Helga George, PhD 
Are leafy greens with bug holes okay to eat? They might be, but this is not the case if mammals have been nibbling on your crop. Shockingly, eating a raw slug or snail can also impact your health in rare cases. Read more now to learn when it is okay to eat greens from the garden that have been damaged by insects.
Crown rot can appear out of nowhere and cause your plants to collapse, or even die. While the symptoms are usually similar, various pathogens can cause this ailment. Identifying the specific pathogen involved can help you to treat or prevent crown rot disease. Learn how to tell these pathogens apart in this guide.
Soggy breakdown disorder is a particular problem in Honeycrisp apples, and the fruit can be hiding this issue even though it looks fine on the outside. Read more now to learn how to prevent soggy breakdown in your homegrown harvest by conditioning the fruit before storing it at the proper temperature.
Despite the hardiness of most Dracaena plants, these houseplants are susceptible to infections that cause their stems to turn black. This is usually due to fungal root rots that occur from overwatering. Read more now to learn how to diagnose black stems on Dracaena and what to do with an infected plant.
Are you struggling to combat a squash bug infestation in the garden? Anasa tristis is a pesky insect that resembles a stink bug in its adult stage, and these pests can cause damage and wilting in your squash plants and other edibles. In this guide we offer tips that can help to save your cucurbit harvest. Read more now.
Peach twig borers (Anarsia lineatella) start by infesting the shoots of stone fruit and almond trees, moving on to the fruit once it matures. These insects can cause serious losses, and aggressive control measures may be necessary to eradicate them. Read on to learn how to identify and control this pernicious garden pest.
Many common factors can cause pumpkin plants to wilt, ranging from soil that is too dry or wet to a number of potentially devastating disease pathogens and insects. Purging infected plants from your garden and controlling pests can help to save your pumpkins. Read more now to learn how to troubleshoot in your garden.
Every type of peach (as well as almond and apricot) is susceptible to phony peach disease, which results in compact bushy trees that stop producing fruit. There is no cure, and you will have to destroy your tree if it’s infected. Read more now to find out how you can prevent this insidious disease from affecting your home orchard.
Late blight can rapidly devastate entire tomato crops under favorable conditions. Experts advise checking plants at least twice a week to monitor for this infection, and you can consult local resources to find out if it is active in your area. Read more to learn what to look for and how to prevent late blight.
Bergenia is a low maintenance evergreen perennial with large foliage that changes to bronze or red in the winter, and delicate pink, purple, or white flowers. There are numerous award-winning cultivars available to the home gardener. Learn about 25 of the best bergenia varieties and choose your favorites. Read more now.
Although bergenia is a low maintenance plant that is rarely bothered by pests, there are exceptions. Black vine weevils can chew notches on the leaves and damage the roots. Slugs can be a problem in plants that have decaying leaves on them. Read on to learn how to control these pests on your bergenia plants.
Although bergenia typically resists disease, specialized fungi can attack these plants. The most common disease is anthracnose, which can cause spots on the leaves and stems, and more rarely, crown or rhizome rot. Fortunately leaf spots are treatable. Read on to learn how to recognize and control diseases in bergenia.
Bergenia is a perennial that can serve as a highly attractive ground cover or be grown as part of a mixed border. The large leaves typically turn bronze or purple in the fall, and stunning pink, white, purple, or red flowers appear in spring. Learn how to plant and grow easy-care bergenia in your garden. Read more now.
Beneficial nematodes may be used to control soilborne insects in their larval and nymph stages. These tiny, worm-like organisms penetrate the body of their host, introducing a strain of bacteria that kills the host insect. Learn how to use beneficial nematodes for garden pest control in this guide. Read more now.
Many types of fungi, a water mold, and several viruses can infect asparagus plants, with varying degrees of severity. This guide will help you to diagnose what is ailing your crop and provide tips on what to do about it. Read on to learn about the dizzying array of pathogens that can infect asparagus.
Growers typically plant resistant apple varieties to control the major pathogens in their region. What can home gardeners do to prevent the occurrence of diseases on their apple trees? Read more to discover prevention techniques, learn ways to identify common diseases of apples, and implement control methods.
If you live in a climate that tends to be hot and humid, Septoria leaf spot can be a devastating disease of tomatoes. This fungal infection can be very persistent, so you may need to use fungicides to keep it under control. Read on to learn how to prevent, identify, and control this disease in the garden.
The fungal disease purple spot produces purple lesions on asparagus spears as they emerge from the ground. It spreads from infected asparagus residue that remains in your garden. This disease can be severe in wet weather and shorten the lifespan of your plants. Read on to learn how to manage this disease.