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Garden vegetables and herbs

Photo Credit: Alyson Yates (Cropped from original)

Featured Resources

Slugs and snails, destructors of crops and gardens, could be controlled by bread dough

Bread dough is a nontoxic, generic and effective tool that could be used in the detection and management of gastropods worldwide.

Kym Pokorny | Aug 18, 2021 | News story

No room for vegetables? Pot up your plants

There are some dwarf and miniature varieties of vegetables, such as Thumbelina carrots or other baby vegetables that work particularly well in small confines.

Kym Pokorny | Mar 26, 2021 | News story

Start your own vegetables from seeds

Learn about starting vegetables from seeds. Start inside small pots in the early spring and then move them to larger pots as they grow. Use the right soil, pots, and lights to produce healthy plants!

Brooke Edmunds | Dec 2024 | Video

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Latest News

Free OSU Extension gardening webinar series focuses on resilience in a changing climate

The series includes six one-hour closed-captioned webinars that will be broadcast at noon via Zoom on the second Tuesday of the month through September.

Chris Branam | Apr 15, 2025 | News story

With the right care, asparagus beds will produce for decades

Asparagus is a hardy perennial and should be planted as soon as the soil can be properly prepared in the spring.

Kym Pokorny | Feb 12, 2025 | News story

OSU Extension statewide seed giveaway returns for sixth year

Starting Feb. 3, individuals and households, schools and groups can sign up to receive an individual/household seed kit, group kit or seed-starting teacher classroom kit through the mail.

Chris Branam | Jan 30, 2025 | News story

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Grow Your Own Tomatoes and Tomatillos

Neil Bell Amy Jo Detweiler Heidi Noordijk and Chip Bubl

This extended revision of the previous edition describes how to grow tomatoes and tomatillos in the home garden. Topics include site and soil preparation, cultivar selection, propagation, planting and plant care, techniques for extending the growing season, pruning and training systems, and harvest and storage.

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Photo Credit: Zoe Schaeffer - Unsplash.com (Cropped from original)

Latest Resources

Eastern Oregon seed-starting schedule

Gardening in Eastern Oregon presents unique challenges. This guide provides timing on starting seeds indoors, transplanting, and direct-seeding, all based on Eastern Oregon's average frost-free date.

Russell Smith-Ollivierre | Apr 2025 | OSU Extension Catalog Peer reviewed (Gray level)

Grow your own cucumbers

Cucumbers are a favorite in home gardens, appreciated for their crunchy texture, fresh color, and mild flavor that pairs well with many dishes. Cucumbers are tender, warm-season vegetables that produce well with proper care. They ...

Russell Smith-Ollivierre | Mar 2025 | OSU Extension Catalog Peer reviewed (Gray level)

My hot peppers weren’t hot. Why?

My jalapeño and habanero peppers had no heat. The seeds were not for “no heat” varieties. Was the problem overwatering, growing in the proximity bell peppers or lack of soil nutrients?

Janhvi Pandey | Nov 2024 | Featured question

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Grow Your Own Rhubarb

By Toni Stephan Jack Parsons N.S. (Bill) Mansour and James R. Baggett

This publication describes how to successfully grow rhubarb as a vegetable or as an ornamental plant in the home garden.

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Credit: Iveta - Adobe Stock (Cropped from original)

Herb Resources

OSU Extension digs into the possibility of growing high-value Asian herbs and vegetables

The COVID-19 pandemic added to an increased interest in Asian medicinal herbs, but a steady increase in Asian, Hawaiian and Pacific Islander populations in the Portland metro area also contributes to the rise in demand.

Kym Pokorny | Feb 7, 2023 | News story

Garden Herbal Tea

Prep time: 10 to 15 minutes Makes: 1 cup

Mar 2021 | Food Hero recipe

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Vegetable Gardening Resources

Companion Planting

Companion planting (planting crops together for a more successful harvest)

Jun 2021 | Food Hero gardening tip

Succession Planting

Succession planting (for a longer growing season)

Jun 2021 | Food Hero gardening tip

Seed Starting

Seed Starting - How to Grow Plants from Seeds

May 2021 | Food Hero gardening tip

More vegetable resources

Become a Master Gardener!

The Master Gardener™ program educates Oregonians about the art and science of growing and caring for plants. This program also facilitates the training of a highly educated group of volunteers, who extend sustainable gardening information to their communities through education and outreach programs.

Learn more

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Upcoming Events

May 17

Lincoln County Master Gardener™ Association: 24th Annual Plant Sale!

9:00 am - 1:00 pm Newport, OR
May 22

Victory Gardens by Vets - Veteran Farmer Network Farm Tour

1:00 pm - 3:00 pm Gaston, OR
Jun 4

Organic Winter Cereals and Cover Crops Field Day

2:00 pm - 6:00 pm Corvallis, OR
Jun 7

Herbs and Edible Flowers Walk

10:00 am - 11:15 am Eugene, OR
See All Events

Meet Our Experts

Cindy Brown
4-H/FCH-SNAP Program Coordinator

Contact me for questions on 4-H youth development and healthy living programming in Sherman County as well as healthy living topics such as MyPlate, gardening, food preservation and food storage!

headshot of Brooke Edmunds
Brooke Edmunds
Community Horticulture, Master Gardeners

Contact me about the Master Gardener Program or gardening questions from Marion or Polk counties

Lucas Nebert
Assistant Professor of Practice, organic seed and planting stock specialist
Russell Smith-Ollivierre
Extension General Agriculture Educator
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Ask Extension

Have a question? Ask Extension!

Ask Extension is a way for you to get answers from the Oregon State University Extension Service. We have experts in family and health, community development, food and agriculture, coastal issues, forestry, programs for young people, and gardening.

Ask us a question

My hot peppers weren’t hot. Why?

Q: My jalapeño and habanero peppers had no heat. The seeds were not for “no heat” varieties. Was the problem overwatering, growing in the proximity bell peppers or lack of soil nutrients?

A: View answer | View all featured questions

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