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Informational Resources for Oregon Gardeners

Planted January 1, 2000
Last tended to on October 19, 2024
Reading time: 5 minutes

Oregon Frost Dates (Please Check Back)

• The PRISM Climate Group

Oregon Hardiness Zones (Please Check Back)

OSU Extension Service Statewide, Oregon State University, Corvallis OR

Fall / Winter Gardening in Western Oregon:

• The Westside Gardener – A gardening blog page of Travis Saling.
• “Fall and Winter Vegetable Gardening in the Pacific Northwest” (PDF)
• “Gardening strategies for short-season, high-altitude zones” (PDF)
• “Growing Your Own - A practical guide to gardening in Oregon, featuring vegetable varieties, planting dates, insect control, soil preparation, & more,” Oregon State University Extension Service, April, 2011. (PDF)
• “Short-Season Vegetable Gardening” (PDF)

Recommended Books:

• “Growing Vegetables West of the Cascades: The Complete Guide to Organic Gardening,” by Steve Solomon. Mike Dunton remarks, “This book, dating back to the author’s hands-on research in the 1970s, was written by a mentor of mine. If there is one book that Maritime NW gardeners should own in their reference library, this is it.” Steve Solomon, who founded the Territorial Seed Company, was one of the early proponents of organic gardening, and the first to codify and refine the best practices of small-plot vegetable gardening in the Pacific Northwest. The approaches to understanding and preparing soils, composting, chemical-free fertilizers, efficient uses of water, and garden planning are universal to any climate or region. Solomon gets specific in his extensive advice on growing specific crops—from tomatoes and beans to kale and turnips—in the gentle maritime Northwest climate.

• “Fresh from the Garden: An Organic Guide to Growing Vegetables, Berries, and Herbs in Cold Climates,” by John Whitman. Fresh is simply best. To get the tastiest, most nutritious produce, you have to grow your own, and in a cold climate this presents unique challenges. Fresh from the Garden will help you extend the growing season to produce the best vegetables, berries, and herbs, right in your own backyard. The guide includes more than 150 edible plants and helps you decide which varieties to choose; where and how to plant, tend, and harvest them; and what to do with your bounty. Fresh from the Garden is a clear, concise (yet comprehensive) guide, with nutrition information tables and hundreds of helpful color photographs. A gardening text book!

• “Winter Gardening in the Maritime Northwest: Cool Season Crops for the Year-Round Gardener,” by Binda Colebrook. Mike Dunton remarks, “Written by another hero of mine, I have copies in my personal library dating back to my well-worn, 1977 first edition. Her writing is based on many years of application, observation and experience.” A complete guide to cool-season crops and how to raise them. Gardeners from Southeastern Alaska to southern Oregon will benefit from her clear, practical advice on selecting and preparing the ideal winter gardening site, maximizing production and minimizing pests with cloches, cold frames, mulches and companion planting, choosing the best strains and hardiest varieties for a year-round growing season. This revised and updated edition of the classic text will have you serving up fabulous alternatives to bland, expensive and tasteless imported supermarket vegetables in no time. Whether your favorite meals include hearty roots or succulent greens, Winter Gardening in the Maritime Northwest will help you maximize your food production year-round.

• “Gardening When It Counts: Growing Food in Hard Times,” by Steve Solomon (founder of the Territorial Seed Company and self-sufficiency advocate, he is currently homesteading in Tasmania). This is a more advanced book for those who are serious about raising food. In this volume, Steve explains why intensive gardening methods are not natural and therefore require great amounts of energy and effort to maintain. A lot of information regarding soil health and cover cropping is included.

• “The Timber Press Guide to Vegetable Gardening in the Pacific Northwest by Lorene Edwards Forkner. There is nothing more regionally specific than vegetable gardening – what to plant, when to plant it, and when to harvest are unique decisions based on climate and weather. A growing guide that truly understands the unique eccentricities of the Northwest growing calendar. The month-by-month format makes it perfect for beginners and accessible to everyone – you can start gardening at any time. This must-have book is for gardeners in Oregon, Washington, southeastern Alaska, and British Columbia.

Pruning in the Yard and Orchard:

• “Training and Pruning Your Home Orchard,” Jeff L. Olsen, A Pacific Northwest Extension Publication. (PDF)
• “Pruning Basics,” Lane County OSU Extension. (PDF)
• “Pruning Trees and Shrubs,” OSU 10-Minute University™. (PDF)
• “Pruning to Restore an Old, Neglected Apple Tree,” Robert L. Stebbins & Jeff L. Olsen, OSU Extension Service. (PDF)

Organizations:

• The Oregon State Federation of Garden Clubs, Inc.
• The Oregon Master Gardener™ Association
• Hardy Plant Society of Oregon
• Native Plant Society of Oregon
• Oregon Farmers’ Markets Association
• Temperate Orchard Conservancy
• The Home Orchard Society NOTE: According to their website, they, “… concluded operations on December 31, 2020 – closing out a 45 year history.”)

Places to Visit:

• Lan Su Chinese Garden – A result of a collaboration between the cities of Portland and Suzhou, our sister city in China’s Jiangsu province that’s famous for its beautiful Ming Dynasty gardens, Lan Su was built by Chinese artisans from our Suzhou and is the most authentic Chinese garden outside of China.
• The Oregon Garden – Attraction in historic Silverton, featuring water features, garden art, wetlands, a rediscovery forest, a kids’ garden, and a house designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.
• Portland Japanese Garden – Proclaimed the most authentic Japanese garden outside of Japan, the Portland Japanese Garden is a 5.5-acre haven of tranquil beauty nestled in the scenic west hills of Portland, Oregon.
• International Rose Test Garden – Located in Washington Park near the Portland Japanese Garden. Founded in 1889, the Portland Rose Society is a nonprofit organization offering educational programs on rose culture and encouraging the use of roses in the landscape.
• Zimmerman House – Gresham, Oregon - Circa 1874 farm and heritage garden.

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