B Warren

Evan Nilla wrote:Thank you Warren, that was very helpful. What veggies do you grow there or do you have most success with?

i've been hearing June really seems to be key in getting things in the ground. Seemed like the rains were tame enough around here at that time as well.

Thank you for the confirmation, yes, smaller seeds seem to do much better being tossed about vs large seeds.

My big thing is to work with what you have, and not fight things. So if there is something that doesn't like this climate at all, no sense doing battle trying to grow it.

thanks again everyone.

I consistently have grown brassicas, (under reemay only, tho, as we have lots of cabbage moths) basil, Blue Lake beans, beets, early corn, carrots, cucumbers, dill, lavender (a tiny pinch of lavender flowers is most excellent in a meat-based stew -I am not vegetarian, I fear) lettuces, mints, potatoes, garlic, onions, thyme, tomatoes, radishes, sage, smaller melons- pac choi, peas, peppers, quinoa, savory, turnips, zucchini -mostly all squash except I didn't have luck with Hubbards. I even have a couple of small camellia sinensis plants (tea) that hang on despite the fact I need to move them, but we do have an easy time growing camellias here. For fruits and nuts, I have black caps, (a small wild raspberry) huckleberries, Oregon Grape, salal berries, elderberries, blueberries, blackberries, thimbleberries, grapes, apples, peaches, pears, prunes, plums, hazelnuts, strawberries, walnuts, sugar maples, My brother, down in the bottom-land near a river has artichokes, nectarines, figs, as well as all types of orchard trees except for tropicals. I am certain I have missed a few things, but its quite late and I am too sleepy to think ... Good luck in your garden!

Evan, Territorial Seed is indeed the best place to get your seeds. They have a store in Cottage Grove, and carry tons of good stuff! Their starts are very pricey, though, so sprout your own. Yes, I have had good luck with casting seed on the soil surface, for a few things- usually tiny seeds, dill and carrots or smaller, but the problem with this method is that after they sprout and are a couple inches high, I have to gently cover their roots and lower stem with soil as soon as they sprout, or they fall over from lack of support... because of our wet spring, I suspect they don't feel the need to set deep root systems early. I DO have good fortune with casting quinoa seed around, and scuffing a touch of soil over or among it with my foot. More a kick dirt-in--the-face-of-seed move...they love it, and rise to the challenge, literally. I know that the southern Umpqua Valley is a melon-grower's paradise- a town called Winston in Oregon even has a yearly melon festival. They also grow great tomatoes there, along the Umpqua river, in the floodplain. Great soil, that. They have days in the 90's every summer- at least a week or two of it! Ha! Perpetual spring. I saw some mention of voles in the posts above- I found that running my rototiller around the perimeter of the garden a couple times a week seems to discourage them- they seem to dislike the vibration, I would expect. Whenever I stop or get lazy on that, I get a move-in of voles/moles...little underground rats that chomp the roots off my veggies, and can topple an entire row of young plants in two days! They love the moist, soft soil, so I have to be careful to not water too much... They seem to decrease my earthworm population wherever they run. I water with a soaker hose system, so of course, that encourages the varmints (no love here for them) to run the length of my rows- easy digging, I expect. However, that being said, I always have a good garden, but I grow only for the family's food so don't grow for market, and none of us have starved yet. It is hard to get the garden up and running before June, where I live, and the only things that consistently rot in the ground for me is green bean seeds. I have to plant them about mid-June. Love this temperate rain forest! So lush!

Mitsy, I like your position here! HA! I'm a newbie here. Assumptions are SO varied here. Personally, I was moved to comment when I read your position, because the FIRST thing I thought when I looked at the photo is the young gardener is SO fortunate to have this warm little recessed area on his hillside overlooking the chilly Pacific ocean! HA! No reason at all to assume he's in dire need of a snug, warm spot... Just the impression I got. SO, really, it is assuming MUCH to think we have a clue as to his circumstances. Either way, he put in hard work, and will reap some rewards from it. That makes me proud of his efforts. I live in a forest, have gardened for so many years I cant begin to tell you all the things I have seen and done, and every time I see a garden that is thriving, orderly OR chaotic (like mine) I feel peace wash over me. I try to always imagine gardeners as kind, patient souls, and I believe you are one of them! hehe.