If there’s one task that quietly separates the gardeners who eat home-grown garlic next summer from the ones buying the…
Every October, garden centers roll out their bulb displays and everyone rushes home to jam tulips in the ground the…
Dahlias have been showing off all summer, and if yours are anything like mine, they’re still going strong right now.…
If you’ve walked past a flower bed this week and spotted a cluster of pink or lavender blooms shooting straight…
You pick a cucumber that looks perfect, slice into it expecting that cool, crisp bite, and instead get something that tastes like it’s been marinating in dandelion stems. Bitter cucumbers are an August staple of disappointment, and no, it’s not you doing anything catastrophically wrong. It’s mostly the weather being a jerk. The culprit has…
You check the tomato patch after a good soaking rain expecting to be thrilled, and instead you find half your Brandywines have burst open like they lost a fight. This is peak August behavior, and it’s almost always about water, not disease, not pests, not bad luck. Let’s talk about why it happens and what…
Walk out to the herb bed this week and you might find your basil throwing up little white or purple flower spikes like it’s trying to escape. That’s bolting, and August heat is basically an engraved invitation for basil to do it. Long days, high temperatures, and a plant that’s been cruising along for months…
If your lawn suddenly looks like someone rolled out a bad toupee — patches that lift right off the soil when you tug on them — you’re probably not dealing with drought or brown patch. You’re dealing with grubs. Early August is exactly when they’re fat, active, and doing the most damage, right before they…
Walk out to the squash patch in early August and it looks like someone dumped a bag of flour on your zucchini leaves. That’s powdery mildew, and if you garden in a humid climate, it shows up like clockwork this time of year. The good news: your plants probably aren’t dying. The bad news: you…
If your bearded irises bloomed like champs back in May and then just sort of sat there sulking all summer, there’s a good chance they’re overdue for a haircut — and I mean a real one, roots and all. Late July through August is prime time to dig up and divide bearded iris rhizomes, and…
