Like most bugs, aphids seemingly appear out of nowhere each year, arriving in small numbers before reproducing and, if not stopped, causing damage to a wide variety of plants. But where do they come from each spring? And where do they go when the winter months arrive? I’ve been gardening for many years, and I’ve…
If you’ve ever seen aphids in your garden, you might have wondered if they pose any risk to you or your family. Do aphids bite? Can they survive on skin or hair, like lice do? Can they hurt my children in any way? The good news for gardeners and their families (including furry friends) is…
Have you ever gone out to your garden and realized that one of your plants was covered in aphids? Maybe you missed the early signs of infestation, or maybe you left town for a trip or vacation and came back to an aphid-infested plant. Whatever the reason, if you’ve got a plant with aphids, you’re…
If you’ve ever dealt with aphids, you’ve likely seen black and green varieties since those are the most common aphid colors. But have you ever seen white or whitish bugs–by themselves, in clusters, or scattered among black and green aphids–and wondered if they were aphids too? Adult aphids are rarely white, but aphid nymphs and…
I’ve written at length about the arrival of black aphids in my garden last summer—and the kinds of damage they did to my okra plants—but I noticed something interesting recently. This year, I decided to grow a red okra variety (called Red Velvet), and as I was harvesting some of the red pods, I saw…
If you’ve been gardening for any time at all, you’ve likely had aphids in your garden, even if you didn’t realize it at the time. These little pests show up out of nowhere, reproduce exponentially, and cluster around your plants’ leaves and flowers. If you’ve seen clusters of little black bugs on your plants, you…
I recently built my first cinder block garden bed, and ever since then, I’ve been a big fan of using cinder blocks in lieu of wood or metal for raised garden beds. They’re inexpensive, they’re long-lasting, and they’re safe for home gardens. But have you ever looked at cinder blocks in your local home improvement…
Last year, I decided that I wanted to build a raised garden bed against a wooden fence in my backyard. Those amazing metal Vego beds would have been perfect, but I couldn’t spend that kind of cash at the time, so I was looking for an alternative that was more durable than wood but also…
If you’ve thought about building a raised garden bed using cinder blocks, have you ever stopped to wonder, “What plants can I grow in cinder block holes?” I was in one of the big home improvement stores earlier this year, and I asked myself that very thing while loading cinder blocks onto my metal push…
I’ve been gardening for 10+ years, and in all that time, there are few pests that annoy me as much as spider mites. They arrive unnoticed, reproduce exponentially, drain plants of their cellular juices, and spin wispy webs in order to hitch a ride to other corners of your property (and beyond). One week, your…
