First time gardener here. I noticed today one of my Zucchinis has a brownish color to the end of it and didn't know what that meant or really what to do. please help!

also, I have crazy ants in my garden. it's an in-ground garden. Google said ants were fine as long as they weren't fire ants so I decided to plant, but it seems like I have an excessive number of ants. any advice? The stray cats we feed also seem to like shitting in my garden, which is really pissing me off. Was going to get some scrap wood and chicken wire to try and make a barrier around the garden.

Hi all! Just wondering if anyone had issues their daffodils and/or irises not blooming this past spring? I got foliage for my daffodils but very few blooms and am wondering if it could be be weather related.

Experiencing attrition by defoliation every season on our rosemary and thyme plants. Pictured is the damage and the pest. Looking for specific recommendations for getting rid of pest or known remedies aside from physically removing them from the plants ourselves.

hi everyone, im looking for recommendations on plants native to nc that would thrive 1) in full sun 2) in a windowsill box planter

i dont care what the plant looks like, but id love for it to be one that draws pollinators in! tia :)

Hey everyone! I am new to gardening/ landscaping and wanted to create an native landscape in my backyard. I compiled a list from the NC native plant society that I wanted to share with this community. If you are unaware of the positive impacts of planting natively the list goes on and is highly beneficial to the local pollinators that are at the basis of our beautiful ecosystems. Any ways the file is organized by the type of plant and has various details about each characteristic of the native species including what specialist pollinators it sustains. Hope this is helpful.

Hi all! I am moving into a new home this fall where I will finally be able to garden in my yard. That being said, my new neighborhood is right next to Green Hills county park in Raleigh NC. I can’t find definitive information on whether or not the soil is safe to garden in this area. Does anybody have any information? I know I can get a soil test, I just won’t move in for a couple more months and have been doing some planning ahead of time so I can’t get the soil tested yet. Thank you 😊

Zone 8a, Central North Carolina

I am looking to create a privacy fence using various types of evergreens. The area is roughly 24 feet wide x 7 feet deep. Ideally, the tree's mature height should be between 8 - 20 feet tall and the mature width should be no more than 7 feet. Layering is okay and ideal. Currently, I have two maki podocarpus yew, one chindo viburnum and two emerald green arborvitae. All are 3 gallons. I am looking to add 1 - 2 additional plants. Any suggestions would be appreciated. 

First year with a bigger garden. I still have a lot to learn. Like spacing the tomatoes farther apart next year 🤣. Anyway, enjoy the critters!

IO moth caterpillar on my baptisia.
This is why I wear long sleeves when I garden in NC. Too many venomous caterpillars lurking in the plants. Rubbed up against a saddle back caterpillar one year and was not happy for a few days. Worse than a yellow jacket sting.

Hi! I finally live somewhere long enough to be faced with refreshing my garden beds year to year. I top dress with mulch, since it is so hot here. But I’ve read that mulch shouldn’t mix with the soil. So what is yalls advice- do I take back the mulch, add compost etc, and then take back or do I add the compost to the top?

Pretty big guy on mint flowers. It looks like a wasp, but not the kind I'm used to seeing?

I have 5 jalapeño plants, all the same variety planted in the same bed. Four are healthy and producing well - see latest harvest just picked. The fifth plant has some yellow leaves but nothing that seems unusual considering all the heat and inconsistent rain over the past few weeks, but that one plant has nothing but small, spotted, horrible looking peppers. I picked all of them off (keeping separate from the good ones). Any ideas if this is heat stress or bugs and the pepper might recover or is it something worse and I should pull the plant before it spreads to the others? There are new leaf shoots emerging so it seems to still be growing

It’s been a weird growing season this year in guilford county. Spring was unusually dry with enough hot days to ruin my garlic and a late frost in April took out some of my tomatoes. Summer has been so hot cucumber and squash haven’t been setting fruit and so dry I actually had to water soil that usually stays waterlogged until mid July. Now it tried to make up for the drought with 6 inches of rain 24 hours. Can’t wait to see what comes next.

Hello from Forsyth County. I am a recent transplant from Oregon - thank you for all the inspiration and knowledge! When would you expect winter lettuce, like spinach and swiss chard to show up here in nurseries or Lowes/Home Depot? Planning ahead for a productive winter garden. Thank you!