Second, filter any and all advice through a local independent garden center. they will be able to tell you which precise plants will do the best in your area.
now:
if you love tomatoes, ask about varieties bred specifically for our climate. Sweet 100, and Oregon spring are two that have a good chance of having ripe tomatoes here in Oregon, and they may be your best bet up there, too.
since your space is relatively limited, I advise you forget about corn, zucchini (or other squash), and potatoes. all of those are very demanding of space, so a small garden is better off focusing on more compact crops.
I'd recommend considering salad greens, and such things as onion sets (for green onions), peas, beans, carrots, radishes, and such things as you like to eat fresh. again ask your local garden center about specific varieties.
If you plan to take this seriously, I recommend investing in a Western Garden Book, by Sunset. they are pretty expensive, but you may be able to pick up a used one cheaper, if you don't mind not having the most recent edition. (plants don't change THAT much from year to year)
as far as timing, the traditional clause is "after all danger of frost is past" , but that also tempers with the local "after the soil has dried enough to work." not knowing what the condition of your soil is, I give you the blanket warning that if you try to work soil that is high in clay content while it is too wet, it will essentially turn into a pottery project instead of a garden bed. other blanket advice is to be generous with organic material such as peat moss, bark mulch, and suchlike, consult your local agricultural extension service for advice on necessary soil amendments, and possibly free soil analysis. I believe my parents generally get their garden in the ground around May, but my memory on that is kind of vague lately. also, if you don't mind having extra houseplants, you can start some things from seed a few weeks early, and transplant them into your beds (or just buy plants from your garden center instead of seeds)
Good luck, and enjoy.
What do you like? I recommend perusing the Territorial Seed Co. catalog, either online or the paper catalog. They're a company from Oregon and they specialize in short-season veggies that grow well in the Pacific Northwest. There's also an excellent book you should be able to find at the library called Vegetable Gardening West of the Cascades by Steve Solomon. All the information in the front is useful, but the section in the back is my favorite - it goes veggie by veggie and describes when to plant, how to plant, how to harvest, etc.
Lettuce is easy, as are peas and snap beans. Zucchini or summer squash are an easy one - just harvest them before they get too big. Nobody wants a giant zucchini! Tomatoes, winter squash (90-day growing season or less), beets, even eggplant if it's a short season variety. I live in North Bend and on occasion we've even had success with watermelon and cantaloupe, but those are far riskier. Artichokes do well, as do onions.
If you want to start right away, you'll have to build a cold frame. Lettuce and spinach will grow in winter; little else will.
Just make sure your veggie beds have at least 8 hours of full-sun exposure in the summer, otherwise you're going to have problems.What vegetables grow best in home garden in Seattle? When should I plant them?
Almost anything you have room for, but in a cool or short summer you may have trouble ripening an entire crop of tomatoes or anything else that likes a lot of heat such as peppers. If you plant things like that, try to pick ones with a short "to maturity" time. Check individual plants or seed packets for best planting times. They're all different. Some like cool weather and can be planted as soon as there won't be any more frosty nights, others like more warmth and can be planted early indoors but are best set out when the weather is warmer, usually sometime in May.
well i would suggest that you first look into buying a cow, let it get fat, and then you can slaughter that son of a b****h
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