To plant. :) We are moving into our new place July 11. There is an existing garden with raised beds and a tall fence, but it's been neglected for quite a while. There are strawberry plants and several differnt herbs that I haven't completely indentified. My plan is to get in there right away (the boxes can wait to be unpacked, right???LOL) and weed everything and water and fertilize what's currently growing.

If I add lots of mulch/manure so the soil is really good, and plant older/already grown veggies, do I have any chance of a harvest this year? We live in Northern Idaho, not sure what zone.

I'm thinking tomatoes and zucchini, and would love to try peppers but I don't know if they would have long enough to grow. I would also love to do potatoes and onions, but you can't grow them from mature plants, can you?

What would be some good late summer/fall crops so that I could just start them mid July anyway? We get snow by early November and frost by October, sometimes September.

I'd say if you have already potted/partially grown tomatoes - esp. if they are cherry or short season - definitely give them a try (zucchini too - not sure if they'll do as well, but might as well try). Try to give them as big of pots as you can now to help them grow as much as possible before transplanting. You can help them out late in the season by giving them a cover to extend the season. There have been years here in Seattle that May/June were so cold and wet that I didn't put my tomatoes out until the first week of July and I still got a harvest. Certianly not as abundant as if they had been in sooner, but still got some!

As far as the other stuff - you could do bunching onions or scallions, but yeah, I'd save the potatoes for next year. For fall, well it depends on how high your elevation is - I know some parts of Idaho start to get really darned cold pretty early in the fall (I used to camp there for work until September and I remember some chiiiiily nights lol) - but here we can start chard, kale, cilantro, overwintering leeks, spinach, etc in mid-late summer for fall crops.

Congrats on your new place :) N Idaho is a beautiful area!

Garden Guide: Outdoor Planting Table - The Old Farmer's Almanac (http://www.almanac.com/garden/plantingtable.php)

That should help! AND - look up your LFD (Last Frost Date) for your area, calculate the number of days you have until then, and then you can go look at bean seeds at the hardware store. I live in GA, and here my grandmother is always able to plant a second or third crop of beans throughout the summer - she just chooses quick-growing/early-producing varieties.

You might be able to still get some basil or cilantro from seed, but with the longer days, they will be quick to bolt (bloom and go to seed).

But it won't be too long until you can start thinking fall crops - cabbage, kale, greens, beets, broccoli, fall peas, etc...

Good Luck!

Oh and PS - to help new plants along, you could always play them your hair ballad playlist... it makes me happy, anyways!

Jeni - I just printed off the extension service planting schedule, and we essentially get two full planting seasons. There are only 2 months when we can't actively grow stuff here.

Anyway, for up yonder in Idaho, you could look up days to maturity, and count back at least that far from the frost date.

Here's a guide that looks close to your area:
Fall and Winter Vegetable Planting Guide (http://www.humeseeds.com/falwint.htm)