Oregon Soil: What You Are Digging Into, and How to Improve It
Oregon’s official state soil is the Jory series, a deep red clay loam from the Willamette Valley’s old volcanic hillsides.
Gardening in Oregon
Everything we have worked out for Oregon: what to plant and when, which varieties finish in time, the pests that actually turn up here, and the jobs that pay off month by month. We also cover the rest of the property, from lawns and soil to home care and energy, because a garden rarely stops at the vegetable bed.
The numbers first, because everything else follows from them. Measured at the weather station in Portland, the last spring freeze runs March 6 to March 21 and the first fall freeze runs November 11 to November 27, USDA zones 4a-9b, 2,942 growing degree days in the year.
Garlic does well: 17.4 weeks below 40 °F, comfortably past the six it needs to form a proper head.
Elsewhere on the property in Oregon: the pests that turn up here.
Figures from NOAA's 1991-2020 climate normals. A state is not one climate: elevation, a large lake or the coast can move these dates by two weeks either way, so check your own county with the extension service before you spend money.
Growing Onions in Oregon: Which Varieties Actually Bulb
Portland sits at 45.59 degrees north, and on the longest day of the year the sun stays up for 15 hours and 30 minutes.
Flowers That Actually Thrive in Oregon, and the Ones That Struggle
A look at which flowers handle Oregon’s mild winters and cool summers well, from native pollinator plants to perennials worth planting.
Planting Spring Bulbs in Oregon: What Will Come Back, and What Will Not
Portland’s cold season is deep enough to satisfy nearly every spring bulb on the market, but the calendar for getting them in the ground runs on a…
The Oregon Apple Calendar, Stage by Stage
Portland’s NOAA frost dates set the safe window for each apple growth stage, from dormancy through bloom to harvest, across Oregon.
When to Carve a Pumpkin in Oregon
Around western Oregon, the mean first fall frost lands somewhere between November 11 and November 27, weeks after Halloween arrives.
Oregon Planting Calendar: When to Sow and Plant, Frost Dates Included
A week-by-week look at Oregon’s frost dates, cool- and warm-season planting windows, and which tomato varieties fit the Willamette Valley’s growing season.
Growing Apples in Oregon: Varieties, Timing and Frost Risk
Oregon’s mild winters suit most apple varieties, but Portland’s March frost window determines whether spring bloom survives to become fruit.
Heating a Home in Oregon: What the Winter Actually Costs
Portland’s coldest month averages a 36.2°F daily low, a number that sounds mild until you realize what it means for a furnace: months of steady, grinding…
Gardening in Oregon: What the Season Actually Allows
Gardening in Oregon means something different depending on which side of the Cascades you’re standing on.