What to Start from Seed in June (PNW)
June is when the direct-sow window finally opens wide in the Pacific Northwest. Here’s what to plant now, what to skip, and why timing matters more than enthusiasm.
-
-
Melons and Squash: Start Inside or Just Direct Sow?
Starting cucurbits indoors sounds smart but it can backfire fast. Here’s when the head start actually matters (melons, long-season squash) and when direct sowing in late May just works better in zone 8b.
-
Grow Sweet Potato Slips from a Grocery Store Spud
One grocery store sweet potato, a jar, and some toothpicks. That’s the whole budget for growing your own sweet potato slips at home. Here’s how to do it, why it works, and when to get them in the ground in the Pacific Northwest.
-
Chit and Cut Seed Potatoes for a 2-Week Head Start
Planting seed potatoes in cold May soil without chitting them first is how you end up staring at bare ground for six weeks. Here’s how to wake them up on a windowsill, cut larger ones into chunks, cure the cut pieces so they don’t rot, and optionally dust them in wood ash before planting.
-
Microgreens on a Windowsill: Tiny Plants, Tiny Budget
Microgreens are one of the cheapest, fastest things you can grow indoors, and a south-facing windowsill in May is all you need to get started. From takeout containers to bulk seeds, here’s how to do it without spending much.
-
Lettuce Succession Plant (Or Eat Salad for a Week and Nothing for Two Months)
Planting all your lettuce at once gets you eleven days of salad and two months of nothing. Here’s how to stagger your sowings in May so you’re actually eating from the garden all summer long.
-
Cheap Grow Lights for Seedlings: What You Actually Need
Most grow light advice is aimed at people growing things indoors permanently, not folks just trying to get tomato seedlings to April without falling over. Here’s the cheap LED setup that actually works for starting seeds in a PNW winter, and what I wasted money on first.
-
Seed Snails: Perfect Spacing Every Time
Pre-spacing seeds on bubble wrap or paper strips before you head outside sounds fussy until you realize it completely eliminates thinning. Here’s how the seed snail method works and why April is the perfect time to try it with carrots, beets, and lettuce.
-
Seed Starting Mix vs Potting Soil: Why It Matters
Seed starting mix and potting soil aren’t the same thing, and using the wrong one will cost you weeks of progress. Here’s why the difference matters and how to make a cheap DIY seed starting mix with two ingredients.
-
When to Start Seeds Indoors: PNW Zone 8b Guide
If you’re in zone 8b around the PNW, knowing when to start seeds indoors makes the difference between a great transplant and a leggy mess. Here’s the full countdown from last frost, what to start when, and what you can still do right now in April.
-
Seed Tape for Carrots (No More Thinning Regret)
Making seed tape for carrots takes about 20 minutes, costs almost nothing, and saves you from crouching over a row thinning seedlings you never wanted to thin in the first place. All you need is toilet paper, flour, and a toothpick.
-
Seed Snails: Start Seeds Without Any Pots
No pots, no cells, no squeezing seedlings out of tiny plastic trays. The seed snails method rolls your seeds up in bubble wrap or paper so you can unroll them straight into the garden at transplant time. It sounds weird. It works great.
