Ethan Brooks, Author at Complete Gardening

Gardening Tips

If Your Fall Carrot Seeds Sprout Patchy and Weak in Late-Summer Heat, Here Is Why

Planting carrot seeds in late summer and watching half the row never come up is one of the…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 17

Gardening Tips

If Your Fall Cucumber Seedlings Yellow and Stall Right After Sprouting in Late-Summer Heat, Here Is Why

Starting a second cucumber crop in late summer is a smart move for Southern gardeners, but watching those…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 17

Gardening Tips

If Your Fall Squash Seedlings Sprout Fast but Fizzle Out in the Late-Summer Heat, Here Is Why

Planting fall squash in August feels like a race against the calendar, and watching your seedlings pop up…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 17

Gardening Tips

If Your Fall Broccoli Seedlings Turn Purple and Stall Out After Transplanting in Late-Summer Heat, Here Is Why

Stepping outside to check on your newly planted fall broccoli and finding the leaves flushed purple and the…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 17

Gardening Tips

If Your Pole Beans Grow Tall and Leafy but Barely Flower While the Heat Lingers in Late Summer, Here Is Why

Watching your pole bean vines climb higher every day while the rest of the garden bakes in late-summer…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 17

Gardening Tips

If Your Bean Plants Flower Heavily but the Pods Stay Flat and Empty in Late-Summer Heat, Here Is Why

Your bean plants are covered in flowers, but the pods coming in look thin, flat, or nearly empty…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 17

Gardening Tips

If Your Cucumbers Turn Bitter and Sharp-Tasting Right at Harvest in Late-Summer Heat, Here Is Why

Biting into a homegrown cucumber and getting a mouthful of sharpness is one of the most frustrating moments…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 17

Gardening Tips

If Your Cucumber Leaves Turn Silvery and Speckled While the Vine Slows in Late-Summer Heat, Here Is Why

Walk out to your cucumber bed on a sweltering August morning and you might notice the leaves looking…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 17

Gardening Tips

If Your Tomato Leaves Curl and Turn Yellow While the Fruit Ripens Slowly in Late-Summer Heat, Here Is Why

Standing in front of a tomato plant with curled, yellowing leaves and fruit that refuses to turn red…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 16

Gardening Tips

If Your Potted Peppers Keep Dropping Blossoms and Barely Fruiting in Late-Summer Heat, the Container Is Often Why

Watching your potted pepper shed flower after flower in August heat is one of the more discouraging sights…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 16

Gardening Tips

If Your Pepper Leaves Curl Up and Turn Leathery While the Plant Keeps Growing in Late-Summer Heat, Here Is Why

Pepper plants can throw gardeners a real curveball in late summer: the leaves start curling and feel almost…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 16

Gardening Tips

If Your Eggplant Flowers Keep Dropping Without Setting Fruit in Late-Summer Heat, Here Is Why

Watching eggplant flowers fall off day after day without a single fruit forming is one of the more…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 16

Gardening Tips

If Your Tomato Plants Are Loaded With Leaves but Refuse To Set Fruit While Nights Stay Warm, Here Is Why

Watching a tomato plant push out leaf after leaf while flowers dry up and fall before setting a…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 16

Gardening Tips

If Your Squash Vines Wilt and Collapse Overnight While the Fruit Still Looks Fine in Late-Summer Heat, Here Is Why

Walking out to your garden and finding a squash vine lying flat on the ground is one of…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 16

Gardening Tips

If Your Fall Cabbage Transplants Keep Wilting in Late-Summer Heat, Here Is Why

Planting fall cabbage in late summer feels like a race against the calendar, and then you watch your…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 16

Gardening Tips

If Your Cucumber Vines Wilt by Afternoon Even After Watering in Late-Summer Heat, Here Is Why

Walking out to your garden at 2 p.m. and finding your cucumber vines collapsed on the trellis is…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 16

Gardening Tips

If Your Tomatoes Split and Crack Open Right as They Ripen in Late-Summer Heat, Here Is Why

Walking out to your garden and finding a nearly perfect tomato split wide open is one of the…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 16

Gardening Tips

If Your Cucumber Fruit Grows Fat at One End and Pinched at the Other in Late-Summer Heat, Here Is Why

Pulling a cucumber off the vine only to find one end swollen and the other end narrow and…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 16

Gardening Tips

If Your Cucumber Leaves Turn Yellow From the Bottom Up While the Vine Keeps Growing in Late-Summer Heat, Here Is Why

Watching the lower leaves on your cucumber vine turn yellow one by one can feel alarming, especially when…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 16

Gardening Tips

If Your Pepper Plants Drop Every Blossom Before Fruit Sets While Nights Stay Warm, Here Is Why

You walk out to your pepper bed expecting to find tiny fruits forming under all those pretty white…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 16

Gardening Tips

If Your Fall Broccoli Transplants Are Opening Yellow Flowers Instead of Forming a Tight Head in Late-Summer Heat, Here Is Why

Watching your fall broccoli shoot up yellow flowers instead of forming a solid green head is one of…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 16

Gardening Tips

If Your Okra Pods Turn Woody and Tough Before You Can Pick Them in Late-Summer Heat, Here Is Why

Few things are more frustrating in a Southern garden than checking your okra in the morning and finding…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 16

Gardening Tips

If Your Bean Plants Flower Heavily but the Pods Never Fill Out in Late-Summer Heat, Here Is Why

You walk out to the garden expecting a big harvest, and instead you find a tangle of vines…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 15

Gardening Tips

If Your Squash Plants Set Female Flowers but the Fruit Rots at the Tip in Late-Summer Heat, Here Is Why

Watching a tiny squash turn soft and brown at the tip is one of the more frustrating sights…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 15

Gardening Tips

If Your Pepper Leaves Curl and Cup Inward While the Fruit Stalls in Late-Summer Heat, Here Is Why

August in a Southern garden can feel brutal, and pepper plants often show it first with leaves that…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 15

Gardening Tips

If Your Tomato Leaves Curl Upward and Feel Leathery in Late-Summer Heat, Here Is Why

Walking out to your tomato plants on a blazing August morning and finding the leaves curled up tight…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 15

Gardening Tips

If Your Potted Tomatoes Stay Small and Weak While the Garden Ones Take Off, Here Is Why

Watching your neighbor’s garden tomatoes shoot up while yours sit in a pot looking pale and tired is…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 15

Gardening Tips

If Your Tomato Plants Suddenly Stop Setting Fruit When Nights Stay Warm in Late-Summer Heat, Here Is Why

Late summer can feel like a cruel joke for tomato gardeners: your plants are covered in flowers, but…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 15

Gardening Tips

If Your Zucchini Leaves Turn Powdery White and Crisp in Late-Summer Heat, Here Is Why

Seeing your zucchini leaves go from dusty white to brown and papery is one of those late-summer surprises…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 15

Gardening Tips

If Your Cucumber Plants Turn Out Deformed, Nubbin Fruit in Late-Summer Heat, Here Is Why

Pulling a small, twisted, or pinched cucumber off the vine is one of those frustrating late-summer surprises that…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 15

Gardening Tips

If Your Cucumber Leaves Turn Yellow From the Bottom Up in Late-Summer Heat, Here Is Why

Watching the lower leaves on your cucumber vines go yellow while the rest of the plant looks fine…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 15

Gardening Tips

If Your Pepper Plants Grow Lush and Green but Refuse to Flower in Late-Summer Heat, Here Is Why

Walking out to your garden in August and finding pepper plants bursting with thick green leaves but not…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 15

Gardening Tips

If Your Tomato Plants Split Their Ripening Fruit Right on the Vine in Late-Summer Heat, Here Is Why

Walking out to your garden and finding a nearly ripe tomato split wide open overnight is one of…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 15

Gardening Tips

If Your Cucumber Fruits Turn Bitter and Puckered at the Stem End in Late-Summer Heat, Here Is Why

Biting into a cucumber you grew yourself only to get a mouthful of bitterness is one of late…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 15

Gardening Tips

If Your Cucumber Vines Wilt at Midday Even With Wet Soil in Late-Summer Heat, Here Is Why

Watching a cucumber vine flop over at noon when the soil still feels damp is one of the…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 15

Gardening Tips

If Your Bean Plants Flower Heavily but the Pods Stay Flat and Empty in Late-Summer Heat, Here Is Why

You walk out to your garden expecting a bumper crop and instead find a wall of pretty white…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 15

Gardening Tips

If Your Okra Plants Grow Tall but the Pods Turn Woody and Tough in Late-Summer Heat, Here Is Why

Okra is one of the South’s most reliable summer crops, but August has a way of turning a…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 15

Gardening Tips

If Your Eggplants Bloom All Summer but the Flowers Keep Dropping in Late Heat, Here Is Why

Watching your eggplant push out flower after flower all summer, only to see them fall off before a…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 14

Gardening Tips

If Your Pepper Plants Stop Setting Fruit in Late-Summer Heat, One Overnight Problem Is Usually Behind It

Your pepper plants look healthy, the flowers keep coming, and yet nothing is turning into actual peppers. That…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 14

Gardening Tips

If Your Squash Plants Suddenly Wilt and Collapse in Late-Summer Heat, Here Is Why

Walking out to your garden and finding a squash plant that looked fine yesterday now drooping flat on…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 14

Gardening Tips

If Your Tomato Plants Wilt Every Afternoon in Late-Summer Heat but Perk Up by Morning, Here Is Why

Watching your tomato plants droop in the afternoon heat can send any gardener into a panic, but that…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 14

Gardening Tips

If Your Zucchini Plants Turn Out All Flowers and No Fruit in Late-Summer Heat, Here Is Why

Staring at a zucchini plant loaded with bright yellow flowers and still no squash on the vine is…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 14

Gardening Tips

If Your Cucumber Leaves Turn Yellow From the Bottom Up in Late-Summer Heat, Here Is Why

Yellow leaves creeping up from the bottom of your cucumber plant are easy to misread, especially when the…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 14

Gardening Tips

If Your Pepper Plants Suddenly Drop Their Leaves in Late-Summer Heat, Here Is Why

Watching your pepper plants shed leaves during a scorching August heatwave is alarming, and your first instinct might…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 14

Gardening Tips

If Your Tomato Plants Grow Tall and Leafy but Set Almost No Fruit in Late-Summer Heat, Here Is Why

Your tomato plants look fantastic from a distance, green and full and climbing toward the sun, yet the…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 14

Gardening Tips

If Your Cucumber Plants Stop Producing New Fruit in Late-Summer Heat, One Pollination Problem Is Usually Behind It

Your cucumber vines are loaded with flowers, but the fruit just isn’t showing up. Before you pull the…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 14

Gardening Tips

If Your Hydrangeas Grow Big Leaves but No Flowers Right Now, One Pruning Mistake Is Usually Behind It

Staring at a hydrangea covered in lush green leaves but not a single bloom can be genuinely frustrating,…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 14

Gardening Tips

If Your Cucumber Vines Suddenly Wilt Overnight in Late-Summer Heat, Here Is Why

Walking out to your garden and finding a cucumber vine that was thriving just yesterday lying flat and…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 14

Gardening Tips

If Your Cucumber Leaves Curl Upward and Feel Leathery in Late-Summer Heat, Here Is Why

Walking out to your cucumber patch on a scorching August morning to find the leaves cupped upward and…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 14

Ethan Brooks

If Your Fall Tomato Transplants Sit Still and Refuse To Grow in Late-Summer Heat, Here Is Why

If Your Fall Carrot Seeds Sprout Patchy and Weak in Late-Summer Heat, Here Is Why

If Your Fall Cucumber Seedlings Yellow and Stall Right After Sprouting in Late-Summer Heat, Here Is Why

If Your Fall Squash Seedlings Sprout Fast but Fizzle Out in the Late-Summer Heat, Here Is Why

If Your Fall Broccoli Seedlings Turn Purple and Stall Out After Transplanting in Late-Summer Heat, Here Is Why

If Your Pole Beans Grow Tall and Leafy but Barely Flower While the Heat Lingers in Late Summer, Here Is Why

If Your Bean Plants Flower Heavily but the Pods Stay Flat and Empty in Late-Summer Heat, Here Is Why

If Your Cucumbers Turn Bitter and Sharp-Tasting Right at Harvest in Late-Summer Heat, Here Is Why

If Your Cucumber Leaves Turn Silvery and Speckled While the Vine Slows in Late-Summer Heat, Here Is Why

If Your Tomato Leaves Curl and Turn Yellow While the Fruit Ripens Slowly in Late-Summer Heat, Here Is Why

If Your Potted Peppers Keep Dropping Blossoms and Barely Fruiting in Late-Summer Heat, the Container Is Often Why

If Your Pepper Leaves Curl Up and Turn Leathery While the Plant Keeps Growing in Late-Summer Heat, Here Is Why

If Your Eggplant Flowers Keep Dropping Without Setting Fruit in Late-Summer Heat, Here Is Why

If Your Tomato Plants Are Loaded With Leaves but Refuse To Set Fruit While Nights Stay Warm, Here Is Why

If Your Squash Vines Wilt and Collapse Overnight While the Fruit Still Looks Fine in Late-Summer Heat, Here Is Why

If Your Fall Cabbage Transplants Keep Wilting in Late-Summer Heat, Here Is Why

If Your Cucumber Vines Wilt by Afternoon Even After Watering in Late-Summer Heat, Here Is Why

If Your Tomatoes Split and Crack Open Right as They Ripen in Late-Summer Heat, Here Is Why

If Your Cucumber Fruit Grows Fat at One End and Pinched at the Other in Late-Summer Heat, Here Is Why

If Your Cucumber Leaves Turn Yellow From the Bottom Up While the Vine Keeps Growing in Late-Summer Heat, Here Is Why

If Your Pepper Plants Drop Every Blossom Before Fruit Sets While Nights Stay Warm, Here Is Why

If Your Fall Broccoli Transplants Are Opening Yellow Flowers Instead of Forming a Tight Head in Late-Summer Heat, Here Is Why

If Your Okra Pods Turn Woody and Tough Before You Can Pick Them in Late-Summer Heat, Here Is Why

If Your Bean Plants Flower Heavily but the Pods Never Fill Out in Late-Summer Heat, Here Is Why

If Your Squash Plants Set Female Flowers but the Fruit Rots at the Tip in Late-Summer Heat, Here Is Why

If Your Pepper Leaves Curl and Cup Inward While the Fruit Stalls in Late-Summer Heat, Here Is Why

If Your Tomato Leaves Curl Upward and Feel Leathery in Late-Summer Heat, Here Is Why

If Your Potted Tomatoes Stay Small and Weak While the Garden Ones Take Off, Here Is Why

If Your Tomato Plants Suddenly Stop Setting Fruit When Nights Stay Warm in Late-Summer Heat, Here Is Why

If Your Zucchini Leaves Turn Powdery White and Crisp in Late-Summer Heat, Here Is Why

If Your Cucumber Plants Turn Out Deformed, Nubbin Fruit in Late-Summer Heat, Here Is Why

If Your Cucumber Leaves Turn Yellow From the Bottom Up in Late-Summer Heat, Here Is Why

If Your Pepper Plants Grow Lush and Green but Refuse to Flower in Late-Summer Heat, Here Is Why

If Your Tomato Plants Split Their Ripening Fruit Right on the Vine in Late-Summer Heat, Here Is Why

If Your Cucumber Fruits Turn Bitter and Puckered at the Stem End in Late-Summer Heat, Here Is Why

If Your Cucumber Vines Wilt at Midday Even With Wet Soil in Late-Summer Heat, Here Is Why

If Your Bean Plants Flower Heavily but the Pods Stay Flat and Empty in Late-Summer Heat, Here Is Why

If Your Okra Plants Grow Tall but the Pods Turn Woody and Tough in Late-Summer Heat, Here Is Why

If Your Eggplants Bloom All Summer but the Flowers Keep Dropping in Late Heat, Here Is Why

If Your Pepper Plants Stop Setting Fruit in Late-Summer Heat, One Overnight Problem Is Usually Behind It

If Your Squash Plants Suddenly Wilt and Collapse in Late-Summer Heat, Here Is Why

If Your Tomato Plants Wilt Every Afternoon in Late-Summer Heat but Perk Up by Morning, Here Is Why

If Your Zucchini Plants Turn Out All Flowers and No Fruit in Late-Summer Heat, Here Is Why

If Your Cucumber Leaves Turn Yellow From the Bottom Up in Late-Summer Heat, Here Is Why

If Your Pepper Plants Suddenly Drop Their Leaves in Late-Summer Heat, Here Is Why

If Your Tomato Plants Grow Tall and Leafy but Set Almost No Fruit in Late-Summer Heat, Here Is Why

If Your Cucumber Plants Stop Producing New Fruit in Late-Summer Heat, One Pollination Problem Is Usually Behind It

If Your Hydrangeas Grow Big Leaves but No Flowers Right Now, One Pruning Mistake Is Usually Behind It

If Your Cucumber Vines Suddenly Wilt Overnight in Late-Summer Heat, Here Is Why

If Your Cucumber Leaves Curl Upward and Feel Leathery in Late-Summer Heat, Here Is Why