Questions for people who live in the Port Angeles, Sequim and Port Townsend areas (Seattle: living, restaurant)

[freepelican]

Originally Posted by rantiquity

Actually you can get just about any book there is by using North Olympic Library System (NOLS), any book that you may want can be found either ordering online thru NOLS or in person at the library. the material you need will be available in just a couple days. No cost. Use the following website:

Catalog : North Olympic Library System (NOLS)

One of the ways I evaluate a community is the library system. The library in Sequim is a drawback in my opinion. It's very small and located in a school zone, right across the street from the schools in fact, which is good for the school kids but not so much for other patrons. Parking can be impossible at times and you can't park on the street in this area. My impression is there is far less walk in traffic than in libraries I have seen in other areas. Yes, you can do interlibrary loan or have books transferred from PA, etc, but that's generally a hassle to do all the time. I've seen better libraries in places that serve fewer people. The late fees are exorbitant compared to other libraries and frankly the librarians seem more concerned about books being a few days late than in catering to patrons. It's probably not as bad as I'm sounding here but it is the least impressive library system of any place I've ever lived and this includes communities that are more remote and have less money. It just doesn't seem to be an emphasis on the Olympic Peninsula.

Also, I've visited the library in Port Angeles a couple of times. It is much bigger and the parking far better but it's in an out of the way location. My quick scan of the shelves did not look that impressive for the size of the community it serves.

[rantiquity]

Parking is not a problem at the Sequim Library, if the main parking lot is full you can park next door at the church which has a large parking area. Sequim Library system is right now exploring the possibility of building a larger library.
Too tell you the truth I seldom use the Sequim Library as I get almost all my reading material using Kindle and Amazon.

I really think libraries are going to be something that future generation are going to say, 'what a library?'

[freepelican]

Originally Posted by rantiquity

Parking is not a problem at the Sequim Library, if the main parking lot is full you can park next door at the church which has a large parking area. Sequim Library system is right now exploring the possibility of building a larger library.
Too tell you the truth I seldom use the Sequim Library as I get almost all my reading material using Kindle and Amazon.

I really think libraries are going to be something that future generation are going to say, 'what a library?'

I've been told the church actually frowns on that.

I hope Sequim does get a larger library but it will take more than a larger building imo.

Although I adore modern technology, I seriously doubt paper books are going to go out of vogue for at least a few more decades. They've done surveys with kids, for example, that show they greatly prefer a paper book to a kindle book, even when the Kindle book has sounds, animation, and other interactivity. Kids prefer the interactivity with an adult human. It may also come to pass that community libraries "lend" out electronic books. I hope so. Some community libraries already offer access to a great deal of resources via their websites. I would like to see this extended to state or national public library sites.

Besides books, libraries offer many other research resources such as genealogical records and historical records. Some house collections of historical photographs and taped interviews. They often offer a rotating displays that generate considerable interest including things like old farm equipment, native American artifacts, etc.. Some go out of their way to support local authors. They also offer meeting rooms and lend out other types of materials like artwork to hang on your walls and even fishing poles! A great community library can add a lot to a community.

[ocean2026]

I too read this thread for information on the area and the differences between Port Angeles, Sequim, and Port Townsand. Many good posts Rantiquity - please get off your soapbox about poltics and pot I know how important your opinion is ( in your own eyes) but perhaps start your town thread.

Is Port Ludow Port Hadlock and Quilcene like the other towns mentioned? Same Rain Shadow?

Is the growing season decent in all those areas?

[TrueTimbers]

Originally Posted by ocean2026

I too read this thread for information on the area and the differences between Port Angeles, Sequim, and Port Townsand. Many good posts Rantiquity - please get off your soapbox about poltics and pot I know how important your opinion is ( in your own eyes) but perhaps start your town thread.

Is Port Ludow Port Hadlock and Quilcene like the other towns mentioned? Same Rain Shadow?

Is the growing season decent in all those areas?

Sequim is the center of the rain shadow, but all places North and East of the Olympics benefit from it some times.

IMO this page "hypes" it a bit much, but it has lots of good information:
Olympic Rain Shadow Map and Location

Look at rainfall maps you can find on line or here on CD.

What are you looking for in a growing season? Long and cool, or short and warm? Away from the water you will have earlier frost, but summer daytime highs will be
warmer for things like tomatoes and peppers.
USDA interactive map:
Interactive Map | USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map

Here is one with frost dates:
http://www.plantmaps.com/interactive...t-date-map.php

Quilcene is the wettest of the communities mentioned. But many farmers are located in the area.

IMO rainshadow just means drizzle instead of steady rain. With that said, things can be too dry... especially if you have a water problem like Sequim, and restrictions on watering your garden exist or may exist in the future.


Dungeness Rule restricts outdoor water use :: Sequim Gazette

So be mindful of water rights/restrictions in the region..

Lots of options... Just depends what you value personally...

[windrunner4484]

Do people there in Sequim use native plants to garden? Do they do the lush lawns or more like natural gardening? Is it too dry in that region? I noticed the rainfall is similar to what we get here. What is the watertable like there? Salt water problems with deep wells?

[TrueTimbers]

Originally Posted by windrunner4484

Do people there in Sequim use native plants to garden? Do they do the lush lawns or more like natural gardening? Is it too dry in that region? I noticed the rainfall is similar to what we get here. What is the watertable like there? Salt water problems with deep wells?

Lush lawns come natural, remember it is a low rainfall area, but it is very very cool and cloudy. So even though the rainfall is low grass stays green besides a short period in late summer.

I know places like Marrowstone island have problems with Saltwater in wells, but that is in areas real near the water.

When you think about water priorities in Western Washington think Salmon first. Call or write the University of Washington to learn the mindset behind all this. .

[Dendrite]

Originally Posted by TrueTimbers

remember it is a low rainfall area, but it is very very cool and cloudy

Agreed.

Originally Posted by ocean2026

Is the growing season decent in all those areas?

With respect to your growing question, it helps to keep in mind that we have a maritime climate here- "cool and cloudy" as I quoted from TrueTimbers above. The problem with gardening in the rain shadow area of western WA is not so much the lesser amount of total annual rainfall (as you can always water your garden if you need to) but rather the lack of heat.

To understand my point, pull up a gardening/growing heat map for WA such as the AHS Plant Heat-Zone Map. It's a measure of the number of days annually an area has with temperatures above the mid 80's (F) Let's see if I can post one for discussion sake. Here we go:



Of the AHS Heat Zones of 1 through 12, Sequim is generally at the bottom of the scale at a Zone 1 (pink color and a little hard to see). The other towns asked about above (Port Townsend, Port Ludlow, Port Hadlock, Quilcene) are mostly Zone 1 to perhaps Zone 2 (purple color).

So any fruit or vegetable that requires some heat to ripen just doesn't do that well here. We can grow great cool weather vege's such as kale, cabbage, lettuce (almost year round by the way) but struggle to grow heat loving plants like tomatoes. Even my neighbors with greenhouses seem to have their work cut out for them to grow tomatoes consistently. My hunch is that even with a greenhouse, the UV Index in this area may not be high enough to "power" a greenhouse all that well.

So in summary and to your question ocean2026: we have a good season for all those things that grow well in cooler and grayer climates.

BTW, just another "growing stuff" related thought in passing- the other gardening/growing challenge that we have here are all the deer helping themselves to the produce but that's a discussion for another thread...

[windrunner4484]

We have deer here, as well as many other animals. The secret is growing stuff they don't like unless they are starving. No, I figure when we move there I'll look up the native plants and stick to stuff that grows well there, and for birds, etc. Not too interested in growing a garden. Had my fill of that here. Well, maybe some daylilies. And it's nice to know it's green grass there..from what I see in photos mostly year round. Good thing I like cloudy cool weather. Thanks for the info. If we ever sell our house, we'll be on our way.

[TrueTimbers]

Great map Dendrite, you can see it is a bit warmer summer in Quilcene... Ah the deer... Quite the hot topic in Port Townsend.. Gardeners pitted against non gardeners.

--
Windrunner..

I don't know... Those deer are evil, they will even eat deer resistant plants if you don't want them too... Heck I have even had them much down Thai pepper plants loaded with peppers and they eat my Marigolds every year.


I like this site to drool over really awesome plants to grow in the area..

View Plant | Great Plant Picks

Same climate as Victoria across the straight..
Darn fine gardens..
The Butchart Gardens | Over 100 Years in Bloom

If interested in pushing the limits on what you can grow in a cool maritime climate this site discusses that..
The Cloudforest Gardener, Home of the Cloudforest Cafe

Read British gardening websites and publications... (It is pretty much the same as here.)


Picking a property with a good southern exposure helps... Get whatever you can of that low angle winter sun that way... (It is really low on the horizon at 48 degrees North latitude.)
Happy gardening.. wherever you land..