You can start potatoes from kitchen scraps or cheap seed potatoes and get a solid harvest either way. April is the right time in the Pacific Northwest, and the whole operation can cost almost nothing if you know what to cut.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Peppers need 10 to 14 weeks indoors before transplant, which means starting them now in January if you’re in the Pacific Northwest. Here’s how to get a solid cheap grow light setup going without spending more than you have to.
January catalogs are dangerous if you don’t have a plan. Here’s how to figure out what to actually order before the glossy photos talk you into six kinds of squash you don’t need.
Losing a whole flat of spinach to a surprise freeze will change your priorities fast. Here’s how to protect your greens through a PNW winter without spending much at all, using row cover, scrap-wood cold frames, and old milk jugs.
December in Redmond is the best time to plan next year’s vegetable garden, before seed catalogs sell out and February sneaks up on you. Here’s how to map your beds, decide what to start from seed, and actually set yourself up for a better 2026 harvest.
July in Redmond means bolting lettuce and a garden full of regret. Here’s what’s actually thriving in the heat right now, plus what you can still direct sow this month to get something out of the rest of summer.