Temperatures are slowly rising and most local soils have dried sufficiently to be worked. It’s time to start your vegetable garden! But, perhaps, you need some guidance.

On Saturday, May 13, from 10-11:30 a.m., home gardeners can get timely advice from local experts about vegetable gardening at the Fifth Street Community Garden, 328 E. Fifth St., Port Angeles. The event is part of the “Second Saturday Garden Walks,” an educational series sponsored by WSU Clallam County Master Gardeners on the second Saturday of each month through September.

The format includes a one-hour walk through the Community Garden to show gardeners what needs to be done in vegetable gardens (and how to do it) as well as problems that are likely to appear. After the walk, Master Gardeners will share ideas on how to use and preserve what you grow in your garden.

Master Gardeners Bob Cain, Laurel Moulton, Lois Bellamy, Audreen Williams and Jeanette Stehr-Green lead the walks. Betsy Wharton, Master Gardener and WSU Clallam Extension Food Preservation Adviser, assisted by Laura Orton, will talk about use of produce, sharing recipes that use seasonal fruits and vegetables.

The May walk will focus on transplanting starts, setting up trellises, dealing with early spring pests, fertilizing and much more.

“Second Saturday Garden Walks” are free and open to the public. To allow working families and students to participate, the walks have been moved to Saturday mornings. The walks are ideal for persons starting a vegetable garden for the first time and gardeners who are new to the Pacific Northwest but also are beneficial to the more experienced gardener.

The Fifth Street Community Garden is located just off Peabody Street, right across from City Hall. The garden includes over 50 individuals plots that are each 9 feet by 12 feet. The garden was developed on city property in 2011 with a vision to connect people to the earth and their community through growing food.

For more information about “Second Saturday Garden Walks,” call 565-2679.