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.
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Starting Peppers Indoors in January on the Cheap
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.
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January Seed Catalogs: What to Order (And What to Skip)
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.
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Cold Frames on the Cheap: Keep Greens Alive
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.
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Planning Your 2026 Vegetable Garden in December
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.
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Vegetables That Don’t Quit When It Gets Hot
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.
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Cheap Cover Crops That Pay You Back in Spring
Leaving garden beds bare over winter is a slow way to wreck the soil you spent all season building. Cover crops fix that for almost nothing. Here’s what works in zone 8b and how to get it in the ground this month.
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Blossom End Rot Won’t Take My Tomatoes Again
Blossom end rot wiped out half my tomato harvest last year. Turns out it’s mostly a watering problem, and fixing it costs almost nothing if you know where to look.
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Starting Onions and Leeks Indoors for Almost Nothing
Bought onion starts last year and half of them melted before they hit the ground. This year I started my own from seed for less than the cost of that bundle, using a salad clamshell and a shop light. Here’s the whole cheap setup.
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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.
