Fall Vegetables on the Oregon Coast

After a long wet spring (longer and wetter than usual), we in western Oregon have seen most summer crops delayed.  As if to add insult to injury, the rains started early this fall while so many things were finally ripening.  This week brought dry sunny weather (more typical) so we may yet be able to bring in most things, but it's been a challenging season for sure.

One of the main culprits this fall has been gray mold (and/or brown rot, not to mention the hordes of slugs that arrived with the rain).  I was thrilled to finally harvest bunches of beans from my Blue Lake and Purple Queen bush plants just as the mold was starting to set in.  My squash and pumpkin plants are vigorous and setting fruit but starting to display powdery mildew in patches, to be expected with our foggy autumn mornings.

Fall peas are coming along, and we have a veritable forest of Swiss chard, Bright Lights variety.  Thanks to our mini-greenhouse for the tomato bed we were able to harvest quite a few and the standout performer this year is Super Marzano.  I just love paste tomatoes: easy to pick, easy to peel, taste great, awesome for canning.

Even on the Oregon coast, a determined gardener can bring forth a bounty.