What continental USA area is a vegetable gardener's paradise? (vegetables, fruits, Washington)

[BJ Huffman]

For the most part California does have the best weather for gardening year round, if you are coastal and slightly inland, where I am nothing seems to grow well except weeds. I did however live in Washington state for 18 years and always had a very plentiful garden, so my children did have fresh organically grown vegetables and an abundance of berries. I miss that and one of the criteria for finding our retirement state will be gardening, we will need to supplement our costs and gardening really does help because right now food is our major living expense. I am hoping to find a nice southern state that isn't all desert..maybe parts of Utah or Texas will work.

[LIcenter]

At one time a good part of Long Island used to be farmland.

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by texdav

Parts of Florida and of course the valley in south Texas.

I would agree if you are growing fruit, especially citrus fruits, but other produce: I would say California first. Of course a lot has to do with: seasonal or year around. We have had a garden, of some degree So Calif, NM, Sacramento, Ca, No VA, NM, TX and here. For us, personally NM was the best and the DAllas area the worst.

[gentlearts]

I dont know about best, but in my experience it is more about soil quality than zone. I live in a sunny southern state now, and cannot grow much of anything.
When i was a kid, my grandfather had an abundant farm in VT. When i lived in the frozen north, i successfully grew vegetables and flowers.
In many ways, a shorter growing season seems to be a good thing, not a bad thing.

[2 rainbows]

Originally Posted by FOAD

What part of the continental USA can claim the title of Best Vegetable Gardening Environment?

To qualify for this title, the place should have all of the following...
A year-round growing season.
An abundance of rich, loamy soil.
A supportive amount of natural rainfall, (lets say at least an inch a week.)
An absence of strong winds, pounding rains, and biblical hailstorms.
A low incidence of garden pests.*
A minimum of garden diseases.**

*While garden pests are unavoidable, hopefully this gardening paradise we all seek will not have armies of ravenous flea beetles, or truck loads of feasting tomato horn worms.

**Every location has some form of plant disease that is prevalent. Hopefully there is some gardening utopia out there that doesn't have persistent powdery mildew attacking all manner of cucurbits or horrible leaf spot ambushing defenseless tomato plants.

And... Go!

Well, it depends what you mean:
* Year-round growing season -
Flowering plants thrive here year-round yes in winter with snow. Also veggies Sprout inside, & even without a greenhouse, in a coldFrame some veggies will produce.
* Abundance of rich, loamy soil
Remember to remineralize soil for success...
* supportive amount of natural rainfall - Yes.
* absence of strong winds, & pounding rains ? - sorry, those exist here too.
* few garden pests, nor diseases.
The PNW-climate hosts fungus, fungi, galore; - but even they can be kinda managed.

Tropical fruits here would be wonderful; but we are Thankful for all we are richlyblessed with.

[kinkytoes]

I'd say someplace like the southeast or the rainy northwest. Ample rainfall and not too much cold. At least for the types of plants that I like to grow. I'd also say anyplace tropical as long as it is not dry. Plants grow like mad.

One thing to say about cold weather is that while it does slow down valuable plants; it also slows weeds down. It may be harder for noxious weeds to get out of hand (esp vines ugh) in more hospitable climates.

[BuyVegetables]

I've just got to say New Jersey. Not all of it, but
a line north from Manhattan you can grown anything. Right up the Union city

Northern climates are good too. Please check our vegetable project getvegetable.com

[Isleofpalms85]

Fort Worth Texas is quite a versatile year round gardening paradise IMO, I suppose that the fact that Fort Worth is Subtropical really helps as you can grow things even in winter.

[NewbieHere]

I’m thinking Washington state, that’s where all my apples come from.

[oldgardener]

Eastern Washington state produces a lot of fruits and vegetables.