The Dance of the Veggies P2: Crop Rotation

Many gardeners have heard that crop rotation is a good idea, but there’s a lot of confusion out there over how to make it happen. Especially when you’re working with a city-sized space or a container garden, a lot of advice you’ll find out there can sound impossible to follow. But, once you understand the…

Read More

Seeds at Sky: Local, Organic, Sustainable & Beyond

It’s time to think about seeds! Here in the Pacific Northwest, many vegetable and summer flower seeds can be sown indoors starting in February to get a jump start on the season. The hardiest spring veggies can even be sown right into the ground by early March. As you begin to consult seed planting charts…

Read More

Pest Damage ID Part 2: Who’s Discoloring My Leaves?

Pest damage isn’t always as obvious as holes in your leaves. In our last pest damage ID post, we covered the most common insect pests that chew or rasp away at plant leaves. This time, we’re taking a look at some more subtle culprits: those that suck the juices right out of your plants like…

Read More

Celebrate Summer: Inspiration for Garden Gatherings

A garden party of any size can be a wonderful way to celebrate the season of abundance. Many of us are yearning for a little jubilation now more than ever, and a garden is the perfect place to make those memories. At the same time, we may be keeping our gatherings smaller, and looking for…

Read More

Pest Damage ID Part 1: Who’s chewing holes in my leaves?

If you garden long enough, sooner or later some pest is going to break your heart. Maybe your freshly emerged seedlings will be mowed down to the ground, your favorite flowers will emerge twisted and discolored, or you’ll find an entire shrub defoliated in a matter of days. There are many wonderful and rewarding things…

Read More

Harvest Season is Every Season: Don’t Miss These Early Bonus Crops

Most of us have been trained to think in terms of linear systems, and new vegetable gardeners often start out trying to garden in a straight line: plant in the spring, water through the summer, harvest in the fall, wait out the winter, then purchase new seeds or seedlings and start over. There’s a lot…

Read More

Natural Slug & Snail Management

Ah, springtime in the garden. Bulbs are blooming, bumblebees are buzzing, and mollusks are slowly stirring beneath the mulch.  Wait…. what? Slugs and snails — land-based cousins of marine mollusks like clams — are very much part of our garden ecosystems. Like most of the small animals that call our gardens home, they spend the…

Read More

5 Weeds 5 Ways

As you prepare your beds for spring planting, you may find yourself yanking out a whole lot of green stuff. From dandelions to shot-weed, uninvited guests proliferate in our gardens before we have even finished sketching out our garden plans.  These hardy wild plants earn their unsavory reputations as “weeds” because they tend to shoulder…

Read More