South Puget (Olympia) Sound Last Frost Dates

Thinking about planting? Here's a helpful post from last year to help you avoid frost for those sensitive crops.

South Puget (Olympia) Sound Last Frost Dates

Probability/confidence of noted date to be last 32F frost	10%	50%	90%
Date	April 17th	May 5th	May 23rd

Source: NDAA NCDC

Dates below are WRT 50% confidence last 32F frost dates

Crop	Start Indoors	Plant in Garden	Harden off?	Notes
Onion (yellow & red), chives, shallots	Feb	April-May	Yes	Trim onion starts to 3"-5" high to develop strong root system
Broccoli	Feb	March	Yes
Bell Peppers	Early March	May	Yes
Cilantro	March	May	Yes	Can also be directly sown in the garden.  Prefers cooler temps
Cauliflower	March	May	Yes	Can also sow directly in garden April thru June
Italian Kale	March	May	Yes	Can also sow directly in garden in May
Carrots	No	March - July	NA	Carrots have very sensitive roots and forking generally results from transplanting starts.  T(soil)>50F for germination, but tolerates colder temps
Tomatoes	Late March - early April	May	Yes	Start and transplant earlier if using greenhouse or row cover
Sugar Snap Peas	No	As soon as soil can be worked in spring	NA	Peas are very cold tolerant
Cabbage	No	April-June	NA	Germination requires T(soil) = 55F.  May-June sown crops will be ready in the fall
Red Potatoes	No	Mid April	NA	Sow seed potatoes up to 3 weeks before last frost
Spinach	No	T(soil)>= 50F	NA	Sow fall varieties in August and September
Basil	April	May	Yes	Direct sowing not recommended unless nighttime temps will not drop below 50F
Cucumber	April	May	Yes	Cucumbers have very sensitive roots.  Disturb them minimally when transplanting
Corn	April	May-June	Yes	Ideally corn is directly sown in the garden.  However, due to the short PNW summer, indoor starts are often necessary.  Be sure to minimally disturb roots when transplanting.

By Todd Morgan, Master Gardener

Donated Seeds for 2012!

Thank you Territorial Seed Company, Tomato Bob and Johnny's Seeds for donating to our community garden this year!  Your donated seeds will help grow food for the food banks we deliver to!

The seeds have been organized, so growers please be kind and keep the seeds tidy for the next person.

Enjoy!

2012 March Build Day!

In February we managed to get all of D-row dressed with compost and four beds constructed in A-row.  Let's finish our work, top-dress the beds and construct four more A-row beds!

Who: Intel DuPont Community Garden
What: Construction of raised vegetable beds, cleaning out of winter-weeds in current beds, top-dress soil from compost piles.
When: Saturday, March 24th 2012 – from 1300 to 1600.
Where: 2800 Center Drive, DuPont WA 98327
Why: IDCG supports local food banks by growing and donating organic produce. In 2011 we harvested 4,700 pounds of produce, which 4,200 was donated to food banks in Lakewood, Steilacoom, and Olympia.

For the service members: Last year one JBLM service member earned their Military Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal by working in the garden on build days, weeding and growing produce for the community. Your hours of service can be recorded and submitted to your chain of command for the same purpose.

For teenagers who need community service hours for graduation, this is a great opportunity to earn some hours. There will be more opportunities in the future for weeding and building. Contact the email below for details.

For attendance please bring: your tools such as wheelbarrows, shovels, rakes, and battery-powered driver-drills.

RSVP here or to IDCG.volunteercoordinator@live.com. More volunteer opportunities in the future!

You too can help feed the community. Join our blogspot!

Garden Beds Available for 2012

We are now taking request for 2012 open beds!  We added four new beds this year and we are adding four more soon.

Full Outdoor Bed	5 ft x 24 ft	$50.00
Full Greenhouse Bed	4 ft x 14 ft	$50.00
Half Outdoor Bed	5 ft x 12 ft	$25.00
Half Greenhouse Bed	4 ft x 7 ft	$25.00
Child's Garden Box	3 ft x 3 ft	Free - One per family

Please click here to send an email.  Include what type of bed you are interested in.  Remember our mission is to grow organic produce, and we donate half of everything we grow to our food bank partners.  When we harvest we have a convenient location on site for your produce; we make the drop off trip for you!  Available beds are first-come-first-served, so send in your request today before they are all gone!

2012 February Build Day!

Who: Intel DuPont Community Garden
What: Construction of raised vegetable beds, cleaning out of winter-weeds in current beds, top-dress soil from compost piles.
When: Saturday, February 18th 2012 – from 0900 to 1200.
Where: 2800 Center Drive, DuPont WA 98327
Why: IDCG supports local foodbanks by growing organic healthy food. In 2011 we harvested 4,700 pounds of produce, which 4,200 was donated to foodbanks in Lakewood, Steilacoom and Olympia.

For the service members: Last year one JBLM service member earned their Military Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal by working in the garden on build days, weeding and growing produce for the community. Your hours of service can be recorded and submitted to your chain of command for the same purpose.

For teenagers who need community service hours for graduation, this is a great opportunity to earn some hours. There will be more opportunities in the future for weeding and building. Contact the email below for details.

For attendance please bring: your tools such as wheelbarrows, shovels, rakes, and battery-powered driver-drills.

RSVP to IDCG.volunteercoordinator@live.com. More volunteer opportunities in the future!

You too can help feed the community!

Feedback From the Foodbank

Focus on the Goal
Feedback From the Food Bank

When growing food for others, consider the following when planning your 2012 crops.

Very Popular:

• Tomatoes - will take all that can be grown.
• Cabbage - good but smaller is better.
• Potatoes - reds only
• Carrots - very popular
• Peppers - bells are especially popular
• Onion - both yellow and red
• Broccoli - do more, popular and continuous
• Corn - very popular

 Do More:

• Cilantro
• Shallots
• Basil
• Chives
• Raspberries
• Cucumber
• Cauliflower
• Sugar Snap Peas
• Strawberries
• Spinach 

 

Feedback Foods:

• Kale - do all Italian variety, not Russian
• Greenbeans - do less, the food bank gets plenty from other sources
• Zucchini - harvest smaller, do less
• Squash - pick small

Unpopular - Do less:

• Okra - not popular
• Rutabaga - not popular
• Beets - not popular
• Turnips - not popular
• Dry Beans - NO