Your Dog or Your Dinner? How to Kill Ants in a Vegetable Garden Safe for Pets Without Poisoning Your Family

A pet-safe vegetable garden being treated for ants with diatomaceous earth.

I was out in my raised beds yesterday, trying to see if my winter kale had finally given up the ghost, and what did I find? A massive mound of dirt right at the base of my kale, crawling with enough ants to carry off a small child. It’s January 2026, and even with the … Read more

Stop Buying Junk: A Grumpy Gardener’s Real Guide to Winning the War on Squirrels

A squirrel near a wire-protected garden bed in 2026.

I was standing in my garden yesterday morning, admiring a row of freshly planted tulip bulbs, when I saw him. A fat eastern gray squirrel sat on my fence, staring me dead in the eye while casually snacking on a crocus bulb like it was a high-end appetizer. It’s January 2026, and after three decades … Read more

They Only Took One Bite! Why Squirrels Are Murdering Your Tomatoes (And How to Stop Them)

A bitten tomato on a vine with a squirrel in the background.

I walked into my garden yesterday at 6:00 AM, coffee in hand, ready to admire the big, beautiful “Celebrity” tomato I’d been babying for three months. What did I find? A massacre. It was sitting on the soil, half-ripe, with one—just one—giant, jagged bite taken out of the side. The rest was left to rot. … Read more