Pale, Stunted Fall Lettuce? Low Fertility Is One Possibility Worth Testing For
You set out fall lettuce in a bed that worked hard all summer, and now the leaves look pale and the plants barely grow. It…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 5, 2026
Written by
Ethan Brooks
1,450 Articles
Gardening Tips
If You Want Tulips in Texas or Florida, Your Bulbs Need a Fridge Chill Starting Now
Tulips do not feel at home in most Texas and Florida winters, because the ground never stays cold…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 5
Gardening Tips
Your Hummingbird Feeder Needs a Real Cleaning in Fall, and Here’s How to Scrub Out Hidden Mold
A hummingbird feeder can look fine from the patio and still have sticky film tucked into its tiny…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 5
Gardening Tips
Could Afternoon Sun Affect Your Hummingbird Feeder? Where to Move It and What Else to Check
A hummingbird feeder that hangs untouched all week can leave any gardener scratching their head. In hot parts…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 5
Gardening Tips
Raised Beds That Dry Out Fast: How to Help Your Soil Hold More Water
A raised bed that looks dry again just days after watering can leave you wondering what went wrong.…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 5
Gardening Tips
Weeds Keep Sprouting Between Your Patio Pavers No Matter How Often You Scrape Them? Here’s How to Manage Them
You scrape the weeds out of your patio on Saturday, and by the next warm, rainy stretch they…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 5
Gardening Tips
Worn-Out Black-Eyed Susans in Fall: Leave Seedheads or Divide the Clump?
A black-eyed Susan that looks ragged by fall can leave you wondering if it is finished. Before you…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 5
Gardening Tips
Sow These Wildflower Seeds This Fall and They’ll Fill Your Beds Every Spring Without Replanting
Fall is the secret planting season most Southern gardeners miss. Seeds scattered in October or November settle into…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 5
Gardening Tips
Your Hummingbird Feeder Keeps Dripping Sticky Nectar Everywhere, and Shade May Help Stop a Sun-Related Leak
A sticky puddle under your hummingbird feeder is more than a messy nuisance. Spilled nectar invites ants, bees,…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 5
Gardening Tips
Asian Lady Beetles Keep Swarming Your Windows This Fall? How to Cut Down on How Many Get Inside
Warm autumn afternoons can turn a sunny wall into a crawling mass of small orange beetles. Many of…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 5
Gardening Tips
Garlic Planting Time in the South: Georgia, Texas, and Florida Fall Windows
Garlic is one of the easiest crops to tuck into a Southern bed, but the calendar trips up…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 5
Gardening Tips
Is Your Hummingbird Feeder Placement One Reason It Sits Full? How to Test a Better Spot
A feeder full of nectar and no hummingbirds in sight can leave you scratching your head. Where you…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 5
Gardening Tips
Your Late Hummingbirds Skip Your Yard Because Your Fall Containers Have No Nectar Flowers, and These Potted Bloomers Fix It
Every fall, hummingbirds zip south through Texas and Florida looking for one thing: fuel. If your porch pots…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 5
Gardening Tips
When to Cut Back Daylilies in Fall: Signs Your Plants Are Ready
Daylilies look messy once the flowers fade, and it is tempting to grab the shears and clear everything…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 4
Gardening Tips
Foxgloves Grow Big Leafy Rosettes Without Flower Spikes: What to Check Before You Worry
You planted foxgloves, and now you have a bold clump of fuzzy green leaves but no tall flower…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 4
Gardening Tips
Why Do Christmas Cactus Buds Drop After a Move? Light May Be Only Part of the Story
You bring your budding Christmas cactus to the front room for the holidays, and a few days later…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 4
Gardening Tips
If You Want Spring Harvests Without the Rush, These Vegetables Need Planting in October
Spring gardens often start with a mad scramble of buying seeds, prepping beds, and racing the heat. In…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 4
Gardening Tips
Why Chickweed Can Take Over Your Lawn After Quietly Sprouting in Fall
That green carpet of chickweed in late winter did not appear overnight. In many Southern lawns, the seeds…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 4
Gardening Tips
Why Fall Radishes Turn Hollow or Pithy, and How That Differs From Splitting
You pull a plump, shiny radish from the garden, slice it open, and find a spongy or hollow…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 4
Gardening Tips
Hummingbird Feeder Quiet? Start With the Commonly Recommended Nectar Mix
A hummingbird feeder that suddenly goes quiet can leave you scratching your head. Before you start changing things…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 4
Gardening Tips
Quiet Hummingbird Feeder? Check the Ports and Clean It Right
You hung the feeder, filled it with nectar, and waited. Meanwhile, the neighbors have hummingbirds buzzing around their…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 4
Gardening Tips
Bees and Wasps Crowding Your Hummingbird Feeder? A Saucer-Style Swap May Reduce Their Access
A feeder full of buzzing, stinging visitors can make a backyard feel off limits to the hummingbirds you…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 4
Gardening Tips
Is Your Raised Bed Soil Really Tired by Fall? Why Settled Soil Isn’t Always Depleted Soil
Your raised bed looks a little lower than it did in spring, and the tomato and pepper plants…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 4
Gardening Tips
Why a Potted Pansy May Wilt: Dry Mix Is One Possibility, So Check the Root Zone
A droopy pansy in a fall container can make you grab the watering can fast. But wilting is…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 4
Gardening Tips
Fallen Leaves May Help Build Better Pepper Beds, But They Are Not a Magic Fix
Every fall, Southern yards fill up with leaves that most of us bag and send to the curb.…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 4
Gardening Tips
Butterflies Keep Floating Past Your Yard to the Neighbor’s, and Their Fall Flowers Are the Reason
You see a monarch drift over your fence, pause for a second, and then sail right into the…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 4
Gardening Tips
Boxelder Bugs May Gather on Your Sunny Walls This Fall, and Here’s How to Reduce Indoor Entry
Red and black bugs clustered on a warm wall can make anyone nervous about what comes next. Boxelder…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 4
Gardening Tips
Your Hummingbirds Vanish Every Fall Because Your Garden Runs Out of Late Blooms, and These Plants Fix It
If your feeders go quiet by September, the problem may not be the birds at all. Hummingbirds heading…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 3
Gardening Tips
If You Want Spring Flowers Next Year, These Bulbs Need Planting Before the Ground Gets Cold
A bag of bulbs tucked into the soil this fall can turn into a burst of color when…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 3
Gardening Tips
Christmas Cactus Growing Green but Not Blooming? Check Night Light and Temperature
Your holiday cactus looks perfect, with plump green segments and no sign of a single bud. Fall is…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 3
Gardening Tips
Your Fall Beets Grow Lush Green Tops but Tiny Roots, and Crowding Is Usually Why
You planted beets, and now the leaves look amazing. But when you pull one up, the root is…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 3
Gardening Tips
Your Fall Brussels Sprouts Stay Loose and Leafy Instead of Firm, and One Watering Habit Is Why
You wait weeks for tight little cabbages to line the stalk, and instead you find puffy, open rosettes.…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 3
Gardening Tips
Thin, Patchy Spring Lawn? Compacted Soil Is One Possible Cause Worth Checking
Spring comes, and the grass in some spots is thin, bare, or slow to wake up. Compacted soil…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 3
Gardening Tips
Cooler Nights Can Help Encourage Christmas Cactus Buds Indoors
A Christmas cactus that stays green all fall can leave you wondering what it is waiting for. Day…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 3
Gardening Tips
Stink Bugs Keep Sneaking Indoors This Fall, and One Familiar Herb Sends Them Packing
Finding a shield-shaped bug on the windowsill or curtains in autumn is a common homeowner headache. Headlines have…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 3
Gardening Tips
Praying Mantises Have Caught Hummingbirds at Feeders: A Documented but Uncommon Hazard and Sensible Precautions
Most gardeners welcome a praying mantis, so it is a shock to learn that one can catch a…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 3
Gardening Tips
Snake Plant Leaves Soft and Mushy at the Base? Watering Again Too Soon May Be the Cause
You touch the base of your snake plant and the leaf feels soft, squishy, and wrong. That sight…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 3
Gardening Tips
Why Your Peace Lily Keeps Drooping: Watering Habits to Check and a Soil-Led Rhythm to Try
A peace lily that flops over can make any plant owner panic. Many of us grab the watering…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 3
Gardening Tips
Your Fall Carrots May Taste Sweeter When You Wait for These Harvest Signs
Pulling carrots the moment the tops look big can feel like the smart move, but the roots underground…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 3
Gardening Tips
When to Cut Back Herbaceous Peonies in Fall: Timing, Cleanup, and Tree Peony Exceptions
Peony leaves can look tired by late summer, and many gardeners reach for the shears too soon. Cutting…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 3
Gardening Tips
Your Fall Squash Plants Keep Flowering but the Baby Squash Shrivel: Pollination May Be Why
You check your fall squash every morning, and the plants are covered in yellow blooms. Then the tiny…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 3
Gardening Tips
Your Fall Tomatoes Stay Stubbornly Green on the Vine, and Cool Nights Aren’t the Whole Story
Your tomato plants are loaded with big, full-size fruit, and every one of them is still green. It…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 3
Gardening Tips
Old Mulch Can Be a Compost Ingredient This Fall, but Spring Compost Isn’t Guaranteed
Faded mulch can look tired by fall, and many Southern gardeners assume it all has to be raked…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 2
Gardening Tips
Your Fall Peppers Size Up but Won’t Turn Red, and Cooler Nights Are Only Part of Why
Your pepper plants are loaded with big, glossy fruit, but every single one is still green. With frost…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 2
Gardening Tips
Why Your Fig Tree Drops Unripe Figs: Uneven Watering Is One Cause to Check
Few things worry a fig grower more than a lush, leafy tree with tiny green figs scattered on…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 2
Gardening Tips
Why Your New Fall Sod Stays Brown and Won’t Root: Soil Contact Is One Fixable Factor
You laid fresh sod, watered it, and now it looks brown and refuses to grip the ground. That…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 2
Gardening Tips
Can You Still Plant Snapdragons in October, or Is It Already Too Late This Year?
Cool nights are finally showing up, and the garden center is full of snapdragon six-packs. If you are…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 2
Gardening Tips
Wisteria Grows Huge Vines but Rarely Blooms? Fall Lawn Feeding May Be One Reason
Your wisteria climbs the fence, swallows the arbor, and throws out vines every summer, yet spring comes and…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 2
Gardening Tips
Hummingbirds Keep Visiting Your Neighbor’s Yard Instead of Yours? Plants May Be One Reason
You hang a fresh feeder, wait all morning, and see nothing. Then you spot a hummingbird zipping around…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 2
Gardening Tips
Before You Feed Struggling Rosemary, Check Light, Growth Signs, and Pruning
When rosemary looks thin, stretched, or dull, it is easy to blame the fertilizer bag. But established rosemary…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 2