How do you know when to harvest potatoes in fall? Although you can harvest new potatoes a few weeks after the plants have flowered in late summer, spuds grown for winter storage should be harvested 2 to 3 weeks after the foliage has browned and died back to the ground…
How do you know when to harvest your squash? Harvest time depends on which varieties you are growing and how you want to use them. For starters, summer and winter squash need to be harvested before the first hard frost as the cold will kill plants and damage fruit. Although…
With the warm August days, it is hard to imagine eating fresh spinach out of your snow-covered cold frame right now. However, August and September is the time to plant cold frames in order to have a winter harvest. The idea is to get plants started in late summer and…
Transplants or seedlings started in containers are a great way to get an early start in the vegetable garden especially in short season climates. If you are ready to plant the transplants you purchased from a nursery or the ones you started on your own several weeks ago, watch my…
Now that spring is upon us, I can’t wait to get out in the vegetable garden and get things growing! If you are new to gardening and/or growing veggies from seed for the first time here are some basic tips for planting vegetable seeds. For starters, select the crops you…
How do you know when to plant your potatoes? Spuds can be planted in spring once the soil can be worked. However, they won’t start growing until soil temperatures reach 45°. A good soil thermometer works wonders in planning and timing potatoes and other vegetables in your garden! The soil…
In June 2015, April and I purchased our first home in Central Oregon. The house was built on land once occupied by a farmer but had now been developed into a suburban neighborhood offering the American Dream to over 51 families. Like so many new housing developments, our vacant-lot-of-a-backyard was…