vegetables
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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. Most 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. Local Nurseries Are Usually…
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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…
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How to Grow Peppers in Montana’s Short Season
Peppers are one of those vegetables that people in Missoula either swear by or give up on after one bad season. The problem is almost never the gardener. It is usually the variety, the timing, or both. Growing peppers in Montana is possible, but you have to be honest about what you are working with.…
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How to Water a Vegetable Garden in Missoula
Watering is the part of vegetable gardening that trips up more Missoula gardeners than anything else. Not because it’s complicated, but because our climate makes the stakes higher. Missoula averages around 13 inches of rain per year. That’s dry. Most of that moisture comes in spring and early summer, and by July and August when…
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Growing Tomatoes in Missoula: A Short-Season Guide
Tomatoes are the plant Missoula gardeners ask about more than anything else. They want to grow them, they’ve had mixed results, and they want to know why. The honest answer is that growing tomatoes in Missoula is doable, but it requires a different approach than what works in warmer climates. Get the variety right, get…