pest management

I used to pile straw right up to the stem of my tomatoes to keep the soil damp: when I pulled the mulch back a month later, I understood what was eating the base

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I used to pile straw right up to the stem of my tomatoes to keep the soil damp: when I pulled the mulch back a month later...

That innocent pile of straw against your tomato stem is quietly rotting the plant from the ground up. Within weeks, crown rot softens the tissue, attracting slugs, pillbugs, and cutworms that finish what fungal pathogens started. The fix is simpler than you think—but the details matter more than most gardeners realize.

I spread eggshells around my lettuce for years to keep slugs away: the morning I watched one cross the barrier, I understood why my plants kept getting eaten

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I spread eggshells around my lettuce for years to keep slugs away: the morning I watched one cross the barrier, I understo...

For years, gardeners scattered crushed eggshells around lettuce believing the sharp edges would deter slugs. But one observation changed everything: watching a slug glide effortlessly across the barrier revealed what researchers have known all along—eggshells don’t work. Science now offers better solutions.