Time for a Little Garden Tough Love 🌱

     I hope I don’t offend ya—but we’ve got to quit being lazy in the garden. This is the stage of the season where tough, precise decisions need to be made. When a plant’s done, don’t baby it. Pull it up and move on.

     I’ve been guilty myself—leaving squash plants in the ground thinking I might get just one or two more. But let’s be honest... I probably won’t. And leaving them there only gives disease and pests like vine borers and squash bugs a comfy place to settle in.

     You can dramatically reduce your pest pressure just by removing their habitat and food source. It’s not just smart—it’s necessary. Here are some housekeeping strategies to help keep your garden healthy and productive:

After Squash, Cucumbers & Pumpkins:
Pull those plants as soon as you're done harvesting. Then rework the soil and plant a monocot cover crop like Sorghum Sudan grass or Brown Top Millet. These will help break the pest cycle for squash bugs and vine borers.

After Sweet Corn:
Mow and remove stalks while they’re still green. Once they dry, they become tough and hard to manage. Follow up with a round of Autumn Beauty Mix sunflowers—they’ll soak up leftover nutrients and add beautiful color to your garden.

After Melons:
This one’s tough, even for me. But when they’re done, move on—melons host several diseases. Plant summer cover crops like Red Ripper Peas, Sunn Hemp, Sorghum Sudan, Iron Clay Peas, or Brown Top Millet to starve out pathogens and reduce disease pressure.

Got Weeds That Took Over?
Work the area up before those weeds go to seed. Buckwheat is a great fast-growing cover crop that outcompetes weeds and shades them out.

After Spring Peas or Beans:
Pull them quick—don’t give pea curculio or rust a place to linger. Then plant California Giants Zinnia Mix. It’s affordable, full of color, a feast for pollinators, and helps break pest cycles.

Gardening is a lot like keeping a house: a little cleanliness and consistency makes everything run smoother.

So roll up those sleeves and give your garden the cleanup it deserves. It’ll thank you later.

Get Dirty,

Greg