Fall garden fertilizer in Seattle is a different question in October. Most beds want compost and leaves, a few growing crops still get a little feed, and here is when to stop.

When to plant garlic in Seattle: mid October to mid November. Here is which garlic to buy, how deep it really goes, how much fits in a bed, and the June mistake that shrinks the bulb.

Leaf mulch in Seattle is what you use once the cover crop window has closed. Here is which fallen leaves go on your beds and which to skip, how to shred them, how thick to spread them around bare beds, garlic and young brassicas, and the two things that go wrong: slugs and cold spring soil.

A Seattle garden in October needs six questions, not a list of twenty jobs: what to do now, what comes next, and what to plant, feed, protect and harvest. Here are the answers from my own Phinney Ridge beds this week.

What to plant in October in Seattle is a short list: garlic, fava beans, a few winter greens, and the last fall transplants. Here is what still has time, how to plant it, and the crops that already missed the window this year.

The fall equinox in Seattle arrives Tuesday, September 22, just after 5 p.m. Here is what the equinox actually is, why I celebrate it, and the kitchen garden jobs that belong to this week, from the last basil to saving seed, sowing winter greens, and why garlic can still wait.

Cover crops in Seattle come down to two decisions, which seed and how late you can get away with sowing it. Here is the window, the amount per raised bed, and how to cut it down without losing April.

I read every booking form from my last two garden tours, and the same Seattle garden problems kept coming back. Tired soil in raised beds, watering once the rain stops, what to do with a bed when the summer crop is finished, growing enough without a yard, what is eating everything, and whether a small city garden returns enough to be worth the trouble. Here is what I tell people about each one.

Your Seattle August garden tasks come down to four things happening at once. There is still time for the fast fall crops if you direct sow this week. There is a basket of cucumbers, peppers, garlic and onions that needs dealing with today, not on some free weekend that never comes. There are mini bouquets hiding in the bolted lettuce and the kale flowers. And there is a compost pile that has been quietly asking for a turn for about three weeks. Here is how all of it looks in

August is the month the kitchen garden asks you to do two things at once, finish the summer and start the Seattle fall garden. Here is what that looked like in my Phinney Ridge beds this week: the brassicas and beets going in for October and November, nine seed companies' worth of packets on the potting bench, the flower bed that is done but not empty, and a three-year elderberry mystery I finally solved by going outside and actually looking. Also the rats, who got every last

Fall gardening is just the beginning of year-round harvests in the Pacific Northwest. Learn how to transition your garden from fall crops into winter greens with the right crops, succession planting, and protective covers. Pair these tips with my Fall Gardening Guide and Winter Kitchen Gardening post to keep your raised beds productive and enjoy fresh vegetables all season long.