Nancy and Jim DeClark's vegetable garden is the picture of order. Each 4- by 8-foot bed is outlined with landscaping timbers and amended with compost and rotted manure to make the soil easy to work.

A 2-inch layer of crushed gravel covers the paths between the beds, so feet stay free of mud during western Oregon's frequent rains. Sweet peas are trained up wire attached to a wooden A-frame.