5 Down & Dirty Resources for Year-Round Organic Gardening in the Pacific Northwest

New to organic gardening?

Maybe new to gardening in the PNW?

Or maybe, you just want to take year-round organic gardening in the Pacific Northwest to the next level.

Here are 5 of the most helpful, go back to again-and-again, resources I’ve found on learning how to garden year-round in the Pacific Northwest. These are the essential resources I could not have lived without in the early days of my PNW organic gardening journey, and I still use each one of them to this day.

Do you have any others you would add to the list? I would love to hear about them in the comments below!

1. NWedible.com

The reason I list this one first is because I practically lived on this blog in the early years on our PNW property.

Erica Strauss and her family homestead a small urban lot in the Seattle area, permaculture style. She blogs about everything from a year-round veggie garden to ducks, and more. Her salty style of writing is entertaining, an excellent read on a Saturday morning for a little inspiration before heading outside for a day in the dirt. 😉

My favorite thing on this website? Her monthly gardening chore lists for the Pacific Northwest. I used to stalk this blog around the first of the month waiting for the monthly chore lists to come out. She now even posts them in a printable version. So helpful! Check out what she has posted for this March.

2. Steve Solomon’s book, Growing Vegetables West of the Cascades: The Complete Guide to Organic Gardening

A must read for every organic gardener this side of the Cascades.

Seriously, if you read one book about organic gardening in our Maritime Climate, read this one.

In depth on everything from understanding our unique geology, to water-wise gardening, and plant by plant grow guides. This is where I get Steve’s recipe for ‘complete organic fertilizer’, the one myself and every other organic gardener I know uses.

The newly revised 2015 edition has an updated recipe and resources, not to mention a pretty new cover.

3. Seattle Tilth’s Maritime Northwest Garden Guide

This is a ‘Planting Calendar for Year-Round Organic Gardening’. A month by month garden guide with detailed lists of what to start when, and short articles of garden wisdom.

When I was new to year-round gardening in the Pacific Northwest and looking for resources, some kind of guidance as to what I can plant when, this book from Seattle Tilth was exactly what I was looking for.

Detailed lists beginning as early as January with recommended varieties and what to sow indoors, what to sow outdoors, and what to sow under cloche.

Everybody I asked would say, “It’s too early. Wait until May.” But things were growing outside and I knew better! This book helped me scratch that early-season itch and learn how to work with our mild year-round growing climate.

4. Your local Master Gardener Course

We all know what a great resource our local extension offices are.

Have you ever considered going through the Master Gardener Course?

You don’t have to be a ‘Master Gardener’ to apply, the training program is for gardeners of all experience levels. Many people find themselves taking the course after moving to a piece of property that has a large garden they aren’t really sure what to do with.

The Master Gardener Program is a college level course in various aspects of sustainable gardening and agriculture. As a part of the program you learn and work along side other gardeners in your area and give back to your community through various volunteering opportunities.

Offered through state Universities, everything is research based and focused on sustainability and preservation of our natural resources.

I had the privilege of going through this course in 2013 and have enjoyed working with my fellow Mason County WSU MG’s ever since.