Garden Prep this Week in Hillsboro, Sherwood, and Tigard, OR

I don't know about where you are at, but we are supposed to have some very nice weather this weekend. The weather people are talking about temps in the high 70's. April, May and June tend to be very changeable here in the Willamette Valley so we could be back to freezing next weekend who knows.

The season here this year is VERY late. Our cherries are not even in full bloom yet. They are usually in full bloom at least by my birthday which was last week even in a fairly late year so you can see how late we are this year. The warm weather this weekend should be perfect for the cherries.

It should also be a perfect time to get your garden prepared and some cool crop things planted. It's perfect for those root crops that you need to seed directly like carrots, beets and radishes. Carrots and beets take a while ( 3 weeks) to germinate so you can plant radishes as markers( plant them about 2" away) for them in your garden. Radishes come up in a few days and are ready to eat before carrots or beets are very big at all. That is also a very efficient use of garden space.

You can also plant lettuce, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower and onions, but I recommend plants for those. If you don't get some started yourself we will have them at the Hillsboro and Sherwood Farmers' Markets starting on May 2 and also at Orenco and Tigard on Sundays starting the following weekend. The OHSU market starts in mid May, but they are having a special Earth Day market on April 24th. Krista will be there.

Be sure to save some room for warmer weather plants too. Tomatoes can go in after ALL danger of frost is past. In Hillsboro that is usually about the 10th or 12th of May, but you can keep an eye on the weather as we get close. A warning: Hillsboro had a hard frost on the 18th of May last year. I think Sherwood and Tigard have a little earlier frost free dates than Hillsboro usually, but again I would keep a close eye on the weather.

Some plants really need to be planted when the weather warms up and NOT before. Those include peppers, cucumbers, squash, eggplant and BASIL. We will have lots of those plants at the market when we get closer to the proper time to plant them.
Putting those types of plants in too early usually stunts them and they just can't seem to get going.

I am really looking forward to garden season this year. I have my raised beds all ready to go, and they are properly protected from the deer and my dog. We also have added a large garden space for corn, squash and cucumbers this year. We will be ready to enjoy all of those crops fresh from our garden this year. They taste so much better than what you buy at the store. Also, a few tomato plants can produce a $100 worth of tomatoes. Think what that will do for your food budget.

I am going to go get to work transplanting tomatoes now.

GROW WHAT YOU EAT!!

I don't know about where you are at, but we are supposed to have some very nice weather this weekend. The weather people are talking about temps in the high 70's. April, May and June tend to be very changeable here in the Willamette Valley so we could be back to freezing next weekend who knows.

The season here this year is VERY late. Our cherries are not even in full bloom yet. They are usually in full bloom at least by my birthday which was last week even in a fairly late year so you can see how late we are this year. The warm weather this weekend should be perfect for the cherries.

It should also be a perfect time to get your garden prepared and some cool crop things planted. It's perfect for those root crops that you need to seed directly like carrots, beets and radishes. Carrots and beets take a while ( 3 weeks) to germinate so you can plant radishes as markers( plant them about 2" away) for them in your garden. Radishes come up in a few days and are ready to eat before carrots or beets are very big at all. That is also a very efficient use of garden space.

You can also plant lettuce, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower and onions, but I recommend plants for those. If you don't get some started yourself we will have them at the Hillsboro and Sherwood Farmers' Markets starting on May 2 and also at Orenco and Tigard on Sundays starting the following weekend. The OHSU market starts in mid May, but they are having a special Earth Day market on April 24th. Krista will be there.

Be sure to save some room for warmer weather plants too. Tomatoes can go in after ALL danger of frost is past. In Hillsboro that is usually about the 10th or 12th of May, but you can keep an eye on the weather as we get close. A warning: Hillsboro had a hard frost on the 18th of May last year. I think Sherwood and Tigard have a little earlier frost free dates than Hillsboro usually, but again I would keep a close eye on the weather.

Some plants really need to be planted when the weather warms up and NOT before. Those include peppers, cucumbers, squash, eggplant and BASIL. We will have lots of those plants at the market when we get closer to the proper time to plant them.
Putting those types of plants in too early usually stunts them and they just can't seem to get going.

I am really looking forward to garden season this year. I have my raised beds all ready to go, and they are properly protected from the deer and my dog. We also have added a large garden space for corn, squash and cucumbers this year. We will be ready to enjoy all of those crops fresh from our garden this year. They taste so much better than what you buy at the store. Also, a few tomato plants can produce a $100 worth of tomatoes. Think what that will do for your food budget.

I am going to go get to work transplanting tomatoes now.

GROW WHAT YOU EAT!!

When should I plant?

Krista and I attended the Yard, Garden and Patio Show last Friday. The show itself was interesting and one of the main themes was edible landscape. As I have said before I have done this for years because it just made sense to me.

We attended a seminar about small space gardening that was really quite good, but the speakers handed out a flyer that talked about when to plant and I kept thinking "I hope people in here realize that these suggestions are general and don't apply to every location in the area." They were saying that the frost free date was mid to late April. If you live in any of the outlying metro areas that is simply not true. It is sometimes difficult to determine exactly when your own particular frost free date is, but it is very important.

I hate to generalize because there are microclimates even within your own yard, but my experience has shown that in Hillsboro, for instance, frost free is generally about May 12th to the15th, but last year we had a hard frost at the Farmers' Market on the 18th( after having 80 degree weather the week before). I don't know how many people came to us and said that their tomato plants had died in Hillsboro, Sherwood and Tigard. If you do want to put your plants in that first week of May you need to think about protecting them with something like a Wall 'O Water or bell jar.

If you have gardened a while in your yard you have probably have a pretty good idea when frost free is, but if you are new to gardening or at a new location you might try asking a neighbor about their experience with frost free.

Some plants, of course, don't mind a light frost. Hardy herbs like rosemary, lavender, winter savory and even parsley don't really mind at all. We have a new flat leaf parsley this year called Survivor that is supposed to be frost tolerant. Vegetables like peas, cabbage, rhubarb, onions and artichokes like to go in early too.

If you have questions about your when your favorite vegetables or herbs should be planted we will be posting calendars on our website: mountainsideherbalnursery.com
, but remember your area may be different. We will try to help as best we can with specific questions if you email us at mtherbal@aol.com.

For the best tasting food:

GROW WHAT YOU EAT!

Krista and I attended the Yard, Garden and Patio Show last Friday. The show itself was interesting and one of the main themes was edible landscape. As I have said before I have done this for years because it just made sense to me.

We attended a seminar about small space gardening that was really quite good, but the speakers handed out a flyer that talked about when to plant and I kept thinking "I hope people in here realize that these suggestions are general and don't apply to every location in the area." They were saying that the frost free date was mid to late April. If you live in any of the outlying metro areas that is simply not true. It is sometimes difficult to determine exactly when your own particular frost free date is, but it is very important.

I hate to generalize because there are microclimates even within your own yard, but my experience has shown that in Hillsboro, for instance, frost free is generally about May 12th to the15th, but last year we had a hard frost at the Farmers' Market on the 18th( after having 80 degree weather the week before). I don't know how many people came to us and said that their tomato plants had died in Hillsboro, Sherwood and Tigard. If you do want to put your plants in that first week of May you need to think about protecting them with something like a Wall 'O Water or bell jar.

If you have gardened a while in your yard you have probably have a pretty good idea when frost free is, but if you are new to gardening or at a new location you might try asking a neighbor about their experience with frost free.

Some plants, of course, don't mind a light frost. Hardy herbs like rosemary, lavender, winter savory and even parsley don't really mind at all. We have a new flat leaf parsley this year called Survivor that is supposed to be frost tolerant. Vegetables like peas, cabbage, rhubarb, onions and artichokes like to go in early too.

If you have questions about your when your favorite vegetables or herbs should be planted we will be posting calendars on our website: mountainsideherbalnursery.com
, but remember your area may be different. We will try to help as best we can with specific questions if you email us at mtherbal@aol.com.

For the best tasting food:

GROW WHAT YOU EAT!