Gardening

Flower garden in the afternoon. Photo by: Bob Rost

Hydrangeas in the garden. Photo by: Bob Rost

Potted bedding plants. Photo by: Bob Rost

Spider and a bee on a flower. Photo by: Bob Rost

Flower garden at the base of a house. Photo by: Bob Rost

Using sustainable and research-based techniques, learn how to grow your own vegetables, connect with other gardeners, or use Ask an Expert to seek gardening advice. Watch a video about the OSU Master Gardener program in Newport, Oregon.

Things to do in May

Trap moles and gophers as new mounds appear.
Plant chrysanthemums for fall color.
Leafrolling worms may affect apples and blueberries. Prune off and destroy affected leaves.

Gardening Tips

Buckwheat a good summer cover crop for home gardens

A fast-growing summer cover crop, buckwheat is a succulent that can be grown as a green manure because it adds nutrients and organic matter to the soil.

Healthy lawns need efficient irrigation

A new OSU Extension publication, available online, can help homeowners decide on an optimum lawn irrigation schedule.

Caring for flowers in hanging baskets

With a little care, flower baskets will bloom for you all through the summer and into the fall.

How to build a simple pond for native frogs

With minimal effort, you can attract Pacific chorus frogs to your property.

For quality table grapes, match growing season to variety

A new publication by OSU Extension, EC 1639, “Growing Table Grapes in Oregon,” can help you choose a cultivar best suited to where you live.

Gardening Courses

Master Gardener Online

Learn the art and science of growing and caring for plants, and even become a Master Gardener, through this two-option online course.

Learn more...

Become a water-wise gardener

Plant an economical and environmentally friendly and garden with the help of the WaterWise Gardening online course series.

Learn more...

Popular Publications

An Educator's Guide to Vegetable Gardening

A new publication from OSU Extension shows a full-circle approach to gardening on school grounds

Grapevine Nutrition

Use this self-guided learning module to find information on grapevine nutrient needs and how to diagnose problems with disease, insects, drought, sunburn, and herbicides.

How to Build Your Own Raised-Bed Cloche

Learn how to create a "cloche" that can be used to protect your plants from cold weather.

Container Gardening

If you lack space for a garden, consider raising vegetables in containers.

Improving Garden Soil

Making a poor garden better often begins with the soil. If your garden soil is poor, consider giving it some help.

Don’t Let the Bugs Beat You To It

Strategies to to keep the bugs out of your garden.

Building Raised Beds

Improve your soil by adding organic matter and creating raised beds.

Training and Pruning Your Home Orchard

Basic instructions on how to prune your trees.

Question of the Week

I purchased some good sized (3-5 gallon) blueberry plants yesterday. I was reading the OSU extension pub EC 1304, which emphasizes heavy pruning upon planting (and removing all fruit buds to prevent berries the first year). I really want to ignore this advice because the plants have nice flowers on them now and I'm eager to get fruit this year. I thought I could ignore the recs since the plants are so big already -- at least 2 ft tall and around. Unwise?

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Addressing real-life questions with research-based answers...
Ask an Expert at Oregon State University.