Saturday, March 30, 2013


Maple trees budding out.
Cherry and pears full bloom.
Tulips budding and daffis doing very well.
Boy, the grass is growing very fast.

Dandelions - nice and yellow flowers.
Honey and bumble bees out in good numbers.




Friday, March 29, 2013


Nice weather but too good for March,
with anticipated temps going to 68 degrees.
Soil surface drying out.
Great for gardens, and garden
prep and soil tillage.
In general, two weeks ahead of normal.
Peaches, cherries, plums in full bloom.
Pears will be blooming this weekend.
Gravenstein apples pushing bloom.
But..all of the the plant signs are
showing spring is here and winter
is over.....but it is only March 29th
and May 1st is a long ways away.
Plant away!

Tuesday, March 26, 2013


Soil tested today was ready for planting
with cole crops.
Apple blooms pushing.
Lots of veggies, berries, tree fruits showing
up in the garden stories.

Lawns growing very fast.
Weed sgrowing even faster.
A LOT of lesser celandine all over the valley. 
Please control this every expanding noxious weed.


Saturday, March 23, 2013


Lawns growing crazy.
Soil after this weeks rain, still wet.  Grrrrrrr.
How to check - dig a 6-8 inch hole.
Grab a handful of soil.  Squeeze the soil,
if it is gooie, it to wet. 
If the soil crumbles, perfect of planting.

This week AM temps were pretty chilly.
Berries pushing to flower and leaf out.
Last years chard, kohlrabi,
beets still doing well.

Keep weeds under control, they
also are growing very well.
Bay laurel trees, blooming.
Daphne - very nice smell for spring.

Tulips = near budding.

Tuesday, March 19, 2013


Gardens were near ready, not the soil is wet again :(s -
My peas are slow at coming up.
I have some test beans, no germination yet.
Pears - near bloom.
Full gardening weather coming soon.

Saturday, March 16, 2013

Forsythia, camellia, some rhodies in
full bloom.
Pussywillow - greening up.
Plum, prune, peaches - pink ro bloom.
Pears - pushing hard.
Raspberry, black raspberry broken buds
and pre leaf.
Soil that was bare was perfect to getting
 ready to plant. 
Any soil with cover crop of grass, still
cloudy and wet
Temps reaching 60 during the day and up 40's
in the evening, so still soil temp is below 50
degrees but getting close.
Garlic up, onions up, cabbage, chard,
kohlrabi doing fine.
Beans seed still dormant.  


Saturday, March 9, 2013


Treat with different products to reduce slugs and snails.

So far it looks like a very bad slug and snail year.

Mulch create an environment very favorable for slugs
and snails.  The use of plastic helps reduce slugs and
snails with a drip hose under the plastic.

Mulch with high populations of slugs and snails
can act as a breeding environment.

Friday, March 8, 2013


In Springfield, the old Grays store says Garden 
Outlet Center, coming in March. I don't know 
who it is yet!!!! They have new plant tables 
in the outside area.

Lawns growing fast now with the 60 degree days. 

Seeing lots of slug damage.

Recommending cole crops, peas and onions.

Tuesday, March 5, 2013


Peaches near pre pink stage.on most
peaches or plums/prunes.
Not too late to spray copper or lime on
apple and pears.
Blueberries pushing  hard.
Finish  ALL pruning soon..
Soil too wet to plant.  cover one raised
bed with plastic to dry out the bed.


Saturday, March 2, 2013

Interesting data for Lane County, Oregon:

Precip month to dater - 1.61
Normal precip. month - 5.43

Precip. year to date - 2.96
Normal year to date - 12.30

Which means we are down on rain in the
valley and snow in the mountains.  So YES,
we need more rain between now and May 1st.

Friday, March 1, 2013


Roses covered in black spot need a
good protectant spray ASAP as most
roses are already emerged 1 inch.
Pussywillow buds exploding.

Soils still wet so wait to add an mulches.

Try to use drip irrigation, and low impact
sprinklers
 to avoid getting foliage wet,  also use soaker
hoses or low impact sprinklers  to lower
leaf wetness.