Gardening Tips Archives - Page 23 of 42

Gardening Tips

If Your Tomato Skins Crack in Rings Around the Top During Late-Summer Heat, Here Is Why

Pulling back a tomato plant’s leaves to find a ring of cracks circling the stem end is one…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 13

Gardening Tips

If Your Tomato Fruit Splits Open After a Late-Summer Watering Swing, Here Is Why

Few things sting a gardener more than walking out after a summer storm to find ripe tomatoes split…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 13

Gardening Tips

The Most Underrated North Carolina Native Shrub Behind the Mosquito-Repellent Story on a Woodland Edge

A story has been circulating among gardeners that a North Carolina native shrub can actually block mosquitoes along…

By Jasmine Hughes · Aug 13

Gardening Tips

Zucchini Leaves Turning Silvery or Mottled? Check for These Causes Before You Spray

Seeing silvery or mottled patches on your zucchini leaves can send a gardener straight to the pesticide shelf,…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 13

Gardening Tips

If Your Potted Tomatoes Stay Small and Dry Out by Afternoon, Cramped Pots and Late Watering Are Usually Behind It

Watching your container tomatoes wilt by noon and produce tiny, stalled fruit is one of the more frustrating…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 13

Gardening Tips

The Most Underrated North Carolina Native Shrub That Feeds Birds Right When Everything Else Has Stopped Fruiting This Fall

Every fall, North Carolina yards go through a quiet shift when many summer fruits disappear and birds start…

By Jasmine Hughes · Aug 13

Gardening Tips

If Your Squash Leaves Show a White Powdery Coating in Late-Summer Heat, Powdery Mildew Is Usually Behind It

Spotting a white, flour-like coating spreading across your squash leaves can be alarming, especially when the plants were…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 13

Gardening Tips

Potted Pepper Plants Staying Small? Cramped Roots May Be One Reason – But Check These Signs First

Peppers growing in containers can be surprisingly sensitive to the space their roots have to work with, and…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 13

Gardening Tips

What It Really Means When Hawks Keep Circling Over Your North Carolina Yard This Summer

Spotting a hawk gliding in slow circles above your backyard is one of those sights that stops you…

By Jasmine Hughes · Aug 13

Gardening Tips

If Your Cucumber Fruit Grows Fat at One End and Pinches at the Other in Late-Summer Heat, Uneven Pollination Is Usually Behind It

Pull a cucumber off the vine and find one end swollen and the other end narrow and pinched,…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 13

Gardening Tips

The Most Underrated North Carolina Native Grass That Crowds Out Weeds Along Your Wooded Edge Better Than Mulch

Every spring, the same story plays out along the shaded edge where your lawn meets the trees: the…

By Jasmine Hughes · Aug 13

Gardening Tips

If Your Pepper Leaves Turn Yellow and Drop From the Bottom Up in Late-Summer Heat, Here Is Why

Watching your pepper plant shed its lower leaves one by one in the August heat is genuinely unsettling,…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 13

Gardening Tips

If Your Tomato Leaves Show Yellow Blotches and Brown Patches in Late-Summer Heat, Early Blight Is Usually Behind It

Spotting yellow blotches and brown patches on your tomato leaves in the middle of summer is enough to…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 13

Gardening Tips

If Your Cucumber Plants Suddenly Wilt and Collapse in Late-Summer Heat, Squash Vine Borers Are One Possibility Worth Confirming

Few things are more disheartening than walking out to your garden and finding a cucumber vine that was…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 13

Gardening Tips

A Cucumber Vine That Wilts and Keeps Declining May Have Bacterial Wilt – Especially When Cucumber Beetles Are Present

Few things are more discouraging than walking out to a thriving cucumber patch and finding a vine flat…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 13

Gardening Tips

If Your Pepper Flowers Keep Dropping Off Before They Set Fruit in Late-Summer Heat, Here Is Why

Few things are more frustrating in the summer garden than a pepper plant loaded with blooms that never…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 13

Gardening Tips

If Your Cucumber Leaves Develop Yellow Halos and Angular Brown Spots in Late-Summer Heat, Bacterial Leaf Spot Is Usually Behind It

Spotting yellow halos and angular brown patches on your cucumber leaves can feel alarming, especially when your plants…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 13

Gardening Tips

If Your Zucchini Stops Setting Fruit and the Tiny Ones Shrivel in Late-Summer Heat, Poor Pollination Is Usually Behind It

Walking out to your zucchini patch and finding a row of shriveled, brown baby squash is one of…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 13

Gardening Tips

What It Really Means When A Fox Starts Showing Up In Your North Carolina Yard This Summer

Spotting a fox trotting through your yard on a summer morning can stop you in your tracks. Most…

By Jasmine Hughes · Aug 13

Gardening Tips

If Your Cucumber Leaves Turn Bronze and Stippled in Late-Summer Heat, Spider Mites Are Usually Behind It

Walking out to your cucumber patch one August morning to find the leaves looking dull, dusty, and covered…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 13

Gardening Tips

What It Really Means When Brown, Shield-Shaped Stink Bugs Start Sneaking Into Your North Carolina Home in Late Summer and Early Fall

Around late August, many North Carolina homeowners start noticing brown, shield-shaped bugs gathering on sunny walls, slipping under…

By Jasmine Hughes · Aug 13

Gardening Tips

If Your Tomato Fruit Shows Sunken Black Patches on the Bottom in Late-Summer Heat, Blossom End Rot Is Usually Behind It

Pulling back a tomato leaf to find a dark, sunken patch on the bottom of your fruit is…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 12

Gardening Tips

Tiny Zucchini Rotting at the Tip? Here Is How to Tell What Is Really Going On

Watching a tiny zucchini turn brown and mushy at the tip before it ever reaches your kitchen is…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 12

Gardening Tips

The Most Underrated North Carolina Native Tree That Feeds Wildlife All Season While Discouraging Ticks Near Your Yard

Somewhere between the flashy ornamentals at the garden center and the towering oaks that take decades to mature,…

By Jasmine Hughes · Aug 12

Gardening Tips

If Your Tomato Leaves Roll Up Tight and Leathery in Late-Summer Heat, Physiological Leaf Roll Is Usually Behind It

Walking out to your tomato plants on a blazing August morning and finding tightly curled, leathery leaves can…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 12

Gardening Tips

If Your Tomato Plants Grow Tall and Leafy but Set No Fruit in Late-Summer Heat, Excess Nitrogen May Be Contributing – But Heat Is Often the Bigger Problem

You walk out to your garden expecting to find tomatoes ripening on the vine, but instead you see…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 12

Gardening Tips

The Most Underrated North Carolina Native Shrub That Feeds Wildlife And Has An Interesting Connection To Tick Repellency Research

Tucked into the edges of southeastern forests, American beautyberry (Callicarpa americana) is a native shrub that most North…

By Jasmine Hughes · Aug 12

Gardening Tips

If Your Bell Peppers Turn Soft with Sunken Tan Patches in Late-Summer Heat, Sunscald Is Usually Behind It

Walking out to your pepper bed and spotting pale, papery patches on your fruit can send a gardener…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 12

Gardening Tips

What It Really Means When Katydids Take Over Your North Carolina Yard At Night This Summer

If your North Carolina yard has turned into a nighttime concert hall this summer, you are not alone.…

By Jasmine Hughes · Aug 12

Gardening Tips

If Your Potted Pepper Plants Stay Small and Weak in Late-Summer Heat, One Container Feeding Mistake Is Usually Behind It

Watching your container peppers sit there small and struggling while the summer heat cranks up is genuinely frustrating,…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 12

Gardening Tips

If Your Cucumber Fruit Grows Fat at One End and Pinches at the Other in Late-Summer Heat, Uneven Pollination Is Usually Behind It

Pull a cucumber off the vine and find one end swollen like a club while the other tapers…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 12

Gardening Tips

What It Really Means When Carpenter Bees Start Drilling Into Your North Carolina Porch This Summer

Round holes appearing in your porch wood this summer can feel alarming, but they are telling you something…

By Jasmine Hughes · Aug 12

Gardening Tips

Yellow Mottling and Curling on Cucumber Leaves Could Be CMV – But Heat Stress and Other Look-Alikes Deserve a Closer Look First

Spotting yellow mottling and curled leaves on your cucumber plants in late summer can stop a gardener cold.…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 12

Gardening Tips

If Your Eggplant Flowers Fall Off Without Setting Fruit in Late-Summer Heat, Poor Pollination Is Usually Behind It

Watching your eggplant bloom beautifully and then drop every flower without producing a single fruit is genuinely frustrating,…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 12

Gardening Tips

If Your Pepper Plants Drop Their Flowers in Late-Summer Heat, Night Temperatures Are Usually Behind It

You walk out to check your pepper plants on a sweltering August morning, and the ground beneath them…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 12

Gardening Tips

If Your Zucchini Leaves Develop Silvery White Patches in Late-Summer Heat, Powdery Mildew Is Usually Behind It

Spotting white or silvery patches on your zucchini leaves can send a gardener into a panic, especially when…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 12

Gardening Tips

If Your Cucumber Vines Stop Producing in Late-Summer Heat, One Feeding Mistake Is Usually Behind It

Walking out to a garden full of sprawling, dark-green cucumber vines and finding almost no new cucumbers can…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 12

Gardening Tips

Squash Wilts in the Afternoon but Recovers by Morning: How to Read the Clues and Find the Real Cause

Watching your squash or zucchini droop on a hot afternoon can make any gardener nervous, especially when the…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 12

Gardening Tips

If Your Cucumber Leaves Turn Yellow and Crispy in Late-Summer Heat, Underwatering Is Usually Behind It

Watching your cucumber leaves go yellow, brown-edged, or crispy during a late-summer heat stretch is genuinely stressful, especially…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 12

Gardening Tips

What It Really Means When Green Anoles Take Over Your North Carolina Yard This Summer

Suddenly spotting green anoles everywhere you look in your yard can feel like something shifted overnight. For North…

By Jasmine Hughes · Aug 12

Gardening Tips

If Your Tomato Fruit Develops Sunken Black Patches on the Bottom in Late-Summer Heat, Blossom-End Rot Is Usually Behind It

Spotting a dark, sunken patch on the bottom of your tomato can stop a gardener cold, especially after…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 12

Gardening Tips

The Most Underrated North Carolina Native Shrub That Blocks Ticks Along Your Wooded Backyard Edge

If your backyard bumps up against woods or a brushy fence line, ticks are likely closer than you…

By Jasmine Hughes · Aug 12

Gardening Tips

If Your Tomatoes Split and Crack Open in Late-Summer Heat, Uneven Watering After Rain Is Usually Behind It

Walking out to your garden and finding a ripe tomato split wide open is one of the more…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 11

Gardening Tips

If Your Tomato Leaves Roll Inward and Feel Leathery in Late-Summer Heat, Physiological Leaf Roll Is Usually Behind It

Walking out to your tomato plants on a blazing August afternoon to find the lower leaves curled into…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 11

Gardening Tips

7 Native North Carolina Ground Covers That Crowd Out Weeds Along Walkways Better Than Liriope

Liriope has edged walkways in North Carolina yards for decades, but it does not actually feed local wildlife…

By Jasmine Hughes · Aug 11

Gardening Tips

If Your Tomato Leaves Turn Yellow From the Bottom Up in Late-Summer Heat, a Nitrogen Problem Is Usually Behind It

Walking out to your tomato plants and spotting a cluster of yellowing lower leaves can send a gardener…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 11

Gardening Tips

If Your Pepper Fruit Develops Soft Sunken Patches in Late-Summer Heat, Sunscald Is Usually Behind It

Spotting a pale, bleached, or blistered patch on a pepper you have been watching all season is genuinely…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 11

Gardening Tips

If Your Zucchini Plants Stop Setting Fruit in Late-Summer Heat, Poor Pollination Is Usually Behind It

Walking out to your zucchini patch and finding nothing but flowers when you expected a harvest is genuinely…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 11

Gardening Tips

What It Really Means When You Start Seeing More Hawks Circling Your North Carolina Yard This Summer

Spotting a hawk gliding over your North Carolina yard is one of those moments that stops you mid-task.…

By Jasmine Hughes · Aug 11

Gardening Tips

If Your Pepper Flowers Drop Off Before Setting Fruit in Late-Summer Heat, Here Is Why

If Your Tomato Skins Crack in Rings Around the Top During Late-Summer Heat, Here Is Why

If Your Tomato Fruit Splits Open After a Late-Summer Watering Swing, Here Is Why

The Most Underrated North Carolina Native Shrub Behind the Mosquito-Repellent Story on a Woodland Edge

Zucchini Leaves Turning Silvery or Mottled? Check for These Causes Before You Spray

If Your Potted Tomatoes Stay Small and Dry Out by Afternoon, Cramped Pots and Late Watering Are Usually Behind It

The Most Underrated North Carolina Native Shrub That Feeds Birds Right When Everything Else Has Stopped Fruiting This Fall

If Your Squash Leaves Show a White Powdery Coating in Late-Summer Heat, Powdery Mildew Is Usually Behind It

Potted Pepper Plants Staying Small? Cramped Roots May Be One Reason – But Check These Signs First

What It Really Means When Hawks Keep Circling Over Your North Carolina Yard This Summer

If Your Cucumber Fruit Grows Fat at One End and Pinches at the Other in Late-Summer Heat, Uneven Pollination Is Usually Behind It

The Most Underrated North Carolina Native Grass That Crowds Out Weeds Along Your Wooded Edge Better Than Mulch

If Your Pepper Leaves Turn Yellow and Drop From the Bottom Up in Late-Summer Heat, Here Is Why

If Your Tomato Leaves Show Yellow Blotches and Brown Patches in Late-Summer Heat, Early Blight Is Usually Behind It

If Your Cucumber Plants Suddenly Wilt and Collapse in Late-Summer Heat, Squash Vine Borers Are One Possibility Worth Confirming

A Cucumber Vine That Wilts and Keeps Declining May Have Bacterial Wilt – Especially When Cucumber Beetles Are Present

If Your Pepper Flowers Keep Dropping Off Before They Set Fruit in Late-Summer Heat, Here Is Why

If Your Cucumber Leaves Develop Yellow Halos and Angular Brown Spots in Late-Summer Heat, Bacterial Leaf Spot Is Usually Behind It

If Your Zucchini Stops Setting Fruit and the Tiny Ones Shrivel in Late-Summer Heat, Poor Pollination Is Usually Behind It

What It Really Means When A Fox Starts Showing Up In Your North Carolina Yard This Summer

If Your Cucumber Leaves Turn Bronze and Stippled in Late-Summer Heat, Spider Mites Are Usually Behind It

What It Really Means When Brown, Shield-Shaped Stink Bugs Start Sneaking Into Your North Carolina Home in Late Summer and Early Fall

If Your Tomato Fruit Shows Sunken Black Patches on the Bottom in Late-Summer Heat, Blossom End Rot Is Usually Behind It

Tiny Zucchini Rotting at the Tip? Here Is How to Tell What Is Really Going On

The Most Underrated North Carolina Native Tree That Feeds Wildlife All Season While Discouraging Ticks Near Your Yard

If Your Tomato Leaves Roll Up Tight and Leathery in Late-Summer Heat, Physiological Leaf Roll Is Usually Behind It

If Your Tomato Plants Grow Tall and Leafy but Set No Fruit in Late-Summer Heat, Excess Nitrogen May Be Contributing – But Heat Is Often the Bigger Problem

The Most Underrated North Carolina Native Shrub That Feeds Wildlife And Has An Interesting Connection To Tick Repellency Research

If Your Bell Peppers Turn Soft with Sunken Tan Patches in Late-Summer Heat, Sunscald Is Usually Behind It

What It Really Means When Katydids Take Over Your North Carolina Yard At Night This Summer

If Your Potted Pepper Plants Stay Small and Weak in Late-Summer Heat, One Container Feeding Mistake Is Usually Behind It

If Your Cucumber Fruit Grows Fat at One End and Pinches at the Other in Late-Summer Heat, Uneven Pollination Is Usually Behind It

What It Really Means When Carpenter Bees Start Drilling Into Your North Carolina Porch This Summer

Yellow Mottling and Curling on Cucumber Leaves Could Be CMV – But Heat Stress and Other Look-Alikes Deserve a Closer Look First

If Your Eggplant Flowers Fall Off Without Setting Fruit in Late-Summer Heat, Poor Pollination Is Usually Behind It

If Your Pepper Plants Drop Their Flowers in Late-Summer Heat, Night Temperatures Are Usually Behind It

If Your Zucchini Leaves Develop Silvery White Patches in Late-Summer Heat, Powdery Mildew Is Usually Behind It

If Your Cucumber Vines Stop Producing in Late-Summer Heat, One Feeding Mistake Is Usually Behind It

Squash Wilts in the Afternoon but Recovers by Morning: How to Read the Clues and Find the Real Cause

If Your Cucumber Leaves Turn Yellow and Crispy in Late-Summer Heat, Underwatering Is Usually Behind It

What It Really Means When Green Anoles Take Over Your North Carolina Yard This Summer

If Your Tomato Fruit Develops Sunken Black Patches on the Bottom in Late-Summer Heat, Blossom-End Rot Is Usually Behind It

The Most Underrated North Carolina Native Shrub That Blocks Ticks Along Your Wooded Backyard Edge

If Your Tomatoes Split and Crack Open in Late-Summer Heat, Uneven Watering After Rain Is Usually Behind It

If Your Tomato Leaves Roll Inward and Feel Leathery in Late-Summer Heat, Physiological Leaf Roll Is Usually Behind It

7 Native North Carolina Ground Covers That Crowd Out Weeds Along Walkways Better Than Liriope

If Your Tomato Leaves Turn Yellow From the Bottom Up in Late-Summer Heat, a Nitrogen Problem Is Usually Behind It

If Your Pepper Fruit Develops Soft Sunken Patches in Late-Summer Heat, Sunscald Is Usually Behind It

If Your Zucchini Plants Stop Setting Fruit in Late-Summer Heat, Poor Pollination Is Usually Behind It

What It Really Means When You Start Seeing More Hawks Circling Your North Carolina Yard This Summer