Over these last two gardening seasons, white flies have annihilated my pumpkin and squash plants! At first I figured it was just me, as I’m not that experienced at growing pumpkins or squash…but no. Oh no, it’s the work of these little annoying and destructive flies: White Flies. This year I am determined to conquer them and save my pumpkin plants. This post shares some interventions I have used and what I’ve learned about about the pesky white fly. Continue reading
Category Archives: gardening





Winter Garden & How to Build a Basic Planter Box
I was so excited about our winter garden this year and wanted to share it with you! A while ago we made some new planter boxes (a super basic and easy design – see video below). I love doing a winter garden every year, as I have great success with peas, carrots, and lettuce. But this year I finally grew beets! And broccoli! And cabbage! and *sort of* onions/leeks. I garden in a fairly small space but still we have such fun and the kids LOVE it. I live in Northern California where we have mild winters and blazing hot summers. In fact, summer gardens around here go until early/mid November, then I switch over to the winter crops. But really, it’s never too late to start a garden…with a little research, you can find any crop to grow anytime of the year. Winter gardens are just so fun! Mother nature provides the rain and those delicious root veggies grow and grow in the frosty cold weather – lettuce thrives and the peas go crazy. And I love seeing all the green leaves popping up during those cold winter months. I’ve included some pictures for you of my gorgeous beets (first time growing!) and a few other winter crops. I’ve also included my video on how to build the simple planter boxes we use. Enjoy and let me know what you like to plant during the winter…or anytime. xo, Amber.





Whiteflies were a problem on some indoor plants and I found the the yellow sticky cards worked pretty well. When they got pretty well covered (a month or so), I’d scrape the goo(and flies) off and apply another coat. I also used a vacuum cleaner to catch them. The two techniques together seemed to work well enough. Outdoors, I tried the yellow cards with some success, but didn’t really get rid of them. Good luck.
Agreed. The sticky pads are great for indoors. I found them to be less helpful outdoors due to the elements (heat, wind, water). I will keep at it.