Putting Strawberries to Bed for Winter
Strawberries need a little fall prep to survive a Pacific Northwest winter without losing crowns to freeze-thaw heaving. Here’s what to do in September before the real cold hits, and it won’t cost you much.
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Pot Up Herbs Before Frost and Get Free Cuttings
Before the first frost hits, potting up tender herbs like rosemary, parsley, and chives takes about twenty minutes and saves you from buying new plants next spring. This covers how to dig them up, take free cuttings, and actually keep them alive on a winter windowsill without overwatering them to death.
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Overwintering Onion Sets for a Bigger Summer Harvest
Planting overwintering onion sets in early fall gives you a head start that spring planting can’t match. Here’s how to space them, mulch them through a wet winter, and end up with genuinely big bulbs by summer.
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Fall Raspberry Prep Without Spending Much
September is the window for fall raspberry prep in the Pacific Northwest, and it closes fast. A little cane cleanup, some free mulch, and smart watering now means a much better harvest next summer.
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Sow Spinach Late August for a Spring Harvest
Sowing spinach in late August sounds like a weird idea until April when you’re harvesting greens and your neighbors are still waiting on their seeds. Here’s how to time it right, pick the best overwintering varieties, and get a jump on spring with almost no effort.
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August Seed Starting in the PNW: Don’t Skip Fall
August isn’t just harvest season in the PNW. It’s the second seed-starting season most people skip entirely. Here’s what to sow now for fresh greens all fall and into winter, including why your cold-weather kale will taste way better than the stuff you grew in June.
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Direct Sow Asian Greens in Late Summer for Fall
Bok choy, tatsoi, mizuna, and komatsuna are some of the fastest vegetables you can grow, and fall is actually the best time to sow them. Direct seeding in late summer means they mature in cool conditions instead of bolting, and succession sowing every two weeks stretches the harvest deep into fall.
