My parents were quietly reading in their favorite chairs when I, their nine-year-old son, approached with a question. “May I start a vegetable garden in the backyard?” They looked at each other in wonder. Neither one of them had any interest in gardening. “Ah … well … sure,” my dad answered. After a while, curiosity brought Mom and Dad out to the backyard. There they found me manfully laboring away with a shovel longer than myself.

Thus began my lifelong passion for gardening. However gardening in Washington State has proved difficult mostly due to the short growing season. For example, everything I’ve tried has failed to get tomatoes to ripen before September.    

I’ll bet you know what does grow well in Washington. Apples!  Our town, Port Orchard, was named so because of the many orchards here. You can literally see Seattle from our shoreline. The fruit could be boated to markets. Even today many apple trees grow wild here. You can collect edible fruit for free, which Kit and I do, but not the most modern varieties.

Pictured is our first crop of honey crisp apples. Kit and I planted the patented tree and have grocery store quality fruit without any fertilizer or spray. We buy off the deer and the squirrels using the inferior varieties. Every place has its advantages.