While our maritime winters and springs are very wet our summers are often as dry as a desert leaving crops gasping for water by mid-July! And as for the weeds, they are happy to grow anytime!

If you plan it right, you can enjoy a beautiful garden full of the fruits of your labor -- without having to spend hours and hours tending it.

Did you know that less than 1% of the insect species in the world are the so-called bad bugs that eat us, our livestock, and/or our food? The other 99% are necessary to keeping a healthy environment in our gardens. They help pollinate our crops, eat the bad bugs, and help keep our gardens healthy in many ways.

We'll cover varieties, soil preferences, and cultural requirements for Strawberries, Blueberries, Raspberries and other small fruits.

Learn how to save money by growing your own transplants.

Growing the Pea, Carrot, and Lettuce Families

Growing Tomatoes, Potatoes, Peppers & Eggplant We'll cover the Nightshade (Solanaceae) family which includes tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant, and peppers. Being mostly heat lovers, each member of the family has unique requirements to achieve good production in our marine climate. Topics covered include variety selection, cultural requirements, as well as the major disease and pests affecting these species. Kate Ryan of Soil Sisters Plants & Produce will share what she's learned in over 30 years of growing vegetables, herbs, and flowers in Western Washington. A self-professed lazy gardener, she's learned…