Gardening with Greta (February Edition)
Meet Greta. She’s one of our favorite local gardeners. Last month, she helped us kick-off a feature called Gardening with Greta. Today, she’ll be sharing everything she and her family are doing in the garden this February as they prepare for spring.
Planting Peas Now (or Soon)
Depending on where you live in Oregon and Washington, the last frost can vary by a month or more. Stop by your Northwest owned and operated Coastal and ask some of our folks when to expect it in your area.
Greta’s garden is in Oregon’s Wilmette Valley. The last frost is at least six weeks away, which is the perfect time to plant peas in a raised bed. The raised beds offer proper drainage to ensure the peas don’t drown.
Why plant so early? As Greta explains it, you want to plant them six weeks before the last expected frost date so they will be mature enough to deliver several harvests in the summer. After planting, be sure to cover the crop to help protect it from winter rainstorms. Greta is planting several crops of peas a few weeks apart. This will help spread out the harvests.
Coastal tip: Sugar peas and Chinese snow peas grow well in both Oregon and Washington.
Care for and Planting Fruit Trees
Last month, Greta pruned the fruit trees on the family property. This month, she’s spraying them with a copper fungicide garden spray from Monterey called Liquid-cop. This helps control and prevent diseases, and is available online or at your local Coastal.When a fruit tree needs to be replaced, or if you have the room on your property, you’ll want to plant bare-root trees. Just remember that altitude and climate play a big role in the type of trees that grow best in your neck of the woods. Come by Coastal where you’ll find bare-root trees and knowledgeable folk who know what grows best in your region.
Check out our tips on planting bare-root trees.
Starting Some Veggies Indoors
Greta has started planting seed starts indoors. Hers include broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage. Whether you plant your starts from seeds or buy starts at the beginning of the season is up to you and your region’s growing season.
For a guide to indoor starts in Oregon as well as when to plant outside, take a look at the planting chart from Oregon State University. The full guide can be found here. For gardens in Washington, consult pages 11 and 12 of the Home Vegetable Gardening guide from Washington State University Extension.
Coastal is Your Year-Round Gardening Headquarters
Even in the middle of winter, your Northwest owned and operated Coastal has aisles of gardening supplies, seeds, tools, and a lot more to help you stay one step ahead of the season. Stop by today and pick up everything you need along with expert advice on what will grow best in your back yard.