Troubleshoot Your Garden
Welcome to our garden troubleshooting page! Here you’ll find everything you need to know about tackling garden problems. From wilting plants to insect invasions, we have everything you need to know right here.
Troubleshoot and Amend Your Soil
How to Improve Sandy Soil to Grow Healthier Plants
Tips on how to improve sandy soil for better moisture retention and healthier plants.
Pallet Raised Garden Bed – Build it Yourself!
DIY pallet raised garden beds are a simple, budget-friendly way to build your own raised garden beds for flowers and vegetables. Learn how easy they are to construct with our step-by-step directions!
Potting Soil vs Potting Mix: What’s the Difference?
Is potting soil the same as potting mix? Learn how to read soil product labels and which ingredients to look for to help your potted plants grow and thrive.
All About Garden Soil and Mulch
Find out what types of soil is best for growing plants and what mulch you should use. Along with tips for making healthy soil, use our soil and mulch calculators to find how much you need for pots, gardens, and raised beds.
How to Amend Clay Soil
Clay soil can be hard to work, have poor drainage and lack nutrients plants need to survive. Learn how to amend clay soil into workable, healthier soil.
Compost Tea – Step by Step
Compost tea is an easy option for gardeners and a healthy choice for plants. Learn how to make compost tea (aerated and non-aerated), and how to use it.
A Soil Calculator for Raised Beds and Containers
Before you make the trip to the garden center to buy potting or raised bed soil, you can easily determine how much you'll need using a simple soil calculator formula.
How to Change Your Soil pH
Soil pH is an essential factor in a plant's ability to grow. Learn what it means, why it's important, and how to change your soil pH to help plants thrive.
How to Test Soil pH
Here’s how to do a simple soil pH test from items you probably already have in your kitchen. Once you determine whether your soil is acidic or alkaline, we have recommendations for soil amendments that can bring the soil back into the neutral pH range.
Tips for Fertilizing Houseplants
Most houseplants need feeding with a fertilizer from time to time to replenish the soil’s nutrient levels and keep plants thriving. Get answers to some of the most common questions around what to feed, and when to fertilize, your houseplants.
Straightforward Tips for Soil Improvement
Good soil is essential for healthy plants. If your yard’s soil is less than perfect, you can improve it by digging in fresh materials to make up for what it lacks. But which materials should you add? This article describes seven of the most useful natural soil improvers.
5 Ways to Use Eggshells for Plants
Eggshells are packed with calcium and other minerals, and this makes them too valuable for a gardener to throw into the waste disposal. When put to imaginative use, they can make a great contribution to your yard’s health and productivity.
Biochar: A New Trend in Soil Amendment
What if we told you there was a substance you could add to your garden that would improve the health of your plants, increase flower, fruit, and vegetable production, recondition barren areas, all the while helping to stop climate change by sequestering carbon and encouraging the production of alternative fuels? Interested? Then read on for nine questions, and answers, about the super soil amendment--biochar.
The Dirt on Garden Soils
Digging through the many planting soils at your local garden center can be daunting. This article will help you figure out what sort of soil you need right now.
How Much Mulch Do I Need?
It’s important to apply enough mulch to reap the benefits. Learn how to quickly calculate the amount of mulch you need for your space.
Guide to Direct Composting
Try direct composting: the no-mess, no-fuss method for making compost from your kitchen food waste.
How to Stop Soil Erosion
Topsoil being carried away by rainfall can be a serious problem. Here are methods to control erosion, including the strongest deterrent, plants.
Compost Tips for Beginners
Start composting with these tips and basic steps!
Plant Food 101
Explanation of the most important nutrients plants require to thrive and how those nutrients influence plant growth and development.
How to Evaluate Your Soil Type
Believe it or not, plants in the garden do better if the soil is healthy. Focus on a single aspect of soil health and perform this simple jar test to determine the composition of your garden soil.
Time-Saving Tip: Mulch
Mulch is more than an attractive finishing touch in a garden. Adding mulch to the garden is a time-saving, water-saving, weed-minimizing, and soil-improving step that is worth the effort.
Controlling Garden Weeds
Guide to the Safe Use of Home and Garden Chemicals
Sometimes chemical solutions are necessary to control severe infestations of plant pests or diseases. Learn how to safely handle home and garden chemicals to protect yourself and the environment.
10 Common Weeds
The truth is, a weed is just an ordinary plant growing in place that you don’t want it. That said, there are some plants that always seems to sprout where they aren’t welcome…year after year. You recognize them when you see them, but do you know what they are? Let us help put a name to some of the common weeds growing in your yard and offer a few tips for keeping them under control.
5 Ways to Stop Weeds Before They Start
Early spring—that wonderful time you start to imagine your summer garden full of flowers, fruits, vegetables, and…weeds. It doesn’t have to be that way. With a little preparation now, you can put a stop to the weeds before they get a chance to take root, without having to rely on chemical herbicides.
Garden Pests & Animals
Guide to the Safe Use of Home and Garden Chemicals
Sometimes chemical solutions are necessary to control severe infestations of plant pests or diseases. Learn how to safely handle home and garden chemicals to protect yourself and the environment.
Rabbit Resistant Plants for Your Garden
Are rabbits destroying your garden? Try these rabbit resistant plants and shrubs to keep the bunnies at bay.
Invasive species in the U.S. – 5 Insect Pests That Damage Trees
There are many invasive insect species in the U.S. that damage trees. Their impacts are widespread. Let's look at five of the most destructive of these pests, the damage they do and what, if anything, we can do to stop them.
How to Get Rid of Slugs in the Garden
In most instances, you can get rid of slugs in the garden without the need to use toxic chemicals or baits.
Deer Resistant Shrubs
Beautify and protect your landscape by planting deer resistant shrubs. 12 shrubs that you’re not likely to find on the menu when deer come to visit.
Plants to Attract Dragonflies for Natural Mosquito Control
Dragonflies love to eat mosquitoes and can get through 100 or more per day. Grow these plants to attract more of the beautiful insect hunters into your garden and help keep mosquito numbers under control.
9 Methods to Control Insect Pests
Are bothersome bugs ruining your outdoor fun? Insects can be annoying when you are trying to enjoy time spent outside. Here are nine tips for keeping unwelcome insects away from your yard.
Keep Chipmunks Out of Your Garden
Chipmunks, though cute, can wreak havoc on your yard by digging holes and eating plants. Find out how to keep these pests away, humanely.
How to Repel Mice with Natural Herb Sachets
Winter is the peak time for mice infestations, as the creatures try to find warm spots to shelter and nest. You can stop the problem before it starts by making your own natural mouse-repelling sachets to place in your cupboards, in your vehicles, garage, or any other place you'd rather not find these pesky rodents.
5 Tips for Dogscaping Your Yard
Your beloved pet deserves a spot in the garden to call his own. This article gives five tips to get you started designing an outdoor space for your four-legged friends.
Troubleshooting Fruits & Vegetables
Pests and problems with your fruit or vegetable plants doesn’t only impact your beautiful garden, but also all that fresh produce! Take a look at our troubleshooting articles for fruits and veggies to keep your table stocked with the good stuff.
Common Squash Diseases and Pests
Learn to recognize squash diseases and squash pests and how to prevent them from doing damage to your plants and produce.
Pests and Diseases of Cucumbers
Cucumbers are generally easy to grow, but there are some things that can ruin your harvest. We’ll show you how to identify and treat common insects and diseases that affect cucumber plants.
5 Common Pepper Problems and How to Fix Them
Peppers are super-easy to grow and usually have very few problems. But there are a few…Read on to discover five problems you might encounter with your pepper plants and what you can do to keep your plants healthy and productive.
Why Is There No Fruit on My Tree?
Are your fruit trees not setting fruit? We give you common reasons that might happen.
Top 10 Tomato Pests and Problems
Here's expert advice on how to keep your tomatoes healthy and prevent the 10 most common problems with tomato plants.
Houseplant Troubleshooting
No matter how well you care for your indoor plants, problems can still arise. We’ll help you identify and solve common houseplant issues so you can keep your plants healthy and thriving.
Our posts cover a range of topics, from diagnosing pest problems to dealing with fungal diseases and even environmental stresses like overwatering and under-fertilizing. We’ll also provide tips on how to revive wilted or damaged plants and prevent future problems from occurring.
With our help, you’ll be able to overcome any obstacles that come your way and enjoy a beautiful and thriving indoor garden.
What’s Wrong with My Plant?
Brown leaf edges and wilting are just a couple of signals that something is wrong with your plant. Diagnose some of the most common houseplant problems and what you can do to correct them.
Common Madagascar Palm Problems
Some common troubles with Madagascar palm are the leaves falling off, curling or turning yellow. This guide will help you troubleshoot why your Madagascar palm is dying and find out how to care for it indoors.
Hibiscus Leaves Turning Yellow
Hibiscus leaves turning yellow is common. Find out what causes them to turn and what, if anything, you should do about it.
Cat Palm Troubleshooting Guide
Find the cause and fix it! Here’s how to correct common problems with your cat palm, such as yellow leaves, brown leaf tips, and how to know when it’s time to repot your plant.
Sunburned Houseplants
Most houseplants love the sun. But there is such a thing as too much of a good thing. Learn how to protect your plants from sunburn and help them recover.
How to Rescue an Overwatered Houseplant
Houseplants require the right balance of light, water, temperature and nutrition to thrive. Too little, or too much, of any of these elements and your plant can become weakened and even die. Here’s what to do if you have a plant that's suffering the consequences of too much watering.
Common Houseplant Pests
A look at the most common insect pests that feed on houseplants. How to identify and control houseplant pests before they do serious damage your plants.
Frost Map with Dates
USDA Zone Finder
