New Extension Service Gardening Encyclopedia

Don't miss this wealth of information, all evidence based and specific to the PNW!

http://extension.oregonstate.edu/gardening/

What to do in the Garden in April

Look after your lawn!
Fertilize it - follow the package instructions. Or spread 1-2 inches of fine compost or mulch over the grass after aerating if needed. The compost will quickly break down into the soil, providing a long lasting nitrogen source. Note that you may need to fertilize as well the first time you do this, as the nitrogen in the compost must be broken down by microbes in the soil to become available to the grass. Dig any perennial weeds before they set seed. If you have any muddy areas from walking on it in the winter, consider putting in a path or patio. Alternative, rake the area, add some compost, and spread grass seed thickly to cover bare patches. Water daily if it doesnt rain until established.

Prune Spring Flowering Shrubs
As soon as they have finished flowering, prune your spring blooming shrubs, like lilacs, magnolia, azaleas, etc. They set flowers on the new growth so if you wait till fall or winter, you'll be chopping off next Springs flowers!

Fertilize
Use a slow release fertilizer for trees and shrubs. You can also mulch with compost.

Prepare
Prep vegetable beds by adding compost, manure, and other soil amendments. If you have raised beds you can get started earlier. Don't work your soil if you can squeeze water out of a handful of it. If it holds together loosely, you are ok to work it. Once beds are ready, plant brocolli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, chard, chives, leeks, peas, radishes, rhubarb, spinach and turnips.

Master Gardener Hotline Info for Oregon

Did you know that you can ask questions of Master Gardeners by phone and email? Its free and we're there to help! For contact info, visit here.

Don't Forget the Better Living Show this Weekend

This show is wonderful - I loved it last year! This year offers even more presentations and entrance is free! Its a great opportunity to meet new people interested in green and sustainable practices and learn at the Seminars. 

Australasian College of Health Sciences will be at Booth 1006 and I will be at the Booth Sunday and on and off all weekend. 

For a schedule see www.betterlivingshow.org/

Hope to see you there!

I love online tools!

If you haven't yet used it, now might be a good time to refer to the Farmer's Almanac to find out your last frost date in your area. This handy tool lets you plug in your zip code and find out the estimated last frost date. Remember its an estimate only, but this helps you count back to know when to start those seeds indoors!

http://www.almanac.com/garden/plantingtable/index.php

I WORRY about my plants!

We've had a couple of shocker "arctic blast" winter storms here in the Pacific NorthWest this winter. I just heard last night that this is already the 15th snowiest winter since they began recording 130+ years ago, and there is a high chance of more snow before the winter is out!

So what to do to protect my plants? I get lots of questions about this too, so I know lots of you are worried about your plants too!

First, don't worry about bulbs that are emerging already. They will be fine. In fact, its quite encouraging to know that there is activity under there! Most bulbs need the freeze to perform well.  Its probably too late to plant any Spring bulbs though (they need planted before the ground freezes in the fall) but there are plenty of summer bulbs that you can plant as soon as the ground thaws and warms up a little - my favorites are Gladiolus - I have a gorgeous lime green Glad that is just amazing. Cant remember the name right now but will post it later. 

Second, what to do about winter damage? Yes if something is broken from ice or snow damage, you need to prune it off, but restrain yourself from carrying on. Now is not the time for Spring pruning, which pushes many plants out of dormancy, particularly roses. Dormancy protects your plants from winter damage, so its important not to mess with it. 

If you have particular plants that are borderline hardy in your area, you can mound leaves or compost over them to protect them during the winter. In the spring, once the ground thaws, clear it back. 

That brings me to my next "confession" - I leave a lot of my fall cleanup until the Spring! This protects plants and provides shelter and food for beneficial insects and birds, so it can be a good thing. I do take care to pick up any leaves or debris from plants that tend towards fungal problems - like roses for example, as the spores overwinter in the leaves and are released in the Spring when the warm rains come, so the more you pick up the better. Also on that note, adding a thick layer of compost early in the Spring will help to smother the fungal spores before they launch into the air so I usually spread compost (or bark chips) in late winter/early Spring and I dont (knock on wood) have a problem with black spot on my organically raised roses. 

These simple tips can help you relax and stop worrying about your plants this winter! Enjoy!

I have little patience!~

Oh how I am dreaming of Spring! We had another load of snow this morning - yuck!

As some of you know, I am an Oregon State University Extension Service Master Gardener - and I just LOVE to garden! So I am very impatient in winter, stomping around the yard in my jcket and hat, plotting new garden beds, new paths, moving plants (which drives dear hubby crazy by the way!) and just generally getting very impatient for decent weather!

To fuel my impatience are the stacks of lovely glossy seed and plant catalogs that have been filling my mailbox these past few weeks. I lovingly pore over each page, marking nearly all and figuring out where to add more garden to fit them in! Of course, I'll end up ordering a select few only, but its nice to dream!

I am so excited about my latest purchase, from CraigsList (of course!) - a small 6x8 greenhouse! Yay! Its a wood and perspex one, just the right height, although I can already tell it may need an extension! Despite booking a trailer from uhaul that should have fitted it, I ended up having to take it to peices and reassemble it, and a few peices were broken in transit, but yesterday it was put back together and looks amazing. I will post pics soon!

I want to start seeds this year with a soil blocker - used in Europe, they are really just coming on the market here in the US and we are sourcing them for the Australasian College's store, the Apothecary Shoppe (http://www.apothecary-shoppe.com) so as soon as we get them in, I'll make a demo video for you all. 

I had a great Master Gardener class this past week on Organic Gardening - right up my alley and reinforced that I am using the right approach to my garden. 

The class reminded me though that my approach to organic is a little different to the USDA. I take a low input sustainable approach to gardening - I try to make or recycle as much as possible. Hence the second hand greenhouse, home made compost, and seed swaps. So look for lots of new tips this year as I get this blog humming!