march

• Now is a great time to check our newest publication Growing Vegetables in Central Oregon https://catalog.extension.oregonstate.edu/em9128. This guide provides region-specific tips and techniques for more successful vegetable gardens, including topics such as site selection, soil amendment and preparation, irrigation, weed and pest management, seed starting, direct seeding, and season extension. It also contains planting guides for over thirty vegetables commonly grown in Central Oregon.

• Order your seed packets and reserve your fruit trees now. Apples, Asian Pears, and plums are most successful here.

• Consider edible landscaping plants such as fruit trees and berry producing shrubs.

• Prune your deciduous trees and shrubs beginning late March and continue pruning throughout the summer. Be careful not to prune flowering trees and shrubs that bloom on last years growth (old wood), for example your lilacs. Wait until these plants are finished blooming and then prune shortly after the flowers die off.

• Conifers should be pruned in late fall to avoid Sequoia Pitch Moth damage.

• Research and plan to add perennials, trees, or shrubs to your landscape in late Spring.

• Purchase/order annual and vegetable garden seeds with 65-80 days to maturity, remember to add 14 days to the maturity date on the packet, this is approximately how long it will take for that plant to mature here in Central Oregon because we have little to no plant growth at night.

• Be sure and sign up for a new year of High Desert Gardening for a color newsletter with local tips and articles on Central Oregon’s landscapes and gardening. It is available electronically or in hard copy.

To check out a sample of our newsletter online, go to or call us at 541-548-6088: http://extension.oregonstate.edu/deschutes/sites/default/files/apr_may10free.pdf

• Plant seed flats for cold crops including broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, brussel sprouts

• Gather branches of quince, forsythia, and other flowering ornamentals and bring inside to force early bloom

• Plant a windowsill container garden of herbs

• Use a soil thermometer to help you know when to plant vegetable and flower seeds; cool season vegetables that germinate and grow at a soil temperature of 40 degrees F or above consistently, include beets, carrots, peas, radishes, lettuce, and spinach to name a few. For more information about vegetable gardening and when to plant seeds or set out starts check out our website at: http://extension.oregonstate.edu/deschutes/vegetables-0

• Check with your local nursery for seeds or check out the following seed catalogs for hardy varieties:

Territorial Seed Company at 541-942-9547 or www.territorialseed.com

Johnny’s Selected Seeds at 207-437-4301 or www.johnnyseeds.com

Nichols Garden Nursery at 1-800-422-3985 or www.nicholsgardennursery.com

• Use a damp sponge or cloth, cleaning the upper and lower surfaces of the leaves on your houseplants.

• Now is a good time to repair, clean, sharpen, and maintain garden tools and equipment. Be sure and have your lawnmower blades sharpened before you start mowing the lawn this season.

April

• Continue to prune your deciduous trees and shrubs. See the March entry above.

• Direct seed your beets, lettuce, peas, radish, and spinach.

• Transplant your broccoli, cabbage, and onions that you may have started from seed. Have frost protection in place using row cover.

• If you haven’t fertilized your bulbs yet, now is a good time. Use a fertilizer high in phosphorous (the second number on the fertilizer bag) for example, 0-46-0.

May

• Mid April through May is the best time in spring to dethatch and aerate your lawn. Rent a dethatcher from the local rental shop. Once you have pulled up and removed the thatch, apply a fertilizer application to stimulate rapid recovery.

• Now is the time to stock up on row cover and your walls of water. These items help to extend the growing season and protect your plants and crops from frost damage. These products work well for tomatoes, peppers and other sun loving crops.

• If you haven’t started your vegetable seeds, get them going inside to be put outside in the garden in June. Be sure and use a seed start mix soil with any vegetable or flower seeds, regular potting soil may be too heavy for some seeds.

• Cut back any perennials that were left through the winter removing all dead foliage.

• Repair or change your sprinkler system to be more efficient.

• Prepare garden soil for spring planting by adding organic matter including rotted manures and compost or by planting a cover crop (green manure) such as ryegrass, buckwheat, or barley. If using cow or horse manure, make sure it is herbicide residue free.

• Direct seed your carrots, chard, kohlrabi, and potatoes.

• Plant asparagus crowns or transplants in mid to late May.

• Transplant your brussel sprouts, cauliflower, leeks, or peppers.

• Fertilize your shade/ornamental trees, shrubs and perennials with fertilizer mixtures such as 10-6-4 or 20-10-5. A slow release fertilizer works well for these.

June

• Protect your young vegetables from frost by having row cover (frost cloth) on hand. Place over your crops when needed.

• Water your vegetable and flower gardens early in the morning.

• Plant flowers to attract pollinators to your garden (e.g. native plants or flowers that are blue, yellow, red or violet)

• Water your lawn between 4 inches to 6 inches per month, approximately 1.5 inches per week.

• Manage weeds while they are small and actively growing with light cultivation or herbicides. Once the weed has gone to bud, herbicides are less effective.

• Most lawns in Central Oregon are composed of Kentucky bluegrass, fine fescues, and perennial ryegrass and prefer a mowing height of 1.5 inches to 2.5 inches for optimal turfgrass health. You should be mowing between four to six times per month during June and July.

• Container gardening is a great way to grow annuals for the season. Get started on your containers using clean potting soil and annuals such as sweet potato vine, petunias, or snapdragons. For more information on Container Gardening go to: http://extension.oregonstate.edu/deschutes/sites/default/files/container_gardening.pdf

• Lawns can be fertilized late June through early July at an application rate of 1 pound nitrogen per 1,000 square feet using soluble or mixed soluble – slow release nitrogen fertilizers. Optimum ratios for N-P-K materials range from 3-1-2 to 6-1-4. You may also choose to use straight nitrogen materials such as ammonium sulfate or complete fertilizers containing N-P-K.

Garden Events:

• March 11 — We’ve brought back the popular Fruit Tree Pruning workshop. Two hour class on fruit tree pruning in the field — same class offered at two different locations. This year morning class will be in Madras from 9:30-11:30 am. Afternoon class will be held in Prineville from 2:00-4:00 pm. Class size will be limited, so pre-registration is required. Cost is $15 per class. For more information or to register, call Carrie Smith at (541) 548-6088. Site will be given upon registration.

• Interested in renting a plot at the Hollinshead Community Garden or Northwest Crossing Community Garden in Bend? Go to http://extension.oregonstate.edu/deschutes/horticulture

OSU Master Gardener Volunteer, April at 218- 610-8630 for Hollinshead or Tina at 541-318-0426 for Northwest Crossing.

• March 12 — Living on a Few Acres workshop, Redmond – 30 classes for small farmers and homeowners http://extension.oregonstate.edu/deschutes/living-few-acres-conference-0

• April 16 — Spring Gardening Seminar and Garden Market in Redmond at the Deschutes Fair and Expo Center presented by the Central Oregon Chapter of OSU Master Gardeners. Attend several garden classes and a fun garden market. We will soon have more information on our website at: http://extension.oregonstate.edu/deschutes/

• June 4 — Plant Sale and mini classes at the OSU Demonstration Garden in Redmond located on the Deschutes Fairgrounds, near parking lot “D” 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

For an in-depth listing of all of the OSU Extension Service Garden Classes and community outreach events go to: http://extension.oregonstate.edu/deschutes/garden-classes