The Best Western Locations for Vegetable Gardens

• Western states have an excellent climate for vegetable gardening.Martin Poole/Digital Vision/Getty Images
  
  You can grow a vegetable garden in nearly any climate in the west of the United States as long as you can provide irrigation. However, states like Arizona and Nevada can be too hot, too dry and tend to have hard clay soil that is not ideal for vegetable gardening without amendments. However, the western states along the coast of the Pacific Ocean all offer moderate to rich soil, plenty of water for irrigation and good climates for growing vegetables.
  
  

California

• California features a wide range of climates, from mild in the south to the chilly winters of the north, but most of California is moderate enough in temperature to grow vegetables year-round. The soil throughout California may have too much clay or sand, but with 4 to 5 inches of compost you can effectively improve it. California also has enough sunny days and an adequate growing season to grow a large variety of warm-season vegetables, like heirloom tomatoes and beans.
  
  

Oregon

• Home of the sought-after Willamette Valley, Oregon has a mild climate and rich soil along the coast, which is perfect for vegetable gardening. Farther inland the climate gets cooler and the weather drier, but the soil is still rich in most places. Vegetable gardening still works well in inland Oregon as long as you take into account the frost dates in your region for United States Agricultural zones 6 to 5.
  
  

Washington

• Like Oregon, Washington has a mild climate and rich soil along the coast. While southeast Washington is a desert, northeastern Washington is colder, USDA zone 6 to 5; the summers are sunny, which makes good weather for warm-season vegetables like tomatoes, squash and corn. The growing season in the northeastern part of the state is shorter than the growing season along the coast.