gardening in Bend? (Klamath Falls, Redmond, Deschutes River Woods: transplants, houses, landscaping)

[zinnia829]

Can you garden in the high desert? I'm not too interested in landscaping, but I like to grow my own food. Do you have to have a greenhouse? Do any fruit trees/shrubs or nut trees grow there? Is this a silly question, given that it's a high desert? I live in a place with short summers now, but the lows are not quite as low. How easy is it to find a place with irrigation rights for an acre or so? Or are these primarily taken by ranchers/horse people? Thanks in advance for any insight.

[PNW-type-gal]

Here's a link to the full climate survey from the state, listing growing season and a bunch of other stuff:
BEND, OREGON - Climate Summary

Bend has a lot of microclimates, though, so the data will be specific for only one reporting station. According to the USDA, Bend is in Zone 5 (and that's the REAL zone, not the ridiculous one that Sunset magazine uses, which puts everything from the east of the Cascades to the Rockies in "Zone 1").

Plenty of nurseries and garden stores in Bend. Can't remember the name of the one great nursery that specializes in indigenous and xeriscape plants, but there is a huge local gardening community.

[zinnia829]

Thanks for the reply. It looks like it's possible to garden there, with a little work. I also found this site, which answered alot of my questions:Organic Gardening in Central Oregon: Introduction and Table of Contents: Juniper and Sage

I guess the real issue is water. Have there been any trends in recent years? Less snow pack? Rainfall about the same as ever?

[BLAZER PROPHET]

When I lived in Klamath Falls (4200 ft), the trick was two-fold. First, I really tilled the soil every year. Second, we made a composter out of a 50 gallon drum we painted black. The air is so dry, you can't make a simple composte pile. The drum was turned routinely and made excellent compost.

[kapetrich]

Just found a good video that shows what one group in Bend have been growing this year on the westside microclimate. Figured I'd revive this old thread with it!
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Baked Bakery & Real Food Street Bistro on Galveston have a shared garden in the back of their shops. This is what they've grown so far this year:

Well, damn. Baked posted the video on Facebook and apparently FB doesn't let you share or embed their uploaded videos on other sites. Sorry....either way, most of you all are probably on FB anyway so here's the link: //www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=465225640178495 (anyone have a trick? Besides downloading the video and hosting it myself?)



PS - Baked and Real Food are awesome. Go to them.

[oregonwoodsmoke]

I'm north of Bend and grow peaches, apricots, nectarines, cherries, apples, pears, blueberries, grapes, and raspberries.

Tomatoes are a challenge, but many people get ripe tomatoes. It's just extra fuss.

Cole crops and snow peas grow great. I get sweet corn and zucchini does well. Asparagus and rhubarb thrive.

There are a few small irrigated parcels of 1-2 acres. Not many of them. There are a couple of streets in Deschutes River Woods that have irrigation. A few small parcels around Tumalo. Maybe a couple of them near Canal street in Redmond.

Most irrigated parcels are 10 acres or more. But you can find a small plot if you shop carefully.

[delta07]

I've written about gardening in Bend on numerous threads. I will say that it's difficult to garden, especially if you are looking at more traditional summer crops. This year, I didn't plant a garden because I knew I was going to be out of town during the critical time of starting in June and frost risk in September. In order to garden most summer crops here you will need frost protection. I have raised beds with hoop houses, but a greenhouse would be ideal. The other issue is the low overall night time temps, even during the hot summer period. I took a gardening class from an OSU Master Gardener, and she told us that because of these low night time temps, we needed to add an additional 14 days to maturation for most crops. I've had quite a bit of success with my garden when I plant it, but it's definitely not without a lot of work on my end. You can't just throw the plants in the ground and leave them like many other parts of the country. You have to work hard, watering and covering most of your crops to reap the rewards.

Tomatoes are extremely hard. I've tried many varieties, but will probably only do early girls next year. Even with those, I usually don't start getting a steady supply of tomatoes until August. I tried heirlooms the last few years and didn't get a single ripe tomato until almost October. With that, the risk of frost is so high, it's really a gamble. I lost my entire crop of heirlooms last year. It was a disappointment to say the least.

[kapetrich]

I planted my first garden last year and it did pretty well considering the climate. I didn't want to set myself up for failure, so I choose the hardiest vegetables and herbs. I grew chard, kale, carrots, lettuce, spinach, onions, parsley, basil, oregano and cilantro. I trieeeeddd growing brussel sprouts and broccoli too. They both grew, but didn't produce anything because, I think, I seeded them at the same time as all the other vegetables and herbs at the end of April. I hear they need a longer grow time and the colder days earlier in the year (March/early April) won't actually be bad for them.

Here's my question. Should I seed my BS/Broccoli now? Or when?

Also, I know Delta gardens so I'm interested in her garden update from last year along with anyone else's!

Here's a few pictures of my set up

One of the more proud mornings of my life:


Progress!:


Coming home to overcrowding after 1.5 weeks gone:

Originally Posted by oregonwoodsmoke

I'm north of Bend and grow peaches, apricots, nectarines, cherries, apples, pears, blueberries, grapes, and raspberries.

It's REALLY cool you grow all that.....I didn't know some of that could even grow here.

[delta07]

Kapetrich, great job with your first garden! You picked good vegetables to grow in our cool climate too. Some vegetables start well by planting seed, others really do best to transplant. Broccoli does better as a transplant. I've tried seeding too and it just doesn't do well. It's cold hearty once it's been started and "hardened off." You could start your seeds in the house if you have a nice, sunny window that gets 8+ hours of sunshine. I usually just buy my starts. I'm not positive about brussel sprouts, but my guess is they do best as transplants as well.

I had a very successful garden last year, producing about 15 pints of strawberry jam, 2 dozen pints of tomato sauce, and probably 2-3 dozen half-pints of pickled jalapeno and banana peppers combined. My cucumbers didn't do well though, so no dill pickles. I also made about a dozen loaves of zucchini bread and of course, plenty to eat fresh right out of the garden. I will try to post some pics of my garden when I have a moment to do so. I'm starting to plan this year's garden right now.

I also have an apple tree, but don't always get apples. Most of the time my blossoms freeze. I've heard about the Christmas light trick from several people, so I may have to give that a try this year.

Oh, and that last pic makes me laugh. We were gone for 1.5 weeks and talk about overcrowding. My zucchini plants were monsters and the big reason my cucs were unsuccessful!

[skypros]

Your garden looks GREAT kapetrich...... small, simple and easy to manage!