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

Prepare and prime irrigation system for summer.
Control slugs with bait or traps and by removing or mowing vegetation near garden plots.
Plant dahlias, gladioli, and tuberous begonias in mid-May.

Gardening Tips

Prune lilacs soon after bloom

To keep your lilacs looking their best, they need to be pruned, fertilized and shaped almost every year, soon after they are done blooming in the late spring.

Ceanothus flowering shrubs are stunning in PNW gardens

Oregon State University Extension community horticulturist Neil Bell is working with the Oregon Garden to test 45 varieties of Ceanothus, a genus of native North American shrubs with about 60 species, to determine how well they perform in Pacific Northwes

Life teems in old oaks

Protect that majestic old oak in your back yard. It is not only home to your hammock, it holds an entire ecosystem of life in its limbs.

What's the difference between chemical, organic fertilizers?

Differences between processed and organic fertilizers are explained in this article.

Prevent hungry rodents from chewing trees and shrubs

Hungry rodents feed on is the bark of landscape shrubs and trees in the winter and are capable of damaging and even killing shrubs and trees.

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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