A Freestanding Hardware-Cloth Guard Can Help Protect Young Fruit Trees From Rabbit Damage
A young fruit tree can look healthy in the fall and then show missing bark at the base a few weeks later. Rabbits are often…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 21, 2026
Written by
Ethan Brooks
1,744 Articles
Gardening Tips
Spotty, Ragged Swiss Chard in Fall? How to Tell Leaf Spot from Pest Damage and Harvest Wisely
Your Swiss chard looked great last month, and now the leaves are freckled, torn, or full of holes.…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 21
Gardening Tips
Your Pepper Plants Still Loaded With Green Fruit Will Ripen Faster Once You Pinch Off Every New Flower Now
Your pepper plants are heavy with green fruit, and the days are getting shorter. A popular tip says…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 21
Gardening Tips
Sweet potatoes left in the ground after the first cold snap rot fast, so dig them up this week
Sweet potatoes grow quietly underground, so it is easy to forget them as fall weather shifts. Cold nights…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 21
Gardening Tips
Rosemary left outside through a hard freeze turns brown and brittle, so here’s how to bring it through winter alive
That woody rosemary bush by your back door can look fine in November and sad and crispy by…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 21
Gardening Tips
Hard green figs picked from the tree generally won’t ripen indoors, but fruit still attached may if warm weather remains
Late October rolls around, and your fig tree is still hanging onto hard green fruit. Do you wait,…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 21
Gardening Tips
Ragged Hostas in Fall: What Cleanup Can and Cannot Do About Slugs
Hosta leaves can turn tattered and soggy by fall, and many gardeners blame slugs right away. Cleaning up…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 21
Gardening Tips
If Your Fall Garlic Sends Up Green Shoots Before Winter, Here’s Why That’s Not Automatically a Problem
You planted garlic cloves this fall, and now green tips are poking through the soil while the weather…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 21
Gardening Tips
That Free Pile of Pine Needles Under Your Tree Makes One of the Best Mulches for Your Garden Beds
Every fall, pine trees drop a blanket of needles that most of us rake up and haul away.…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 20
Gardening Tips
Long Dark Nights Can Help a Leafy Christmas Cactus Finally Form Buds
A Christmas cactus that keeps pushing out fresh green stem segments but never sets a bud can be…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 20
Gardening Tips
Got Lumpy Brown Swellings on Your Tomato Stems? They May Be Air Roots, and Here’s What to Check
You run a hand down a tomato stem and feel small, bumpy swellings that were not there last…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 20
Gardening Tips
A Limp, Shriveled Christmas Cactus May Still Bloom, but Check the Soil Before You Water
A Christmas cactus with floppy, wrinkled stems can look like it is giving up. Many people grab the…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 20
Gardening Tips
Before You Plant Those Store-Bought Mums in the Ground, Check This One Thing That Decides Whether They Survive Winter
That pot of mums on your porch looks great now, but will it come back next year? Some…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 20
Gardening Tips
Tiny Holes in Fall Collards and Mustard Greens May Mean Flea Beetles, and a Properly Sealed Row Cover Can Help Protect New Growth
You walk out to the garden and your fall collards look like someone fired tiny pellets at them.…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 20
Gardening Tips
Cool Conditions May Improve Carrot Flavor, and Mulch May Extend the Winter Harvest
Pulling every carrot before the first cold snap feels like the safe move, but some gardeners leave the…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 20
Gardening Tips
Tulip and Daffodil Bulbs Need the Right Depth, Plus Separate Fixes for Squirrels and Rot
Fall planting day feels hopeful, but a few missteps can leave you staring at an empty bed in…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 20
Gardening Tips
Can Topping Help Loose Brussels Sprouts? What Southern Gardeners Should Know
Loose, leafy Brussels sprouts can be a letdown after months of care. Some gardeners hear that snapping off…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 20
Gardening Tips
Hummingbird Feeders Left Up Through Late October Help the Last Migrants Refuel, Just Keep Ants and Wasps Off This Way
A few hummingbirds are still moving through Southern yards when the leaves start to turn. A clean feeder…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 20
Gardening Tips
How to Check Winter Squash Maturity and Reduce Storage Decay
You spent months growing pumpkins and winter squash, so it hurts to find a soft, leaking fruit on…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 20
Gardening Tips
Could Cold, Wet Soil Be Behind Fall Spinach Yellowing Between the Veins?
Your fall spinach was looking great, and now the leaves are turning yellow while the veins stay green.…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 20
Gardening Tips
Cabbage Heads Splitting Open After Fall Rains Usually Mean One Watering Habit Needs to Change
You walk out to the garden after a stormy night and find a once-perfect cabbage cracked wide open.…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 20
Gardening Tips
Protect Scented Geraniums Before Frost: A Simple Winter Routine
Rub a leaf of a scented geranium and you get a burst of lemon, rose, mint, or fruit.…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 20
Gardening Tips
Pale, Leggy Potted Mint in Fall? Check the Light, Then Try a Cut That May Encourage Fuller Growth
Mint is supposed to be the easy herb, so stretched, washed-out stems in a pot can feel like…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 19
Gardening Tips
Potted Tomatoes and Peppers: Check the Mix Before Changing Your Watering Routine This Fall
Your tomato and pepper pots may still be loaded with fruit, but the weather has started to shift.…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 19
Gardening Tips
Why Your Potted Herbs Turn Yellow on the Windowsill After You Bring Them In for Fall
You carried your basil, parsley, and chives inside before the cold hit, and now the leaves are fading…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 19
Gardening Tips
Yard Conditions That May Offer Snakes Shelter, Prey, or Access, and How to Check Them This Fall
Most of us have stared at a woodpile or a tangle of shrubs and wondered if something is…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 19
Gardening Tips
Frost Cloth Is a Limited Frost Buffer That May Help Extend Your Kale Harvest
You walk out to the kale bed after a chilly night and the leaves look rough, or they…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 19
Gardening Tips
Indoor Pepper Plants and Aphids: A Practical Rinse and Inspection Routine
Bringing a favorite pepper plant inside for winter can give you a head start on next season. But…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 19
Gardening Tips
Strawberry Plants Left Bare This Fall Lose Next Spring’s Crowns, So Tuck Them Under Straw Before the Freeze
Seeing your strawberry bed look thin and bare in late fall can make you worry that the plants…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 19
Gardening Tips
How to Overwinter Geraniums Indoors and Give Them a Chance to Bloom Again
Few things sting like watching a favorite geranium turn to mush after the first frost. With a little…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 19
Gardening Tips
How to Prevent Sun-Related Yellowing on Developing Cauliflower Curds With Leaf Tying
A fall cauliflower head can go from creamy white to yellow or greenish faster than you expect. Sunlight…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 19
Gardening Tips
Why Your Leeks Stay Skinny as Pencils This Fall, and What Hilling Can Really Do Before Frost
Pull a leek from your fall bed and find it no wider than a pencil, and it is…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 19
Gardening Tips
How to Protect Shrubs and Fall Greens From Deer Browsing in the South
Walk out one morning and find your collards nibbled down or your favorite shrub stripped of new growth,…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 19
Gardening Tips
Why Your Broccoli Heads Stay Tiny and Bolt Into Yellow Flowers This Fall
You check your fall broccoli and find a head the size of a golf ball, or one that…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 19
Gardening Tips
Why a Potted Tomato Plant Can Turn Purple Underneath in Fall, and What to Check First
You walk out to water your container tomato and flip over a leaf, and the underside is a…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 19
Gardening Tips
How to Water a Snake Plant in Winter and Lower the Risk of Soggy Roots
Snake plants are tough, but winter can trip up even careful plant owners. Shorter days and cooler rooms…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 19
Gardening Tips
Why Your Lemon Tree Drops Its Leaves When You Bring It Indoors for Winter
You carry your potted lemon tree inside to keep it safe, and a few days later there are…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 19
Gardening Tips
Saving Tomato and Pepper Seed: Drying Protects Storage, Genetics Decide What Grows
Pulling the last tomatoes and peppers from the garden is the perfect time to save seed for next…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 19
Gardening Tips
Why Your Pansies Planted This Fall Stretch Tall and Flop Over Instead of Staying Bushy
You planted pansies for cheerful fall color, and now they are sprawling across the pot or bed like…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 18
Gardening Tips
Cold, Wet Soil Can Put Dahlia Tubers at Risk This Winter: How to Dig, Dry, and Store Them
Dahlia tubers can sit happily in the ground all summer, then run into trouble once fall turns cold…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 18
Gardening Tips
The Yellow Leaves on Your Geraniums Are Telling You Exactly What They Need Right Now
A few yellow leaves on a geranium can make any gardener worry. As fall nights cool off, the…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 18
Gardening Tips
Brown Leaves on Your Peace Lily Usually Come Down to One of These 8 Everyday Problems
Your peace lily was glossy and green last month, and now the leaf tips look like they got…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 18
Gardening Tips
5 Simple Habits That Keep Your Potted Geraniums Flowering Right Through Fall
Your potted geraniums looked amazing in spring, but now the blooms are thinning out and the leaves look…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 18
Gardening Tips
Snake Plant Leaves Turning Yellow and Flopping Over Usually Trace Back to These 6 Care Mistakes
Snake plants have a reputation for being almost impossible to kill, so it feels extra frustrating when the…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 18
Gardening Tips
Raspberry Pruning in Fall: Which Cut Fits Your Canes and Your Harvest Goal
Raspberry canes live on a two-year schedule, and the cut you make can change which berries show up…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 18
Gardening Tips
These 12 Things Quietly Ruin Your Compost Pile When You Toss Them In This Fall
Fall cleanup fills your yard with leaves, spent tomato vines, and kitchen scraps that seem perfect for the…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 18
Gardening Tips
When to Harvest Beets: Check Root Size, Not a One-Week Deadline
You planted beets this fall, and now the big question is when to pull them. Some advice online…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 18
Gardening Tips
What You Do in the Last Weeks of October Decides Whether Your Christmas Cactus Fills With Buds
Your holiday cactus is probably sitting on a shelf right now, looking green and a little boring. Late…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 18
Gardening Tips
Clematis Pruning: Identify Your Vine and Pick the Right Time
A thin, scraggly clematis makes many gardeners grab the shears in October. But a fall cut can snip…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 18
Gardening Tips
Here’s How to Assess Whether Your Fall Mums Might Come Back Next Year Before You Toss Them
That pot of mums on your porch is fading, and the trash can looks tempting. Before you toss…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 18