"clevermonkey" wrote in message
ups.com...
Since many of you wanted to know, I live in zone 8a, in Western
Washington.

Are you all growing the same things, or do you get to pick?

If you're growing tomatoes, in our climate you should go with an "early"
variety.

--
Warm Regards,

Claire Petersky
http://www.bicyclemeditations.org/
Sponsor me for the Big Climb! See: www.active.com/donate/cpetersky06
See the books I've set free at:
http://bookcrossing.com/referral/Cpetersky

then, if you are there, here is my advice.

1) the place is no good for hot weather veggies. skip the peppers, the
eggplants, okra, melons, watermelons. I am of two minds about tomatoes.
They will probably ripen, but it is the late season ones that have a
glorious taste. If your site does not give you 8+ weeks of 80+ weather,
skip the toms as well.

2) pile on with the cool weather veggies. Green beans, cukes, winter
squash, any conceivable greens, onions, carrots, beets, peas, favas.
Pick the best tasting varieties, i.e. Hubbard or butternut squash, Blue
Lake beans, round-tipped carrots, etc. Territorial Seeds has a great
selection for the Northwest.

3) lay down the manure now (two inches if you have clay, 3 if you have
sand), sunny site, don' t plant too early, mulch only after the soil
has warmed, and water regularly during dry spells.

What kind of cukes are "cool weather veggies"? I'd love to hear
about 'em. If the soil temp is below 60F and the nights get below
60F.......I like to see them grow. What's up? Are you trying to fool
this kid? Farmer Joe Madison, Illinois

gherkins are the most cool weather tolerant of all summer crops. at
least in my experience. Besides, they fruit quickly.

"clevermonkey" wrote in message
ups.com...
My two uncles and I are having a gardening contest and they are saying
they can beat me just because they are older than me and have more
experience (I'm very young). Even though that may be true, I think I
can win because I have the help of the Internet on my side. They garden
with advice only from old books and magazines. I already have a bit of
a head start because I've started some seeds indoors already. Plus,
even with school, I have more time on my hands than they do, so I can
garden more often (besides, I have summer vacation whereas they still
have to work in the summer). Our competition is mostly for our
vegetable gardens, so any tips, tricks, and advice you can give me is
really appreciated.

a paint brush and some neat glycosate weed killer. Visit uncles, when they
are busy remove small bottle of weed killer, dip in paint brush and paint
leave of their vegetables. You do not need to do every leaf but the
weedkiller should be neat, not watered down. Sit back and enjoy seeing their
crop die. That, of course, would be cheating and if you ever got caught most
likely you wouldn't walk for a week.

rob

Why would you even say something like that?

"George.com" wrote in message
...

"clevermonkey" wrote in message
ups.com...
My two uncles and I are having a gardening contest and they are saying
they can beat me just because they are older than me and have more
experience (I'm very young). Even though that may be true, I think I
can win because I have the help of the Internet on my side. They garden
with advice only from old books and magazines. I already have a bit of
a head start because I've started some seeds indoors already. Plus,
even with school, I have more time on my hands than they do, so I can
garden more often (besides, I have summer vacation whereas they still
have to work in the summer). Our competition is mostly for our
vegetable gardens, so any tips, tricks, and advice you can give me is
really appreciated.

a paint brush and some neat glycosate weed killer. Visit uncles, when they
are busy remove small bottle of weed killer, dip in paint brush and paint
leave of their vegetables. You do not need to do every leaf but the
weedkiller should be neat, not watered down. Sit back and enjoy seeing
their
crop die. That, of course, would be cheating and if you ever got caught
most
likely you wouldn't walk for a week.

rob