Evening Garden Club will be at the Corvallis Spring Garden Festival

The 32nd Annual Corvallis Spring Garden Festival is coming up – and this year the Evening Garden Club will have a fundraising booth, selling live plants and bulbs as well as a “Garden Boutique” of gently used garden-related items such as tools, containers, garden art and garden books.
And it's in time for  –  Mother’s Day!
Sunday, May 5, 2019 • 10 am – 4 pmArts Center Plaza / Central Park
7th Street & Madison Avenue

Please come shop to support the Evening Garden Club
Better yet-- take this opportunity to do some spring cleaning and donate your garden rummage to the sale -- clean, attractive items only – no junk!  All “Garden Boutique” items can be dropped off at Ruby Moon’s house, 608 SW 7th St., Corvallis, on April 27th and 28th from 1 to 3 pm. Please enter through the alleyway between 7th and 8th streets, south, off Western-- look for the EGC sign.  Questions? Svetlana Dascaliuc, Garden Boutique Coordinator 541-250-6207

Spring Tips from the Evening Garden Club

IT’S PLANT SALE SEASON! Local Nurseries and the Benton County Master Gardeners will have hundreds of tempting plants – but DON’T buy BIG, thinking you’ll have a better plant faster. Perennials plant best at 3-5 INCHES tall and small trees soon catch up to bigger ones.


It’s planting time for natives and most other perennials– before summer temperatures arrive and while it’s easy to work the soil. Try not to tread on wet beds – avoid compacting the soil.

Get close to your plants – plop right down on the lawn or pathway and enjoy the wonder of emerging leaves and blossoms. It’s the best way to stay ahead of pests and diseases—you’ll notice more--but also another way to pause and really enjoy your garden.


Fertilize your lawn using a slow-release fertilizer with a 3-1-2 ratio four times a year. Remember when to do it in the PNW with these holidays:  EASTER, MEMORIAL DAY, LABOR DAY AND HALLOWEEN

From the Corvallis Evening Garden Club – Meetings: 1st Monday Oct-May, 7 p.m., Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church, 2650 NW Highland Dr. Corvallis. Tours, Holiday Greens Party, Socials.  

More at www.EGCCORVALLIS.ORG

CBUF will be at the Spring Festival on May 5th

INTERESTED IN CIVIC BEAUTIFICATION AND URBAN FORESTRY?

CBUF, the Civic Beautification and Urban Forestry Advisory Committee to the Corvallis Parks & Recreation Department, will have a table at the Spring Garden Festival, to be held on Sunday, May 5 at the Arts Center Plaza in Central Park.

CBUF and the Parks & Recreation Department help the community in many ways. Here are some of them:

·     Heritage Tree Program

·     Riverfront Park & downtown planter bed improvements

·     Central Park Plantings

·     Arbor Week & Tree City USA

·     Beauty Grows Here awards

·     NPK posting kiosks

·     Public education

CBUF Beauty Grows Here Awards

Do you have a beautiful yard in your neighborhood?  Help CBUF recognize our neighbors for their outstanding landscaping.  Nomination forms can be picked up at the Parks and Recreation Office in Avery Park.

Award forms can also be found at www.corvallisoregon.gov/bc-cbufdac

Seed Sources

Looking for Seeds to Plant?

Here’s Where to Find Seeds Locally

Adaptive Seeds, Sweet Home

Heirlooms and “rare, diverse, and resilient” seeds from around the world adapted for the Pacific Northwest.  www.adaptiveseeds.com  541-367-1105

Decker Rd. Seeds, Philomath

Vegetable, herb, wildflower, and cover crop seed.  

www.deckerrdseeds.com   503-250-2506

Fertile Valley Seeds, Corvallis

Varieties developed by Carol Deppe as described in her book The Resilient Gardener.  E-mail for seed list.  www.caroldeppe.com

First Alternative Co-op, South Store

Seeds from Territorial, Adaptive Seeds, Peace Seeds, Peace Seedlings, and other companies. 541-753-3115

HOUR Seed and Plant Swap

Held annually in the spring. hourexchange.org  541-224-7752 

Peace Seeds, Corvallis

Public domain plant breeders of many vegetables, flowers and Native American plants.  peaceseedslive.blogspot.com

Peace Seedlings, Corvallis

Public domain plant breeders specializing in Andean root crops and local varieties of flowers and vegetables.  peaceseedlingsseeds.blogspot.com

Territorial Seed Company, Cottage Grove

Large selection of seeds, seedlings, and supplies. Print catalog has detailed growing information for each crop.  www.territorialseed.com 800-626-0866

Wild Garden Seed, Philomath

(Frank Morton) Certified organic open-pollinated varieties adapted for the 541-929-4068 Pacific Northwest. www.wildgardenseed.com  541-929-4068

From the Food Action Team - Edible Garden Group (FAT EGG)

What to do in the Garden in April

Primrose Primula vulgaris

 Planning                                         

 - Prepare raised beds for vegetables if drainage is a problem.  Soil can just be dug from paths into the beds to raise them, but a structure helps to keep it tidy.  Often, raised beds aren’t necessary.    
-Vegetables that can be planted outside now include broccoli, Brussel’s sprouts, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, chard, chives, endive, leeks, lettuce, peas, radishes, rhubarb, rutabaga, spinach, and turnips.  Click here for planting dates.

- Now is a great time to start pepper, eggplant, and tomato seeds indoors for planting out later.





Maintenance and Clean Up

-Allow foliage of spring-flowering bulbs to brown and die down before removing.



-Apply compost to berries and perennial vegetables.  Mulch to prevent weeds and moisture loss.

 

-Continue dividing herbaceous perennials until soil dries out if you want to spread or share them.  

Fertilizing sustainably
-Avoid chemical fertilizers.

-Make your own compost from yard debris and kitchen waste.

-Mulch with leaves, clippings, wood chips, or straw.

-Don’t fertilize when heavy rain is likely. Fertilizer can wash into streams or ground water where it becomes pollution.

-Many gardens are over fertilized.  A soil test shows which nutrients and amendments would be most helpful.  https://cropandsoil.oregonstate.edu/cal/testing-your-soil

Red Flowering Currant Ribes Sanguineum

Slugs                 

Use traps or safer iron phosphate baits for slug control near susceptible plants.  https://extension.oregonstate.edu/news/less-toxic-iron-phosphate-slug-bait-proves-effective

From Benton County Master Gardeners -

Membership meetings:  3rd Monday of October to May 7:00pm Benton County Extension office.

Plant sale:  May 4 9:00-3:00 at the Benton County Fairgrounds