plant fungus

What Powdery Mildew Looks Like and How to Stop It Early

March 27, 2026 by Brandon Marcus Leave a Comment

An innocent-looking white dust can signal serious trouble. That soft, powdery coating creeping across leaves doesn’t just sit there looking harmless—it actively weakens plants, slows growth, and ruins entire gardens when it goes unchecked. Powdery mildew doesn’t wait for an invitation, and it doesn’t need perfect conditions to take hold, which makes it one of…

March Fungal Diseases to Watch For

March 9, 2026 by Brandon Marcus Leave a Comment

March marks the moment when gardens wake up, but fungi wake up too. Damp soil, melting frost, chilly nights, and bursts of daytime warmth create a dream environment for plant diseases that thrive on moisture and instability. While gardeners often focus on planting schedules and soil preparation, fungal threats quietly prepare their own spring debut….

How To Get Free Seeds From The Government by Amanda Blankenship Seeds might seem like a small expense, but any seasoned…
Should I Use Enviro Ice On My Plants? by Kathryn Vercillo Every week, I receive food from Hungryroot. It's a great…
From Trash to Treasure: Transform Shredded Paper Into Garden Gold by Amanda Blankenship Should you use shredded paper as garden mulch? It might…
What Happens to Plants If You Use Enviro Ice on Them? by Amanda Blankenship About a year ago, I wrote our first article about…

The Best Cover Crops to Sow Before Winter Arrives

Once the tomatoes, peppers, and squash come out, an empty vegetable bed can look like it’s finished working until spring. In reality, bare soil can lose nutrients, erode during heavy rain and give winter weeds plenty of open territory, while planting winter cover crops can keep that same soil protected for pennies per square foot….

Fall Soil Testing Steps That Make Spring Planting Easier

Spring garden centers have a way of convincing us that our soil desperately needs another bag of something. Fertilizer, lime, compost, sulfur and specialty amendments can quickly turn a simple vegetable bed into an expensive project, especially when you’re guessing about what the soil actually needs. Fall soil testing replaces much of that guesswork with…

How to Save Pepper Seeds Before Frost Damages the Plants

When frost threatens your pepper plants, most gardeners immediately think about harvesting the peppers—but this may also be your last chance to collect next year’s seeds. Saving seeds from a favorite plant costs practically nothing and can turn one successful pepper into dozens of potential plants next season. The catch is that saving pepper seeds…

What to Do With Tomato Plants After the Final Harvest

That last tomato may be off the vine, but your tomato season isn’t quite finished. What you do with those tired, brown plants now can affect disease pressure, garden cleanup, and even where you should plant next year’s crop. Simply leaving old vines sprawled across the bed until spring may allow infected plant debris to…