Around July, a lot of gardeners notice their petunias going quiet, fewer flowers opening, stems stretching out, and…

By Ethan Brooks · Jul 16

Gardening Tips

If Your Cucumbers Keep Yellowing in the July Heat, One Missing Nutrient May Be to Blame

Walking out to your cucumber patch and finding a sea of yellow leaves is one of the more…

By Ethan Brooks · Jul 16

Gardening Tips

Your Wilting Hydrangeas May Not Be Thirsty – They May Be Drowning in the July Heat

Stepping outside to find your hydrangea drooping on a hot July afternoon can send any gardener straight for…

By Ethan Brooks · Jul 16

Gardening Tips

If Your Pepper Plants Drop Their Blossoms in the July Heat, One Simple Fix Slows the Falling

Watching your pepper plant drop one flower after another during a July heat wave is frustrating, especially when…

By Ethan Brooks · Jul 16

Gardening Tips

If Your Tomato Leaves Are Curling Upward in the Heat, It May Not Be Thirst – It May Be This Instead

Seeing your tomato leaves curl upward on a hot summer day is enough to send any gardener running…

By Ethan Brooks · Jul 16

Gardening Tips

If Your Summer Squash Leaves Are Yellowing Between the Veins, It May Be a Magnesium Problem – Diagnose Before You Treat

Walking out to your squash bed and finding leaves with yellow patches between the veins can feel alarming,…

By Ethan Brooks · Jul 16

Gardening Tips

If Weeds Keep Reclaiming the Bare Spots in Your Beds, One Spreading Groundcover Can Help Suppress Them

Bare patches in ornamental beds are practically an open invitation for weeds. You pull them, mulch over them,…

By Ethan Brooks · Jul 16

Gardening Tips

17 Single-Ingredient Feeds That Power Your Tomatoes to a Bigger Harvest Without Overcomplicating It

If your tomato plants look tired, pale, or stubbornly refuse to set fruit, the fix might already be…

By Ethan Brooks · Jul 16

Gardening Tips

Your Hydrangea Blooms Look Weak This Summer — Here’s the Bloom-Focused Reset That Fixes It

Sparse, small, or faded hydrangea flowers in midsummer can feel like a defeat, especially after a full season…

By Ethan Brooks · Jul 16

Gardening Tips

Your Clematis Isn’t Difficult – One Hidden Mistake Is Quietly Cutting Off Its Flowers

If your clematis keeps putting out leafy vines but skips the flowers, you are not alone and the…

By Ethan Brooks · Jul 16

Gardening Tips

Your Hydrangeas Aren’t Being Stubborn – One Common Habit Is Quietly Blocking the Blooms

Few gardening frustrations match watching a hydrangea push out a full flush of healthy leaves every spring, then…

By Ethan Brooks · Jul 16

Gardening Tips

17 Pink Perennials That Come Back Every Year Once You Get Them Planted

If you love pink flowers but hate replanting every spring, perennials are about to become your best friend…

By Ethan Brooks · Jul 16

Gardening Tips

The 9 Backyard Birds That Pick Off Your Garden Pests and Make Your Yard Their Favorite Spot

If aphids, caterpillars, and beetles keep chewing holes in your tomatoes and roses, you might already have free…

By Ethan Brooks · Jul 16

Gardening Tips

Your Hanging Petunias Wilt Every Afternoon — Here Are the 5 Causes and the Fix for Each

Watching your hanging petunias droop every afternoon can feel alarming, but the wilt itself is a symptom, not…

By Ethan Brooks · Jul 16

Gardening Tips

You’re Cutting Your Coneflowers Wrong — Here’s the Snip That Keeps Them Blooming Into Fall

Your purple coneflowers looked great in July, but now some of those spiky centers are sitting on drooping,…

By Ethan Brooks · Jul 15

Gardening Tips

If Your Tomatoes Split Open Right After Watering, One Timing Fix Stops the Cracking

Finding a perfectly ripe tomato split down the side is one of the most frustrating moments in a…

By Ethan Brooks · Jul 15

Gardening Tips

If Your Hydrangea Leaves Are Browning at the Edges, It May Not Be Thirst – It May Be Your Water

Those crispy brown edges creeping across your hydrangea leaves can send any gardener straight for the hose. Before…

By Ethan Brooks · Jul 15

Gardening Tips

If Your Cucumber Leaves Turn Yellow in Midsummer Heat, One Feeding Fix Greens Them Back Up

Walking out to your cucumber patch in July and finding yellow leaves can feel like a small disaster,…

By Ethan Brooks · Jul 15

Gardening Tips

If Your Zucchini Sets Tiny Fruit That Rots at the Tip, One Pollination Fix Turns It Around

Few things are more discouraging than watching a baby zucchini turn yellow, shrivel up, and fall off the…

By Ethan Brooks · Jul 15

Gardening Tips

If Your Hydrangeas Wilt Every Hot Afternoon, One Watering Fix Beats Panic-Soaking Them

Watching your hydrangeas go limp every hot afternoon is genuinely alarming, especially when you just watered them yesterday.…

By Ethan Brooks · Jul 15

Gardening Tips

If Your Petunias Turn Leggy and Stop Blooming Midsummer, One Pinch Habit Brings Them Back

By midsummer, petunias that started the season full and colorful can turn into long, bare-stemmed plants with barely…

By Ethan Brooks · Jul 15

Gardening Tips

Your Hydrangeas May Not Be Done Blooming – They May Be Reacting to One Summer Watering Habit

Watching your hydrangea go from lush blooms to brown, papery clusters in the middle of summer can feel…

By Ethan Brooks · Jul 15

Gardening Tips

Feed Your Clematis This Way and a Modest Vine Turns Into a Wall of Color

Your clematis is covered in leaves but the flowers just are not showing up, and it is hard…

By Ethan Brooks · Jul 15

Gardening Tips

Cut Your Peonies Back at the Right Moment and Set the Stage for a Healthier Spring

Peonies are one of the most rewarding plants in a home garden, but they can also leave you…

By Ethan Brooks · Jul 15

Gardening Tips

Prune Your Clematis Wrong and It Barely Flowers – Here’s the Cut for Each Type

Few gardening frustrations match watching a clematis vine fill with leaves every spring and then produce almost no…

By Ethan Brooks · Jul 15

Gardening Tips

Plant These 31 Companions Next to Your Cucumbers for a Stronger, Healthier Crop

If your cucumber vines look sad, chewed up, or just plain lazy about making fruit, the plants growing…

By Ethan Brooks · Jul 15

Ethan Brooks

Your Tomatoes Are Growing Tall but Fruiting Slow – Here’s the Topping Cut That Redirects Them

Tomato Watering Rhythm to Reduce Wilting, Cracking, and Slow Growth

Your Lantana Stops Flowering When the Heat Peaks – Here’s the Care That Keeps It Blooming

16 Perennials That Bloom Twice as Long When You Deadhead Them, and What Happens the Year You Skip It

Your Hydrangeas Look Weak This Summer? Here Are the 5 Late-Season Moves That Push More Blooms

Your Tomatoes Need Smarter Watering, Not More – Here’s How the Roots Actually Want It

The 20 Smells Squirrels and Chipmunks Can’t Stand – Put These Where They Keep Digging

Your Tomatoes and Cucumbers Look Stalled – Here Are 16 Feeds That Get Them Bulking Again

Filling a Big Planter? Here’s the Trick That Saves You Bags of Soil Without Starving the Roots

Cut Your Delphiniums Back Right After They Flower and They May Rebloom Later This Season

Your Carrots Grew Forked and Twisted Instead of Long and Straight – Here’s What Went Wrong

Grow These 12 Plants and Rabbits Stop Treating Your Flower Beds Like a Salad Bar

Your Pumpkin Vines Are Sprawling but the Fruit Rots Where It Touches the Ground — Here’s the Fix

If Your Cucumber Leaves Are Curling and Speckled, It May Not Be Heat – It May Be Spider Mites

The Deadheading Habit That Can Keep Your Petunias Blooming Instead of Fizzling Out by August

If Your Cucumber Vines Keep Yellowing in the Heat, It May Not Be Water – It May Be This Nutrient

Chipmunks Are Tunneling Under Your Raised Beds – Here’s How to Get Them to Move On

Your Fig Tree Leaves Are Turning Yellow and Dropping — Here’s What They’re Telling You

Your Cucumber Leaves Are Speckled and Turning Bronze — Here’s the Spider Mite Fix

Your Cucumbers Are Growing Curled and Misshapen – Here’s the Pollination Fix That Straightens Them Out

If Your Hydrangeas Green Up Beautifully but Never Bloom, One Pruning Slip May Be the Reason

If Your Coneflowers Fade by Mid-July, They May Not Be Worn Out – One Habit May Be Cutting Them Short

If Your Zucchini Stops Setting Fruit in the Summer Heat, One Overlooked Habit May Be to Blame

If Your Tomatoes Stall in the July Heat, One Cheap Kitchen Ingredient May Get Them Growing Again

If Your Petunias Quit Blooming by Midsummer, One Overlooked Habit May Be Cutting the Season Short

If Your Cucumbers Keep Yellowing in the July Heat, One Missing Nutrient May Be to Blame

Your Wilting Hydrangeas May Not Be Thirsty – They May Be Drowning in the July Heat

If Your Pepper Plants Drop Their Blossoms in the July Heat, One Simple Fix Slows the Falling

If Your Tomato Leaves Are Curling Upward in the Heat, It May Not Be Thirst – It May Be This Instead

If Your Summer Squash Leaves Are Yellowing Between the Veins, It May Be a Magnesium Problem – Diagnose Before You Treat

If Weeds Keep Reclaiming the Bare Spots in Your Beds, One Spreading Groundcover Can Help Suppress Them

17 Single-Ingredient Feeds That Power Your Tomatoes to a Bigger Harvest Without Overcomplicating It

Your Hydrangea Blooms Look Weak This Summer — Here’s the Bloom-Focused Reset That Fixes It

Your Clematis Isn’t Difficult – One Hidden Mistake Is Quietly Cutting Off Its Flowers

Your Hydrangeas Aren’t Being Stubborn – One Common Habit Is Quietly Blocking the Blooms

17 Pink Perennials That Come Back Every Year Once You Get Them Planted

The 9 Backyard Birds That Pick Off Your Garden Pests and Make Your Yard Their Favorite Spot

Your Hanging Petunias Wilt Every Afternoon — Here Are the 5 Causes and the Fix for Each

You’re Cutting Your Coneflowers Wrong — Here’s the Snip That Keeps Them Blooming Into Fall

If Your Tomatoes Split Open Right After Watering, One Timing Fix Stops the Cracking

If Your Hydrangea Leaves Are Browning at the Edges, It May Not Be Thirst – It May Be Your Water

If Your Cucumber Leaves Turn Yellow in Midsummer Heat, One Feeding Fix Greens Them Back Up

If Your Zucchini Sets Tiny Fruit That Rots at the Tip, One Pollination Fix Turns It Around

If Your Hydrangeas Wilt Every Hot Afternoon, One Watering Fix Beats Panic-Soaking Them

If Your Petunias Turn Leggy and Stop Blooming Midsummer, One Pinch Habit Brings Them Back

Your Hydrangeas May Not Be Done Blooming – They May Be Reacting to One Summer Watering Habit

Feed Your Clematis This Way and a Modest Vine Turns Into a Wall of Color

Cut Your Peonies Back at the Right Moment and Set the Stage for a Healthier Spring

Prune Your Clematis Wrong and It Barely Flowers – Here’s the Cut for Each Type

Plant These 31 Companions Next to Your Cucumbers for a Stronger, Healthier Crop