writes:
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.

Also being in the western Washington/Oregon area, I've grown both peppers
and tomatoes with great success, so it apparently depends on the specific
location (soil as well as area) and choice of varieties. My tomatoes are
mostly heirloom and have been literally dozens of varieties.

O.P. didn't say what part of western Washington, but if anywhere near
Vancouver/Portland, visit the garden show at Clark County Fairgrounds at
the end of April and definitely visit Millennium Farms. M.F. uses no
chemicals and has many dozens of varieties of heirloom veggies; their
green house is fantastic for a gardener, better than a candy store for
kids.

http://millenniumfarms.bizland.com/

Of the veggies in my photo they posted on their home page, all peppers and
tomatoes were purchased at their greenhouse (potatoes from Hints of Garlic
in Ellensburg,). The photo was taken in July of that year (2000) so lots
of growing season left. I'd say that photo speaks for itself as to
whether we can get good production. The garden that year was about 15 by
15 feet. FYI, the green tomatoes there are ripe, Green Zebra.

My 2002 garden, as of the end of July, is posted at:
http://www.pacifier.com/~glenna/
Pictures of several varieties (though only a few of what I've grown) of
tomato are at the bottom of the page. These just happen to be the ones I
photographed; they are all delicious. Click on the images to see a larger
image. In each case, the slices are from the tomato they accompany
(PhotoShop!). The descriptions are from M.F.'s product sheet.

I absolutely love that place and feel fortunate to have stumbled upon them
at my first garden show in 2000 as I was preparing to plant my first real
garden. The first year I purchased all plants (tomatoes, peppers, herbs,
etc.) from then; since then, I've branched out but they are still my
primary source. They are located in Ridgefield and several long-time
customers drive from Salem (85 miles) to purchase from them; I like
tomatoes but am not sure I'd drive that far for plants! g

For the beginning gardener in competition with the "old folks", those
photos should show what you can learn in only two years (and digesting
info from the experienced). However, I do not take credit for the garden
.. . . it grows in spite of me, not because of me. The "because of" is
good soil, manure, lots of water, mulch , etc., not a mere human. (Just
plain dumb luck probably figures into it 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.

I second all that except the onions, though I know others who have had
great onions, that has not been one of my successes.


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.

Manure, definitely, absolutely (horse being best). I mulch well with
grass clippings as I plant the seedlings and water regularly, for several
hours once a week with a soaker system, twice a week in hot weather. We
have good drainage in our location, the clay is 2-3 feet below the
surface, luckily.

My experience has been that the proper watering has been the most
important care, even more than direct sun. Most of my garden is in
partial tree shade much of the day but thrives. Do note there is a
difference between partial tree shade and being on the border of
evergreens, evergreens produce denser shade and have other issues as well.

Just another viewpoint for western Washington/Oregon. As always, YMMV.

Glenna