Beans, one of the oldest domesticated crops, are a fantastically versatile, easy to grow, and can be highly productive in small spaces. Some beans are eaten fresh in their shell (your everyday snap bean), and some are removed from their shells and dried for long-term storage (shelling beans). Despite the difference in how we eat them, most beans are closely related and have similar growth habits. In our Seattle gardens, we tend to only plant the snap bean type because the shelling beans usually require a longer growing season.
Read MorePlant Spacing: Brassicas
Brassicas are the succulent green bones of every vegetable garden. They are loaded with nutrients and fiber and almost everyone can think of at least one Brassica that they like to eat. Some of the most popular members of the Brassica family are: broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, collards and kale.
Read MoreHow to Plant Onions
Onions, part of the Allium family, are a long-season crop, taking up to 8 months to mature from seed. We started our onion transplants two months ago, and they wont be ready to harvest until late-July or August. If you haven’t already started onions from seed we highly recommended that you buy transplants from your local nursery.
Read MoreGreen (Spring) Garlic
Harvested green garlic // All photos by Hilary Dahl
Do you have a few cloves of sprouting garlic lying around your kitchen? Plant it! It may be too late to plant garlic that will produce fully developed heads, but planting garlic cloves (already sprouting or not) in the spring will produce tender and mild green garlic. This type of garlic is somewhat of a delicacy and is usually only found at farmers markets, but is also very easy to grow!
Read MoreStoring Root Vegetables
If properly managed, storage crops can last through the entire winter and even into the following spring, allowing you to eat from your garden even when you don't feel like going outside in the cold to pick salad greens. Below are the very basic rules for storage of a few different common storage crops, check out our book for more in depth information...
Read MoreMustard Greens
Mustard greens, Brassica juncea, are easy to grow, mature relatively quickly, and produce high yields in small areas. They like cooler temperatures and grow best when direct seeded in the late summer to produce a fall and winter crop. They are also a great crop to seed early in the spring!
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