Monthly Gardening Tips

While many people are still recovering from the holiday season, avid gardeners know that January is the time to start thinking about getting started with your home garden.  Seed catalogs are arriving in mailboxes all over the nation, tempting the gardener that is staring out the frosty window and dreaming of spring.

If you haven’t already planted cruciferous crops, such as broccoli and cabbage, there is still time to do so in February.  As a matter a fact you can plant these cold hardy plants to the middle of August!  This will ensure that you have a steady flow of your favorite vegetables throughout the prime harvest months for these cold weather crops.

We are lucky to have an excellent growing climate here in the Willamette Valley, and spring gardening really is a treat!  The sun starts peeking out more, days get warmer and we start to wake up from the gray.  If you are preparing your garden this season, keep these tips in mind.

May is one of our favorite months.  All the work we put into getting plants fed, nurtured and ready to go home with you really starts to show.  Plus, around mid-month you get the green light for planting all the veggies and annuals your heart desires–with a few exceptions below.

Relax and enjoy the fruits of your labor.  Deep watering of your vegetables and plants is the most important gardening task to do as we head into the hottest part of the year.  The tendency is to let the garden grow all by itself. This won’t help your harvest one bit.

August in the Pacific Northwest is primarily a maintenance month of watering, deadheading and feeding.  However, your primary concern is to make sure your plants do not stress out and die due to a lack of water.
The OSU Extension is also an excellent resource for Oregon gardeners .  Click here for great August gardening tips from OSU Extension.

October gardening is a bit of a mixture of maintenance, preparation and enjoyment.  There is a crispness in the air. Leaves are turning. And it is time to get out the fall decorations if you haven’t yet!

Gardening in November is probably the farthest thing from your mind. It is getting a bit nippy and the rains are sure to come this month!  You can do a few things this month during “sun breaks”.  When the sun peeks out, get out there and plant a tree or shrub. If you haven’t done so yet, bulbs like tulips, daffodils and crocuses are still okay to plant.