Independent gardening advice for real gardens, balconies and windowsills.
Practical guides on soil, composting, watering, seeds, pests and the everyday skills that make a garden thrive.
The large-growing sorts are set as much as six by eight feet apart, though with careful staking and pruning they may be comfortably handled in less space. The smaller sorts need about four by six. Whe...
Location April May June July Aug. Sept. Oct. Eureka, CA 3.0 2.1 0.7 0.1 0.3 0.7 3.2 Medford, OR 1.0 1.4 0.98 0.3 0.3 0.6 2.1 Eugene, OR 2.3 2.1 1.3 0.3 0.6 1.3 4.0 Portland, OR 2.2 2.1 1.6 0.5 0.8 1.6...
Soaking seeds before sowing is another water-wise technique, especially useful later in the season. At bedtime, place the seeds in a half-pint mason jar, cover with a square of plastic window screen h...
With cucurbits, germination depends on high-enough soil temperature and not too much moisture. Squash are the most chill and moisture tolerant, melons the least. Here's a failure-proof and simple tech...
This beautifully prepared garden spot--or rather the plant food in it-- is to be transformed into good things for your table, through the ever wonderful agency of plant growth. The thread of life inhe...
Much of the above is applicable also to the starting of plants out-of- doors, for second and for succession crops, such as celery and late cabbage. Select for the outside seed-bed the most thoroughly...
First, you should know why a maritime Northwest raised-bed gardener named Steve Solomon became worried about his dependence on irrigation. I'm from Michigan. I moved to Lorane, Oregon, in April 1978 a...
_Sowing date:_ Having warm-enough soil is everything. At Elkton I first attempt squash about April 15. In the Willamette, May 1 is usual. Farther north, squash may not come up until June 1. Dry garden...
Observing the condition of wild plants can reveal a good site to garden without much irrigation. Where Himalaya or Evergreen blackberries grow 2 feet tall and produce small, dull-tasting fruit, there...