Seed Starting - Fine Gardening

  • How-To

    The Science of Garden Soil Health: What You Need to Know to Keep Your Garden Growing

    Beneath our feet lies a vibrant yet under-appreciated ecosystem. Far more complex than mere dirt, soil is a matrix of mineral particles, organic matter, living organisms, water, and air. Scientists…

  • Design

    Why to Stop Tilling and Grow Your Garden Like a Prairie

    In graduate school my research involved comparing the health of soils in remnant native tallgrass prairies to adjacent farmlands. One of the lessons I learned is that we’d all be…

  • Article

    Fast-Growing Warm-Season Vegetables

    While we might be waiting for tomatoes or peppers to ripen later in the summer, some tasty treasures will be prolific and supply the kitchen in short order. As cooler…

  • How-To

    Tomatoes for Mountain West Gardeners

    Despite working predominantly in ornamental—especially naturalistic—horticulture, I hold an “interdisciplinary minor in organic agriculture” from Colorado State University. Early in my career I worked primarily in food crops, and before…

  • cover seedlings to protect from pests
    How-To

    The Dos and Don’ts of Direct Sowing

    Sowing a seed directly into the ground, nurturing it, and reaping the rewards is one of the easiest gardening activities you can do—yet many gardeners don’t do it. There are…

  • Sponsored Content

    The Health Benefits and Culinary Magic of Microgreens and Sprouts

    For ages, people have been trying to find new and better ways of getting the nutrients needed to live a healthy and energized life. This pursuit has led to the…

  • Article

    Learn to Build Better Soil

    A backyard is no place for a farm. My earliest vegetable gardens were small-scale imitations of large-scale farms. I rototilled the soil, spread bagged chemical fertilizer all around and built…

  • annuals to grow from seed
    Design

    6 Fantastic Annuals to Grow From Seed in the Northwest

    There was a time when I used to eagerly await the arrival of seed catalogs in the mail each winter. Then I’d sit in the window and fold down the…

  • How-To

    How to Thin Herb Seedlings 

    Growing herbs from seed is an incredibly rewarding and inexpensive way to savor homegrown flavor fresh from your garden. Getting the seeds to sprout is generally the easiest step. However,…

  • new veggie garden tools
    How-To

    New Veggie Garden Tools for 2023

    With these transplant tongs, you’ll never damage your seedlings again How many times have you tried to ease your seedlings out of their tray only to shear off some of…