Last year, I bought a few broccoli starts at a local greenhouse on a whim, excited to add another of my favorite vegetables to the garden. My excitement soon turned to disappointment, however, when something(s) began devouring the little plants. Each day, new holes appeared in the foliage, and entire leaves disappeared almost overnight. I …
Serena Manickam
I recently planted a bed of fall broccoli, collards, and kale, carefully covering the young transplants with row cover to keep out cabbage worms. But when I removed the cover to water the plants a day or two later, a few leaves and even an entire kale plant had been cut clean through the stems. …
Sometimes a striking weed will capture our interest, and instead of yanking it out by the roots, we decide to let it grow for the sake of beauty or to see what it becomes. I do this with wild violets, valuing their delicate purple blossoms in spring as well as their medicinal and culinary uses. …
Occasionally when working in my garden I will feel a tickle or the sting of an ant bite on my leg and look down to realize I’m standing on an ant nest swarming with tiny black specks. I’ve also noticed larger black ants congregating on the undersides of my sunflower leaves. But are they harmful? …
Although commonly known for being indoor pests, mice can be a nuisance in the garden, too! But they can climb just about anything, swim, jump a foot in the air, and squeeze through any opening larger than a quarter of an inch – so how do you keep them out of your vegetable patch? We’ll …
I felt a sort of thrill this spring when we began seeing baby groundhogs in the yard. Each morning found me eagerly peering out the bedroom window to watch the adorable, bumbling balls of fur learning to graze on the abundant clover in the lawn, safely outside the garden fence and within scurrying distance of …
Rodents can cause havoc in the garden, leaving unsightly tunnels and hills, munching on crops, and uprooting plants. But with so many different types of rodents, including moles, voles, chipmunks, white-footed mice, and house mice, it’s essential to correctly identify the pest to control it effectively. This article will help you learn the difference between …
Blister beetles hurt not only your plants but also your skin, and they can even harm livestock! Learn how to get rid of blister beetles in the garden to protect your crops, animals, and self. How to Get Rid of Blister Beetles in the Garden How to identify blister beetles Blister beetles have long, narrow …
Few pests annoy me more than voles. They suck down seedlings overnight, leaving no evidence that a plant had stood there unless you count the two-inch hole in the soil. Or they just devour the roots, so that I pull up a carrot top to find nothing attached or walk through the garden to see …
You’ve likely seen those evil ant-looking insects with wicked pincers at the tip of their abdomen in your house and heard creepy stories as a child of them crawling in people’s ears. Yet despite their terrible reputation and intimidating appearance, earwigs rarely cause problems either in the home or in the garden. If you do …