August Myths & Sowing in a Warm Dry Climate
Every August, forums and gardening groups across Spain and Portugal fill up with the same handful of questions about keeping a warm dry climate vegetable garden going through the heat …
Vegetable Gardening
Everything you need to grow your own vegetables — from preparing your first garden bed to designing a high-yield companion planting system. Practical guides written from real experience on our homestead in the Serra de Monchique, Portugal.
Watering a Warm Dry Climate Vegetable Garden
You water your vegetables every day. Sometimes twice a day when it is hot. And yet the plants look tired, grow slowly, or produce less than you expected. More water …
What to Sow and Plant in May — Warm Dry & Temperate Climate Gardens
May in a warm dry climate is when the garden shifts into full summer mode. The cool season crops are winding down, the soil is warm, and the plants that …
Companion Planting and Crop Rotation in Warm Dry Climates
You sat down to plan your vegetable garden. You had your companion planting chart, your rotation circle, your bed layout — and somewhere around bed three, it stopped making sense. …
What to Sow and Plant in April — Serra de Monchique & Western Algarve
April in the Serra de Monchique means one thing above all else: it is time to head to the market. Every month at the São Teotónio market you will find …
Watering Your Vegetable Garden in a Warm Dry Climate
For anyone starting a vegetable garden in a warm dry climate — like the Serra de Monchique where we live — watering is where most beginners go wrong. Not because …
Easy Vegetables to Grow for Beginners in a Mediterranean Climate
One of the most common questions we hear from people starting their first vegetable garden is this: what should I actually grow? There are hundreds of vegetables to choose from …
How to Prepare Your First Vegetable Garden Bed
There is one moment that every vegetable gardener remembers. It’s not the first harvest. It’s not even the first seedling breaking through the soil. It’s the moment you look at …
When to Plant What: A Vegetable Planting Guide for the Serra de Monchique
One of the most common questions I hear from people who’ve just moved to the Serra de Monchique is this: “I want to grow my own vegetables — but when …
March Vegetable Garden Checklist for Planting and Sowing
After the heavy rains in February and a flood in the vegetable garden, we’re starting March with a bit of a delay. Fortunately, we dodged serious damage and now the …