Garden year-round with resources from the UW Farm
As the seasons start to change, now is the perfect time to refresh your knowledge and explore the resources available at the UW Farm. Gardening is a year-round activity that brings fresh, homegrown vegetables to your table. If you’re unsure where to begin, connect with the thriving gardening community at the UW Farm. The University of Washington is home to a wide variety of resources and centers focused on sustainable gardening and farming.
Gardening in the fall offers a unique opportunity to extend your growing season and enjoy the outdoors as the temperatures cool. Many vegetables, like kale, carrots and Brussels sprouts, actually thrive in cooler weather, often becoming sweeter after the first frost. Additionally, fall gardening can help improve soil health as you prepare your garden beds for the winter by planting cover crops or mulching. Engaging in gardening during the fall also promotes physical activity and mental well-being, providing a relaxing way to connect with nature even as the seasons change.
View a vegetable growing chart for the Seattle region. This chart and more region specific growing information can be found on Urban Farmer.
We’re highlighting resources from the UW Farm and the Center for Urban Horticulture to help you begin growing your own produce, identifying plants and sourcing seeds and starters.
The UW Farm is a place to exercise, connect with co-workers and grow your knowledge of gardening. This summer, UW Global Health graduate student Judy Machuka volunteered for the first time during the UW Summer Olympics and found she had a passion for helping the UW Farm. “The UW Summer Olympics Challenge at the UW Farm was an exciting learning experience,” Judy said. “From the first Whole U session on volunteering, I enthusiastically took on the challenge of farming as exercise. I enjoyed the benefits of connecting with the community and showing acts of kindness. Harvesting and planting bush beans on the first day, got me motivated me to signing up for regular volunteering. Since then, I have passionately participated in weeding, planting fennel, harvesting rye, pepper and beet. And of course, there is also produce for volunteers.”
UW Farm YouTube and Weekly Dirt Blog
The UW Farm is a 1.5-acre student-powered urban farm & educational facility located on the University of Washington’s Seattle Campus. The farm’s mission is to be the campus center for the practice and study of urban agriculture and sustainability, and an educational, community-oriented resource for people who want to learn about building productive and sustainable urban landscapes.
Tune into the UW Farm on YouTube and find a wide variety of educational videos to help you learn more about farming, gardening, and how the UW Farm operates. Be sure to check out the Urban Farming and Gardening, Farming Tools, or Soil Health playlists.
You can also stay up to date with the UW Farm by reading the Weekly Dirt – their newsletter highlighting farm updates, information on the farm produce boxes, and other knowledge around sustainable and organic farming.
UW Farm Learning Library
The UW Farm hosts internships, research projects, and capstone experiences for students at the University of Washington. Over the years, these have become important learning resources for students and the community.
Visit the UW Farm online learning library to read and experience the work of current and previous students.
Available Resources:
Recipe Book
Gardens
Food systems
Production & Practices
Plant Answer Line, Center for Urban Horticulture
Have a quick question about a specific plant, or noticing something unfamiliar in your garden? Look no further than the Plant Answer Line, made possible by a grant from the Pendleton and Elisabeth Carey Miller Charitable Foundation.
Either call or submit a question online to this quick reference service tailored to the needs of Northwest gardeners. Any plant or gardening/farming related question can be asked! You can also search through other Plant Answer Line question/answer sets to find related information and recommended resources.
Call the Plant Answer Line at 206-897-5268 (206-UW-PLANT) or email hortlib@uw.edu.
Plant Identification, Center for Urban Horticulture
The Hyde Herbarium provides free plant identification to the public. To have a plant identified, you can email pictures of the plant with either flowers or fruit, along with a description of the plant and growing conditions to the herbarium. You can also mail a plant sample!
Learn more about this process and download the plant identification forms here.
Classes, Workshops, and Garden Tours
One of the best ways to get more involved in the gardening community at UW and expand your knowledge is to attend classes, workshops, and events at the UW Botanic Garden grounds and hosted virtually. You can find adult education programs for everyone from beginning gardeners to horticultural professionals.
Plant Sales
Looking to buy some new plants for your garden or yard? Peruse this list of upcoming plant sales compiled by the Miller Library. Plant sales can also be a great place to connect with other gardeners and see the wide variety of plants you can add into your repertoire.
Gardens and growing your own produce have many benefits for holistic health and well-being. The Spring, get involved in the UW gardening community and put your green thumb to the test!