Field notes

Guides

Practical growing notes for matching plants to real yards, real weather, and the space you actually have.

A squash leaf underside with scattered white powdery mildew colonies.
A squash leaf underside with scattered white powdery mildew colonies.
Vegetable gardening

Powdery Mildew on Squash and Cucumbers: What to Do When Leaves Turn White

powdery mildewsquash diseasescucumbers
A Cubanelle pepper plant with white flowers and young green fruit forming.
Vegetable gardening

Pepper Flowers Dropping in Heat: How to Get Fruit Set Back

peppersfruit setheat stress
A striped cucumber beetle with yellow wing covers and black stripes resting on a green leaf.
Pest management

Cucumber Beetles and Bacterial Wilt: What to Do When Cucumbers Start Wilting

cucumber beetlesbacterial wiltcucumbers
An adult squash vine borer moth with an orange and black body resting on white flowers.
Pest management

Squash Vine Borer: Why Zucchini Wilts Overnight and What to Do First

squash vine borerzucchinisummer squash
A pile of ripe red tomatoes showing dark blossom-end rot scars on the blossom ends.
Vegetable gardening

Tomato Rot: How to Diagnose Blossom-End Rot, Fruit Rots, and Cracking

tomatoestomato diseasesblossom-end rot
A real raised-bed vegetable garden with potatoes, trellises, row-cover hoops, paths, and a gardener holding harvested lettuce.
Vegetable gardening

The Complete Starter Kit for a Zone 6 Vegetable Garden (2026)

Zone 6vegetable gardenstarter kit
Colorful zinnias blooming in a lush summer garden bed.
Summer gardening

Heat-Tolerant Plants to Add to Your Garden This Summer

heat-tolerant plantssummer gardendrought tolerant
Ripe red tomatoes growing on a healthy tomato vine in a summer vegetable garden.
Vegetable gardening

The Complete Starter Kit for a Zone 7 Vegetable Garden (2026)

Zone 7vegetable gardenstarter kit
A large green tomato hornworm feeding on a tomato plant stem.
Pest management

Why Your Garden Is Getting Eaten Alive: A Plain Guide to Managing Pests Without Losing Your Mind

garden pestsintegrated pest managementorganic gardening
A black drip irrigation line releasing a water droplet beside a garden plant.
Irrigation

Drip Irrigation Done Right: A Practical Guide for Fruit Trees, Berries, and Raised Beds

drip irrigationfruit treesberries
A red apple ripening on a tree branch in dappled summer sunlight.
Fruit trees

Why Your Fruit Tree Isn't Producing Fruit, and What to Actually Do About It

fruit treeshome orchardpollination
A small struggling blueberry shrub with spotted leaves and a few berries growing in mulched soil.
Soil health

Why Your Blueberries Look Miserable: A Plain Guide to Acidifying Soil

blueberriessoil pHacidifying soil
Raised vegetable garden beds with leafy greens, tomatoes, herbs, and trellised plants.
Garden planning

Right Plant, Right Place: How to Match Plants to the Space You Actually Have

right plant right placegarden planninglight