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February
- Plant seed flats of cole crops (cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, Brussels sprouts).
- Tune up lawn mower and garden equipment before the busy season begins.
- Prune roses in western Oregon; wait until May in high elevations of eastern and central Oregon.
- Plant onions outdoors in western Oregon as soon as the soil is dry enough to till.
- Plant windowsill container gardens of carrots, lettuce, or parsley.
- Make plans for an herb bed, for cooking and for interest in the landscape: parsley, sage, chives, lavender; plant next month.
- If weather permits and the soil is dry enough, spade or till garden areas for planting later.
- Spade or plow down cover crops or other organic matter.
- Good time to plant fruit trees and deciduous shrubs.
- Good time to plant new roses.
- Prune deciduous summer-blooming shrubs and trees.
- Fertilize lawns.
- Prune fruit trees and blueberries.
- Repair winter damage to trees and shrubs.
- Control moles and gophers with traps.
Source: OSU Extension Service
April
- Early April: fertilize lawn, let spring rains carry the fertilizer into the soil.
- Help youngsters start a garden this year with carrots, chard, lettuce, onions, and peas.
- Bait for slugs; iron phosphate baits are available that are safe for use around pets. Clean up hiding places for slugs, sowbugs, and millipedes.
- Allow foliage of spring-flowering bulbs to brown and die down before removing.
- Control rose disease such as black spot and powdery mildew. Remove infected leaves. Spray as necessary with registered fungicide.
- Prepare garden soil for spring planting. Incorporate generous amounts of organic materials and other amendments as needs are shown by soil analysis.
- Cut and remove weeds near the garden to remove sources of plant virus disease.
- Place compost or well decomposed manure around perennial vegetable plants.
- Cover transplants to protect against late spring frosts.
- Plant these vegetables:
- Oregon Coast: beets, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celery, chard, slicing cucumbers, endive, leeks, lettuce, onion sets, peas, potatoes.
- Western Valleys, Portland, Roseburg, Medford: broccoli, Brussel sprouts, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, chard, chives, endive, leeks, lettuce, peas, radishes, rhubarb, rutabaga, spinach, turnips.
March
- Western Oregon: If soil is dry enough, begin vegetable gardening soil preparation and plant cool- season crops (peas, lettuce, cabbage, onions, kale, chard).
- Plan and plant an edible landscape of flower bed.
- If you lack in-ground gardening space, plan a container garden: grow radishes, carrots, lettuce, and tomatoes (during the warm season).
- Fertilize evergreen shrubs and trees.
- Western Oregon: Plant berry crops (strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, currants, gooseberries, and other berry-producing crop plants).
- Western Oregon: Take geraniums, begonias, and fuchsias from storage. Water and fertilize. Cut back if necessary. Move outdoors next month.
- Fertilize rhododendrons, camellias, azaleas with acid-type fertilizer.
- Spread compost over garden and landscape areas.
- Western Oregon: Best time of year to thatch and renovate lawns.
- Plan the vegetable garden carefully for spring, summer, and fall vegetables that can be eaten fresh or preserved.
- Protect new plant growth from slugs. Use bait or traps.
- Western Oregon: Prune spring-flowering shrubs after blossoms fade.
- Plant insectary plants to attract beneficial insects to the garden.
- Do not compost grass clippings from lawns where weed-and-feed products or herbicides have been used.
Source: OSU Extension Service
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