With so much time spent at home these last few months, it has been a chance to be outdoors in the fresh air with your hands in the earth. And while summer seems to be moving at a faster pace than spring, there is still time to garden and prepare for another harvest season — with sharpened tools and your planting list at the ready.
Sharpen garden tools
A sharpened pair of pruners, a shovel with a good clean edge, and a well-tuned push-mower can make gardening and mowing easier and more enjoyable.
Sharpening4U in NE Portland and some nurseries and farmers markets offer tool and knife sharpening services. Cascadia Blade Works offers their services for a fee at the Montavilla Farmers Market on Sundays.
DIY online classes are available at the ReBuilding Center, including how to sharpen your own tools.
Borrow tools
Portland’s tool lending libraries are filled with garden tools large and small. Some also offer seed lending libraries!
The Green Lents Community Library, Southeast Portland Tool Library, Northeast Portland Tool Library and North Portland Tool Library are all open, with limited hours and COVID related safety protocols in place.
Get it on the calendar
· Use Portland Nursery’s handy vegetable planting and harvesting calendar.
Share the Bounty
If you expect to have a wealth of edibles, consider donating fresh fruit and vegetables to a nearby food pantry.
Oregon Food Bank accepts donations large and small and lists local food pantries.
Ample Harvest seeks food growers and lists local food pantries.
Portland Fruit Tree Project offers ways to Share in the Harvest so those with fruit trees can pick and donate fruit for those in need.
Check out a previous blog post about collaborating with your neighbors.
Questions answered
Call or email your gardening questions to Master Gardeners for expert advice.