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163 articles
Squash bugs feed on leaves and stems from the outside; vine borer larvae tunnel inside stems. Look for eggs, frass, stem entry, wilting pattern, and crop species before choosing control.
Beneficial insects are not one group with one job. Learn to recognize common predators and parasitoids, protect their life stages, and build habitat that keeps them working in the garden.
Confirm live aphids and damage before treating. Lady beetles, lacewings, hoverfly larvae, parasitoid wasps, and weather often reduce colonies; protect those natural enemies.
Water tomatoes by soil moisture and root depth rather than a fixed calendar. Deep, even watering, mulch, drainage, weather, and container size determine the real schedule.
Lemongrass can be grown from seed, divisions, or viable rooted stalks, but each method has a different timeline and certainty. Give plants warmth, sun, rich moisture-retentive soil, and enough container or bed space for a large clump.
In partial shade, begin with crops harvested for leaves, stems, or small roots, including lettuce, spinach, kale, collards, scallions, parsley, radishes, baby beets, and some herbs. Measure actual direct light and expect slower growth than the same crop would have in full sun.
Cucamelons are heat-loving climbing vines grown for grape-sized, tangy fruits. Start them warm, provide a trellis, avoid waterlogged soil, and harvest often before the fruits become overly seedy.
Drip irrigation delivers water at specific emitters, soaker hoses release it along a porous line, and hand watering provides flexible spot treatment. Choose by bed layout, water pressure, crop density, maintenance capacity, and whether you can verify how deeply water moved.
Plant watermelon after frost when the root zone is warm, protect young plants from cold and beetles, give vines room, keep water steady through fruit sizing, protect pollinators, and judge ripeness with several clues rather than thumping alone.
Use broad containers, cool roots, frequent sowing, and timely harvest to keep container lettuce tender and productive.
True hyssop and anise hyssop are different plants. Learn how to identify, sow, site, harvest, and manage Hyssopus officinalis and Agastache foeniculum.
Morning glories need warmth, a strong support, restrained fertility, and a plan for seed before they become a volunteer problem. Identify the species and local restrictions before planting.
Grow mint-family herbs in containers with drainage, strong light, and enough root room; prune before stems become coarse and prevent unwanted spread before it begins.
Plant zinnias after frost in warm soil, match spacing to mature height, water at soil level, and use succession sowings for a longer run of healthy stems.
Grow salvia successfully by identifying the species first, then matching sowing, cold treatment, drainage, pruning, and winter care to that plant.
Plant squash after frost in warm soil, choose bush or vining varieties that fit the site, protect tender roots, maintain steady moisture, remove row cover at bloom, watch the crown and leaf undersides for pests, and harvest at the stage required by the crop.
Choose support by the crop load and how the plant climbs. Tendrils, twining stems, sprawling vines, heavy tomato branches, and pole beans place different demands on panels, netting, cages, stakes, and arches. Install the support before roots and vines fill the bed.
Identify the Tagetes species first, then sow after frost, match spacing to mature height, keep fertility moderate, and treat companion-planting claims realistically.
Grow one compact zucchini plant in a large container with full sun, fertile well-drained mix, reliable daily moisture during heat, access to pollinators, and frequent harvest of young fruit.
Sweet peppers are selected for little or no pungency. Hot peppers vary from mild to superhot and should be compared by flavor as well as heat. Seasoning and drying peppers may have thin walls and concentrated aroma. Ornamental peppers are selected for display, but edible use still depends on correct identification and handling.
Strawberries can be established from seed, crowns, plugs, or bare-root plants, but the route changes timing and uniformity. June-bearing types concentrate harvest, everbearing types produce more than one flush, and day-neutral types can fruit across much of the season. Match the system to climate, space, runner management, and harvest goals.
Direct sow nasturtiums after frost in well-drained, modest soil. Match the variety’s bush or trailing habit to the space, and avoid high-nitrogen fertilizer.
A raised bed succeeds when width, depth, soil, access, and irrigation are planned together. Build only as wide as you can reach from the sides, create a soil profile that drains without drying instantly, and preserve permanent paths so the bed is not compacted.
Watermelons belong to Citrullus and are managed for rind, flesh, vine length, and maturity. Cantaloupes and many netted muskmelons belong to Cucumis melo, as do honeydews and numerous specialty melons. Their ripeness signals, aroma, slip behavior, and storage differ.
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