Helpful Information for Gardeners
Garden Calendars for Kittitas County
These calendars are in PDF format. You will need a PDF reader, such as Acrobat Reader, to access them.
- January Garden Calendar (PDF)
- February Garden Calendar (PDF)
- March Garden Calendar (PDF)
- April Garden Calendar (PDF)
- May Garden Calendar (PDF)
- June Garden Calendar (PDF)
- July Garden Calendar (PDF)
- August Garden Calendar (PDF)
- September Garden Calendar (PDF)
- October Garden Calendar (PDF)
- November Garden Calendar (PDF)
- December Garden Calendar (PDF)
Brochures and Publications by Kittitas County Master Gardeners
These articles are in PDF format. You will need a PDF reader, such as Acrobat Reader, to access them.
- 100 Cold Hardy Trees, Shrubs and Perennials for Kittitas County (PDF)
- Choosing a Tree (PDF)
- Coconut Coir vs Peat Moss (PDF)
- Composting (PDF)
- Cover Crops for the Home Garden (PDF)
- Firewise Landscaping (PDF)
- Foodscaping: Landscaping with Edible Plants (PDF)
- Native Plants in the Home Landscape (PDF)
- Orchard Mason Bees: The Gentle Pollinators (PDF)
- Raised Bed Gardening
- Soil Identification and Improvement (PDF)
- Welcome to Kittitas County (PDF)
- Xeriscaping: Art of the Arid Landscaping (PDF)
Noxious Weeds
- Property owners are responsible for controlling noxious weeds. For a list of noxious weeds in Kittitas County, contact the Kittitas County Noxious Weed Control Board.
General Gardening Information
USDA Plant Zones
- USDA Zone 6a (-10 to -5 F) and 6b (-5 to 0 F) for most of Kittitas County. Hardiness zones or planting zones have large boundaries and may not be exact enough for your site, zones grade into and out of each other gradually and irregularly. Rely on your own experience in your garden. Also consider the effect of your elevation upon your specific situation.
Growing season averages
- 120 days in lower county
- 90-120 days in upper county
Elevation
- Ellensburg 1,520 feet
- Cle Elum 1,930 feet
Precipitation, annual average
- Easton: 53.5″
- Cle Elum: 37.2″
- Ellensburg: 9″
- Vantage: 6.9″
Frost
Average last spring frost
- Ellensburg: May 1
- Cle Elum: May 24
Average first fall frost
- Ellensburg: September 25
- Cle Elum: September 11
Winds
Out of the west and Northwest. The strongest winds come in late spring, decreasing in the summer months. Wind flow should be taken into consideration when planning your planting beds and garden.
Lawn Seed
Mixes of bluegrass and fine-leaf fescues make superior quality lawns and are best suited for our area.
Soil
Alkaline-soils tend to be on the higher side of the pH scale. A list of soil testing labs is available from our office.