Gardening in Oregon (Portland, Eugene, Salem: for sale, houses, living in)

[reed067]

My wife and I have narrowed down the area of the country we are wanting to live in and it is the Pacific Northwest Oregon, Washington and Idaho. Now what we are trying to decide which area would be the best for us. We are currently living in Southern Ga and Zone 7 for gardening.
My wife is a Herbalist and is an avid gardener both vegetable and medicinal herbs. She is use to working with a season of growing from late April-middle end of October. How does this compare to out there in Oregon? Do you feel it is comparably similar? Are other areas of Oregon better than other areas of Oregon? I am sure with most areas, starting most of your seeds indoors for early start of your plants is important.
Do folks also utilize greenhouses to extend your growing season into winter? Or are winters too cold?

[Nell Plotts]

East of the Cascade Mountains the temperatures tend to extremes and the climate is dry, west of the Pacific Coast Mountains is very wet.

The best farming can be found in the Willamette & Tualatin Valleys and north to Olympia. There are greenhouses, I haven't inquired about the crops grown within but likely crops with significant margins.

[PNW-type-gal]

You can click on Sunset's magazines guide to Oregon climate zones here:
Sunset climate zones: Western Oregon - Sunset

if you are from the east, you might not be familiar with Sunset's zones - they are a bit different from the USDA's zones, slightly more specific.

For the USDA maps,
USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map

Keep in mind that Oregon's only large city is Portland and that most of Oregon's population is in the Willamette Valley, the area between Portland and Eugene. If you need access to customers, that would be the area to be looking in.

[reed067]

Originally Posted by PNW-type-gal

You can click on Sunset's magazines guide to Oregon climate zones here:
Sunset climate zones: Western Oregon - Sunset

if you are from the east, you might not be familiar with Sunset's zones - they are a bit different from the USDA's zones, slightly more specific.

For the USDA maps,
USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map

Keep in mind that Oregon's only large city is Portland and that most of Oregon's population is in the Willamette Valley, the area between Portland and Eugene. If you need access to customers, that would be the area to be looking in.

Willamette is the area we like it's close to everything yet still able to get away.

[PNW-type-gal]

The Willamette Valley is also expensive compared to your present location. Because of the urban growth boundaries, acreage is only available outside the city limits (for the most part). Try something like this to get an idea:
Oregon Land for sale, Oregon Acreage for Sale, Oregon Lots for Sale at LandWatch.com

Water rights on the west coast are also quite different - here it is "first in time" so you need to check what is actually available. A stream or river that crosses your property does not necessarily "belong" to you and you don't necessarily have the right to dam or divert water from it.

See this thread for a quick look:
How much do water rights add to a value of a property in Southern Oregon

[Silverfall]

You can use a heated greenhouse if you want, but you can also do a cloche to protect your seeds early on. There is a really good book called Growing Vegetables West of the Cascades by Steve Soloman that talks about the growing season here.

[mamh]

The Willamette Valley is zone 7 and in some parts 6 just depends on where you are..If your up a bit in altitude it can be 6 but for the most part its 7..
We lots of local nurseries and there are a couple of them that do a lot of herbs, not sure on the names..I know people who garden year around and I'm in
Salem..
Should you make a trip out here to visit check my favorite play ground in Silverton..Oregon Gardens is 80 acres that shows what we grow and how we
do it out here..They do garden trials and more..I volunteer out there and tell people this is our garden the one you see from southern Oregon to south east
Alaska..There are herbs, flowers , shrubs and more plus a herd of deer to do the extra pruning..Silverton has its own herd of deer.
Go to your library and see if they have a copy of the Sunset Western Garden book..Its full of everything you need to know about gardening on the west coast.
The climate is real easy to deal with too..
Good luck

[Sherwoody]

Originally Posted by mamh

The Willamette Valley is zone 7 and in some parts 6 just depends on where you are..If your up a bit in altitude it can be 6 but for the most part its 7..
We lots of local nurseries and there are a couple of them that do a lot of herbs, not sure on the names..I know people who garden year around and I'm in
Salem..
Should you make a trip out here to visit check my favorite playground in Silverton..Oregon Gardens is 80 acres that shows what we grow and how we
do it out here..They do garden trials and more..I volunteer out there and tell people this is our garden the one you see from southern Oregon to south east
Alaska..There are herbs, flowers , shrubs and more plus a herd of deer to do the extra pruning..Silverton has its own herd of deer.
Go to your library and see if they have a copy of the Sunset Western Garden book..Its full of everything you need to know about gardening on the west coast.
The climate is real easy to deal with too..
Good luck

Is this the garden where they do something special for Christmas?

[reed067]

We have heard that collecting rain water in Oregon is illegal & that some how they believe that own the rain. We looked at Silverton when we starting thinking about Oregon it's VERY beautiful we want to check out that garden once we get out there!

[Harpaint]

I've gardened in So. Oregon (Medford) and No Oregon (Hillsboro). So. Oregon definitely has a longer growing season and also supports fruit trees very well. Winter vegies and herbs can be grown in both locations.