East Portland Plant Buying Club

Oregon’s soils were assembled in layers, by collision, lava, and water, and they’re still young by soil standards. Understanding the geologic history of the PNW is as important as knowing your hardiness zone when deciding what grows well here and why. Oregon Was Built in Pieces The Missoula Floods are well known and impacted our soil, but that was the only the most recent major episode in Oregon’s geologic past. Over millions of years, chunks of ocean floor, volcanic islands,

Winter sowing containers need to survive months outdoors through rain, freezing, thawing, sun, and neglect. Below is a practical guide to what works best and why some common suggestions can cause problems. The Best Containers for Winter Sowing Rigid Nursery Pots, Trays, and Flats (Plastic) These are the containers professional growers use, for many good reasons. They: Hold their shape when wet and frozen Drain consistently Allow oxygen to reach roots Can be reused for many ye

Winter sowing is the most reliable method for starting native seeds. At East Portland Plant Club, native meadow seed packs contain the right amount of seed to cover one square foot of meadow  when grown in clusters. This system eliminates the guesswork of traditional seed packets, reducing seed cost and waste. It also makes winter sowing incredibly simple: If you want a 10-square-foot meadow , buy 10 seed packs. If your hellstrip is 2' × 20' (40 square feet) , buy 40 packs. T

Winter sowing refers to sowing seeds in pots during the winter, covering the pots with a transparent lid, and leaving them outdoors, unprotected from the cold. It is a technique that gardeners have used for all manner of flower and vegetable seeds, and it is especially well-suited for starting natives from seed. Benefits of winter sowing native seeds The biggest benefit of winter sowing in pots, compared to direct sowing, is how dramatically more successful it is. Habitat re

When I began growing and studying PNW natives, I noticed patterns in the colors of flowers over the seasons. Spring starts out with white, yellow, and blue flowers, with one lone red flower and orange flower. In April, the colors become more intense, with lots of pinks and blues, and still some white flowers. May bloomers are more deeply colored still, purple, orange, and magenta dominate, and no white flowers. In June, even more intense pink, purple, orange, and golden yello

Every fall, gardeners look forward to planting alliums: namely, garlic, shallot, and the many colorful varieties of flowering alliums,...

The practice of planting soil-enriching crops between harvests is ancient and practiced throughout the world. Chinese manuscripts...

How Much Compost, Mulch, or Chips? It’s that time of year again: time to spread compost on the beds, top off the mulch, and refresh the...

The idea of planting crops to feed the soil is ancient. As early as 6000 B.C., farmers in Greece, Rome, China, and the Middle East grew...

Garlic is one of the most rewarding edibles you can grow in Portland. It thrives in our climate, requires minimal (though dedicated)...

Turning Hell Strips and Lawns Into a Sea of Blooms Stinzen planting is a Dutch tradition that’s perfect for Portland: you scatter hardy spring-blooming bulbs so they come back every year, spread naturally, and look cheerful instead of fussy. No rows. No perfection. Just color when winter is dragging on, and pollinators are waking up hungry. The magic happens when you combine bulbs with tough native plants. The bulbs do the early-spring show, then quietly disappear while nativ

Pre-order now to harvest your own saffron this fall! For immediate satisfaction, you can’t beat saffron. Most bulbs, corms, and rhizomes...

Planting Your New Bulbs Now that you have these beautiful and sometimes strange bulbs and corms and tubers, here are some quick tips for...