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.
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.
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.
Yogurt cups, toilet paper rolls, egg cartons. You’re probably already throwing away the best seed starting containers you could use. Here’s what actually works and what has let me down.
Haven’t started your garden yet and feeling behind? You’re not. Here’s a quick, cheap plan for Pacific Northwest beginners to get growing in April with seeds and transplants you can grab this weekend.
Hugelkultur beds sound complicated but they’re really just buried wood piles that feed and water your garden for years. Here’s how they work, what to use, and the one mistake to avoid in year one.
Some plants just don’t need you that much, and in a busy summer that’s worth knowing. Here are the drought tolerant edibles that keep producing even when your watering schedule falls apart.
That grocery store basil bundle is basically a free propagation kit. Propagating plants from cuttings is easier than it sounds, and one $1.99 bundle can turn into 6 to 10 plants with just a jar of water and a bright windowsill.
I threw away banana peels and coffee grounds every day for years before I finally connected the dots. Making compost from kitchen scraps is actually free, not just cheap, and the setup costs nothing if you do it right.
No yard? No problem. Container vegetable gardening on a patio or balcony can actually outperform in-ground beds for the right crops. Here’s how to set it up cheap and keep things alive all season.
You don’t need a trip to the lumber yard to build raised beds. Scrap wood, cull boards, cinder blocks, and a little scrounging can get you a solid 4×8 bed for well under $50. Here’s how I’ve done it, including the mistakes.
The Pacific Northwest practically builds hugelkultur beds for you every winter. Fallen branches, soggy leaves, free organic material everywhere. Here’s how to bury it all under your raised bed and let it work for you all summer long.