Feb. 1

With rain, wait to till soil.
Prep space indoor or a cold frame for outdoor new seedlings.
Fertilize rhubarb with a 6 inches of manure or compost.
Feb. 15 - prune grapes. It is OK if you prune them already.
Continue to prune or attend pruning classes- Lane County, Oregon.

More Hints

February can still be very cold.
Prepare soil when dry.
Do NOT walk on lawns when the lawn is icy and turns WHITE.
Spray copper or lime sulfur for canker on ALL apple trees.

Time To -

Clean up garden tools and get ready to use - clean mud off of working part.
Sharpen the edges of shovels and hoes.
Clean and sharpen pruners.
Re-apply mulches on garden, around roses and berry bushes.

Transplants

For transplants use good potting soil.
Starts seeds about 60 days ahead of planting out.
Pruning class, GrassRoots Garden, Tuesday, Jan. 26, 1-3 pm.

Soil digging and tilling

Grab a handfull of soil. If it forms a shape or can made into clay pots, the soil is still too wet. If the soil breaks apart in your hand, it is ready to be dug or tilled.

More places for plants and seeds

Here is a small list of places to find seeds and plants:
Gray's - Eugene and Spring
Down To Earth - Eugene
Jerry's - Eugene and Spring
Coastal Farm - Eugene
Wilco - Spring
-many local nurseries

Remember, it can get cold between now and March 1st.

More on seeds and plants

Seeds and plants are starting to show up in different places.
Recommendation: Typically plant peas in mid February. Plant cole crops in mid March. Plant warm season veges AFTER May 1st.

January - To Does

If you dont' have your seed cataloges, go to:
Nichols Seed - Albany
Territorial Seed - Cottage Grove
Park Seed. S. Carolina
Johnny's Seed. Winslow, Maine

Visiting Nichols and Territorial is an expereince in itself. You CAN just look.

Weather Part 1

Friday January 15, Part One

According to Cliff Mass, atmospheric conditions are setting up next week that could result in the 'explosive' development of surface systems as they approach the west coast. True, we cannot forecast each storm track this far out with certainty, but the models have been consistent enough to warrant the 'heads-up' for patrons across the region. There could be three or four storms, which typically create powerful hurricane-force wind fields along the coast and even inland 50 - 60 miles.

Late Sunday night, the first strong storm will impact the PNW with strong winds on the coast and across SW OR.

Weather Update 2

Part Two - The second storm - even stronger - will form late Wednesday and deepen as it moves north toward Vancouver Is. Coastal wind GUSTS with this system could exceed 100 mph - motorists may want to stay off coastal roads for risk of falling trees/limbs. For the PNW, rain will continue and snow levels should begin to drop some with colder air aloft moving onshore. WINDY.

Third storm cell, is modeled to move onshore around Astoria sometime late Thur or early Fri. VERY WINDY esp for central and southern OR coast.

After a short 2 day break in the action (Jan 23, 24), another round of systems may begin to hit the west coast again in the Jan 25 - 30 time frame. This series could bring the heaviest rain into OR and SW Washington. Watch the storm on Jan 29th, as it could really hammer the PNW. For full story see: http://ovs.com/weather_cafe.htm

January Hints

Continue pruning. Big pruning class at Thistledown Farm, Sat., Jan.16th.

With this heavy rain, cover compost piles and keep them from getting TOO wet.

Review what grew well last year, do it again or chagne varieiters. REocrd all changes.

Weather

Several interesting weather events are becoming probable for January. Rain and showers for western OR, a few in Washington and a tad drier Sunday. Next week will usher in on-and-off rain & showers accompanying BREEZY conditions as relatively weak systems scramble by. PNW will get increasing RAIN and WIND Thur night thru Sat morning. The Jan 15 - 24 period may be quite STORMY. Surface systems, and cold air over the Gulf of Alaska, indicate a couple of these storms may develop as they approach the west coast. While some will likely spin north and not actually come onshore, the WIND and RAIN will be notable, depending on your location. The PNW will get plenty of rain as well, with winds potentially approaching damaging levels for coastal communities.

Bottom line: progressively wetter pattern in store for the PNW. Although warmer with relatively high snow levels to start, colder air for many of the late period storms should contribute to the new snow pack. For a full forecast, see - Rufus as: http://ovs.com/weather_cafe.htm

Apple trees

Apple trees need a copper or lime sulfur spray now and in mid March to protect the trees from anthracnose.

Anthracnose is a disease that causes splits in the bark.

January chores

With warmer weather, now is good time to spray roses, berries and tree fruits with a copper spray or lime sulfur.

A great time to prune. The Extension Service has 30 pruning classes coming up in the next 6 months to teach proper pruning techniques.

Order seed catalogs.