Gardening Tips

If Your Bell Peppers Turn Out Thin-Walled and Small This August, Excess Nitrogen Is One Possibility – Not the Only One

Pulling a pepper off the vine and finding it small and floppy when you expected something thick and blocky is genuinely frustrating, especially in August…

By Ethan Brooks · Aug 3, 2026

Field Notes

If Your Bell Peppers Turn Out Thin-Walled and Small This August, Excess Nitrogen Is One Possibility – Not the Only One

7 Native North Carolina Trees That Flower Better Than Bradford Pears Without The Splitting And Stink

If your carrot roots come out forked and twisted this fall, one soil habit usually starts it

More Toads Around Your Central Texas Pond Means Fewer Grasshoppers Chewing Your Vegetable Beds This Summer

From the Garden

If your ripening tomatoes keep splitting and cracking in this August heat, a rapid dry-to-wet change may be the trigger

What It Really Means When Spotted Lanternflies Start Showing Up On Your North Carolina Trees This Summer

More Anole Lizards On Your Central Texas Porch Means Fewer Mosquitoes And Roaches (Here’s How To Bring Them In)

If your tomato leaves are rolling upward and leathery this August, the cause usually starts at the roots

Cucumber Leaves Yellowing Between the Veins in August: Could Magnesium Deficiency Be the Cause?

In Bloom

The Most Underrated North Carolina Native Shrub That Fills Your Fall Yard With Color When The Beetles Have Wrecked Everything Else

Why Your Central Texas Okra Pods Turn Woody and Tough Before You Pick Them In August Heat

If your cucumber vines wilt and collapse overnight this August, the trouble usually starts inside the stem

Gardener's Selection

7 Florida Native Ground Covers That Replace St. Augustine and Shrug Off the Fall Drought

7 Florida Native Plants That Make Bats Move In and Clear the Mosquitoes From Your Yard

If your summer squash leaves suddenly show white powdery patches this August, one watering habit usually starts it

Golden Dewdrop: A Florida Landscape Shrub That May Irritate Skin and Can Poison Pets If Eaten

7 Florida Native Groundcovers That Fill Bare Sandy Spots UF/IFAS Backs and Never Ask for Watering

The Potting Shed

7 Florida Native Plants That Turn Your Yard Into Firefly Territory Again After Years of Dark Nights

The California Kingsnake: A Native Predator That Sometimes Eats Rattlesnakes

If Your Zucchini Fruit Rots and Shrivels at the Tip This August, Inadequate Pollination Is Often the First Place to Look

The California Toad Homeowners Might Accidentally Harm When It’s Quietly Helping With Snails and Slugs

If Your Cucumber Leaves Turn Crispy and Scorched at the Edges in This August Heat, One Watering Swing Usually Starts It

If your eggplants keep dropping flowers without setting fruit this August, one feeding habit usually starts it

If your fall broccoli and cabbage seedlings keep wilting in this August heat, one planting habit usually starts it

When Fire Ant Mounds Take Over Your North Carolina Garden Beds This Summer, These Native Birds May Catch Flying Queens But Won’t Replace Treatment

The California Native Vine That Pulls Hummingbirds Off The Feeder And Onto Your Fence Instead

If your bell peppers get sunscald and pale leathery patches in this August heat, one pruning habit usually starts it

More Green Toads In Your Central Texas Garden Means Fewer Scorpions (Here’s How To Bring Them In)

What It Really Means When Praying Mantises Show Up In Your North Carolina Garden, And Why You Want Them To Stay

That Shiny Lizard in Your Yard May Be a Western Skink – a Native Generalist Predator Worth Getting to Know

More Green Lacewings In Your Central Texas Garden Means Fewer Aphids (Here’s How To Bring Them In)

If your tomatoes are cracking and rotting on the bottom this August, the trouble usually starts below the fruit

The Garden Almanac

Field Notes

Florida Plants That Turn Your Yard Into Owl Territory So the Rats Move On for Good

The California Alligator Lizard Homeowners Chase Off Their Woodpile Is Quietly Thinning The Ticks Near The House

If your tomatoes slow way down in this August heat, your feeding routine usually needs a reset

If your ripe tomatoes keep splitting open on the vine this August, one watering swing usually starts it

When Fall Armyworms Start Chewing Your North Carolina Lawn Bare This Month, Reach For These Birds Instead Of A Spray Can

The California Snake Homeowners Kill By Mistake, When It’s Actually Eating The Gophers Wrecking Your Beds