Although yellowjackets consume a large volume of agricultural pests, they are very aggressive when protecting their nests and cause most of the stinging deaths in the US. Read on to learn how to manage these inhospitable guests on your property.
If you love homegrown zucchini but have no room in your garden, did you know you can grow it in containers instead? This summer squash is easy to grow and provides you with an abundant harvest. Learn how to plant and grow zucchini in pots and containers for the fresh, homegrown taste of summer. Read more now.
Short on garden space but still want to enjoy the taste of sweet, crunchy homegrown carrots? With a container, some soil, and a packet of seeds, you can grow these flavorful root vegetables on a sunny balcony, patio, or even a front step. Learn how to plant and grow carrots in containers. Get the growing guide now.
Pavement ants make their nests in concrete slabs under houses or in foundations. You can tell an infestation by the tell-tale piles of soil or sand near the colony. Fortunately, they are fairly easy to control once you know how. Learn how to identify and treat a pavement ant infestation in your home. Read more now.
Perennial asters have daisy-like flowers and readily naturalize in the garden through self-sowing and an extensive root system. By dividing perennial asters you can keep them under control, growing vigorously, and enjoy them in other areas of the garden. Learn when and how to divide asters with our guide. Read more now.
Do you dream of growing your own tropical citrus fruits? Did you know that with just a little bit of love and care, you can grow your own lemons, limes, kumquats, and other types of citrus trees indoors, even in the northernmost climates? We share our top tips for growing citrus trees in containers. Read more now.
Rhubarb is a stunning addition to everything from wine to pie to roasted chicken. Most gardeners know that you can propagate the tart, lightly sweet plant from crowns, divisions, and bare roots. But can you sow rhubarb seeds? Will they grow successfully? And if so, how do you do it? Read on to learn more now.
Ready to plant marigolds from seed for bright summer blooms? Planting marigolds from seed is easy, but you’ll want to know when you should start these annual flower seeds indoors – and when you can sow the seeds right into your garden soil. Learn more about how and when to plant marigolds from seed. Read more now.
Do you want to grow crisp and flavorful celery that’s perfect for adding to soups, salads, and smoothies? Our guide to blanching celery in the garden will teach you three of the best methods to grow your own crop that isn’t bitter, with a satisfying crunch. You don’t want to skip this step! Read more now.
Zucchini are famously prolific, but that doesn’t mean they’re without their share of potential issues. You might be facing yellowing leaves, falling flowers, or pest problems. If you’re having trouble with your zucchini, learn about 11 common problems, how to identify what’s going wrong, and what to do to fix it.
Currant fruit flies can ruin a gooseberry or currant harvest in a hurry. That’s why it’s essential to know how to identify and get rid of these devastating maggots. Each larva can eat through an entire berry and each fly can lay hundreds of eggs. This guide has all you need to know to keep them under control.
Growing rhubarb in containers gives you a head start on enjoying sweet, tart stalks in pie, jam, ice cream, coffee cake, and even wine. It’s also a fun project to do indoors during the throes of winter, just when it seems as though spring is an eternity away. You don’t want to miss our step-by-step guide! Read more now.
If you want an orchard of pear trees but don’t want to spend a fortune, why not try growing them from cuttings? It takes time but with a bit of effort you’ll be planting out your own newly propagated trees. Learn how to start pear trees from cuttings in this guide and you’ll be on your way to enjoying a thriving orchard.
Purple martins are one of America’s best-loved birds. Do they call your yard home? To learn how to give them the proper environment to bring their beautiful song and aerial acrobatics to your property, read more now on Gardener’s Path.
Should you lime your lawn this year? Find out how this natural conditioning agent may be beneficial. Understand the difference between calcitic and dolomitic varieties. Learn about factors that affect soil’s pH balance and discover the only reliable method for making an informed decision, right here on Gardener’s Path.
If you’re sick of shaking your head when you look at the damage deer do to your hostas, roses, and fruit trees, you aren’t alone. Installing a deer fence is the best option to keep those voracious critters out of your garden and yard. Read more now on Gardener’s Path to learn how to install your own DIY fence.
The flavor of homegrown tomatoes is an experience no one should miss. Even if you don’t have the real estate for a vegetable patch, you can still enjoy their rich taste with fast growing and prolific container plants on your deck or patio. Learn how to grow tomatoes in containers and pots with this guide. Read more now.
Trichoderma harzianum T-22 is a highly developed fungal strain that effectively controls a number of fungal pathogens of plants. This fungus colonizes plant roots and does not affect other beneficial microbes like mycorrhizae or Rhizobium. Read on to learn more about this fascinating organism now on Gardener’s Path.
If you don’t like the idea of pouring expensive and harmful chemical fertilizers all over your garden then try making a homemade liquid fertilizer using comfrey. Homemade comfrey tea fertilizer is an organic, easy, and completely free way to feed your plants and recycle nutrients back into your soil. Read more now.
Battling deer set on destroying our work in the garden doesn’t need to be as challenging as we might think. Approaching the situation with knowledge, the right game plan, and a good set of tools is the solution to preventing this frustrating pest. Read on to learn more about how to keep the deer away from your yard.
Square foot gardening is a beginner-friendly way of cultivating healthy, super local, homegrown produce, but this space-saving method has more to it than just growing in raised beds. Keep reading to discover the roots of square foot gardening and learn what steps to take to get started with it in your own backyard.
Weeds – they’re every gardener’s struggle. But you may be creating more work for yourself. Find out how they work and key tips to keep them at bay, as well as the best way to pull them and what to do with the debris. If you want to save time in the garden and minimize this seemingly endless chore, read more now.
You don’t have to be disappointed with planters that fizzle out by mid-summer again this year. For outstanding results, follow our basic steps to create containers full of vibrant, healthy plants – and use our easy trick to produce a fantastic display of color and form from spring right through to fall! Read more now on Gardener’s Path.
Do you have an infestation of flea beetles? These nasty little critters attack all kinds of produce and ornamentals, particularly nightshades and brassicas. Learn how you can defeat these little insects through various organic methods, or chemical herbicides if worse comes to worst. Read our comprehensive guide now!
Do you ever watch your backyard bees? Busy collecting pollen and sipping nectar, these benign little creatures pollinate our crops and flowers as they peacefully fly about. But when they nest nearby, it’s a smart idea to know how they’ll behave around your home. Join us now to learn about some common native species.
Are your apples covered with flyspecks or large blotches? Fear not. While these diseases look horrible, they are superficial. You may even be able to rub them off! Read on for information on how to prevent and control sooty blotch and flyspeck.
Want to become a succulent gardening pro? We share our top tips for planting, watering, fertilizer needs, dealing with winter weather or warm spells, pests and diseases, and more. Whether you’re planting outdoors in Zone 11 or growing a few potted plants in a sunny windowsill, read our guide now on Gardener’s Path.
Backyard birds are a gardener’s buddies. We’ve put together an expert guide on what to expect in your area, complete with a list of favorite feathered friends throughout the US. Learn all about what they’re looking to eat to help encourage them to call your garden home. Read more now on Gardener’s Path.
Is your apricot, peach, plum, cherry, or apple tree oozing a lot of gum? If so, it may be infected with the fungus Leucostoma that causes apricot gummosis and cankers. This fungus only infects stressed trees and enters through wounds, so you may be able to avoid it entirely. Read more about how to prevent this disease and ways to treat it.
Are Colorado potato beetles devouring your potatoes, tomatoes, or eggplants? Left unchecked, these pests can destroy entire crops. Learn natural ways to stop an infestation with help from the experts at Gardener’s Path, plus tips on how to use pesticides against these beetles as a last line of defense. Read more.
Every gardener would love to spend less time weeding their garden and more time enjoying it. But how? Stale seedbed cultivation is a tried and true method that will dramatically reduce the number of weed seeds in the soil that are just waiting for the chance to out compete your vegetables. Read more on Gardener’s Path.
Have you been inspired to allow your chickens to help in the garden? While the results can be amazing, there are some common pitfalls to the practice. Get the truth about what it takes for your feathered friends to be truly cooperative this season – read more now on Gardener’s Path.
Although cedar apple rust won’t kill the junipers or apples and crabapples it infects, it can surely debilitate them. What can you do if you are faced with this complex disease? Read more now on Gardener’s Path to discover how to identify and learn how to control cedar apple rust on either of its hosts.
Bulbs add beautiful blooms to the garden, and many of them will happily multiply and naturalize on their own. But some, usually the expensive ones, are more reluctant to divide and need manual manipulation for offspring to form. Join us now for all the details on how to successfully propagate your own bulbs at home.
If you want to feel more secure in your home, consider Mother Nature’s finest biological razor wire. We take a look at 23 of the best thorny, spiky, and downright scary plants to add to your landscape for the ultimate intruder deterrent. Learn how to use defensive plants in your garden for home security. Read more now.
Morning glory vines can grow over 10 feet tall with colorful displays of flowers through the summer. Left unmanaged, they can quickly grow out of control. Plants should be pruned throughout the season to keep the aggressively growing vines in check and encourage blooming. Read on to learn how to trim morning glories.
Hydrangeas can fall prey to anthracnose, a virulent fungal disease which can cause damage to the leaves, flowers, and even the stems. This fungus spreads quickly in hot, wet weather, but there are steps you can take to limit an infection. Read on to learn how to prevent, diagnose, and manage anthracnose in hydrangeas.
Although kale plants are usually healthy, yellowing and thinning leaves can be signs of potentially fatal bacterial infections. These diseases rapidly spread to nearby plants and can destroy whole fields. Read on to learn how to prevent leaf spot bacteria and black rot from infecting your plants.
Are you familiar with the type of pruning known as deadheading? If you are a gardener, we invite you to join us as we define deadheading, and discuss how this technique varies with different plants. Learn the benefits of the practice, and ways to build it into your busy schedule with minimal effort. Read more now.
It’s all too easy to overwater your garden without realizing it – until it’s too late. Cheap and easy to use, rain gauges can help. An inch of rain a week can spare you an unnecessary watering session, saving you time and money, and protecting your plants from too much of a good thing. Read more now on Gardener’s Path.
Morning glories are rapidly growing vines with attractive foliage and showy flowers that open each morning through the summer. Learn to grow them in containers and enjoy these colorful blooms without worry about the vines taking over your garden. Read on for more about growing and caring for potted morning glory vines.
The Chelsea chop isn’t some fashionable new haircut. It’s a tried-and-true way to prune your plants in the spring to maximize blossoms, extend bloom times, and help prop up droopy flowers. It’s simple to do, but timing is key – it can only be done during a few weeks in the spring or you risk doing more harm than good.
Borage is an easy to grow herb with tasty leaves and pretty, edible blossoms that attract a variety of pollinators. It can also be used as a cover crop in the garden. It’s easy to start from seed, if you keep a few points in mind. Learn how and when to plant borage seeds to enjoy this herb in your landscape.
Do you love adding fresh basil to everything from pasta to pho to cocktails? If you’ve never tried growing this flavorful, versatile herb yourself, now is the time to start. Discover three easy ways to propagate basil and add this fragrant plant to your own indoor or outdoor garden. Get the tips and tricks now.
What’s even better than just-picked berries from the garden? The ones you harvest yourself from a wild source. With some basic how-tos, attention to detail, and a keen appreciation for the outdoors, you can take a trip back to our hunter-gatherer days and safely consume wild foods. Read more now on Gardener’s Path.
Does your garden face the same issues year after year? The answer could be in your soil. Nutrient deficiencies, pH imbalances, texture, and the percentage of organic matter can all be revealed through a simple test. Collecting a sample and sending it off for professional analysis and advice is easier than you think.
Carpenter bees are docile insects with the important task of pollinating our food supplies. But they nest in old wood and often choose inappropriate sites – like our fences, garages, and homes. If you’re experiencing problems with an infestation, join us now for a look at how to prevent and be rid of existing nests.
Ready to learn some new gardening uses for your beloved borage? This blue-flowered herb can be grown as a cover crop to improve your garden in a number of ways, from soil amendment to pest protection, and it can even be used as a green manure. Discover how to grow borage as a cover crop in your garden. Read more now.
Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) is a microbial insecticide that is highly specific for certain kinds of insects and safe against people and non-target animals. Certain strains control caterpillars, mosquitoes, black flies, and a few kinds of beetles. Read on to learn how to use this novel but natural insecticide.
Interested in finding out how to grow more while doing less? Want to encourage biodiversity to flourish alongside your favorite plants? Read on to find out all about what Integrated Pest Management is and how it could help you in your garden!
“Damping off” is a phrase that is enough to strike fear into the heart of any grower. A must-read for anyone wanting to grow their own seedlings, learn everything you need to know about this devastating disease and how you can prevent this pathogen from pestering your seedlings, check out our guide now!
Seed packets are loaded with important growing information, like sowing, spacing, and thinning. To help make sense of it all, your friends at Gardener’s Path have put together this quick guide. Check it out before planning, purchasing, and digging. Your plants will thank you.
Coffee makes an outstanding hot drink, but what about using the spent grounds in the garden? These dregs are touted as a great fertilizer, mulch, and compost ingredient, but what does the science say? To find out if your notions about gardening with coffee grounds are on target – or a bit off center – keep reading now.
Who can resist a mailbox full of seed catalogs? Browsing them is the dreamy pastime of many a gardener waiting for snow to melt and the growing season to begin. These interesting publications have been guiding gardeners for over 300 years. Get tips for navigating their colorful pages, right here on Gardener’s Path.
The glassy-winged sharpshooter is a sap-sucking pest that feeds on over 300 types of plants. Its presence in the landscape poses a fatal threat to them all. Discover how this sapsucker can be responsible for the death of crops and ornamental species. Learn how to recognize it, deter breeding, and treat an infestation.
A number of culinary herbs make excellent groundcover, adding variety, texture, and beauty to the garden and sublime flavor to meals. Learn more about these versatile plants now at Gardener’s Path!
Sometimes full sun doesn’t really mean full sun. Before buying plants, gardeners in hot and dry regions of the southern United States should take our expert advice into consideration, to learn where and what to plant. Read more about hot weather gardening now on Gardener’s Path.
If you are looking for a simple water feature for your garden, why not add a birdbath? The relaxing tones of chirping birds and trickling water will make your backyard into a restful haven and welcome your feathered friends. Discover 11 of the best birdbaths and some must-have accessories, plus helpful buying advice.
Are you interested in growing a fragrant garden? Adding aromatics can help promote your well-being by relaxing and rejuvenating you. Create the fragrant garden of your dreams with a seasonal plan, and feel inspired by scent-sational plants highlighted in our guide. We give you the framework to make it your own!
Do you want to clone a rose plant that you adore? Taking cuttings is an easy way to make it happen. By snipping a stem from the parent plant and putting it in soil, you can encourage it to root and create a new rose plant. But of course, there’s more to it than that! In this guide, we’ll explain the entire process.
Peat moss has been a go-to soil amendment for gardeners for decades. More recently there has been some controversy as to its sustainability. Should gardeners use it? What alternatives are available? Find answers to these questions and more on Gardener’s Path.
Do you want to garden with a purpose, one that goes beyond ornamental enjoyment? When you choose your next plant, make it a nectar-rich flowering variety that’s endemic to the US. Read on to discover a host of choices, and start attracting pollinators like bees, butterflies, and other beneficial insects to your yard.
Using kitchen scraps like nutritious banana peels to feed your plants is smart, easy, and a sustainable step toward zero waste. Breaking down quickly in compost bins, worm farms, and garden mulch, they can be brewed into a liquid fertilizer or dried for slow-release flakes. Discover 4 easy ways to compost banana peels.
Striking in the garden and yard, many varieties of grass can be grown successfully as indoor houseplants too. From green, lawn-like grains to fiery-colored carex and quirky rushes, they’re easy to cultivate, low maintenance, and suit a myriad of interior settings. Join us for a look at how to grow grass houseplants.
Not quite ready to put your garden to bed for the season? Learn how to keep your vegetable garden growing strong all through the fall, and enjoy the benefit of fresh garden produce for longer than ever this year. In this guide, we suggest 11 fun and easy ways to extend the harvest season. Read more now.
Lovely as roses are, they are prone to disease, and knowing what to do early on is key to protecting the health of your plants. Our guide describes the common rose diseases you are most likely to encounter and offers effective treatment plans for each. Check out our solutions to your roses’ woes now in this guide.
Both farmers and home gardeners are likely to find cover cropping a valuable practice. Sowing dense, fast-growing plants to cover fallow soil helps to control weed growth and inhibit erosion. The decaying plants improve soil structure and replenish nutrients. Read on and learn if it is beneficial to rotate cover crops.
Roses add an inviting touch of romance to a landscape. Be sure to keep yours in top form by pruning the right way at the right time. Did you know that you can adjust the quantity and size of blossoms by varying your cutting technique? Learn this and more with 5 pruning tips in this guide. Read more.
Fruit flies love fruits, no surprise there. One species targets rotting produce indoors, and another ruins perfectly healthy fruit in the garden by laying eggs inside the sweet flesh. This guide covers everything you need to know about these tiny, brown, red-eyed flies and strategies you can use to control them. Read more.
Did you know that appearance, disease, growth stage, and more reveal what nutrients plants need? Like us, plants need a wide range of nutrients, and they can gain them from many sources. Learn how to master plant nutrients, diagnose deficiencies, and restore balance here at Gardener’s Path!
If you want to grow boysenberries, you’ll need to know how to propagate them. There are various different methods: from planting bare roots and nursery starts, to cloning your own by taking cuttings, tip layering, sucker transplants, and root division. You’ll be on your way to a berry patch filled with fruit in no time.
Have you noticed little dark-colored flies hanging around your plants? If you’ve had trouble identifying which of the common nuisance insects they are, you may have noticed fungus gnats and shore flies are difficult to tell apart. From how they fly to how the larvae look, here’s how you can distinguish between the two.
Succulents are funky and fun to grow, especially in the trendy and functional containers we’ve gathered for you. Read on to discover 7 of our favorite pots and planters, plus key growing tips and a foolproof design scheme. Learn how to show off your water-wise plant collection now, right here on Gardener’s Path.
Houseplants and fungus gnats go hand in hand, but one of them is not welcome in your home. Though usually just a nuisance insect, the larvae can turn from feeding on organic matter to chewing on plant roots. This guide covers everything you need to know about these tiny flies and strategies you can use to control them.
Late winter can be extremely dreary as we wait for the color, life, and joy of spring to return. But you can bring spring along early by forcing tree and shrub branches to blossom indoors. The process isn’t difficult, but there are a few tricks you should know to ensure that you can bring forth those cheery blossoms.
Whether you’re considering an in-ground sprinkler system, buried reservoirs, soaker hoses, or drip irrigation, get expert advice about the benefits of each and learn how they can help to maintain moisture levels in the home landscape. Read more about irrigation methods for home gardeners now on Gardener’s Path.
Powdery mildew is a chronic problem in temperate climates throughout the world. Fortunately, it does not usually kill its hosts, but it can debilitate them. You can treat this fungal infection with a range of certified organic products and homemade treatments. Read more now to learn how to use these remedies in your garden.
Viburnums are versatile, low-maintenance shrubs that are usually disease-free, but under certain conditions, you may face issues. Many of these are fungal in nature, causing damage that is merely cosmetic, though others may be more serious. Learn how to identify and treat common viburnum diseases in this guide. Read more.
Did you know that not all insects are pests? Many beneficial varieties may already be living in your gardens, helping to control populations of bugs that enjoy feasting on veggies, herbs, and flowers. Read on to discover who your friends are, and how to encourage them to work and thrive in your yard.
A cascade bonsai is a dramatic work of art that evokes the windswept trees that cling to life on the edges of a cliff. Creating one requires skill and patience, but you don’t need decades of practice to master making a cascade, or shaping your tree without leaving a mark. Get started now with this guide. Read more.
Fresh alfalfa sprouts or microgreens grown at home are healthy and tasty. In the cold months, they’re a welcome source of fresh produce. And this indoor gardening project is simple enough for beginners and kids, with results in days. Here are the basic how-to’s, along with advice on food safety and some recipe ideas.
Pothos plants are extremely straightforward to propagate. They lend themselves well to cloning via cuttings or dividing. Seeds, on the other hand, are a different proposition. If you’re curious about how to make lots of healthy new pothos babies, this guide shows you what you should know, and what doesn’t work.
Pruning a bonsai well requires equal parts technical skill and artistic vision. You need to know how to prune the plant without damaging it so you can bring the living piece of art that you dream of to life. In this guide, we’ll help you to achieve both goals with a little bit of technical and creative guidance.
Norfolk Island pine trees are in the spotlight during the Christmas holiday season, but they make easy-care houseplants all year long. And if you want more of these conifers, they aren’t hard to propagate either. There are a few different methods you can use to propagate these trees – keep reading to learn more.
It’s hard to overstate how important having healthy soil is to raising robust bonsai. Without a good foundation, bonsai can’t thrive. Creating your own bonsai substrate isn’t difficult or expensive, but it can make all the difference to your plant. Learn what comprises a healthy substrate and how to create your own.
Pruning junipers the right way takes a bit of finesse and know-how. If you do it wrong, you can end up with a sad-looking skeleton of a plant, rather than a robust shrub that adds to your garden. You need to know when, how, and which branches to prune if you want to keep your plant healthy and looking good. Read more.
For inexpensive succulent houseplants that grow quickly and are easy to care for, learn to root aloe vera cuttings from single leaves or divide pups from parent plants. The gel from the leaves soothes burns, and the starts you propagate make great gifts for indoor gardeners. Learn how to propagate aloe in this guide.
Flowers in the Viola genus – violets, violas, and pansies – are some of the easiest flowers to grow. So why not grow them indoors? Extend the growing season or simply add some cheer to your indoor window sills by planting and growing violets as houseplants. We’ll cover all you need to know in this guide. Read more now.
With generous panicles of beautiful, fragrant flowers, the allure of lilacs is powerful. If you don’t have the space for a mature, 30-foot specimen, a good option is to grow dwarf varieties in containers – a smart solution for decks, patios, and other small spaces. Learn how to grow lilacs in pots and planters here.
Hardly a garden vegetable is safe from the hungry moth larvae known as beet armyworms. They chew leaves, burrow into crowns, and can kill seedlings. This guide covers everything you need to know about Spodoptera exigua, including their life cycle, preferred food, and a variety of strategies you can use to control them.
Are your chestnut trees looking a little, shall we say, under the weather? Maybe you’ve noticed wilting leaves, or nuts that rot in their shells. Learn how to identify, prevent, and manage five common diseases that may afflict chestnut trees, with recommendations for selecting resistant varieties. Read more now.
If you’re looking for an easy-to-grow beginner bonsai plant that can stay indoors all year long, dracaenas fit the bill. That’s because they’re simple to care for and undemanding when it comes to light, food, and water, even inside your home – perfect if you’re just dipping your toe into the art of bonsai. Read more.
Want to grow your own chestnut trees? A variety of insects and other types of wildlife would adore the opportunity to much on a leaf, or a tasty nut in the fall. Read our guide now to learn which pests to be on the lookout for, and how to prevent or control an infestation and protect your hard-earned harvest.
Mosaic viruses are more common in cabbages than you might think, with some estimates saying 10% of plants are infected. There’s no cure, and mosaic virus can spread – and completely ruin your crop. That’s why prevention is so important, and knowing what to watch for is essential. #cabbage #mosaicvirus #gardenerspath
Whether your goal is to grow just one tree or enough to fill an orchard, like most fruit trees, pomegranates grow best via certain propagation methods. Learn which tried and true techniques can produce plants that are clones of the parent plant, and how results may vary. Then give them a try at home! Read more now.
If you don’t know how to manage an outbreak of Cercospora leaf spot, it can ruin not only this year’s beet crop, but those for years to come. It renders beet greens inedible and can affect neighboring vegetables in the garden, like chard and spinach. Read on to learn how to deal with this destructive fungal condition.
Want to grow your own fresh fruit, or are you looking for a fun project to do with the kids? Pomegranates can be grown from seed, producing variable but potentially worthwhile results. In the right climate, they can be grown outdoors in the ground or a container, or brought inside to overwinter. Read more now.
Your garden is full of pests waiting to chomp on your Swiss chard. Before you can nab your harvest to use it in the kitchen, bugs like aphids, blister beetles, and cutworms are creeping around, just waiting for the opportunity to strike. A little knowledge and the right tools are all you need to prevail. Read more.
Homegrown Swiss chard does double duty with its beautiful stems and incredible flavor. But disease can ruin its appealing appearance and its fantastic flavor, denying you the harvest you’ve worked so hard for. A little prevention goes a long way, but if disease still takes hold, there are things you can do. Read more.
Coneflowers are pretty darn tough. They can withstand a lot, including drought and most pests and diseases. But when problems impact your echinacea, you want to take swift action to protect your precious plants. This guide shows you what to watch out for, how to prevent these issues, and what to do if they turn up.