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Tip Sheet #5: Edible Gardening

Gardens 

Jefferson County Master Gardeners partner with the Food Bank Growers and schools to assist, support and maintain gardens that donate food to local food banks. Many of these feature vegetable and fruit growing. Visit us during the growing season to get ideas of what to grow and best techniques. Master Gardeners also offer an annual Growing Groceries class.
Some of our partner gardens:

  • Port Townsend High School and Salish School farm to table gardens
  • Blue Heron Middle School Orchard
  • Jefferson County Food Bank Growers

Additionally, there are other organizations that focus on fruit gardening include the Western Washington Fruit Research Foundation, who teams with WSU Mount Vernon. Their fruit demonstration garden in Mount Vernon, north of Seattle, is open to the public daily, dawn to dusk. Tilth Alliance (formerly known as Seattle Tilth) operates several urban gardens in the Seattle area. Jefferson County Master Gardener Seed Library Seeds are available at the Jefferson County Library

Frost Dates

Seed packets often cite “frost date” in advising when to plant vegetables and flowers in the spring, so it helps to know that date for your specific location. Fall frost dates are useful for harvesting some vegetables and deciding when to move tender perennials inside. Frost dates vary by location in Puget Sound and are influenced by proximity to bodies of water, elevation, proximity to urban areas and other factors.

Port Townsend, WA (Jefferson county)

Temp 10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%
Spring 32° Mar 28Mar 18Mar 10Mar 2Feb 25Feb 19Feb 12Feb 4Jan 24
Spring 28° Mar 2Feb 19Feb 12Feb 5Jan 29Jan 23Jan 15Jan 5N/A
Fall 32° Oct 31Nov 9Nov 16Nov 22Nov 27Dec 3Dec 9Dec 16Dec 25
Fall 28° Nov 15Nov 26Dec 5Dec 13Dec 20Dec 27Jan 5Jan 16N/A
Port Townsend WA, Chance of Frost Dates for specific temperatures in Spring and Fall

Quilcene, WA (Jefferson County)

Temp 10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%
Spring 32° May 6Apr 23Apr 14Apr 7Mar 30Mar 23Mar 15Mar 6Feb 21
Spring 28° Apr 3Mar 20Mar 9Feb 28Feb 19Feb 11Feb 1Jan 21Jan 3
Fall 32° Oct 18Oct 26Oct 31Nov 5Nov 10Nov 14Nov 19Nov 25Dec 5
Fall 28° Nov 7Nov 17Nov 24Nov 29Dec 6Dec 12Dec 18Dec 25Jan 5
Quilcene WA, Chance of Frost Dates for specific temperatures in Spring and Fall

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Extend the Season

With our mild climate in Puget Sound, it is possible to circumvent frost dates and inclement weather and grow edibles year-round with the use of season-extending devices such as cloches, cold frames and other techniques. Two useful books on this topic by Pacific Northwest authors are: Cool Season Gardener: Extend the Harvest, Plan Ahead, and Grow Vegetables Year-Round by Bill Thorness (2013) and Winter Gardening in the Maritime Northwest: Cool Season Crops for the Year-Round Gardener by Binda Colebrook (2012). Even without the use of season extenders, crops such as carrots, beets, salad greens and kale can be planted in midsummer to harvest in fall and winter. Another good reference for year-round gardening is Tilth Alliance’s “Maritime Northwest Garden Guide” (2014), available to order at their website

Location, Location, Location

There are four important things to consider when deciding where to plant: sun, soil, water, and access. Most vegetable crops need 5 to 6 hours of direct sunlight a day. Soil can generally be improved but consider having your soil tested so you’ll know better what amendments to add. Clallam County Conservation District and Simply Soil are examples of two options for soil testing. Watering is key so you’ll want a watering spigot nearby or adequate hoses to reach. You’ll want to be able to easily access your garden so tending and harvesting is less of a chore.

Seeds or Starts? 

It depends. Starting with seeds has many advantages: You’ll find a far more extensive choice of varieties. Some plants such as root crops don’t transplant well and must be started from seed in the garden. It can also be cheaper to start from seed. However, many gardeners find that buying starts of warm season plants such as tomatoes, peppers and eggplant makes more sense because seeds of those plants need to be started indoors with adequate light and warmth. Also, a gardener is likely to use up an entire packet of lettuce in one season but unlikely to need an entire packet of tomato seeds.

Local Plant Sales and Nurseries 

Each spring, several gardens, as well as other local organizations host plant sales that include vegetable starts. Jefferson County Master Gardeners host a plant sale every other year and a “Secret Gardens” tour on alternate years.

Farmers markets in Port Townsend and Chimacum sell vegetable plant starts; Local nurseries
are a great resource for edibles gardening, from seeds to plant starts, season extenders to gardening advice.