Growing vegetables using grow boxes, LEDs, computers, and great soil
The post Free Crop Rotation Planning With a Paper Map appeared first on The Cheap Vegetable Gardener . I planted tomatoes in the same bed for four years and couldn't figure out why they kept struggling. The fix was free and took twenty minutes. Here's the simple four-group crop rotation system I use and the paper map method that actually makes it stick year to year.
The post Saving Bean and Pea Seeds: The Lazy Way appeared first on The Cheap Vegetable Gardener . Saving bean and pea seeds is the laziest seed saving in the garden, and I mean that as a compliment. One dry afternoon in August gets you a hundred seeds for next year. Here's exactly how to do it.
The post Soil pH Fall Brassicas: Fix It Now for Better Crops appeared first on The Cheap Vegetable Gardener . Broccoli the size of golf balls taught me a hard lesson about soil pH. If your brassicas and beets underperformed this year, fall is the time to test and apply lime so it actually has time to work before spring planting.
The post How to Save Pepper Seeds from Your Best Plants appeared first on The Cheap Vegetable Gardener . Saving pepper seeds is easier than you think, and August is exactly when to start. Let one fruit go fully red, scrape the seeds, dry them on a plate for a week, and store in labeled envelopes. Here's how to do it right, including what to know about hybrids and cross-pollination.
The post Save Tomato Seeds Free With the Ferment Method appeared first on The Cheap Vegetable Gardener . Those heirloom tomatoes you grew this summer can fund next year's garden for free. The fermentation method takes three days, almost zero supplies, and produces seeds that actually germinate better than store-bought. Here's why it works and exactly how to do it.
The post Free Cloches Milk Jugs Make: Protect Fall Seedlings appeared first on The Cheap Vegetable Gardener . Empty milk jugs and plastic bottles make surprisingly effective free cloches for fall seedlings. Here's how to cut, vent, and anchor them, plus how they stack up against row cover for small patches.
The post Curing and Storing Winter Squash the Right Way appeared first on The Cheap Vegetable Gardener . Yanking squash off the vine and tossing them in a corner cost me half my harvest one year. Curing and storing winter squash the right way takes two weeks and almost zero effort, and it makes the difference between eating homegrown squash in January and throwing rotten ones away in November.
The post August Seed Starting in the PNW: Don t Skip Fall appeared first on The Cheap Vegetable Gardener . August isn't just harvest season in the PNW. It's the second seed-starting season most people skip entirely. Here's what to sow now for fresh greens all fall and into winter, including why your cold-weather kale will taste way better than the stuff you grew in June.
The post Overwinter Pepper Plants and Skip Buying Transplants appeared first on The Cheap Vegetable Gardener . Peppers are perennials, which means you don't have to buy new transplants every spring. Here's how to dig, prune, and overwinter your best pepper plants indoors so they come roaring back next season with a serious head start.
The post Stop Lettuce Bolting in Summer Heat appeared first on The Cheap Vegetable Gardener . Lettuce bolting in July is inevitable if you don't plan for it. Afternoon shade, frequent harvesting, heat-tolerant varieties, and smart timing can all delay it. And if some bolt anyway, let them go for free seed next year.
The post August in the PNW Garden: Harvest Hard, Plant Fall appeared first on The Cheap Vegetable Gardener . August in the PNW is all two things at once: peak summer harvest and the fall planting window closing fast. Here's what to pick, what to plant, and what to get planned before the rains make the decisions for you.
The post Fall Fava Beans: Free Nitrogen and an Early Spring Crop appeared first on The Cheap Vegetable Gardener . Fall fava beans are one of the best deals in the garden: plant them in late October, ignore them all winter, and you get an early spring harvest plus free nitrogen for your soil. Here's how to do it right, which varieties to pick, and why fall beats spring sowing in the Pacific…
The post Yellowing Tomato Leaves: What They re Telling You appeared first on The Cheap Vegetable Gardener . Yellowing tomato leaves aren't all the same problem. Here's how to tell nitrogen deficiency from disease from watering stress, and how to fix each one without spending much money.
The post Let It Bolt: Free Seed from Lettuce and Cilantro appeared first on The Cheap Vegetable Gardener . Your bolted lettuce and cilantro aren't garden failures. They're next year's free seed. Here's exactly how to collect and store it before it's gone.
The post Mâche and Claytonia: Cold-Hardy Winter Salads Worth Growing appeared first on The Cheap Vegetable Gardener . Mâche and claytonia are two cold-hardy winter salad greens almost nobody grows, and they'll survive real freezing weather in an unheated frame. Sow them now and you'll be cutting fresh leaves in the darkest months of the year.
The post Cheap Aphid Control for Kale and Brassicas appeared first on The Cheap Vegetable Gardener . Aphid control for kale and brassicas doesn't require anything fancy. A strong blast from the hose, a soap spray you mix yourself, and a few habits around checking leaf undersides will handle most infestations without spending much at all.
The post Cheap Shade Cloth for Hot PNW Summers appeared first on The Cheap Vegetable Gardener . A few 90-degree days in the PNW can wipe out a whole bed of lettuce, peas, and cilantro before you know what happened. Here's how to build cheap shade for under $20 using old bedsheets, window screens, burlap, and actual shade cloth from the hardware store.
The post Pruning Raspberries: When and How to Cut Them Back appeared first on The Cheap Vegetable Gardener . Raspberry pruning is one of those late-winter jobs that pays off big in July. Get the timing wrong and you'll either lose this year's fruit or spend summer fighting a thorny mess. Here's how to do it without overthinking it.
The post Overwintering Brassicas: Start Now for Spring appeared first on The Cheap Vegetable Gardener . July is the time to start overwintering brassicas like purple sprouting broccoli. Start seeds now, transplant in late August, and let the plants build over winter so they explode with early spring shoots when everything else is still mud. Patience pays off big.
The post Tomato Fruit Cracking: Why It Happens and How to Fix It appeared first on The Cheap Vegetable Gardener . Tomato cracking usually comes down to one thing: inconsistent watering. Here's why it happens in July, how to prevent it with mulch and deep watering, which varieties hold up best, and what to do with the split fruit before it's gone.
The post Cure and Store Garlic the Cheap Shed Way appeared first on The Cheap Vegetable Gardener . Pulled your garlic? Skip the fancy braids. The shed-rafter method is free, works great, and takes about five minutes to set up. Here's how to cure, store, and pick next year's seed cloves from your own crop.
The post Store Apples and Pears Through Winter Without a Root Cellar appeared first on The Cheap Vegetable Gardener . You don't need a root cellar to store apples and pears through winter. A cardboard box, some newspaper, and a cold garage will get you fresh fruit into January for almost nothing.
The post Sow Fall Carrots and Beets in July (Don t Wait) appeared first on The Cheap Vegetable Gardener . July is the exact right time to sow fall carrots and beets, not too early, not too late. Here's how to get seeds to germinate in the heat, which varieties hold well in the ground, and why a light frost actually makes them taste better.
The post Midsummer Berry Care for PNW Gardeners appeared first on The Cheap Vegetable Gardener . July in the PNW means your raspberries and blueberries need attention right now. Deep mulch, the right bird netting, post-harvest pruning, and a homemade spotted wing drosophila trap. Here's what actually matters and what you can skip.
The post Save Squash Seeds and Grow the Same Variety Next Year appeared first on The Cheap Vegetable Gardener . Cross-pollination ruins a lot of saved squash seeds, but it doesn't have to. Here's how to figure out which squash will cross, how to prevent it, and how to scoop, ferment, dry, and store seeds so you get the same variety next year.