Ok, I 'll let this drift off the page now :-(
Wendey

About every couple of months someone from the Spokane area posts something and then vanishes because no one replies. If you would all just stick around for a while maybe you would have something going.....

I've only spent a little time in Spokane. I think the best gardening area and some of the nicer neighborhoods are on the 'South Hill' side of town. The Valley seems less nice to me, and it is probably a little colder. But a lot depends on what you are looking for, and I have not spent a huge amount of time there. I like the area, though.

Ian, thanks for the reply, I was starting to think gardening in Spokane might be a bad idea. well if we do relocate to that neck of the woods then I will probably be hangin out on this forum too.
Best Wishes, Wendey

The thing is this forum (see top of page) is for Pacific Slope gardeners. Spokane would fall under another one, without checking I think it's Northern Gardening--you can tell be reading forum description at top of page.

Or, you could say the description of the Northwest's climate at the top of the forum is a gross overgeneralization probably made by someone who isn't familiar with the region. Eastern Washington has a different and milder climate than much of the Intermountain west.

You can grow lots of things in Spokane. There are active perennial and rose societies, and plant sales with lots of interesting goodies. I went to a plant sale at Manito Park and was very impressed with the vendors and their selection. It was as good as the NPA and Arboretum plant sales in Seattle, but with a different (though still very diverse) selection of plants.

Or you could say that it was decided by someone who IS familiar with the region and the fact that conditions and gardening are quite different west of the mountains than east. And as far as it goes the whole intermountain region has a similar regime of forested uplands and arid lowlands pretty much throughout.

Hi Wendey,
You might go over to the Wintersow forum. vera_eastern_wa is posting on there quite often and can shed some light on gardening over that side of the mountains.
Kathy

Hi Wendey,

Gardening in Spokane is wonderful! I am still a novice gardner but it is quickly becoming one of my favorite past times. I personally love the South Hill. The soil can be claylike in some neighborhoods on the South Hill but if you simply take the time to turn it over and add other orgainc materials you would not believe how quickly your plants will grow! My husband and I purchased our first home a few years ago, so I simply learn more with each season I plant. I don't know how much help I will be, but I would be happy to try and answer any questions about the Spokane climate you may have!

I recently moved back to Spokane after spending several years in Texas. Believe me, gardening here is MUCH more fun and rewarding...although I did learn to love some very interesting and great plants down South. AND early planting was a plus! Now I'll just use a greenhouse and learn to incorporate some of the plants here as well.

Love it here back home.

I grew up north of Spokane until I went to college in Bellingham, but originally from the Shoreline area north of Seattle. Veggie gardening is real good there. Our garden was usually the size of a city lot. We lived off it. The warm summers and volcanic soil make gardening a pleasure. We were even able to grow Cantaloupe and small Watermelons. The 'valley' east of Spokane has a lot of small rocks in the soil due to the Missoula Floods. Good gardens are grown there also.
I lived on Orchard Prairie, Five Mile Prairie, Peone Prairie, and Half Moon Prairie. Oh, and the country Homes area just south of Whitworth College. Soil is very sandy there, all the way to the Little Spokane river. Needless to say, we moved a lot.

Hi, I have lived in several areas of Spokane, and in a small town north of Spokane called Elk. Have gardened in all of them. The north side of Spokane is the hardest, because the elevation is higher, I guess. Shorter growing season in the summer & lots more snow that lasts longer in the winter. I haven't tried the South Hill, so can't comment on that. The valley is the best, I think. Growing season is longer, soil used to be a river bed, so is rocky. Rocks hold in the heat. I grow beets, lettuce, carrots, , kale, beans, corn, cukes, squash, onions, potatoes, sugar snap peas, tomatoes, strawberries, pumpkins, and lots of herbs in my garden. I have tried okra and watermelon, lima beans and cantaloupe, but with less success. With corn, you need a fairly short season variety. I can and freeze a lot. I live on a 1/4 acre lot in the town of the Spokane Valley. Half my backyard is chickens, the other half is raised beds (11) and a plowed area for the corn and squash. Have an Italian prune tree, had an apricot, but it died of old age.

I didn't look at the dates. Isn't that funny? I'm embarrassed! Glad you made it to Spokane. Sounds like you have a great place out towards Otis. Keep on growing!