Here are some excellent resources available for this upcoming season’s gardening. Next month, I’ll discuss Gina Gormley’s intriguing ‘bermese’ garden.

A recent bulletin from WSU’s Cooperative Extension featured several excellent publications, all applicable for our gardening needs. The first book is called Sustainable Gardening: The Oregon-Washington Master Gardener Handbook. As many of you know, master gardeners have done a great deal of studying and have a tremendous amount of practical experience to offer us. This book contains “the best science-based information for understanding what is happening in your Pacific Northwest lawn and garden.” The chapters cover: botany basics, soils and fertilizers, plant propagation, pruning, composting, water quality, vegetable gardening, herbaceous ornamentals, woody landscape plants, home orchards, berry crops, lawns, houseplants, basic entomology, plant disease, diagnosing plant problems, weed management, vertebrate pest management, understanding pesticides, integrated pest management, and plant identification. It sells for $29.

Author Toni Fitzgerald, mentioned before in this column, has been a member of WSU’s Spokane County Extension faculty since 1985 and has worked for the Master Gardener Volunteer Program since 1979. She has several books available from the Extension. One is Landscape Plants for the Inland Northwest: Including Native and Adapted Plants. This little book (only $10) features plants either native to the Inland Northwest or adaptable to our soil and climatic conditions. Ms. Fitzgerald lists perennials, ornamental grasses, ferns, vines, rock garden plants, groundcovers, shrubs, and trees that would do well in our area.

Also by Ms. Fitzgerald is Gardening in the Inland Northwest. An extremely reasonable book at only $12, this one is especially written for the climate and seasons typical of the area east of the Cascade Mountains. It lists local frost dates and growing seasons in 60 towns in Washington, Idaho, Oregon, and Montana. There is also information on planting and harvest dates, how to start seeds indoors, how to accomplish frost protection, and information on common bugs and diseases.

Other books available from the Extension are Roses for the Inland Northwest, ($6), Fruit Trees for the Inland Northwest, ($6), Berries for the Inland Northwest, ($6), Perennials for the Inland Northwest, Volume I, ($6), Perennials for the Inland Northwest, Volume II, ($6), and Landscaping with Native Plants in the Inland Northwest, ($6). You can order any of the above publications online at http://pubs.wsu.edu/ or call 1-800-723-1763.

If you are interested in obtaining not only organic seeds, but heirloom seeds as well, here in the West there are several good sources. The Moscow Food Co-op carries one brand: Seeds of Change. This company is ten years old and sells only organically grown seeds. They specialize in beans, chilies, corn, and sunflowers. One such specialty is the ‘Jack in the Beanstalk Bean,’ a European heirloom that you eat fresh or let dry for soup beans. See them at http://www.seedsofchange.com/ and start dreaming about your upcoming garden. Then you can their seeds at the Co-op and not pay shipping charges.

Bountiful Gardens is another company that features open-pollinated, untreated seeds. The seed production part of the company is actually part of Ecology Action, a nonprofit organization specializing in bio-intensive vegetable gardening. They feature rare vegetable and herb varieties. One is ‘Madras,’ a ‘podding’ radish that has sweet, edible pods. See them at http://www.bountifulgardens.org/.

If you’re into culinary and medicinal herbs, then Nichols Garden Nursery is for you. They also sell gourmet and specialty vegetables. See them at http://www.nicholsgardennursery.com/. They have a really cool catalog with lots of other things like supplies for making wine and beer, plus flower seeds and interesting culinary tools.

If you love Asian vegetables, you’ll want to investigate Evergreen Y. H. Enterprises. This company sells all kinds of Asian vegetables, including winged beans, pickling melons and edible rape, ‘Chin Gu,’ which bears leaves and flowering stalks to use in stir-fry dishes. You can see their offerings at http://www.evergreenseeds.com/. (Note: this Web site does not claim to have organically grown seeds.)

Lastly, Garden City Seeds specializes in sustainable vegetable varieties for areas with short growing seasons. They have many early-harvest vegetables such as corn, squash, melons, peppers, and tomatoes that can be difficult to grow here if we have a long, cold, wet spring and an early autumn frost. They feature a dwarf corn developed in Alaska called ‘Yukon Chief’ that bears ears five to six inches long in only 55 days.

Pat Diaz lives and gardens about an hour east of Moscow. She is enjoying the beautiful sights of early Spring which include the flowering serviceberry bushes and the arrowleaf balsamroot.

Author Toni Fitzgerald, mentioned before in this column, has been a member of WSU’s Spokane County Extension faculty since 1985 and has worked for the Master Gardener Volunteer Program since 1979. She has several books available from the Extension. One is Landscape Plants for the Inland Northwest: Including Native and Adapted Plants. This little book (only $10) features plants either native to the Inland Northwest or adaptable to our soil and climatic conditions. Ms. Fitzgerald lists perennials, ornamental grasses, ferns, vines, rock garden plants, groundcovers, shrubs, and trees that would do well in our area.

Also by Ms. Fitzgerald is Gardening in the Inland Northwest. An extremely reasonable book at only $12, this one is especially written for the climate and seasons typical of the area east of the Cascade Mountains. It lists local frost dates and growing seasons in 60 towns in Washington, Idaho, Oregon, and Montana. There is also information on planting and harvest dates, how to start seeds indoors, how to accomplish frost protection, and information on common bugs and diseases.

Other books available from the Extension are Roses for the Inland Northwest, ($6), Fruit Trees for the Inland Northwest, ($6), Berries for the Inland Northwest, ($6), Perennials for the Inland Northwest, Volume I, ($6), Perennials for the Inland Northwest, Volume II, ($6), and Landscaping with Native Plants in the Inland Northwest, ($6). You can order any of the above publications online at http://pubs.wsu.edu/ or call 1-800-723-1763.

If you are interested in obtaining not only organic seeds, but heirloom seeds as well, here in the West there are several good sources. The Moscow Food Co-op carries one brand: Seeds of Change. This company is ten years old and sells only organically grown seeds. They specialize in beans, chilies, corn, and sunflowers. One such specialty is the ‘Jack in the Beanstalk Bean,’ a European heirloom that you eat fresh or let dry for soup beans. See them at http://www.seedsofchange.com/ and start dreaming about your upcoming garden. Then you can their seeds at the Co-op and not pay shipping charges.

Bountiful Gardens is another company that features open-pollinated, untreated seeds. The seed production part of the company is actually part of Ecology Action, a nonprofit organization specializing in bio-intensive vegetable gardening. They feature rare vegetable and herb varieties. One is ‘Madras,’ a ‘podding’ radish that has sweet, edible pods. See them at http://www.bountifulgardens.org/.

If you’re into culinary and medicinal herbs, then Nichols Garden Nursery is for you. They also sell gourmet and specialty vegetables. See them at http://www.nicholsgardennursery.com/. They have a really cool catalog with lots of other things like supplies for making wine and beer, plus flower seeds and interesting culinary tools.

If you love Asian vegetables, you’ll want to investigate Evergreen Y. H. Enterprises. This company sells all kinds of Asian vegetables, including winged beans, pickling melons and edible rape, ‘Chin Gu,’ which bears leaves and flowering stalks to use in stir-fry dishes. You can see their offerings at http://www.evergreenseeds.com/. (Note: this Web site does not claim to have organically grown seeds.)

Lastly, Garden City Seeds specializes in sustainable vegetable varieties for areas with short growing seasons. They have many early-harvest vegetables such as corn, squash, melons, peppers, and tomatoes that can be difficult to grow here if we have a long, cold, wet spring and an early autumn frost. They feature a dwarf corn developed in Alaska called ‘Yukon Chief’ that bears ears five to six inches long in only 55 days.

Pat Diaz lives and gardens about an hour east of Moscow. She is enjoying the beautiful sights of early Spring which include the flowering serviceberry bushes and the arrowleaf balsamroot.