For people who want to grow more food with less work. 🌱 This is my weekly newsletter loved by 38,000+ subscribers—here's what one of them had to say: "These are not the regular run-of-the-mill garden-based emails. You actually touch on more unusual tidbits that encourage me to keep growing and learning."
how to save your tomatoes from frost ❄️
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Early spring weather is like a yoyo. We had 80°F days last week, followed by a 26°F freeze a couple nights ago. Several of our fruit trees had broken dormancy due to the heat wave and were budding out. This meant potential disaster for the season ahead if our fruit trees ended up losing their blossoms, so we set sprinklers on a thermostat and sprayed our trees with water for a few hours overnight to thwart the freeze. (If this is something you're interested in learning more about, let me know. We've just started using this method to protect our orchard from frost.) While I haven't transplanted any of my vegetable seedlings outside yet, I know people who've planted tomatoes, peppers, and squash already, even though they're not quite in the clear yet. What happens if you get a surprise cold snap in your area? You could use upside-down buckets or wheelbarrows to protect your plants in a pinch. Covering your beds with frost cloth is always an option, but not the easiest (especially if it means running out in the middle of the night when temperatures drop lower than expected). So when I want to transplant my tomatoes and other cold-sensitive plants outside before the last frost (which I do every year), I use this one simple trick to protect them in below freezing temps.
Seasonal TipsThe kiddos had a 2-week spring break this year and we just returned from a little getaway on the Oregon coast. It's always so fun taking the RV out for its first trip of the year! 🚐 We spent most of our time getting to know a new part of the coast. Weather was brisk but lovely, and it definitely didn't stop my kids from dunking themselves in the ocean anyway! (Do kids not have personal thermostats?!) We also hiked through a sitka forest, found so many sand dollars and agates, and explored a secret beach that you can only access by walking through a tunnel in the cliff! Every year around spring break, I start feeling anxious because the next couple months absolutely fly by while doing my taxes, working on my blog, prepping my garden, planning our summer projects (we're building a greenhouse this year, finally), planting the kids' school garden, and before I know it, they're out for the summer and we're halfway through 2026. I sometimes think I haven't gotten much work done when I look back at my week or my month, but my oldest daughter just turned 10 last week. (Double digits! How did that happen so fast?) So. I'm really trying to take in (and hold onto) the trivial moments and lean into the "life" side of work-life balance these days. Here's to more life. 😄 P.S. Get a head start on the growing season with this one simple tip for protecting tomatoes and other cold-sensitive plants from frost (without frost cloth). P.P.S. Amazon's Big Spring Sale is happening right now through March 31 and I've rounded up my favorite deals here. (Pro tip: Also check your "Saved for later" list to see if anything is on sale.) If you're not an Amazon Prime member, sign up here for a free 30-day trial to take advantage of the deals. |
Garden Betty
For people who want to grow more food with less work. 🌱 This is my weekly newsletter loved by 38,000+ subscribers—here's what one of them had to say: "These are not the regular run-of-the-mill garden-based emails. You actually touch on more unusual tidbits that encourage me to keep growing and learning."