Ethan Brooks

Few things feel worse than carrying a healthy lemon or lime tree inside and finding leaves on the…

By Ethan Brooks · Nov 4

Lemongrass grows fast all summer, then a cold snap can turn the whole clump brown in a night.…

By Ethan Brooks · Nov 3

Brown, crispy tips on a peace lily can make a healthy plant look like it is struggling. Water…

By Ethan Brooks · Nov 3

That potted geranium on your porch is probably a tender plant that cannot handle a freeze. When cold…

By Ethan Brooks · Nov 3

A cabbage head that looked perfect on Monday can be cracked open by Friday. It often happens when…

By Ethan Brooks · Nov 3

You hauled your beautiful potted geraniums inside before the first frost, and now they look tall, thin, and…

By Ethan Brooks · Nov 3

Fresh pansies look perky for a week or two, and then some beds start to sag with limp,…

By Ethan Brooks · Nov 3

Collards are a fall and winter favorite across the South, and a few good picking habits can keep…

By Ethan Brooks · Nov 3

Sweet potatoes grow out of sight, so it is hard to know when cold weather starts to matter.…

By Ethan Brooks · Nov 3

Bare beds in November do not have to stay bare. Snapdragon transplants can fill them with tall spikes…

By Ethan Brooks · Nov 3

A favorite geranium can feel like a plant you hate to lose when the first cold snap is…

By Ethan Brooks · Nov 3

Raking leaves feels like a never-ending November chore, but those piles are worth keeping. Healthy leaves can protect…

By Ethan Brooks · Nov 3

Few things are more disappointing than picking Brussels sprouts that look like little open rosettes instead of firm…

By Ethan Brooks · Nov 3

You pull a radish from the fall row and find a big leafy top with a skinny root,…

By Ethan Brooks · Nov 3

Those pots of fall mums on your porch look great for a few weeks, then the blooms fade…

By Ethan Brooks · Nov 3

You bought a holiday cactus, kept it alive all year, and now the stems are bare of buds…

By Ethan Brooks · Nov 2

A ripe fig picked warm off your own tree tastes nothing like the ones sold in plastic clamshells…

By Ethan Brooks · Nov 2

Tiny holes in your fall kale can be alarming, especially when the weather turns cool and you expect…

By Ethan Brooks · Nov 2

That tidy fall trim on your fig tree might cost you the first figs of summer. Those early…

By Ethan Brooks · Nov 2

Few things feel more disappointing than a Christmas cactus that stays green and bloomless while the holiday lights…

By Ethan Brooks · Nov 2

You walk past your potted Meyer lemon and spot tiny green fruit on the floor. The heater just…

By Ethan Brooks · Nov 2

Plenty of gardeners have heard that carrots turn candy-sweet once frost hits them. The truth is a bit…

By Ethan Brooks · Nov 2

Walk out one morning and find your shrubs nibbled down to ragged stubs, and it is hard not…

By Ethan Brooks · Nov 2

November feels like the month you can finally stop worrying about the lawn. In the South, though, warm-season…

By Ethan Brooks · Nov 2

A peace lily that looked fine on the porch can flop within days of coming inside. The sight…

By Ethan Brooks · Nov 2

Those bright pots of mums on porches and store shelves look great the day you bring them home.…

By Ethan Brooks · Nov 2

Strawberry plants send out long, creeping stems called runners, and fall is when many gardeners wonder what to…

By Ethan Brooks · Nov 2

You pulled a beautiful harvest of garlic and onions from the garden, and now some bulbs are sprouting…

By Ethan Brooks · Nov 2

Picture a garlic bed after a hard freeze and a warm spell: a few cloves sit right on…

By Ethan Brooks · Nov 2

An empty garden bed in winter can turn into a patch of weeds before you know it. Crimson…

By Ethan Brooks · Nov 2

Those rusty tomato cages leaning against the fence held a whole summer of leaves, vines, and soil splashes.…

By Ethan Brooks · Nov 2

Your holiday cactus may be loaded with tiny buds right now, and one wrong move can send them…

By Ethan Brooks · Nov 1

That pot of mums looked perfect on the porch a few weeks ago, and now it is brown…

By Ethan Brooks · Nov 1

That tall, feathery asparagus patch looks messy by fall, and it is tempting to trim it flat. But…

By Ethan Brooks · Nov 1

Your fig tree is dropping yellow leaves, and the branches still hold a few forgotten figs. Is that…

By Ethan Brooks · Nov 1

Green shoots poking up from your garlic bed in November can feel like a warning sign, especially when…

By Ethan Brooks · Nov 1

Mulch looks tidy around hostas, but the spot where the leaves meet the soil can stay damp when…

By Ethan Brooks · Nov 1

A potted tomato parked in the garage can sit there for weeks without adding a single new leaf.…

By Ethan Brooks · Nov 1

Pruning season leaves a pile of fig branches, and some of that wood can become new trees. Gardeners…

By Ethan Brooks · Nov 1

A forgotten hose can hold a surprising amount of water, and that water can turn to ice when…

By Ethan Brooks · Nov 1

You carry your potted fig into the garage to keep it safe, then a warm spell hits and…

By Ethan Brooks · Nov 1

You pick out a poinsettia with deep red bracts, load it in the car, and hope it looks…

By Ethan Brooks · Nov 1

Cold-night forecasts can make a fall spinach bed feel like a ticking clock. The good news is that…

By Ethan Brooks · Nov 1

Everyone loves a free plant, and snake plants can give you one. But the popular claim that a…

By Ethan Brooks · Nov 1

You can water, feed, and stake your tomatoes perfectly and still end up with a few sad, cracked…

By Ethan Brooks · Nov 1

Few garden tips sound as easy as tossing a banana peel into a pepper pot and waiting for…

By Ethan Brooks · Oct 31

Picture a fig tree in January, bare and quiet, with next summer’s earliest fruit already tucked into its…

By Ethan Brooks · Oct 31

Those peppers hanging heavy on your plants took months to grow, so a chilly forecast can make your…

By Ethan Brooks · Oct 31

Many gardeners hear that November watering decides whether a Christmas cactus will be loaded with blooms by the…

By Ethan Brooks · Oct 31