What Grows in North Central Washington?

What are some good fruit and vegetables to grow in north-central Washington?

We get a lot of different gardening questions at North 40; we have stores in many different zones, and each one of our stores has a special relationship with the growers that supply our fruits and vegetables.

One of our suppliers in the area is a husband and wife team who've been providing plants to N40 for 2 years. They have mucho experience in the growing game, and are 15 year veteran, Bonnie certified suppliers.

Check out their full interview N40 eMag: Garden Edition.

Want to know their specialty (and a great fruit that will do well in north central Washington)? Tomatoes. And the Bonnie tomatoes we stock are known to thrive in these areas.

"Our plants are grown hardy and acclimated to our environment. We grow them pretty cold," she tells me, laughing. The Bonnie plant's people go to the stores 2-3 times a week to check quality of plants on sale, so when you buy Bonnie plants from us you can be sure they will perform great in your garden.

Part of the reason the Bonnie tomatoes are so good has to do with their hardiness levels. When choosing plants to grow in north central Washington, you will want to select strains that are a little on the cold-hardy side because, even in zones 6/7, sometimes those falls get a little frosty.

There is a solid history of organic farms in north-central Washington with about 133 certified organic farms with a total of 7,841 acres of land in organic production and while the apple is king in the region, Washington is the #1 producer of certified organic apples, there is also a wide selection of grapes and cherries that are established in the micro-climates on the Cascades.

Are you interested in growing fruit in the area? We have great success with stone fruits like peaches, tangerines, apricots, and other nectarine varieties, but when it comes to perennial citrus plants it's just too cold, you may get them to go for a season or two, but the yields won't ever be as high as more cold hardy fruits.

Tomatoes: always a solid choice, along with a wide range of the fruits/vegetables as mentioned by Stephan, a certified organic farmer. Early greens, peppers and late season garlic.

What are you guys growing? Reach out to us and let us know on Facebook!