u/Optimal_Guidance9030

I’ve never see this kind of bug before, could use some help identifying what it is? In zone 6b

First fruit from my tomato vines are growing nice, but I’m noticing issues at the bottom of some.

I’ve been watering daily in the morning over the past week since it’s gotten very hot. Before that I would water every ~3 days or so, until the top of the soil was a little dry.

I’ve heard of blossom end rot but idk if that’s what this is?? One of them seems to be splitting at the end? Help!

I’m a first time gardener dealing with an aphid infestation. I’ve seen people say Castile soap can be used to treat them, but I already have this mild dish soap I use for my wooden cutting board. Could it also be used as a treatment for aphids?

I’m in zone 6b

The pepper was forming but it looks like the end of the stem died and disconnected.

I thoroughly watered the tomatoes last night and some of the leaves stiffened up but others didn’t.

Does anyone know why either of these things would be happening?

This is a pot of wildflowers I threw together a few months ago from seed. I hadn’t never done anything like that before, so I feel I planted too much. Either way, these caterpillars are showing up. What are they?

It seems like they’re eating the flower heads and some of the leaves. I saw 3 total, and was able to remove two from the pot.

I’m also am concerned about them migrating/moving toward my veggie garden.

Not sure what I should do with these bell peppers. They were transplanted into a 14” pot 2 weeks ago, now finally starting to grow upwards after spreading leaves out pretty wide. It’s started to show baby flower buds and I’m not sure the best strategy for pruning, it’s also growing quite a bit off the main stem. Any advice or insight would be appreciated!

Planted in their permanent 10 gallon pot 2 weeks ago, already flowering and growing significantly (they’ve no less than doubled, maybe tripled in size). I’m not sure if I should prune the flowers or not to let the tomato’s keep focusing on growth?

I have a balcony garden where I’m using containers, primarily west facing which is why I have the sunshade The tomatoes are heirlooms in a 16” wide x 14” deep pot. The bell peppers are in a 14” wide x 13” deep pot. I’m going to adjust the cages on the tomatoes (already have two new ones so they can get proper support), but I’m especially curious about companion planting in containers?

If you have any other general tips/advice all help is appreciated!

I have a pot of wildflowers placed in my balcony garden. This morning I noticed that there were portions of leaves from one flower stem that seemed to be eaten. What could this be from and do I need to be concerned? I’ve never gardened before, so I’m learning as I go, I also noticed something somewhat similar on one of my basil plants!

Purchased this Staghorn a month ago and it’s been doing great so far, but going to water today I noticed a significant amount of pests on one leaf that I then cut off with sterile scissors. I then thoroughly inspected the entire plant twice and removed every bug I could see. Most bugs were scattered throughout the leaves individually, with a few patches of multiple bugs. Some small black bugs (like in the first pictures) were also found but far less common, a few of them were moving and I killed them with a q-tip dipped in hydrogen peroxide. While I’m fairly confident I got all or almost all of the bugs on the leaves, I’m sure I could’ve missed a few and am almost certain there’s more of the smaller black bugs in there that I couldn’t see. I haven’t treated the soil with anything yet and am waiting to water it in case it does need a soil treatment.

I’ve never had an issue with this kind of pest before, so I’m not sure how to identify it or properly treat it and need some help!

Sits indoors near a west facing window that gets some direct light in the evenings and indirect throughout the day.