Gardening: Page 10

EW’s Planting Guide 2013

Gardening

Asparagus Cultivation: Plant 1- or 2-year-old crowns during March, spacing them 12 inches apart in trenches 8 inches deep. Hold off on harvesting spears during the first year for stronger plants the following year. Soil/Sun: Loose, rich, well-drained soil with a high pH. Full sun to partial shade. Suggested Varieties: Mary Washington, Jersey Giant, Jersey Knight Purple Passion.   Arugula Cultivation: Sow March through June, and in fall.  Suggested Varieties: Sylvetta; Roquette   Continue reading →

Take Your Temperature

Planting vegetables before May

Gardening

Until this year, a month-by-month portion of Eugene Weekly’s annual vegetable planting guide began in May. In a way, that’s logical — May is about when our heavier valley soils become workable. These days, however, with many people building raised beds and all-season gardening becoming ever more popular, lots of gardeners know that the planting year can start a lot earlier.  Continue reading →

Are We Getting Warmer?

Planting for a disrupted climate

Gardening

The numbers are in, says The New York Times: 2012 was the hottest year ever recorded in the contiguous U.S. 2012 also turned out to be the second-worst on record for climate extremes, amassing 11 weather disasters that exceeded $1 billion in costs, including tornadoes, freak storms, floods and catastrophic drought. Globally, the decade from 2000 to 2010 was the warmest on record. Nobody who is under 28 has lived through a month of global temperatures that fell below the 20th century average, because the last such month was February 1985. Welcome to a warmer world.  Continue reading →

Ornamental Natives

Some of the best native plants for our climate

Gardening

Studies show that native plants attract a wider variety of pollinating insects than standard garden ornamentals do, and pollinators need all the help they can get these days. That’s just one more reason to include native plants in your landscape. This top 10 list of showy, well-behaved native shrubs reaches a bit beyond the boundaries of the Willamette Valley, but all will tolerate conventional garden conditions, including summer irrigation. Vine maple (Acer circinatum) Continue reading →