How many of you have seen planting calendars for USDA Hardiness Zones that tell you when to plant? Like, "𝘡𝘰𝘯𝘦 8 𝘨𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘴: 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘚𝘦𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳!" Or, "𝘏𝘦𝘳𝘦'𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘡𝘰𝘯𝘦 5." Well, I hate to break it to ya, but your USDA Hardiness Zone doesn't actually tell you much about your growing season or when you should plant things. In fact, people in the exact same zone can experience wildly different summer temperatures, rainfall, humidity, frost dates, and growing seasons. Just take a look at the USDA Hardiness Zone map I attached below. I put pins on the map for Oregon, Texas, and North Carolina. If we handed gardeners in all three locations the exact same planting calendar just because they're all in Zone 8... My spidey senses tell me at least one of them would have some less-than-ideal results. Agree? So if our USDA zone can't tell us 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻𝘁, what 𝘤𝘢𝘯 it tell us? It actually gives us one very valuable piece of information: 👉 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗻𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗲𝘅𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗲 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗺𝘂𝗺 𝘄𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗮. This is especially useful when choosing perennial crops (plants that live for more than two years) because it helps you determine whether a plant can survive your winters and how much winter protection it may need. But as far as telling you when to plant your vegetable garden? It's basically useless 🤣 So now if you're thinking... "𝗪𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝗰𝗸 𝗗𝗢 𝗜 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻𝘁?!" I got you. To answer that question, we want to look at things like: - Your average first and last frost - Your average first and last hard freeze - Choosing crops based on their preferred growing season - How to read the "days to maturity" number on the back of the seed packet (and how to use it to your advantage). - Microclimates within your own garden - And season extenders that can help you keep growing longer I covered allll of this (and more) in the 𝗙𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗚𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗻 𝗦𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀𝗵𝗼𝗽 I hosted last month. And if you missed it, the workshop replay + the 𝟵-𝗽𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸 are both waiting for you inside the DIY Gardening Academy.

In yesterday's Q&A, Dianna asked, "𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘗𝘢𝘳𝘴𝘭𝘦𝘺?" And while we definitely talked about Parsley recipes, we also covered some fun facts about Parsley that I wanted to share with everyone! 𝗙𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝘂𝗽, 𝗶𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘀𝗹𝗲𝘆 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗽𝗼: - 𝗧𝗮𝗯𝗯𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗲𝗵 is a Middle Eastern salad, typically made with a buttload of parsley + cucumbers, tomatoes, mint, wheat grain, lemon juice, and olive oil. I've even made it with chickpeas & quinoa before in place of the wheat grain. Super delish and fresh in the summer! - Another fave is 𝗖𝗵𝗶𝗺𝗶𝗰𝗵𝘂𝗿𝗿𝗶, an Argentinian sauce made from (you guessed it, a lot of parsley 🤣) + vinegar, olive oil, and other herbs that pairs beautifully with veggies (like roasted potatoes), or steak 😋 - Cindy said she loves putting parsley in soups and stews and over fresh-baked fish - Faye said she is obsessed with parsley and grows it any chance she gets! (Ok, just kidding, she most definitely did not say that 🤣) And because I just KNOW you were dying for some parsley trivia today... Here are some fun facts you can share at your next dinner party 😉 𝗜𝘁’𝘀 𝗯𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗮𝗹 Meaning it has a 2-year lifecycle. It grows lots of leaves in the first year, then flowers and goes to seed in the second year. Which means it's a great herb to start a new succession planting of each year. 𝗜𝘁’𝘀 𝗮 𝗵𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗦𝘄𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗹 𝗯𝘂𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗹𝗶𝗲𝘀 🦋 Parsley is a primary food source for Black Swallowtail caterpillars. Look out for bright green & black striped caterpillars about mid-summer. (3rd photo) 𝗙𝗹𝗮𝘁 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗳 (𝗜𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗻) 𝘃𝘀. 𝗖𝘂𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗳: - Flat is my personal fave. It has a much stronger, more robust flavor. - Curly has a milder taste. And I personally find it a little more annoying to chop. (Don't tell it I said that). But it makes a pretty garnish and is great for adding texture/depth to a flower bed design.  𝗜𝘁’𝘀 𝗮 𝗡𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗕𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗵 𝗠𝗶𝗻𝘁 That garnish isn’t just there for looks 😉. Parsley is rich in chlorophyll, which acts as a natural deodorizer. Chewing a sprig after dinner doesn't just make you look like a bunny; it actually works better than most mints, which usually just mask smelly breath.

Just started some more seeds today! Lettuce, spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, Brussels sprouts, celery, herbs, and more! What's on your fall growing list? Have you started your seeds yet?

Once you know this, you'll probably never buy a pre-mixed bag again. 😉 I was mixing a fresh batch of seed-starting mix for my fall seeds yesterday and wanted to share my process with you so you're well-equipped to head into this planting season! 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝟯 𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀: 🥥 𝗖𝗼𝗰𝗼 𝗰𝗼𝗶𝗿 – This is the base of the mix. It's the fluffy, fiber-based stuff coconut husks are made of. It's sterile (no bug eggs or fungal spores hiding in it), affordable, and way better for the environment than peat moss, which comes from bogs that take centuries to reform. 🌋 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗲 – These are little white volcanic rock pieces. They keep the mix from compacting so water (and air) can move through it. 🪨 𝗩𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗶𝗰𝘂𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗲 – a mineral that soaks up moisture and nutrients like a sponge, then releases them slowly so your seedlings get a steady supply. 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗜 𝗺𝗶𝘅 𝗶𝘁: Hydrate your dry coco coir with water until it passes the 𝘀𝗾𝘂𝗲𝗲𝘇𝗲 𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁 — if you squeeze a handful, it should hold together but not drip. Think wrung-out sponge. For every 𝟰 𝗰𝘂𝗽𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗶𝗿, add 𝟭 𝗰𝘂𝗽 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗲 and 𝟭 𝗰𝘂𝗽 𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗶𝗰𝘂𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗲. Mix it all together with your hands (or a trowel if you're fancy) and fill your trays. 𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗜 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗺𝘆 𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗯𝘂𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘁: - It's cheaper (so I have more money for seeds 😜) - I can make up a batch whenever I want (no relying on the store or making a trip out) - I know exactly what's in it (yay, transparency!) - I can control the quality (not sure what to put here, but all the other bullet points have parentheses, sooo... 🙃) 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁'𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗴𝗼-𝘁𝗼?

This question came up in Friday's live Q&A, and I felt like it deserved its own post! We were talking about male vs female flowers and cross-pollination for plants like squash, cucumbers, melons, and pumpkins. If you've ever grown any of those, you've likely experienced the frustration of seeing mostly male or mostly female flowers all at one time, which means very little actual fruit production. @Dianna Doblosky asked: 𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘰𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘮 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘳 𝘧𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘦, 𝘰𝘳 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘸𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘭𝘶𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵? And.... 🥁🥁🥁 YES. You CAN influence the flower's sex! Turns out, all you have to do is ask. "𝘌𝘹𝘤𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘴𝘲𝘶𝘢𝘴𝘩 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘵, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘺 𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘧𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘦 𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘰 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦?" It also helps if you sing a song! Ok, just kidding. It's not 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 easy. 😜 But you 𝘥𝘰 have more influence over this than you'd think. You see, these plants follow a natural pattern... They almost always grow male flowers first. Which is not random at all; it's strategy. Male flowers show up early to get bees used to visiting the plant and picking up pollen, so by the time female flowers open, there are bees ready and willing to do the pollinating. As the plant grows bigger and stronger, the ratio naturally shifts to produce more female flowers, since a more established plant has the energy reserves to support fruit development. But several things can change/influence the ratio of male to female. 1. 𝗧𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲: Cool nights tend to push the plant toward more female flowers. Hot, high temperatures overall tend to push toward more male flowers. 2. 𝗟𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁: Long days with strong, intense light favor male flowers. Shorter days with gentler light favor female flowers. This is part of why our gardens are less productive in peak summertime and then ramp up again as days start getting shorter and cooler in the fall. 3. 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀: A stressed-out plant (whether that's from drought, poor soil, or intense heat) tends to produce more male flowers. A healthy, well-fed, well-watered plant tends to produce more female flowers.