Cornstalks look impressive for about five minutes after the last ears come off. Then they start turning into a towering collection of dry leaves, tough stems, and garden debris that somehow seems determined to make cleanup harder. The smartest time to deal with corn plants comes before those stalks become completely dry and brittle, because…
garden tips
Why Are Your Grapes Splitting Just as They Begin to Ripen?
A grapevine can spend months producing a beautiful crop, only to turn into a tiny fruit-cracking factory right when those grapes start looking delicious. Grapes often split near ripening because the berries suddenly take on water faster than their skins can stretch, especially after a dry spell followed by heavy rain or deep watering. Splitting…
6 Crops That Benefit From Cooler Nights More Than Cooler Days
Some garden crops do not need the daytime temperature to drop much to appreciate relief. They simply want the sun to clock out, the air to cool down, and the garden to get a little breathing room. For certain warm-season vegetables and fruits, cooler nights can support flowering, fruit development, flavor, and overall plant performance…
Can You Train Cucumbers Across a Fence Late in the Season?
Cucumbers can learn a new direction late in the growing season, and a fence can make a surprisingly useful trellis. The trick involves guiding the vines gently rather than treating them like unruly garden spaghetti that needs immediate discipline. If the plants still look healthy and continue producing new growth, redirecting the vines can help…
5 Plants That Can Fill Gaps Left by Tired Annuals
By late summer, some annuals look less like garden stars and more like they need a vacation. Petunias stretch, marigolds lose their swagger, and once-lush containers can develop suspicious-looking bare spots that seem to appear overnight. Instead of automatically buying another flat of annuals, gardeners can tuck in plants that offer lasting foliage, flowers, texture,…
Why Are Gardeners Pairing Roses With Drought-Tolerant Grasses?
Roses bring the drama, and drought-tolerant grasses bring the cool confidence. Put them together, and a garden bed suddenly looks less like a collection of individual plants and more like a thoughtfully designed landscape, with lush flowers rising above ribbons of foliage that move when the breeze wanders through. There is a practical reason for…
Should You Allow Volunteer Tomatoes to Keep Growing This Late?
Volunteer tomatoes have a funny habit of showing up without an invitation, planting themselves in the garden and then acting as though they own the place. By late summer, that once-cute surprise can turn into a serious question: should the plant keep growing, or should it get pulled before it becomes a tangled mess? The…
6 Ways to Reuse Bamboo Stakes Before Putting Them Away
Bamboo stakes rarely deserve a one-season retirement. Before tossing a bundle into the shed until next spring, gardeners can put those slender poles to work supporting plants, protecting seedlings, organizing garden spaces, and even helping with small outdoor projects. That matters because a bamboo stake can do far more than prop up a tomato. Its…
What Is the Best Way to Clean a Birdbath Without Harming Wildlife?
A clean birdbath gives backyard birds something far more valuable than a fancy garden accessory: dependable fresh water. The best cleaning method removes algae, droppings, grime, and potentially harmful germs without leaving behind soap, chemicals, or other residues that birds can ingest or spread through their feathers. The trick involves less chemistry and more consistency….
Can You Store Seed Potatoes From This Year’s Harvest?
Gardeners can store potatoes from this year’s harvest and plant them next season, but that does not make every potato in the harvest a good seed potato. The temptation makes perfect sense: a basket of beautiful homegrown tubers sits on the counter, and suddenly the grocery-store seed potato purchase looks completely unnecessary. The catch involves…