vegetables
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Best Beans for Montana Gardens
Bush beans, pole beans, and dry beans in Missoula. Which to plant for Montana’s short season, when to sow, and how to keep them producing all summer.
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How to Grow Lettuce and Salad Greens in Montana
Lettuce and salad greens grow fast and tolerate cool weather, which makes them perfect for Missoula’s short season. Here is how to grow them spring through fall.
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How to Deal With Missoula’s Dry Summers in the Garden
Missoula summers get hot and dry, and most years the heat arrives right when vegetable gardens are in full swing. July and August can go weeks with almost no rain, temperatures pushing into the 90s, and humidity low enough that soil dries out faster than most people expect. For gardeners used to a rainier climate,…
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How to Grow Cucumbers in Missoula
Cucumbers are one of the easier vegetables to grow in Missoula once you understand two things: they hate cold soil, and they grow fast once conditions are right. They share the garden well with tomatoes and peppers, which have similar heat and timing requirements. Get those two pieces right and you will have more cucumbers…
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Spring Gardening in Missoula: What You Can Plant Before Last Frost
Most gardeners in Missoula wait until late May to plant anything, and for tomatoes and peppers, that’s the right call. But there’s a whole category of vegetables that not only tolerate cold weather but actually prefer it. If you’re only gardening after last frost, you’re missing weeks of good growing time. What “Before Last Frost”…
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Hardened Off vs. Greenhouse Starts: What’s the Difference
If you have ever bought vegetable starts that looked perfectly healthy at the nursery, planted them on a warm May day, and watched them wilt, curl, or turn pale within a week, one likely reason is that they were not hardened off. Skipping that step is a common reason transplants struggle in Missoula gardens, and…
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When to Buy Vegetable Starts in Missoula (and When It’s Too Late)
There’s a right window for buying vegetable starts in Missoula, and it’s narrower than most people expect. Buy too early and you end up with rootbound plants sitting under grow lights for weeks while you wait for the weather to cooperate. Buy too late and you’re picking through what’s left, planting into a season that’s…
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What to Look for When Buying Vegetable Starts
Buying vegetable starts feels straightforward until you get a tray of leggy tomatoes home, plant them, and spend the rest of summer wondering why they’re struggling. Many problems start at the point of purchase. Knowing what to look for takes five minutes and makes a real difference in how your season goes. Check Days to…
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Where to Buy Vegetable Starts in Missoula
Missoula has a handful of solid options for picking up vegetable starts in spring, and knowing the difference between them matters when you are working with Montana’s short growing season. Not all starts are equal, and where you buy has a real effect on how your garden gets off the ground. Hours, seasons, and what…
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How to Grow Herbs in Missoula
Herbs are one of the most satisfying things to grow in Missoula because most of them require very little from you once they are established. A few pots on a sunny step or a small dedicated bed can keep a kitchen supplied all summer. That said, growing herbs in Missoula is not one-size-fits-all. Some are…