Now we’re just three weeks away from the longest day of the year (summer solstice on June 21st), so the soil is warm enough to plant squash and bean seeds. Even in colder climates...
As far as the calendar is concerned, spring is half over, despite the sense for many of us in 2017 that is yet to begin! There are still dozens of seeds to start in...
There are plenty of options for seeds that thrive when sown in late summer. The average first frost date for regions like Lower Mainland BC and neighbouring areas (Sunshine Coast, Gulf Islands, coastal Vancouver Island, Puget...
In milder climates, gardeners can make use of the lengthy winter months through a gardening technique known as overwintering. This method involves planting crops in the summer and fall, then leaving them in the...
Who says your garden's bounty has to be a summer-only affair? There's a cornucopia of seeds just waiting to burst into life in July, especially in areas that enjoy milder winters. Many of these...
Everybody can grow a salad green garden. Small space gardeners, low-light gardeners, even indoor gardeners can plant seeds to grow a continuous supply of salad through the gardening season. Watch the video below to...
West Coast Seeds has conducted significant research into the companion planting guidelines and has defined the best possible results and reasons for each of our recommendations in our companion planting chart, below are a...
Enjoy tasty, succulent, spinach-like leaves all summer, after regular spinach varieties have all bolted. This oddball's closest relatives in the family Aizoacea include some of the most familiar succulent houseplants. It is grown as an...
The trick to growing spinach is to grow it fast and harvest it fast, and use the right varieties in the right season. Spinach bolts as the days get long and when the soil gets hot....
Crop rotation is the practice of not growing plants where similar plants grew the previous year. Crop rotation prevents the build up of pests and diseases and optimizes the use of soil nutrients. Plants from...
In a relatively short growing season, we need to grow most food crops in a fairly intense way. We need to select crops that mature quickly. Some crops, like mescluns and salad greens grow so...
Here's our list of seeds to start in August for fall and winter harvests. These fast-growing seeds are cold hardy, and will thrive as the nights get cooler in late August and September. Check...
Spinach also contains oxalic acid, which inhibits the absorption of iron by the body. The availability of iron in spinach is increased if it is eaten with foods rich in vitamin C and calcium,...
Some vegetable varieties thrive in the cool conditions of fall and early winter, and offered a bit of protection from extreme cold, they can be harvested right through until spring. The best winter gardening...
The plant above is spinach, and it’s getting ready to bolt. As we approach the summer solstice, the spring garden is transformed into something quite different. Various plants begin to behave in new ways....
These instructions will help you plan your garden, making a cloche greenhouse configuration, choose your covering material and pipe frame. Then they will help you set up your greenhouse and make the very best...
Winter is finally over, and spring has arrived. It’s time to plant seeds! Many gardeners make the mistake of thinking of seed planting as a one time, annual event, as though it was something...
Back on Day 2 of our Twenty-one Days of Green, we talked about planting chives. We chose chives because they have to be among the very simplest of all herbs to grow from seed....
Preserving Summer Morning chill and shorter daylight hours signify the slowing down of the summer garden. We harvest and share the last of our favourites – tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, corn, peppers, but we also...
There are many combinations of plants for interplanting – which combination suits your needs the most? One way of maximizing the return from garden space is to interplant crops. This is the practice of...
