{"id":30170,"date":"2026-06-30T16:11:17","date_gmt":"2026-06-30T23:11:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/extension.wsu.edu\/jefferson\/?page_id=30170"},"modified":"2026-07-01T14:08:42","modified_gmt":"2026-07-01T21:08:42","slug":"tip-sheet-5-edible-gardening","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/extension.wsu.edu\/jefferson\/mg-home\/tip-sheet-5-edible-gardening\/","title":{"rendered":"Tip Sheet #5: Edible Gardening"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wsu-row wsu-row--sidebar-right\" >\r\n    \n<div class=\"wsu-column\"  style=\"\">\r\n\t\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Gardens<\/strong>\u00a0<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>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 <a href=\"https:\/\/extension.wsu.edu\/jefferson\/gardening-classes\/\" data-type=\"page\" data-id=\"13689\">Growing Groceries<\/a> class.<br>Some of our partner gardens:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>Port Townsend High School and Salish School farm to table gardens <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Blue Heron Middle School Orchard<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Jefferson County Food Bank Growers<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Additionally, there are other organizations that focus on <strong>fruit gardening<\/strong> include the <a href=\"http:\/\/nwfruit.org\/\">Western Washington Fruit Research Foundation<\/a>, who teams with <a href=\"http:\/\/mtvernon.wsu.edu\/\">WSU Mount Vernon<\/a>. Their fruit demonstration garden in Mount Vernon, north of Seattle, is open to the public daily, dawn to dusk. <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/tilthalliance.org\/\">Tilth Alliance<\/a><\/strong> (formerly known as Seattle Tilth) operates several urban gardens in the Seattle area. <a href=\"https:\/\/extension.wsu.edu\/jefferson\/master-gardener-seed-library\/\">Jefferson County Master Gardener Seed Library<\/a> Seeds are available at the Jefferson County Library<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><u><strong>Frost Dates<\/strong><\/u><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Seed packets often cite \u201cfrost date\u201d 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Port Townsend, WA (Jefferson county)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td><strong>Temp<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/td><td>10%<\/td><td>20%<\/td><td>30%<\/td><td>40%<\/td><td>50%<\/td><td>60%<\/td><td>70%<\/td><td>80%<\/td><td>90%<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Spring 32\u00b0&nbsp;<\/td><td>Mar 28<\/td><td>Mar 18<\/td><td>Mar 10<\/td><td>Mar 2<\/td><td>Feb 25<\/td><td>Feb 19<\/td><td>Feb 12<\/td><td>Feb 4<\/td><td>Jan 24<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Spring 28\u00b0&nbsp;<\/td><td>Mar 2<\/td><td>Feb 19<\/td><td>Feb 12<\/td><td>Feb 5<\/td><td>Jan 29<\/td><td>Jan 23<\/td><td>Jan 15<\/td><td>Jan 5<\/td><td>N\/A<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Fall 32\u00b0&nbsp;<\/td><td>Oct 31<\/td><td>Nov 9<\/td><td>Nov 16<\/td><td>Nov 22<\/td><td>Nov 27<\/td><td>Dec 3<\/td><td>Dec 9<\/td><td>Dec 16<\/td><td>Dec 25<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Fall 28\u00b0&nbsp;<\/td><td>Nov 15<\/td><td>Nov 26<\/td><td>Dec 5<\/td><td>Dec 13<\/td><td>Dec 20<\/td><td>Dec 27<\/td><td>Jan  5<\/td><td>Jan 16<\/td><td>N\/A<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Port Townsend WA, Chance of Frost Dates for specific temperatures in Spring and Fall<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Quilcene, WA (Jefferson County)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td><strong>Temp<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/td><td>10%<\/td><td>20%<\/td><td>30%<\/td><td>40%<\/td><td>50%<\/td><td>60%<\/td><td>70%<\/td><td>80%<\/td><td>90%<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Spring 32\u00b0&nbsp;<\/td><td>May 6<\/td><td>Apr 23<\/td><td>Apr 14<\/td><td>Apr 7<\/td><td>Mar 30<\/td><td>Mar 23<\/td><td>Mar 15<\/td><td>Mar 6<\/td><td>Feb 21<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Spring 28\u00b0&nbsp;<\/td><td>Apr 3<\/td><td>Mar 20<\/td><td>Mar 9<\/td><td>Feb 28<\/td><td>Feb 19<\/td><td>Feb 11<\/td><td>Feb 1<\/td><td>Jan 21<\/td><td>Jan 3<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Fall 32\u00b0&nbsp;<\/td><td>Oct 18<\/td><td>Oct 26<\/td><td>Oct 31<\/td><td>Nov 5<\/td><td>Nov 10<\/td><td>Nov 14<\/td><td>Nov 19<\/td><td>Nov 25<\/td><td>Dec 5<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Fall 28\u00b0&nbsp;<\/td><td>Nov 7<\/td><td>Nov 17<\/td><td>Nov 24<\/td><td>Nov 29<\/td><td>Dec 6<\/td><td>Dec 12<\/td><td>Dec  18<\/td><td>Dec 25<\/td><td>Jan 5<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Quilcene WA, Chance of Frost Dates for specific temperatures in Spring and Fall<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n<\/div>\r\n\n\n<div class=\"wsu-column\"  style=\"\">\r\n\t\n<section  class=\"wsu-section wsu-dropshadow--low wsu-spacing-before--none wsu-border--add-top\"  >\r\n        \n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading  wsu-font-size--large\">More Information<\/h2>\n\n\n    <nav class=\"wsu-navigation-vertical wsu-vertical-menu\">\n        <ul id=\"wsu-site-menu\" class=\"wsu-menu-collapse wsu-menu-collapse--style-vertical\"><li><a 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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 <a href=\"http:\/\/www.tilthalliance.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Tilth Alliance&#8217;s<\/a> \u201cMaritime Northwest Garden Guide\u201d (2014), available to order at their website<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Location, Location, Location<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>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\u2019ll 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\u2019ll want a watering spigot nearby or adequate hoses to reach. You\u2019ll want to be able to easily access your garden so tending and harvesting is less of a chore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Seeds or Starts?<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>It depends. Starting with seeds has many advantages: You\u2019ll find a far more extensive choice of varieties. Some plants such as root crops don\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Local Plant Sales and Nurseries<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>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 \u201cSecret Gardens\u201d tour on alternate years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Farmers markets in Port Townsend and Chimacum sell vegetable plant starts; Local nurseries<br>are a great resource for edibles gardening, from seeds to plant starts, season extenders to gardening advice.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>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 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":242,"featured_media":0,"parent":27357,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_wsuwp_accessibility_report":null},"categories":[9],"tags":[32],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/extension.wsu.edu\/jefferson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/30170"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/extension.wsu.edu\/jefferson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/extension.wsu.edu\/jefferson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/extension.wsu.edu\/jefferson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/242"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/extension.wsu.edu\/jefferson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30170"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/extension.wsu.edu\/jefferson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/30170\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30235,"href":"https:\/\/extension.wsu.edu\/jefferson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/30170\/revisions\/30235"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/extension.wsu.edu\/jefferson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/27357"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/extension.wsu.edu\/jefferson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30170"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/extension.wsu.edu\/jefferson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30170"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/extension.wsu.edu\/jefferson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30170"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}