Cheap Spring Garden Bed Prep With Compost and Mulch
Spring garden bed prep in the Pacific Northwest doesn’t have to cost much. Free city compost, wood chip deliveries, and shredded leaves can get your beds ready for planting without spending a lot.
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Feed Your Vegetables at the Right Time, Not Just Any Time
Fertilizing at the wrong time can give you huge leafy plants with almost no fruit. Here’s when to feed your vegetables at each stage, from planting through harvest, and why the timing actually matters.
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Last Frost Dates and When to Transplant Seedlings
Knowing when to transplant seedlings outdoors in the Pacific Northwest is part science, part weather-watching, and part learning from the flat of tomatoes you killed in late April. Here’s how to time it right without losing your whole spring to one cold night.
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Direct Sowing Cool Season Crops This April
Cool season crops like peas, lettuce, spinach, and radishes want to go straight into the ground this time of year. Here’s how to direct sow all of them in April in the Pacific Northwest without spending much or overthinking it.
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Hardening Off Seedlings Without Killing Them First
I killed a flat of tomatoes once by putting them straight outside. Full sun, first day, two hours. This is how to not do that. Hardening off seedlings takes about ten days and a little patience, which is the hard part.
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Don’t Throw Away Your Thinnings
I threw away handfuls of baby lettuce for two full seasons before my wife pointed out that people pay good money for microgreens. Thinning your seedlings isn’t a chore, it’s an early harvest. Here’s what’s worth eating and how to actually do it.
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Slug Season: Winning the Slime War for Cheap
April in the Pacific Northwest means the slugs are back and hungry. Here’s how to protect your spring garden from slugs, aphids, and cabbage worms without spending much more than a few minutes and a little dish soap.
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Vegetable Gardening for Beginners: Start Here
Killed a zucchini my first year. That’s where we’re starting. Here’s what actually matters when you’re new to vegetable gardening and living in the Pacific Northwest.
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Hardening Off Seedlings Without Killing Them
I lost a whole flat of tomato seedlings to hardening off once. Not to frost, not to slugs, just to one overconfident afternoon in April. Here’s how to do it right, cheap, with whatever you already have in the garage.
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Waking Up Your Strawberry Bed in Early Spring
March strawberry beds look rough, but they’re usually fine. Here’s how to clean them up, feed them right, and get out of the way before June fruit sets in.
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February Is Brassica Time (Don’t Sleep On It)
February feels too early to start seeds, but for broccoli and cabbage it’s exactly right. Here’s how to get brassicas going indoors in the Pacific Northwest without spending much or messing up the timing.
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Yes, You Can Direct Sow in February
February in Redmond feels like the wrong time to be planting anything. But zone 8b soil temps say otherwise. Here’s what actually goes in the ground right now, and why waiting for spring is leaving food on the table.
