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Connect with a local Master Gardener volunteer in your community by phone, email, or online. Many OSU Extension offices offer plant clinics and events for gardeners.

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Effective, low risk solutions for Pacific Northwest pests & weeds landscape overhead

Photo: Orrin Zebest

Explore Solve Pest Problems

Learn research-based, safe, and effective tactics for common garden and property pests and weeds. We provide non-chemical methods alongside the most effective and least toxic chemical options available, to reduce risk to people and the environment.

Identify and learn about the pest or weed.
Determine if action is needed. Some pests or weeds need attention, some can be left alone.
Learn how to get rid of the problem and understand any risks associated with various options.
After taking action, follow up with preventive steps for long-term success.

Solve Pest Problems

Recent gardening articles

Fire-resistant plants for home landscapes

Home landscaping is an important part of a community's resistance to wildfire. Learn what plants can help you create an attractive environment and reduce the risk of fire.

Amy Jo Detweiler, Stephen Fitzgerald, Ariel Cowan, Neil Bell, Thomas Stokely | Oct 2023 | OSU Extension Catalog Peer reviewed (Orange level)

Stopping the spread of jumping worms calls for vigilance

The jumping worm, an invasive species new to Oregon, harms the soil by reducing it to granules, making it more porous and less able to retain water. Here's how to identify jumping worms and help stop their spread.

Gail Langellotto, Samuel Chan, LeAnn Locher | May 2021 | OSU Extension Catalog Peer reviewed (Gray level)

How do I test my garden soil?

Learn why you should test your garden soil and the different kinds of tests to ask for. Resources include instructions for how to collect a soil sample for testing and a short video demonstration.

Brooke Edmunds | Nov 2025 | OSU Extension Catalog Peer reviewed (Gray level)

Should I wait to clean up the garden in order to help conserve insects?

Addressing a current popular meme in social media encouraging waiting to clean up your garden until temperatures reach 50º F or higher, in order to help conserve insects. We address the claim that if you clean your garden ...

Gail Langellotto | Mar 2025 | OSU Extension Catalog Peer reviewed (Gray level)

Heat wave in the garden: How to identify and prevent heat stress in plants

When a heatwave hits, plants may show the impact. Learn the signs of heat stress in plants and how to help them weather a heatwave with best practices for watering, mulching, shading, providing humidity and weeding.

Nicole Sanchez | Jun 2021 | OSU Extension Catalog Peer reviewed (Gray level)

How to protect yourself from ticks

Ticks are a common nuisance for hikers, gardeners and those who enjoy the outdoors. They feed on the blood of humans and animals, and can spread disease. Learn how to identify ticks and how to protect yourself.

Brooke Edmunds | Nov 2025 | OSU Extension Catalog Peer reviewed (Gray level)

How to help bees survive a heat wave

Extreme summer heat can pose a danger to bees. Although bees have ways to keep cool, many gardeners put out shallow trays of water and pebbles to help them. Does that help? Here's what the science says.

Andony Melathopoulos, Gail Langellotto | Jul 2021 | OSU Extension Catalog Peer reviewed (Gray level)

How to help hydrangeas weather a heat wave

A heat wave can turn a hydrangea's lush green leaves and beautiful blooms brown and brittle in no time. But it doesn't have to be that way. Here's what gardeners can do to protect hydrangeas from the heat.

Heather Stoven | Dec 2025 | OSU Extension Catalog Peer reviewed (Gray level)

Top tips for gardeners to help fight climate change

As Oregon gardeners have noticed, our climate is changing — it's hotter, drier and more severe. Learn how to adapt your home garden to climate change, from consuming less to planting with the environment in mind.

Brooke Edmunds | Dec 2025 | OSU Extension Catalog Peer reviewed (Gray level)

How to grow and maintain a healthy lawn

Maintaining a healthy lawn requires a little knowledge and a big commitment to regular maintenance. Learn what it takes, from seeding or sodding to fertilizing, watering, mowing and aerating.

Weston Miller | Mar 2022 | 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)

Hummingbird visitors to Pacific Northwest gardens

There are more than 300 diverse species of hummingbirds. Anna’s hummingbirds can be spotted year round in the Pacific Northwest. Rufous migrate from areas of Mexico all the way to Alaska. Here are facts about them and how to attract them to your yard.

Brenda Holmes-Stanciu | Feb 2025 | OSU Extension Catalog Peer reviewed (Gray level)

Training and pruning your home orchard

A visual guide to training and pruning apple, pear, sweet cherry, sour cherry, peach, plum, apricot, fig, persimmon, walnut, hazelnut and chestnut trees.

Jeff L. Olsen, Neil Bell | Feb 2025 | OSU Extension Catalog Peer reviewed (Orange level)

Growing tree fruits and nuts at home

Find out if a home orchard is right for you. Learn how to plan your home orchard, plant and care for trees, and harvest and store fruit.

Jeff L. Olsen | Jan 2025 | OSU Extension Catalog Peer reviewed (Orange level)

Fruit tree pest management

Home orchardists often consider fruit tree pest management challenging. Sustainable fruit production aims to reduce inputs of water, fertilizer, pesticides and labor. With some specific knowledge, you can manage fruit tree pests in a sustainable way.

Cody Copp, Steve Renquist | Jan 2025 | OSU Extension Catalog Peer reviewed (Gray level)

Streamside gardening: your garden, our shared watershed

On land surrounding a stream, how you garden can maintain or restore some of the functions of a healthy streamside to benefit plants, wildlife, and humans. Here are six tips for protecting our watershed while gardening.

Shannon Rauter | Nov 2024 | OSU Extension Catalog Peer reviewed (Gray level)

Three methods for no-turn cold composting

Recycling organic debris for composting and improving soil doesn’t have to be a chore! If hot composting is not for you, try one of these easy cold-composting methods. Each has advantages and disadvantages but the end result is the same: improved garden soil and less organic waste in landfill.

Linda Brewer | Oct 2024 | OSU Extension Catalog Peer reviewed (Gray level)

Dandelions: Living with, or without, them

Bright yellow dandelions (Taraxacum officinale) are a common sight in lawns and gardens across Oregon, mostly in undisturbed areas. Whether you love them or want to get rid of them, it helps to know more about dandelions—how they grow, what good they can do, and how to manage them if needed.

LeAnn Locher, Srijana Shrestha | Apr 2025 | OSU Extension Catalog Peer reviewed (Gray level)

What's your lawn style?

Whether you dread lawn care or you are a lawn enthusiast, we’ve got free tips for a safe and healthy lawn from turf experts.

Weston Miller | Sep 2024 | Collection

10-Minute University: Short classes on essential gardening information

Explore over 75 handouts and instructional videos on topics including general gardening, climate resiliency, berries, fruit trees, raised beds, ornamental plants, soil, edibles, insects and pests, lawns, trees, irrigation, pruning and tools, native plants and guest lectures. Developed by Clackamas County Master Gardeners, these easy-to-understand resources are all a part of the award-winning 10-Minute University program.

Sep 2024 | Online resource Peer reviewed (Gray level)

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