October has arrived, and the South Dakota landscape is putting on one last colorful show before winter takes over. The leaves are turning, and the mornings are getting cooler. Gardeners are starting to wonder how many more nice days we…
You can see fall coming. The tomatoes that once stood tall and proud are now leaning in every direction, looking like they’ve had a long week. The pepper plants are still producing, apparently unaware that frost is just around the…
In the garden this week (Sept. 12, 2026), fall is on its way. It is a good time to start thinking about protecting some of the plants in your yard before winter arrives. A few things you can do now…
In the garden this week (Sept. 3, 2026), if your lawn has a few bare or thin areas, now is a good time to reseed them. The cooler temperatures and typically more favorable moisture conditions of fall can give new…
I’ve been getting quite a few questions about tomatoes lately, so let’s start in the garden this week. One problem gardeners are noticing is small worms tunneling into green tomatoes. These are tomato fruit worms, and they can grow to…
I’ve been getting a lot of questions in the garden lately about vegetables that are blooming but are not producing. If your garden seems to be taking its time this year, don’t worry, you aren’t alone. With vining crops like…
With the hot, windy weather we’ve been having, now is not the time to reach for the weed killer in the garden. If you’ve got weeds popping up in the garden, flowerbeds, or lawn, your best option right now is…
One disease making an appearance this week in the garden (July 9, 2026) is fire blight, especially on apple, pear, and crabapple trees. Fire blight is a bacterial disease that causes young shoots and leaves to suddenly wilt. Then turn…
In the garden this week, if you’ve spent any time outside lately, you’ve probably noticed one thing, they’re everywhere. Grasshoppers are having a banner year, especially in rural areas. They seem to be chewing on just about everything from flowers…
One of the more noticeable insects in the garden this week is the soldier beetle. If you’ve been seeing large numbers of them moving from alfalfa fields and pastures into flower beds and vegetable gardens, don’t be alarmed. These are…
In the garden this week, received some much-needed rain last week. With that, some people received some hail. With it being early in the garden season, I would just replant those annuals and garden plants that got hit. It is…
If you are lucky enough to have fruit showing up on your fruit trees this year, now is the time to thin the fruit out a little. It can feel wrong to remove perfectly good fruit, but your apples, peaches,…
In the garden this week is planting time. When you’re planting flowers, it’s a good idea to pinch off any blossoms before putting them in the ground. It feels a little backwards, but it helps the plant focus on what…
This week in the garden (May 7), after a couple of hard freezes this week, the garden season can finally start rolling. The soil is warming up enough now for cool-season crops, so it’s a good time to get radishes,…
This week in the garden (May 1st) is starting out pleasantly after the rainfall. There have been several questions lately about rhubarb bolting so early this season. What you’re seeing is the plant sending up seed stalks, and it’s mainly…