17 Single-Ingredient Kitchen Scraps That Feed Your Tomatoes Into a Bigger Harvest
If your tomato plants look tired, pale, or stingy with fruit, the fix might already be sitting in your trash can. A lot of the…
By Ethan Brooks · Jul 14, 2026
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Gardening Tips
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469 Articles
Gardening Tips
17 Tomato Feeding Tricks for July That Restart Slow, Stalled Plants
Your tomato plants looked amazing in June, but now they seem stuck, with pale leaves and hardly any…
By Ethan Brooks · Jul 14
Gardening Tips
Squirrels Keep Digging Up Your Fall Bulbs? Cayenne May Help Deter Them, But Secured Mesh Protects Better
You planted a bed of tulips and crocuses, came back the next morning, and found half of them…
By Ethan Brooks · Jul 14
Gardening Tips
The Purple Flower That Makes Your Patio Smell Like Cherry Pie (And Why the Scent Varies)
Somewhere between vanilla, almond, and warm baked fruit, there is a flower whose scent stops people mid-step and…
By Ethan Brooks · Jul 14
Gardening Tips
16 Warning Signs There Are Snakes Hiding in Your Yard Right Now
Snakes are shy creatures that would rather stay out of sight, which is exactly why they can move…
By Ethan Brooks · Jul 14
Gardening Tips
Can You Cut Wet Grass After Rain, or Are You Quietly Wrecking Your Lawn?
After a summer storm rolls through, the lawn looks lush and the mower is sitting right there in…
By Ethan Brooks · Jul 14
Gardening Tips
How Many Onions Actually Grow From a Single Bulb? The Answer Surprises Most Gardeners
Plant one onion bulb and pull up one onion at harvest – that is what most people expect.…
By Ethan Brooks · Jul 14
Gardening Tips
How to Chase Chipmunks Out of Your Garden Beds Without Actually Harming Them
Those striped little acrobats look adorable until you find your tulip bulbs scattered across the yard or a…
By Ethan Brooks · Jul 13
Gardening Tips
16 Natural Tricks That Stop Squirrels From Wrecking Your Tomatoes Before You Do
Nothing stings quite like walking out to your garden and finding your almost-ripe tomatoes half-eaten and tossed on…
By Ethan Brooks · Jul 13
Gardening Tips
20 Container Tricks for Growing Lavender That Fix the Mistakes Most People Miss
Lavender in a pot looks easy, but plenty of gardeners watch theirs turn brown, mushy, or refuse to…
By Ethan Brooks · Jul 13
Gardening Tips
9 Flowering Shrubs That Give You the Hydrangea Look Without the Fussy Care
If you love the big, puffy blooms of hydrangeas but hate babysitting them through droopy leaves and wilted…
By Ethan Brooks · Jul 13
Gardening Tips
30 Beautiful Flowers to Grow Instead of Petunias When Yours Just Won’t Cooperate
Petunias look gorgeous on the plant tag, but keeping them happy through a hot US summer can feel…
By Ethan Brooks · Jul 13
Gardening Tips
Why That Raccoon in Your Yard Might Be Doing More Good Than You Think
Spotting a raccoon nosing around your yard at dusk can set off an immediate urge to shoo it…
By Ethan Brooks · Jul 13
Gardening Tips
18 Ways to Fertilize Your Geraniums Right for Bigger, Brighter Blooms All Summer
Geraniums are tough little plants, but when they stop blooming or the leaves turn pale, it usually means…
By Ethan Brooks · Jul 13
Gardening Tips
16 Mosquito-Eating Birds to Invite Into Your Yard for a Nearly Buzz-Free Summer
Nothing ruins a warm summer evening faster than a cloud of hungry mosquitoes. The good news is that…
By Ethan Brooks · Jul 13
Gardening Tips
Before You Dig Up Your Potatoes, Here’s How to Know They’ve Actually Sized Up
Pulling up a potato plant too soon is one of the most common mistakes in the home garden,…
By Ethan Brooks · Jul 13
Gardening Tips
If Your Geraniums Are All Leaves and No Flowers, This One Trick Turns It Around
You planted a geranium full of promise, and now it just keeps pushing out more leaves while the…
By Ethan Brooks · Jul 13
Gardening Tips
16 Tricks to Get Your Fading Petunias Blooming Like Crazy Before Summer’s Over
Your petunias started the season looking full and bright, but now they seem tired, leggy, and short on…
By Ethan Brooks · Jul 13
Gardening Tips
19 Small Perennials That Fill Out Fast and Look Established by Next Summer
Waiting years for a new garden bed to look full can test anyone’s patience. The good news is…
By Ethan Brooks · Jul 13
Gardening Tips
When Your Tomato Plants Won’t Set Fruit, Hand-Pollinating Them Takes Just Seconds
Few things are more frustrating than watching tomato flowers open and then drop off without leaving a single…
By Ethan Brooks · Jul 13
Gardening Tips
19 Cheap Flowers That Bloom Nonstop All Summer Without Draining Your Wallet
Watching your garden sit bare and boring all summer is frustrating, especially when fancy flowers cost a small…
By Ethan Brooks · Jul 13
Gardening Tips
The Plant That Opens Its Blooms at Exactly 10 AM Like Clockwork
There is a little garden center in Norwood, Massachusetts that seems to run on a schedule as reliable…
By Ethan Brooks · Jul 13
Gardening Tips
Why Your Christmas Cactus Goes Limp – and the Watering Fix That Perks It Back Up
Your Christmas cactus looked fine last week, and now its stem segments are sagging like they have given…
By Ethan Brooks · Jul 13
Gardening Tips
18 Reasons You Should Think Twice Before Chasing Squirrels Out of Your Yard
Before you grab the broom and shoo that bushy-tailed visitor off your fence, take a breath. Those squirrels…
By Ethan Brooks · Jul 12
Gardening Tips
If a Coyote Turns Up in Your Yard, Here Are 15 Things to Do Right Away
Spotting a coyote in your backyard can be startling, especially if you have kids, pets, or a garden…
By Ethan Brooks · Jul 12
Gardening Tips
16 Signs Your Zucchini Is Ready to Pick – Before It Turns Into a Baseball Bat
Zucchini has a sneaky habit of hiding under those big leaves and doubling in size overnight. One day…
By Ethan Brooks · Jul 12
Gardening Tips
Skip the Petunias in Your Hottest Beds — These Heat-Loving Flowers Won’t Melt
If your petunias turn to mush every July, the problem probably isn’t you. Some flowers just can’t take…
By Ethan Brooks · Jul 12
Gardening Tips
12 Fast-Growing Annuals You Can Still Plant Right Now for Late-Summer Color
If your flower beds look tired and half-empty by midsummer, you are not alone, and you have not…
By Ethan Brooks · Jul 12
Gardening Tips
Do Hydrangeas Really Bloom All Summer? Only If You Get These 16 Things Right
If your hydrangea gives you a burst of flowers in June and then just sits there looking green…
By Ethan Brooks · Jul 12
Gardening Tips
15 Spots Where Coneflowers Quietly Fail — and the 4 Where They Finally Take Off
Coneflowers look tough, and mostly they are, but plenty of gardeners watch theirs flop, rot, or simply refuse…
By Ethan Brooks · Jul 12
Gardening Tips
If Peonies Won’t Thrive Where You Live, This Tough Flower Will Take Over the Job
Watching a peony produce nothing but leaves year after year is genuinely frustrating, especially when you have done…
By Ethan Brooks · Jul 12
Gardening Tips
Grow the Most Bountiful Beefsteak Tomatoes of Your Life With These 12 Simple Tricks
Few things beat slicing into a homegrown beefsteak tomato that is heavy, juicy, and bursting with flavor. If…
By Ethan Brooks · Jul 12
Gardening Tips
10 Things Quietly Scaring Hummingbirds Off Your Feeders — and How to Win Them Back
Noticing fewer hummingbirds at your feeder can feel discouraging, especially when you have put time and care into…
By Ethan Brooks · Jul 12
Gardening Tips
10 Reasons Your Hydrangeas Struggle in Summer Heat — and 7 Fixes That Actually Work
Your hydrangea looked great in spring, and now it is drooping, browning, or dropping leaves in the summer…
By Ethan Brooks · Jul 12
Gardening Tips
6 Reasons Your Cucumber Plants Bloom but Never Fruit – and the One Step Most People Skip
Watching your cucumber vines burst with cheerful yellow flowers feels like a promise of crunchy cukes to come.…
By Ethan Brooks · Jul 12
Gardening Tips
10 Smells Mosquitoes Absolutely Hate – Plant These Around Your Yard This Summer
Nothing ruins a warm summer evening faster than the whine of mosquitoes circling your ankles. The good news…
By Ethan Brooks · Jul 12
Gardening Tips
9 Petunia Mistakes That Are Quietly Cutting Your Bloom Season Short
Petunias promise months of nonstop color, but a lot of gardeners watch their plants fizzle out by midsummer…
By Ethan Brooks · Jul 12
Gardening Tips
Your Tomato Cages May Be Doing More Harm Than Good – Here Are 3 Smarter Supports
Walk out to your garden mid-July and find your tomato plant sprawled on the ground, its cage tipped…
By Ethan Brooks · Jul 12
Gardening Tips
15 Geranium Hacks That Keep the Blooms Coming Nonstop All Summer
Is your geranium looking tired, with only a few sad blooms and lots of leggy stems? You are…
By Ethan Brooks · Jul 12
Gardening Tips
13 Plants Squirrels Can’t Stand – Grow These Where They Keep Raiding Your Beds
Squirrels can turn a tidy garden bed into a dug-up mess almost overnight, snatching bulbs and nibbling tender…
By Ethan Brooks · Jul 11
Gardening Tips
Common Peony Pruning Mistakes You Won’t Notice Until Blooms Fail Next Spring
You cut back your peonies after the flowers faded, the garden looked tidy all summer, and then spring…
By Ethan Brooks · Jul 11
Gardening Tips
Before You Eat That Split Tomato, Here’s How to Tell If It’s Actually Safe
You pull a ripe tomato off the vine and notice a crack running down the side. Before you…
By Ethan Brooks · Jul 11
Gardening Tips
Spot Blossom End Rot Before It Ruins the Bottom of Your Best Tomatoes
You water, you weed, you wait all summer for that first ripe tomato, and then you flip it…
By Ethan Brooks · Jul 11
Gardening Tips
15 Simple Habits That Keep a Petunia Garden Dazzling All Summer Long
Petunias promise nonstop color, but by midsummer many gardeners watch them turn leggy, faded, and sad instead. The…
By Ethan Brooks · Jul 11
Gardening Tips
What Lantana Really Needs to Keep Flowering When Summer Heat Climbs
Lantana looks tough, and honestly it is one of the sturdiest bloomers in a hot backyard. But when…
By Ethan Brooks · Jul 11
Gardening Tips
If You Grow Petunias, These 4 Mistakes Turn Full Baskets Into Leggy Stems
Petunias promise those overflowing, flower-packed baskets you see hanging on porches all summer. But too often they turn…
By Ethan Brooks · Jul 11
Gardening Tips
Tomato Leaves Turning Yellow? Here Are the 17 Causes and the Ones You Can Fix Today
Few things worry a gardener more than walking out to check on the tomatoes and spotting leaves that…
By Ethan Brooks · Jul 11
Gardening Tips
18 Low-Water Perennials That Keep Blooming Through Summer’s Worst Heat
When July arrives and your garden hose feels like a full-time job, some flowers just give up and…
By Ethan Brooks · Jul 11
Gardening Tips
14 Summer-Long Bloomers You Can Still Plant in Containers Right Now for Color Until Fall
Bare spots in your containers can leave summer looking half-finished, and it’s frustrating when a pot that started…
By Ethan Brooks · Jul 11
Gardening Tips
Your Yard Is Quietly Pushing Hummingbirds Away — Here Are the Surprising Reasons Why
You set out sugar water and planted a few flowers, so why do the hummingbirds keep zipping right…
By Ethan Brooks · Jul 11