I'm in Milwaukie, Or (suburb of Portland) so I think your zone is similar to mine. You might be too late for peas and onions. Potatoes, collards, carrots, beets, broccoli, strawberries, parsley, chives probably still ok. Lettuce can go in any time from Feb...Zucchini and cucumber seeds are best planted end of May, same with tomato starts. I started my onions from seed in December and transplanted the tiny plants in February. If you get large enough plants, they should be fine--but don't wait! They are daylight sensitive. Also collards are very easy to start from seed, and I just sowed mine outside a few weeks ago.

Thanks! That's very encouraging! (Except for the peas...those were one of my favorite picks!!) Darn :( Do I get another chance in the fall??

Your zone might be slightly colder than mine, so you might still try peas--tomorrow! According to my planting guide, 4/1 is the last date to plant here in Portland, but you might still plant some seeds (not a huge investment). Fall plantings are tricky here (I've tried twice, but have yet to master the timing of that). With our abrupt summer/fall transition I've found it hard to get them big enough without suffering powdery mildew in time to actually produce any pods. I would definitely try the peas--with this cool, wet weather we have in the forecast they'll probably germinate in a few days.

Just a note about your parsley--you'll be better off seeding some new (or new transplant) this year. Parsley is a biennial. The first year, it's job is to make nice leaves. Then it goes dormant for winter, and the second year it's job is to provide a few leaves to make enough energy to produce flowers and ultimately seeds. The second year growth is not as tasty and can be more bitter. Unless you have two patches, alternating years for harvest, most grow parsley annually. Long germination time, but easy to seed. Chives are perennial, so you're good there.

With your raised beds, are they closed bottom, or open to soil beneath?

Other than that, let's split you list between cool season and warm season. Cool: lettuce, broccoli, beets, carrots, peas, potatoes, collards, onions. If you're not too late for broc, you'll want transplant for that. Potatoes from seed spuds. Onions depend on the type. The rest from seed is best.

Warm: tomatoes, zucchini, cucumbers. You're probably best off getting tomato plants at this point, but the others direct seed a couple weeks after frost date. You'll want to make sure you plan enough space for those plants. Roma is generally a mid size that produces one large crop at once then done for the most part. Cherry tomatoes are pretty much the largest tomato plants--you'll need them staked and a large cage (and the 3 ring wire ones don't count). Cherokee is a large plant too. Check the size on your zuke seeds--they can be large plants too, so you'll want to plan for the end of a bed so that part of their space is off the side. You're best off with a trellis for your cukes if they're a vining type.

Check with a good garden center or greenhouse to see if they have a calendar of recommended planting times for your area, though it sounds like you've found some good comparisons here. If you're too late for peas--you can still plant some and just eat the shoots as salad greens. Very yummy!

Don't they grow the cool season stuff year round in Seattle? Peas, Broccoli, Lettuce...

That's a long list for a beginner, expect to spend a lot more time weeding then you thought you would, and don't expect everything to do well... which is advice I myself still haven't really accepted yet :)

baloonflower- Thanks for the tip on the parsley! I didn't know that. If it won't be good, I'll probably just toss it instead of transplanting to my new boxes.

My boxes are open to the soil underneath. I appreciate the info about the tomatoes. I'd rather have something that fruits for a longer period, so maybe I'll look for an alternative to the roma tomatoes. I can buy the texas tomato cages for the heirloom and cherry varieties.

As far as warm/cool season goes, I've had luck here growing lettuce all summer. Could probably grow it far into the winter as well if it were protected from frost. We have mild temps here. year-round and rain of course :)

Check out this blog: http://www.nwedible.com/ She lives in Edmonds and it's a great gardening/homemaking blog. Every month she posts a garden to do list!

Thanks!!

Also be sure to check in with your local county ag extension office for all their available help and review all the info they have on their website.

Dave

The important thing about peas is that they don't like heat (I suspect you won't get too much heat in Seattle anyway), but they are freeze tolerant to 20F, which I suspect you don't get lot in the winter in your zone which, I believe, with regard to plant hardiness and winter survival, is the same as mine. (Everything else is different!) I plant my peas in November/December, and harvest in April. So yes, you definitely get another chance in the fall for peas. Yes, you COULD get a killer freeze, but it isn't likely, and the plants would be small then, so easy to protect. I used to live in Portland.

Since you mention cooler temps, you may want to look into some of the Russian varieties of tomatoes--from what I know, they tolerate and produce well at cooler temps.