The growing conditions here are much like England except that we don't get rain in summer and they do. So, we have modified Mediterranean climate.

You can grow tomatoes, there are varieties developed for the Northwest like Oregon Spring, Willamette, Siletz and Early Girl is always a winner. Don't expect Beefsteak to do anything though.

You can buy netting cheap to protect the fruit trees from birds.

I know asparagus grows here but not what varieties.

I love rhubarb crisp and pie.

The rhubarb patch would not be hard to replace, although 1-gallon potted rhubarb is selling at $7-$10 apiece. And the next owner would have to wait 2 years to get pie quantities. If you're going to be there for 3-5 years or less, maybe dig up all but two clumps; pull about half the stalks on the remaining plants whenever they appear to stop enlarging. The plant will do nothing from October through March.

Trying to give rhubarb away may be "fruitless"; donating it is akin to zucchini; few people like rhubarb and everyone grows zucchini. Both are hard to give away.

I love rhubarb also.

Like you the next people will have their own interests. There's no point in worrying about the rhubarb not being there anymore. It's not like you are talking about ripping the plumbing out of the house.

There's not much of challenge in developing a good veggie garden here - small 'truck' gardens abound and many homeowners, especially in more rural areas, have extensive edible gardens. Hot season crops - tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, corn - offer the greatest challenge only because our summers start late and seldom offer very much "hot" weather, but there are ways of getting around that as well. Perennial veggies, like asparagus, rhubarb and horseradish do exceptionally well here. They are typically offered as bare root stock in early spring. 'Jersey Giant', 'Jersey Knight' and 'Mary Washington' are the asparagus cultivars most often available in area nurseries.

And I expect most of the fruit was eaten by birds simply because it didn't get human attention :-) An active presence in the garden will deter a lot of foraging but I always plan on growing enough to share. And there are various techniques - like the netting or mylar deterrents - that will keep the birds under control.

Personally, I'd leave the rhubarb in place, especially if you have a nice chunk of real estate to garden in. It doesn't take up much space and it's hard to remove, with a large, deep root system. I love fresh rhubarb and I'm moving to the Poulsbo/Bainbridge Island area myself next week. I'd be happy to take the stalks off your hands!

Aside from vegetables and other edibles, you'll find a large range of plants that thrive in this climate, more so than in any other of your previous locations except the UK. And yes, our climate here is quite similar - mild winters, and cool, often damp early summers with drier and warmer conditions midsummer into fall. August and September often offer the best weather of the entire year.

Beans can be started in June, and cucumber and squash starts can be planted out then. Many of the Asian leafy vegetables like Bok Choy actually do better planted in mid summer, by July 15, than in spring since they don't bolt immediately. I don't know if kale and turnips overwinter up there, but if they do they must be planted by July 15 to make it through the winter and then you get early greens from them in the spring.

gardengal...sounds good...perhaps we could trade rhubarb for some tomato plants since I'll be there too late to start them.

Bok Choy may be a possibility as I like KimChi...just have to get up the courage to make my own.

What about root veggies that are in the ground for a while...ie long season potatoes, turnip, rutabaga...any problems with rot due to rains later in the season?

If you grow potatoes in a good sunny location, you shouldn't have a "rot due to rain" issue. You should be able to harvest the spuds before our really rainy season sets in. It may help you to grown them on raised rows and if you pull soil from between the rows to hill them, that will create low areas for rain to drain to. Remember that Ireland was once famous for their potatotes & their climate is similar to England's and ours.

If you can get past our so-so weather, I think you'll like gardening here - welcome.

BTW, I guess rhubarb must be an acquired or born-to-it taste. I love it! Growing up, I always looked forward to a big pot of rhubarb sauce in the spring. And strawberry-rhubarb pie is SO good! I keep an eye out for a freebie plant that produces red-fleshed stalks.

A new neighbor directly behind us hailed me for the first time today about pruning some overhanging rhody branches.

He had the entire backyard redone, but had relocated the one previous owner's plant that he really wanted saved: Rhubarb.

So even if the Eric's Poulsbo patch is removed, the rhubarb karma will still be balanced.

Bok Choy may be a possibility as I like KimChi...just have to get up the courage to make my own.

Kimchee is made from Napa Cabbage not bok choi (I lived in Korea for three years)

Unlike here, Britain has precipitation distributed evenly throughout the year. A typical Seattle summer is a 100 year drought in England.

One of my biggest gardening challenges is dealing with voles, moles, and deer. If you live in the city you may not have trouble with these.

Voles bother some root crops and beans but have not bothered my turnips. I tend to leave the turnips until spring and eat the greens instead of the roots though. I have had voles come up under pole beans that were nearly blooming and nip the vine so the whole thing dies. I put long galvanized nails down beside each bean (warning: dangerous) and wrap the stem with aluminum foil. Last year I skipped the foil and lost a few.

Moles don't eat plants but they like it when I dig and loosen the soil then they come up through my planting hole to the surface and create a chasm that my plant can fall into or unearth the plant. I put rocks down the hole or metal name tag stakes that are several inches long to discourage them.

I have welded wire cages around a lot of plants in my yard, and gardening areas, and lately have had to put bamboo extensions around some beds and run wire around up to 8 feet high to keep deer out. It's a constant battle.

Rhubarb Crisp

INGREDIENTS:
· 1 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
· 1 cup all-purpose flour
· 3/4 cup quick cooking rolled oats
· 1/2 cup melted butter
· 1 teaspoon cinnamon
· 4 cups sliced rhubarb, you can add strawberries
· 1 cup granulated sugar
· 2 tablespoons cornstarch
· 1 cup water
· 1 teaspoon vanilla
PREPARATION:
In mixing bowl, combine brown sugar, flour, oats, butter and cinnamon; mix together until crumbly. Press half of the brown sugar and oats mixture into a buttered 8-inch square baking dish. Top with the sliced rhubarb.
In a saucepan combine 1 cup granulated sugar, cornstarch, and the 1 cup of water and vanilla. Cook together until clear, then pour over rhubarb.
Top rhubarb with remaining crumb mixture and bake at 350° for 45 to 55 minutes.

Hallerlake, If you're willing to think outside the box (or kimchee crock) a little, you can easily make kimchee with bok choi. I think it can be made with many other mustards as well. This may not be the same as what you've seen/tasted but I can assure you it makes a very respectable crock of kimchee. My wife made a batch with bok choy last year and she loved it - she being more of a fan of the foetid greens than I am. Our Korean friends liked it also, or at least pretended they did.

That said, Napa (aka Chinese) Cabbage does provide a lot more mass for making kimchee, although balanced against that is the fact that it takes longer to grow than does bok choy.

I'll check out that rhubarb recipe to see if it is different enough from ours to try. Will have to scale up ingredients: My typical rhubarb crisp weighs 5 or 6 pounds. Doesn't last a week!

Lilydude, Koreans make kimchee with all kinds of things, including root vegetables. I just never saw bok choy there... in any form.

I'll give the recipe a try. My inlaws are coming soon after we get there and they all like rhubarb. Its been awhile since I've ad it so it may be worth another taste.