Suggestions for Willamette Valley? (Portland, Eugene: hotel, house, camping)

[Eric G.]

Hi Oregon!

I am looking at different areas of the country that I might want to move to in the next 6-7 years.

I am currently living in the small town of Spring Creek, Nevada. My wife and I like it a lot here, it's rural, we don't mind the snow, and there's a beautiful view of the Ruby mountains out the back of our 4 acres.

So what's the problem? A ridiculously short growing season, combined with fierce winds and no trees make it incredibly difficult to garden here, and gardening is very important to me.

I am considering the Willamette Valley because the Western Garden Guide shows that Zone 6 runs along the river and a ways around it, and it's listed as an excellent zone for growing things. There's quite a range of cities and towns that run through this area, including:

Milwaukie
Forest Grove
Newberg
McMinnville
Salem
Dallas
Albany
Corvallis
Eugene
Cottage Grove
Drain
Roseburg
etc.

And below that is zone 7 which includes Grants Pass and Medford. I have a feeling that Medford has grown too much, and would be too expensive anyway.

So as I begin my research, I'm curious if anyone has any suggestions as to what to avoid, or if they have any favorites. I would be looking for a minimum of 5 acres, either just land or with a house, and don't mind being remote. I'd like to be AWAY from the cities themselves and the suburbs.

Any thoughts appreciated!

[Waterlily]

There's the small tiny town of Riddle maybe 20 miles below Roseburg. You could go further down to Glendale which is also a tiny town. Last of all I'd suggest the very small town of Remote. The name says it all. It's on highway 42 west fo i-5.

[Eric G.]

Originally Posted by Waterlily

There's the small tiny town of Riddle maybe 20 miles below Roseburg. You could go further down to Glendale which is also a tiny town. Last of all I'd suggest the very small town of Remote. The name says it all. It's on highway 42 west fo i-5.

Thanks Waterlily, I'll check them out.

I've been reading a bunch of the posts here in the forum, and had a couple of questions:

1) I see that a lot of people get tired of all the rain and gray skies, and I'm afraid this would get to my wife as well. Is there a big difference in the rainfall and grayness between say, Portland and further South like Roseburg, or is it about the same?

2) I also read that allergies can be a big problem for some. Is that the case all throught the Willamette Valley, or is it worse in certain areas?

Thanks...

[Waterlily]

There is a lot more sun in southern Oregon than Portland. Also I should point out that everyone does not get SAD even in Portland.
Yes going down below Roseburg you'll have a reasonable amount of sun. Allergies seem to show up the most close to the Eugene area but could happen anywhere. They grown grass seed close to there. it's going to depend on what you are allergic to.

Going out toward Drain would be far enough to get away from the grass seed fumes.
Rainfall is not as much as you go south. Grants Pass gets aroud 30 inches of rain on average. However if you go west toward the coast you'll get more rain.

[jjpop]

Hi Eric--One thing to consider in the Willamette Valley is the clay soil. Avid gardeners here will tell you it's difficult to deal with unless you amend the soil by adding loam or sand to break it up. We also have very dry summers, and you will need to water, which often seems to surprise people who think of OR as very rainy. The clay will get literally hard as a rock in summer and it will be nearly impossible to dig in unless you keep it wet. I and many people I know have actually had to use a pick to break up the soil in the summer!

[LarryMorris]

Clay, we don't have clay... Is that why I have a stack of broken shovels and picks?

A coiuple of towns you might really like are McMinneville and Dalles. Both are far enough from the major cities to be in the country, but close enough to be able to do things if you want. If that's not an issue, the the Douglas County valley areas are wonderful.

[bobmulk]

Depending on what your financial situation is, be prepared to shell out beaucoup bucks for land in the Willamette Valley. Our zoning laws have made land very expensive and it can be very difficult to build on your land. You would probably have to find property with a house on it.

Two communities to consider would be Canby and Silverton. Both are surrounded by beautiful, lush agricultural areas. Indeed, both communities have had signs that say "Oregon's Garden Spot". The Oregon Garden is outside Silverton and has beautiful gardens and live entertainment with a four star hotel coming in. And Silverton is a wonderful little artistic boutique community.

[Larry Caldwell]

The Willamette Valley is one of the great garden spots of the world. You could feed a small town off of 5 acres. The Willamette Valley was filled with silt from the Missoula Floods during the last ice age, so most of the soils are transported and fine. Some areas have heavy clay hard pan, either on the surface or just below. Some areas have sand substrate, and some is just topsoil 30 feet thick.

Anywhere along the Willamette, Tualatin, Yamhill or lower Santiam rivers will be great soil. The Heart of the Valley is Mission Bottom, along the Willamette just north of Salem. Make sure there is water. Some places have no water table. South of Albany, clay soils dominate. Southern Oregon soils are more porous, and water is harder to come by.

[Eric G.]

Since I first posted this, my wife and I went on a long camping trip and included traveling South through the Willamette Valley so I could see it for myself.

I really liked it around Portland and South to about Cottage Grove. At that point we cut across West to the Umpqua Lighthouse state park, and then down the 101 for a while, then back East towards interstate 5 and we came out around Myrtle Creek and then continued South towards Grants Pass.

At that point, things were quite a bit drier and hotter. In fact, my main memories of that area were driving through what seemed like miles of hills with dead, brown grass. We stopped at a fruit stand and I asked the lady there if it was usually that hot, and she said "oh, it gets worse than this!"

We think it was a little hotter and dryer than we would like (true, it was summer and it's not always that hot...but still...) So at this point, I'm looking mainly at the area between say, Salem and Myrtle Creek more or less. Silverton was a cool little town, and the Oregon Garden was great.

To make things even more challenging, my wife seems to have her sights set on Walla Walla Washington, but we haven't checked it out yet, and I don't know how the gardening climate there compares to the areas in Oregon I'm looking at. Anybody familiar with Walla walla and how it compares to the central Willamette Valley area?

Thanks..

[PNW-type-gal]

I wouldn't use the Sunset Western Garden Guide - it has too few zones (unless you are in California). What they show as Zone 1 and Zone 2 should really be broken up into about 4 zones. Besides, none of the big nursery catalogs use their zones, they go with USDA.

For instance, check out this updated USDA/Arbor Day zone guide to Oregon:
USNA - USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map: North-West US