Garden vegetables and herbs

OSU Extension helps Oregonians grow successful vegetable gardens with research-based guidance on planting, soil health and pest management. We offer region-specific resources and practical tips to support fresh, homegrown food from garden to table.

Featured Resources

Bread dough proves powerful in attracting slugs and snails

Bait may offer an inexpensive, nontoxic way to manage damaging slugs and snails worldwide.

Kym Pokorny | Aug 18, 2021 | News story

Container gardening: Grow vegetables even without yard space

Good candidates include lettuce, herbs, tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, carrots, beans, squash, radishes, kale, chard and spinach.

Kym Pokorny | Mar 27, 2025 | 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

Garden challenge helps Oregon families grow food, skills and health

Grow This! initiative boosts food access, nutrition skills and classroom learning

Lauren Tobey | Nov 2025 | Impact story

Is wildfire ash on garden produce safe to eat?

OSU Extension shares guidance for cleaning fruits and vegetables after wildfires.

Kym Pokorny | Sep 4, 2025 | News story

Plant cold-hardy vegetables now for a spring harvest

With planning and luck, winter vegetables can thrive in Oregon.

Kym Pokorny | Sep 2, 2025 | News story

All News

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

Rutabagas harvest and storage suggestions?

What is the best way to harvest and store rutabaga? Is it better to leave them until after the first light frost (like around 25-32°F)?

Todd Anderson | Jun 2024 | Featured question

The best vegetables to grow in Oregon's coastal climate

Growing vegetables along the Oregon coast requires gardeners to choose plants that do well in cooler climates. The list of possibilities is long and diverse, from root crops and brassicas to lettuce, potatoes and beans.

Sally Reill, Sharon Busby, Carita Edson | Dec 2025 | OSU Extension Catalog Peer reviewed (Gray level)

Growing vegetables in the Pacific Northwest coastal region

Grow vegetables successfully on the Oregon coast. Learn how to choose the right site, improve soil, protect plants from wind and cold, and select varieties that thrive in coastal conditions.

Sally Reill, Sharon Busby, Carita Edson | Dec 2025 | OSU Extension Catalog Peer reviewed (Gray level)

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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

Garden Herbal Tea

Prep time: 10 to 15 minutes Makes: 1 cup

Mar 2021 | Food Hero recipe Peer reviewed (Gray level)

More herb resources

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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Nutrition and healthy eating

Bees and pollinators

Berries and fruit

Garden soil and compost

Gardening techniques

Plant diseases

Upcoming Events

Mar 12

Lincoln County Master Gardener™ Association: Edible Garden Design

6:00 pm - 7:30 pm Lincoln City, OR

Mar 14

Lincoln County Master Gardener™ Association: Edible Garden Design

12:00 pm - 1:30 pm Waldport, OR

Mar 19

Central Oregon Master Gardener Spring Seminar Series: Busting Myths - Gardening with Success in Central Oregon

6:00 pm - 7:30 pm PDT Online

Mar 21

Tropical delights: your guide to growing and preparing tropical produce*

10:00 am - 12:00 pm Portland, OR

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!

Stormi Dykes

Education Program Assistant 2, Community Food Systems

Contact for questions about Lincoln County Master Gardener™ and Home Food Safety & Preservation programs.

Brooke Edmunds

Community Horticulture, Master Gardeners

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

Janhvi Pandey

Extension Horticulture Assistant Professor of Practice

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.

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What is this deformity on my heirloom tomatoes?

Q: I really enjoy heirloom tomatoes, especially the ‘Black Krim’ variety. I noticed this year that I have a larger quantity of tomatoes with a type of deformity. Is this normal for heirloom tomatoes or do I have some types of deficiency in my soil?

A: View answer | View all featured questions

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