It may seem counter-intuitive for a gardener to actually plant what must be the world’s commonest weed. But dandelions have lots of culinary potential, they feed pollinators, and they cultivate the soil with their long taproots. Latin Tarataxacum officinale Family:...
Continue ReadingDo you run a market garden or a small organic farm? Are you growing any West Coast Seeds products? Send us some photos! Use your cell camera or your fancy SLR, but take some pictures and send them our way....
Continue ReadingIn our 2015 Growing Guide is Brian Campbell on Pollination and Bee Diversity: Lack of pollination is an unfortunate trend in the plant world. In the late 1960s, the first global review of pollination deficit was conducted. At the time,...
Continue ReadingHere is all the information you need on how to grow hops. Hops make a dramatic addition to ornamental gardens. Highly decorative, fast growing, trouble free, and cold hardy, hops give a flare and interest to gardens that few other...
Continue ReadingWhether you intend on planting potatoes in a garden trench, in containers, or even in your unused parking lot stall at work, your key to success is an understanding of how potato plants grow. The little spud that you plant...
Continue ReadingTrue zucchinis are evenly narrow along their length, and they are long – never round. We include summer pumpkins here as “round zucchinis” because they are so similar in growth habit and usefulness. Zucchinis that develop a bulbous end where the...
Continue ReadingGrowing Sprouts from Seed Home grown sprouts are easy to grow and fast to sprout. You can grow them in a mason jar, in a kitchen sieve, or in one of several specialized sprouters. Follow along with this handy How to Grow...
Continue ReadingPotatoes are important to the self-sufficient gardener and the gourmet gardener. Easy to grow, highly nutritious and there is a variety for every use in the kitchen. Kids of all ages love to grow potatoes. Some are for baking, some...
Continue ReadingUse this page to learn how to grow garlic. Garlic is a very economical crop to grow because it takes up very little space. Once it is harvested it keeps for months. And then some of the harvest can be...
Continue ReadingLacy, beautiful fennel plants grace planter boxes and the delicate leaves are lovely in salads. Like dill and parsley, the flowers of fennel are intensely attractive to beneficial insects. Grow fennel in a sunny position in well-drained loamy soil. If your...
Continue ReadingCover cropping is a seasonal process in every well-managed sustainable garden or farm. Planting cover crop seeds is easy. Useful in weed suppression, they are important in building soil structure and add nutrients and organic matter to soils. Many of the...
Continue ReadingBroad beans are a member of the pea family, and are one of the oldest known cultivated plants. Broad beans are also known many other names: fava beans, Windsor beans, faba bean, and horse beans. Follow along with this handy How to...
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