Ethan Brooks, Author at Complete Gardening

Gardening Tips

If your tomatoes are cracking and rotting on the bottom this August, the trouble usually starts below the fruit

Spotting a dark, sunken patch on the bottom of a tomato you have been watching all summer is…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 2

Gardening Tips

If your tomatoes slow way down in this August heat, your feeding routine usually needs a reset

August heat can bring a tomato garden to a standstill almost overnight, and it is easy to assume…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 2

Gardening Tips

If your ripe tomatoes keep splitting open on the vine this August, one watering swing usually starts it

Walking out to your garden after a summer rainstorm and finding your biggest, ripest tomatoes split wide open…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 2

Gardening Tips

If your cucumbers turn bitter and inedible in this August heat, one watering swing usually starts it

Biting into a cucumber you grew yourself and finding it sharp and unpalatable is genuinely frustrating, especially in…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 2

Gardening Tips

If your cucumber vines are loaded with flowers but no fruit ever forms this August, one pollination gap usually starts it

Your cucumber vines are practically bursting with blooms, yet the harvest bucket stays empty, and August is slipping…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 2

Gardening Tips

If your zucchini plants are all leaves and vine but the fruit never fills out this August, one feeding habit usually starts it

You step outside expecting a zucchini harvest and instead find a jungle of dark green leaves with almost…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 2

Gardening Tips

If your squash plants look fine at dawn but wilt flat by afternoon this August, the trouble usually starts at the base

You step outside on an August morning and your zucchini looks healthy and full. By two in the…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 2

Gardening Tips

If your pepper plants are dropping their blossoms before they set fruit in this August heat, one watering swing usually starts it

Pepper plants that flower all summer but drop every blossom before a single fruit forms can be genuinely…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 2

Gardening Tips

If your zucchini plants keep dropping their baby fruit before it grows this August, one hidden habit usually starts it

Watching tiny zucchini shrivel and rot before they ever get going is one of summer’s most frustrating garden…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 1

Gardening Tips

If your cucumber leaves are wilting by afternoon even in moist soil this August, one root problem usually starts it

Walking out to your garden on a hot August afternoon and finding your cucumber plants drooping can feel…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 1

Gardening Tips

If your cucumbers grow curled and hooked instead of straight, poor pollination and uneven watering are the two leading checks to make first

Pulling a hooked or curled cucumber off the vine is one of those gardening moments that makes you…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 1

Gardening Tips

If your tomatoes crack and split open right after you water in this August heat, one watering swing can trigger it

You walk out to the garden, hose in hand, and find the tomatoes you have been babying all…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 1

Gardening Tips

If your tomato leaves are curling upward and leathery in this August heat, one watering swing usually starts it

Walking out to your garden on a hot August morning and finding your tomato leaves curled up tight…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 1

Gardening Tips

If your cucumbers taste bitter this August, one watering habit usually starts it before you ever pick them

Biting into a homegrown cucumber and getting a mouthful of bitterness is one of August’s most frustrating garden…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 1

Gardening Tips

If your cucumber vines are loaded with blossoms but the fruit stays stubby and pale in this August heat, one watering habit usually starts it

Your cucumber vines are covered in flowers, yet every fruit that forms looks stubby, crooked, or faded before…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 1

Gardening Tips

If your carrots grow lush tops but the roots stay skinny, one feeding habit usually starts it underground

You pull a carrot expecting a plump, colorful root and find something closer to a pencil. Meanwhile, the…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 1

Gardening Tips

If your pepper plants are big and leafy but barely setting pods in this August heat, one hidden habit usually starts it

Your pepper plant looks healthy enough to win a prize – dark green leaves, thick stems, plenty of…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 1

Gardening Tips

If your pepper plants set flowers but the fruit stays tiny in this August heat, one feeding habit usually starts it

You water, you fertilize, and yet your pepper plants are covered in flowers or tiny little peppers that…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 1

Gardening Tips

Zucchini Flowers but No Fruit in August? Heat May Shift the Ratio, but Check These Causes First

Your zucchini plant is covered in yellow blossoms, yet not a single zucchini is forming. Before you assume…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 1

Gardening Tips

Your Summer Squash Is Huge and Leafy but Fruit Keeps Failing: Excess Nitrogen Is One Possible Cause, but Diagnose the Fruit First

Something feels wrong when your squash vines are sprawling and dark green but every young fruit shrivels, blackens,…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 1

Gardening Tips

If your tomato plants pump out leaves but stall on fruit in this August heat, one feeding habit usually starts it

Your tomato plant looks like a winner – deep green, bushy, and growing fast – but the fruit…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 1

Gardening Tips

If Your Tomato Leaves Turn Purple Underneath, One Nutrient-Uptake Problem May Be Behind It

Walking out to your tomato plants and spotting purple or reddish-purple color on the undersides of leaves can…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 1

Gardening Tips

If your zucchini sets tiny fruit that rots at the tip in this August heat, one feeding gap usually starts it

Walking out to your zucchini patch to find tiny fruits with dark, sunken tips can feel like the…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 1

Gardening Tips

If your pepper plants keep dropping their blossoms in this August heat, one watering habit usually starts it

Watching pepper flowers dry up and fall off before a single fruit forms is one of the more…

By Ethan Brooks · Jul 31

Gardening Tips

If your cucumber leaves turn white and dusty in this late-summer heat, one watering habit usually invites it

Walking out to your cucumber patch and finding the leaves coated in a white, dusty film is enough…

By Ethan Brooks · Jul 31

Gardening Tips

If your tomato leaves roll and curl upward in this late-summer heat, one watering habit usually starts it before the twist shows

Walking out to your tomato plants on a hot August morning and finding the leaves rolled tight like…

By Ethan Brooks · Jul 31

Gardening Tips

If your cucumber leaves show yellow blotches between the veins in this late-summer heat, one feeding gap usually starts it

Yellow patches showing up between the veins of your cucumber leaves can stop a gardener cold, especially when…

By Ethan Brooks · Jul 31

Gardening Tips

If your cucumbers turn bitter and shriveled at the ends in this heat, one watering habit usually starts it

Pulling a cucumber off the vine only to find one end looks perfect while the other is pinched,…

By Ethan Brooks · Jul 31

Gardening Tips

If your cucumber vines pump out flowers but almost no cukes in this heat, poor pollination usually isn’t the whole story

Your cucumber vines are loaded with bright yellow flowers, yet the harvest bucket stays nearly empty. That gap…

By Ethan Brooks · Jul 31

Gardening Tips

Cucumber Vines Wilting by Mid-Afternoon: Heat Stress, Watering Habits, and When to Worry

Watching your cucumber vines go limp in the middle of a hot afternoon is unsettling, especially when you…

By Ethan Brooks · Jul 31

Gardening Tips

If your squash keeps getting powdery-white leaves in this late-summer humidity, one watering habit usually invites it

White powder creeping across your squash leaves is one of the most frustrating sights in a late-summer garden.…

By Ethan Brooks · Jul 31

Gardening Tips

If your eggplants flower nonstop but never set fruit in this heat, one hidden habit is usually behind it

Watching your eggplant push out flower after flower while not a single fruit develops is genuinely frustrating, especially…

By Ethan Brooks · Jul 31

Gardening Tips

If your zucchini plants pump out huge leaves but almost no fruit in this heat, one hidden habit is stalling them

Your zucchini plant looks like it could swallow the whole garden bed, but the harvest basket stays empty.…

By Ethan Brooks · Jul 31

Gardening Tips

If your zucchini flowers open every morning but never set fruit in this heat, the trouble starts before the bloom

Watching zucchini flowers open day after day without a single fruit forming is one of the more frustrating…

By Ethan Brooks · Jul 31

Gardening Tips

If your peppers set only tiny, thin-walled fruit in this heat, one feeding mistake is usually behind it

Pulling a pepper off the vine and finding it small, soft-walled, and disappointing is genuinely frustrating, especially after…

By Ethan Brooks · Jul 31

Gardening Tips

If your tomato plants grow tall and bushy but barely set fruit, one feeding habit is usually the reason

Few things are more frustrating than watching a tomato plant shoot up lush and green all summer while…

By Ethan Brooks · Jul 31

Gardening Tips

If your tomato leaves are still green but not one flower sets in this heat, the trouble starts before the buds form

Your tomato plant looks perfectly healthy, all dark green leaves and sturdy stems, yet not a single tomato…

By Ethan Brooks · Jul 31

Gardening Tips

If your pepper leaves suddenly curl and cup upward in this heat, the trouble usually starts before the leaves twist

Walking out to your pepper plants on a scorching afternoon and finding their leaves curled tight like little…

By Ethan Brooks · Jul 30

Gardening Tips

If your ripening tomatoes keep cracking open after you water in this heat, one moisture swing is usually behind it

Watching a nearly perfect tomato split open right before you pick it is one of the most frustrating…

By Ethan Brooks · Jul 30

Gardening Tips

If your tomatoes hang green and refuse to ripen in this heat, one care habit is usually stalling them

Walking out to your garden and finding tomatoes that have been full-sized and green for weeks is genuinely…

By Ethan Brooks · Jul 30

Gardening Tips

If your cucumbers turn bitter and taste off in this heat, one steady watering habit sweetens them back up

Biting into a cucumber you grew yourself and getting a mouthful of bitterness is genuinely frustrating, especially after…

By Ethan Brooks · Jul 30

Gardening Tips

If your cucumber leaves suddenly go powdery-white in this late-summer humidity, the fix starts before the spots spread

Walking out to your garden and finding your cucumber leaves dusted white is one of those sinking moments…

By Ethan Brooks · Jul 30

Gardening Tips

If your cucumber vines suddenly wilt overnight in this heat, the trouble is hiding down in the roots

Walking out to your cucumber patch and finding vines that were perfectly healthy yesterday now lying limp and…

By Ethan Brooks · Jul 30

Gardening Tips

If your cucumbers taste bitter after this heat wave, the trouble started before the fruit ever swelled

Biting into a cucumber you grew yourself and tasting something sharp and unpleasant is genuinely frustrating, especially after…

By Ethan Brooks · Jul 30

Gardening Tips

If your zucchini keeps dropping every blossom in this heat, the flowers are telling you something before the fruit ever forms

You step outside expecting to find baby zucchini forming, and instead you find a pile of fallen flowers…

By Ethan Brooks · Jul 30

Gardening Tips

If your zucchini leaves turn mottled and pale in this heat, the trouble usually rode in on the bugs first

Pale, patchy zucchini leaves on a hot summer day can stop a gardener cold, and it is easy…

By Ethan Brooks · Jul 30

Gardening Tips

If your squash plants collapse overnight in this heat, the trouble starts inside the stem before you see it wilt

Walking out to your garden and finding a squash plant completely limp can feel like a gut punch,…

By Ethan Brooks · Jul 30

Gardening Tips

If your tomato plants slow down in this late-summer heat, one feeding reset usually gets them fruiting again

Watching a tomato plant that was loaded with blooms suddenly go quiet in late July or August is…

By Ethan Brooks · Jul 30

Gardening Tips

If your potted cucumbers keep curling into hooks in this heat, inconsistent watering is one likely culprit – but check pollination too

You pull back the leaves on your container cucumber and find fruit that looks more like a fish…

By Ethan Brooks · Jul 30

Ethan Brooks

If your bell peppers get sunscald and pale leathery patches in this August heat, one pruning habit usually starts it

If your tomatoes are cracking and rotting on the bottom this August, the trouble usually starts below the fruit

If your tomatoes slow way down in this August heat, your feeding routine usually needs a reset

If your ripe tomatoes keep splitting open on the vine this August, one watering swing usually starts it

If your cucumbers turn bitter and inedible in this August heat, one watering swing usually starts it

If your cucumber vines are loaded with flowers but no fruit ever forms this August, one pollination gap usually starts it

If your zucchini plants are all leaves and vine but the fruit never fills out this August, one feeding habit usually starts it

If your squash plants look fine at dawn but wilt flat by afternoon this August, the trouble usually starts at the base

If your pepper plants are dropping their blossoms before they set fruit in this August heat, one watering swing usually starts it

If your zucchini plants keep dropping their baby fruit before it grows this August, one hidden habit usually starts it

If your cucumber leaves are wilting by afternoon even in moist soil this August, one root problem usually starts it

If your cucumbers grow curled and hooked instead of straight, poor pollination and uneven watering are the two leading checks to make first

If your tomatoes crack and split open right after you water in this August heat, one watering swing can trigger it

If your tomato leaves are curling upward and leathery in this August heat, one watering swing usually starts it

If your cucumbers taste bitter this August, one watering habit usually starts it before you ever pick them

If your cucumber vines are loaded with blossoms but the fruit stays stubby and pale in this August heat, one watering habit usually starts it

If your carrots grow lush tops but the roots stay skinny, one feeding habit usually starts it underground

If your pepper plants are big and leafy but barely setting pods in this August heat, one hidden habit usually starts it

If your pepper plants set flowers but the fruit stays tiny in this August heat, one feeding habit usually starts it

Zucchini Flowers but No Fruit in August? Heat May Shift the Ratio, but Check These Causes First

Your Summer Squash Is Huge and Leafy but Fruit Keeps Failing: Excess Nitrogen Is One Possible Cause, but Diagnose the Fruit First

If your tomato plants pump out leaves but stall on fruit in this August heat, one feeding habit usually starts it

If Your Tomato Leaves Turn Purple Underneath, One Nutrient-Uptake Problem May Be Behind It

If your zucchini sets tiny fruit that rots at the tip in this August heat, one feeding gap usually starts it

If your pepper plants keep dropping their blossoms in this August heat, one watering habit usually starts it

If your cucumber leaves turn white and dusty in this late-summer heat, one watering habit usually invites it

If your tomato leaves roll and curl upward in this late-summer heat, one watering habit usually starts it before the twist shows

If your cucumber leaves show yellow blotches between the veins in this late-summer heat, one feeding gap usually starts it

If your cucumbers turn bitter and shriveled at the ends in this heat, one watering habit usually starts it

If your cucumber vines pump out flowers but almost no cukes in this heat, poor pollination usually isn’t the whole story

Cucumber Vines Wilting by Mid-Afternoon: Heat Stress, Watering Habits, and When to Worry

If your squash keeps getting powdery-white leaves in this late-summer humidity, one watering habit usually invites it

If your eggplants flower nonstop but never set fruit in this heat, one hidden habit is usually behind it

If your zucchini plants pump out huge leaves but almost no fruit in this heat, one hidden habit is stalling them

If your zucchini flowers open every morning but never set fruit in this heat, the trouble starts before the bloom

If your peppers set only tiny, thin-walled fruit in this heat, one feeding mistake is usually behind it

If your tomato plants grow tall and bushy but barely set fruit, one feeding habit is usually the reason

If your tomato leaves are still green but not one flower sets in this heat, the trouble starts before the buds form

If your pepper leaves suddenly curl and cup upward in this heat, the trouble usually starts before the leaves twist

If your ripening tomatoes keep cracking open after you water in this heat, one moisture swing is usually behind it

If your tomatoes hang green and refuse to ripen in this heat, one care habit is usually stalling them

If your cucumbers turn bitter and taste off in this heat, one steady watering habit sweetens them back up

If your cucumber leaves suddenly go powdery-white in this late-summer humidity, the fix starts before the spots spread

If your cucumber vines suddenly wilt overnight in this heat, the trouble is hiding down in the roots

If your cucumbers taste bitter after this heat wave, the trouble started before the fruit ever swelled

If your zucchini keeps dropping every blossom in this heat, the flowers are telling you something before the fruit ever forms

If your zucchini leaves turn mottled and pale in this heat, the trouble usually rode in on the bugs first

If your squash plants collapse overnight in this heat, the trouble starts inside the stem before you see it wilt

If your tomato plants slow down in this late-summer heat, one feeding reset usually gets them fruiting again

If your potted cucumbers keep curling into hooks in this heat, inconsistent watering is one likely culprit – but check pollination too