Cheap Spring Pest Control for Slugs and Aphids
April in the Pacific Northwest means slugs, aphids, and something chewing your seedlings overnight. Here’s how to handle the most common spring garden pests without spending much money.
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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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Build a Hugelkultur Bed for Free with Yard Waste
Got a pile of rotting wood and a mountain of leaves going nowhere? You’re halfway to a hugelkultur bed. Here’s how to build one for free with nothing but yard waste and a little patience.
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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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Bury Your Tomatoes Deep. Like, Really Deep.
Burying your tomato transplants deep gives them a massive root system boost with zero extra cost. Here’s how to do it right, and why leggy seedlings are actually an advantage.
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When to Transplant Tomatoes
In zone 8b, tomatoes want soil that’s consistently 60 degrees before transplanting, and April in Redmond almost never gets you there. Here’s how to check, how to speed it up a little, and why the calendar is not your friend.
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Don’t Rush Your Tomatoes (They Will Remember)
April in Redmond feels like spring but the soil hasn’t gotten the memo yet. Here’s why rushing your tomato transplants costs you time instead of saving it, and the one number worth checking before you dig that hole.
