Sunday, December 27, 2020

January 2021

If you're a regular subscriber to this garden blog, no doubt you've noticed my scant posts the past several weeks. I've truly missed sitting down and scribbling out my garden ideas that might work for you in your garden setting.

As you've probably also gathered, I do this blog for fun and to provide garden trust worthy information for the Rocky Mountain region. I keep the content as factual and research based as possible - thank you CSU Extension and countless other quality land grant institutions and other horticulture resources. 

Special thanks always to Ms. Susan Clotfelter, formerly of The Denver Post who reached out to me out of the blue in 2012 to begin a freelance writing column entitled Garden Punch List during the busy growing season months from late March through the fall. She also encouraged me in other ways to reach new to experienced gardeners, this blog is one example. Other wonderful Denver Post editors have kept me happily busy writing Punch List and other garden related feature articles for many seasons. Thank you all.

I'm happy that this blog does not include ads, which to my mind just clutters up the content and are simply annoying. 

All this to say that I took some much needed time off from writing regularly these past couple of months to focus on other areas of my life that needed focus and my full attention. No concern needed, my family (near and far) are well, thankfully, including Glen, my husband, and Ferris the rowdy soft coated wheaten terrier. Ferris has taken up the annoying habit when he's bored of chewing on larger chunks of wood mulch which are everywhere in the side yard. Maybe it's an old age thing, he'll be eleven in June of 2021. Where does the time go?

I'm still mulling over the future of writing this garden blog on a regular basis and I'll let you know as soon as I decide. I may turn to a different writing project all together and take up other hobbies I've always wanted to try and learn. What's exciting about not knowing for sure, is it allows me plenty of time to consider all the options. 

One area I won't ever be giving up is gardening, both indoors and outside. In my book, there's simply no down side to this lifetime activity. Despite the many years of enjoyment and success with homegrown produce and smart landscape plantings, there have been scores of poor plant choices, plant death and the dreaded tomato blight. 

Gardening will always remain a passion and a joy.

In the meantime, dearest reader, there are several years of blogs that are still very applicable to every month of the gardening calendar which can easily be found and read via the search feature. All the other helpful links under the headings on the left hand side of this blog will be kept up-to-date.

Thank you for taking your time to read my garden blog over the years, it means more to me than you'll ever know.

My very best to you always.


Sunday, November 8, 2020

2021

NOAA predictions for January through March in the New Year - temperatures and precipitation.

 

 




Resources from NOAA

 

 

Monday, November 2, 2020

Assemble Porch Pots Now while it is Still Warm Outside!

It's the first week of November and along the Front Range we're still having balmy fall temperatures. 

Wow, I'm sort of, kind of happy with the sunny, warm days to rake and mow leaves for mulch, completing other fall chores and getting the outdoor winter containers (porch pots) assembled before the soil freezes. 

The photo shows one of our concrete containers with vertical willow and fir branches after a Thanksgiving snow a few years ago - nice!

I wrote a lengthy how to assemble outdoor containers in a recent Denver Post article that is easily accessible in their section called The Know

In fact, all my 2020 garden articles are posted at The Know. There are some ads, but no subscription is needed. Thank you for checking them out. 

Click here for The Know outdoor container article. 

After our containers are nice and assembled, let the rain and snowy season begin - we need moisture!!


Thursday, October 15, 2020

Putting Your 2020 Fall Garden to Bed

As the days and nights begin cooling down, it's time to embrace the fall garden to dos. Embrace, you say?  Absolutely, what's better than being outside on sunny, crisp Colorado days and getting the muscles fired up?  Raking, pulling spent vegetable foliage, renewing the compost pile and taking frequent breaks to admire your work. 

Do it all before the snow flies and fall turns to winter.

Please continue reading the rest of this article on The Denver Post's The Know, which is accessible to all without a subscription. Click here. You can find all my 2020 garden articles at The Know. Thank you!



Monday, October 5, 2020

Month to Month Planting Guide in Colorado

 

If you subscribe to this blog (thank you for doing so) - when you receive an email letting you know there's a new blog posting, often the pdf will not be operational within the email. Simply click on the title of the blog in the email and it will take you to the actual blog page. The pdf should open up by clicking on the boxed arrow icon in the upper right corner. 

 

Friday, September 18, 2020

Time to Plant Garlic 2020

Recently harvested garlic

The good word is out about home grown garlic. And the word is flavor. Flavor you say? Think about it, when you buy a garlic bulb at the supermarket for a recipe or sauce, what are you buying, what kind of flavor do you expect? 

If you answer that there's only a bin of garlic to choose from and it tastes, well ... like it always does. That's it, there’s your lack of flavor and variety - we’re given just one type of garlic to bring home to finish our favorite lasagna dish. Imagine if you could only buy one type of pepper or apple for the rest of your life…no jalapeno, are you kidding, no honeycrisp!!!

The only way you’ll have a wider selection of garlic, which means a broader range of taste and characteristics is to grow your own, and fall planting is the best time to plant.

I grow a lot of garlic for a home gardener. I plant about three pounds every fall. Depending on variety, one pound of garlic will grow and net anywhere from 40 to 70 bulbs. 
 
Here's how it works. Each clove on the planting stock bulb is planted, which nets you a full bulb when you harvest next spring. Keep this easy math in mind when you order online or purchase locally. Independent garden centers are now selling garlic planting stock, some stores have an awesome selection so call or run by and check out what they have.  
 
Garden retailers generally package garlic from one to three planting bulbs, very doable for small spaces. Also check local farmer’s markets for planting stock. Mail order availability sells quickly in the fall, get going.

For two reasons it’s best to start with quality planting stock from a garden center or online reputable garlic grower versus buying grocery store garlic that you eat, to plant. You don’t know if grocery store garlic is treated to prevent it from sprouting or how it was stored, plus it’s only one type, again, the whole point is to expand your garlic palate.
 
Fall Planted Softneck Garlic in May

Garlic originated from central Asia thousands of years ago in climates that are very close to Colorado. With fall planting we’re giving the cloves a full 8 to 9 months to grow and develop into nice, good sized bulbs. 
 
There’s nothing more satisfying to a gardener than fall planting garlic as the icing on the entire planting season. It should be doubly true this fall because our summer growing season was challenging with the extreme heat and early cold snap.
 
Hands down, garlic is one of the easiest crops (it's actually an herb) to plant, beginner gardeners should have a good result if the planting soil and conditions are fair to good.

Garlic is in the allium genus, same as onions. There are two subgroups of garlic, commonly called hardneck and softneck. You’ll want to plant some of both. Hardnecks have outstanding flavor, and are highly recommended for making salad dressings and pressed fresh over vegetables. They are also delicious when baked or eaten raw for health benefits.
 
Hardneck Flower Stalks - Scapes

 
Hardneck bulbs have fewer cloves and are very easy to peel (much appreciated by gourmet chefs, including yourself). Hardnecks have a much shorter shelf life than softnecks, ranging from 3 to 6 months or so after curing. Hardnecks also grow a flower stock (scape) in late spring. It's recommended to cut this off a couple of weeks before harvesting to promote growth to the bulb. I've written about this procedure in other blogs, click here. Also, don't toss the scapes, they are so flavorful to eat, read more here.

garlic chives grown from left over garlic cloves
Softnecks do not flower, which makes them easier for braiding and harvesting by commercial growers. This is probably why we don't have hardnecks available for purchase on grocery shelves. 
 
Softnecks have a longer storage than hardnecks, up to 9 or 10 months (this is the type you find in grocery stores). Softnecks can be mild in taste or have quite a bite. Just as hardneck you will be able to taste the differences the more you grow.  
 
There are many cloves on softneck bulbs, so when planting use the largest cloves. Save the smaller ones for cooking or plant them in a pot indoors and grow them like onion chives (snip off the greens to use in dishes).

When shopping for your bulbs, keep in mind that there are several variety options in both the hardneck and softneck groups. Check the descriptions when shopping local and try different ones, it's fun!
 
Keep in mind that what you plant this year can be planted again next year, so you don’t have to purchase planting stock each and every year unless you want to try new varieties.  

I plant in raised beds in a sunny location. Sun is important for growing garlic. You can plant cloves in part shade right now, just as long as after the winter solstice the area starts getting more sun, then full sun by the June to July harvest. You can tuck them through the landscape if you have good soil, sun and no competition from other plant roots. Just remember where they are planted so you can water them through the winter if moisture is scarce.


My soil is loose and well amended. Cloves don't like growing in heavy clay or icky soil. I add a balanced fertilizer like a 10-10-10 a few weeks before planting. Garlic isn’t a high nitrogen feeder, but they do need nitrogen. Too little nitrogen may produce yellow plants, less vigor and smaller bulbs.

Gather your materials prior to planting - bulbs, planting labels, trowel, and mulch. Remember that one bulb will grow from one planted clove so plan accordingly. 

I place the cloves on top of the soil spaced 4 to 6 inches apart with the rows 10 or 12 inches apart. Plant 2-3 inches deep. I take my trowel and create the planting hole, often the soil is so workable that I can just push it down into the soil. Be sure to label each row or group. OR you can dig a 3-inch trench and place the cloves 4 to 6 inches apart, then cover with soil.
 
Again, the largest cloves planted will produce the biggest bulbs.
 
See my video below for the visual.

After planting I place a 2-3 inch layer of mulch over the bed and water it well.  Through the winter I will renew the mulch and water once or twice a month if it’s been dry. If spring is very rainy I’ll remove the mulch so the growing bulbs won’t risk getting mold. 

This article is a revised from an earlier version. Feel free to search this blog for other garlic articles, it's one of my favorite herbs so I've written often on the topic. Click here for my Denver Post video on harvesting fall planted garlic in early summer.




"Shallots are for babies; Onions are for men; Garlic is for heroes."  
Author unknown
 
 

Friday, September 11, 2020

The Week that Was - Whiplash Snow and Cold

Harvested Tomatoes 2020 'Green Zebra,' 'Hawaiian Pineapple,' 'Celebrity'

My arm and shoulder muscles are still feeling some strain from the manic plant covering and outdoor preparation before the snow and cold earlier in the week. The most tedious was harvesting the tomatoes on September 7 in ninety degree heat and air so thick from forest fire smoke I thought our neighborhood was on fire.

Reaching in and through the vines looking for tomatoes was every bit like reaching through a jungle of dense foliage in a far off place. I had to use gentle care in cutting the large Hawaiian Pineapple tomatoes off the vines without a nick. Two ended up with nicks, they went into the chili the next day. 

Deciding not to protect the tomatoes was difficult, I decided to focus covering some of the perennials in bloom and those that will bloom soon like the glorious Plant Select® autumn sapphire sage.

What was learned from this early record setting September snow and cold?

  • It took more time to uncover the sheets, floating row covers and plastic from the plants. Next step is to store it back in the shed, I call it landscape laundry management - wet, dry, fold and put away. 
  • The uncovered perennial plants are happy, the ones in full bloom, like the spring planted blue mist spirea haven't skipped a beat, bees are back in action as I write this. This makes me happy.
  • Tomatoes - more proof that normal summer growing seasons seem more infrequent. This was truly a challenging summer with the extreme heat and now, the early cold snap. No major lesson here, other than there's next year and I'll never give up growing them. 
  • How to ripen green tomatoes click here.  
  • The moisture from the storm was a welcome relief no matter how much a bother it was covering. The rain gauge says we received close to an inch. We'll take every drop. 

Ferris loves the snow, we're looking forward to more of it, but please, not until Thanksgiving, rain is okay.



Friday, September 4, 2020

Cold and Snow is Coming Soon!

"Then, all of a sudden, when you least expected it ... nighttime temperatures plunged to the 30s and it snowed, right smack dab near the end of a pretty good tomato and pepper year."



Sentiment expressed by gardeners everywhere!

As gardeners, we are more than aware of sudden weather related events all through the growing season. Snow over Mother's Day, yes, happens often, and guess what, a few hours after a warm Labor Day it's supposed to happen again.

The weather experts are predicting another weather whiplash with nights in the 30s plus snow overnight into September 8. The temperature drop in just a few hours will be sixty (give or take) degrees, yikes and oh darn - not good on our plants. They also say to expect the next four nights to be well below 40 degrees. 

To give you some perspective, I did some checking on the last ten years and the dates our temperatures dropped to 40 and below in September. October can be similar and last October is proof, read here to jog your memory. 

September 2018 we had six nights at 40 degrees and below starting on the 26th. October of that same near was cold too, nights stayed mostly in the low 40s to low 30s the entire month. That would have been a tough fall to extend the warm crop growing season.

September 2014 we had three nights from the 11th to 13th well below 40, the last night was down to 30 degrees.

September 2013 it wasn't until month's end like '18 when we hit the 30s at night - 27th through the 29th. 

September 2011 we had high 30s on the 21st and 22nd.

All the other years in between held temperatures pretty well in the mid to high forties and fifties, not bad.

What does this mean for our warm-season crops? The list includes - tomato, pepper, eggplant, tomatillo, basil, squash, pumpkin, okra, corn, bean, cucumber, and melons. Ornamental annuals like petunia, geranium, lantana and many more. Plus, don't forget perennial plants that were just planted this spring, summer or very recently, they are not established, so they are vulnerable. In two words it means - not good. This group of plants may not survive well or at all if left unprotected. It is doubtful crops will continue to ripen, and remain healthy through this snap of cold temperatures.

What to do - if you are able, the day before or day of predicted cold, fully drape all warm loving crops, annuals and new plantings with some sort of cover.

It's also a very good idea to deeply water every plant in the landscape, believe it or not, moist plant roots weather cold snaps much better than dry roots. A wise landscape designer friend told me years ago that the ideal fall transition for landscape plants is one that gradually gets colder with plenty of rain to help them have wet feet (roots) headed into winter.

It is your choice. Cover your plants. Or don't.

Try to use light weight sheets or floating row covers and cloak the plants entirely, trapping in the warmth from the soil. 

In the photo below, I wrapped two climbing bean plants. Notice how the cover goes all the way to the bottom of the plants, touching the raised bed cap. I should have (maybe I did later) used clothes pins to keep the flap from opening. These plants were right next to some Swiss chard which I knew would be fine in the cold. I used a heavy weight floating row cover which protects plants down to 28 degrees.

In the photo below I used an old electric blanket to cover a determinate tomato. I clipped the blanket edges to the cage. Ideally, the top should be covered to trap in warm air all around the plant.

A blanket isn't recommended when rain or snow are accompanied with the cold, unless you place a plastic tarp over the blanket to keep it dry. A light sheet or floating row cover is better since lighter fabric or frcover doesn't weigh down the plant when wet. Avoid using plastic directly over the plant, it just transfers cold to the foliage and fruit. 

A good sized bucket or empty plant container over a recently planted plant should work just fine if it isn't in direct contact with the foliage.

Covering large and tall ornamental containers may need some posts, poles or sticks to support the size. The container below doesn't get direct rain or snow, so I just wrapped it with a light sheet and it held in place. An exposed container would need support to attach the material.  

Below, I used a tomato cage over a geranium to hold the floating row cover in place, worked great!

Be sure to uncover during the day when temperatures reach the 50s or at least high 40s. Dry out the cover materials and use them again the next night. This is tedious work, but you'll be rewarded with more vegetables in September and not having to replace recently planted perennials.

Hoop houses work great on smaller, shorter vegetable plantings or plantings through the garden. Just poke in the rebar and place the pvc pipe over the rebar to hold hoops in place. Clip on a floating row cover, light sheet or plastic as long as it doesn't touch the plants. Check out my Denver Post video here on building inexpensive hoop houses.

As insurance, I'm going to wrap the sprinkler pipes with an old blanket and cover the blanket with a plastic tarp or plastic. It's easy to do if you have the materials on hand. 

I'm still shaking my head, I cannot believe it is going to be close to one hundred degrees tomorrow, September 5 and three days later snow and cold. Really!?



Saturday, August 22, 2020

Tomato Success Part III of III - Learn from Home!

 

This is the final learn from home garden PowerPoint on growing tomatoes, one of the most popular vegetables to grow outside. Part I covers the basics of choosing tomatoes, planting and early care to get them established. Part II covers growing tips and trouble shooting. Part III covers late season care, harvest, extending the season and preservation resources.

Enjoy, and feel free to share with others.

Just a FYI ... if you subscribe to this blog (thank you for doing so), often the pdf will not be operational within the email, so just click on the title of the blog in the email and it will take you to the actual blog page. The pdf should open up by clicking on the boxed arrow icon in the upper right corner on the first slide.

Thank you!
 
 

Saturday, August 8, 2020

Japanese Beetle August 2020 To Dos and Ponderings

If you've read my blog for any length of time, you know that the most often subjects I write about are growing basil, garlic, weather, and dealing with Japanese beetles. Here we go again.

Believe it or not, the adult green/copper despicable Japanese beetles you see in your yard today began life last summer. In fact, their one-year life cycle is about to end. What? Explain please. Sure.

The beetles you're seeing today are doing their thing - eating, mating, resting on plants in the morning and evening. Their behavior causes more gardener frustration then a July hailstorm (maybe not). JBs will mate into September or so, afterwhich they die. 

A year ago these same adults started their one year life as an egg that was laid by female beetles in your yard and yards all around town.

This diagram shows their life cycle much better than my words -

Photo from USDA printed with permission by the Sacramento Bee

In September this summer's generation all die off, some are dying now because they've already lived their ~sixty day summer adult life span. 

Back to females - they lay eggs in lawns from the time they emerge in early summer. They prefer cool-season irrigated grass turf (that's why golf courses struggle with Japanese beetle management too). Each female lays between 40 and 60 days during her lifetime. They have simple lives, really. Mate, chew and destroy your plants, mate some more, lay eggs - pick any order.

Eggs laid in lawns develop into white grubs, also called larvae, and will remain below your turf grass until next spring. Technically, they have a much longer life in the soil -- nine-ten months. In May to June, white grubs will pupate for a few weeks before emerging from grass to finish out their one year life as an adult beetle. The cycle begins again.

It's common practice where Japanese beetles are troublesome to kill next year's generation each summer. Makes perfect sense, except. The except part means that even if you treat your lawn this summer, Japanese beetles can still fly in from other lawns and gardens next year. So why should you treat your lawn? I believe everyone has to decide for themselves the best plan for their landscape.

I like to treat my lawn every summer. My concern is for the health of the lawn (white grubs eat grass roots - see the diagram). Lots of white grub chewing can lead to dead areas in the lawn. Damage can get bad, to the point of needing to be re-seeded or sodded this fall or next spring. Critters like raccoons and skunks add to turf destruction by digging to find and eat the grubs. 

Another reason I treat my lawn yearly is I like knowing that I'm killing the next generation of adult beetles, even though adult beetles can and will fly in from other areas next summer. 

Early August is a great time to apply a lawn product to kill the eggs and white grubs (next year's beetles). Generally only one product is needed per summer. 

The best reference chart to view white grub control products, timing and environmental concerns is from Dr. Whitney Cranshaw, Emeritus Entomologist at Colorado State University. View it below or on his very informative fact sheet on Japanese beetle, click here

Click on the box with angled arrow in upper right corner to open into a larger format.

 

Whatever product you choose to use, please read all the package instructions, Two products are very low to no impact to beneficial insects, people, pets, etc. Beneficial nematodes (mix and spray) and grubGONE! (granular application with spreader). Both products should be available locally at independent garden centers or online.

There is long-term good news on the Japanese beetle battle front. Dr. Cranshaw and the Colorado Department of Agriculture are responsible for bringing very safe biocontrol agents that specifically attack adult beetles and white grubs to Denver, Boulder and Pueblo. The program started in 2015. I wrote about the three controls in 2018 in a Denver Post article, read here. You can also view the twenty PowerPoint slides I've put together on the three agents here. This link can be found on my Japanese beetle website under Fact Sheets, half way down the page.

Efforts continued this summer with additional biocontrol agent releases. I was fortunate to have one of the three agents released in our yard - click here to view my short YouTube videos on the release (there are seven short videos). Link to my YouTube Channel from my blog home page, upper left. 

Parasitized (white egg on head) JBs released in our yard July 2020

I close with this important information about beneficial biocontrols for Japanese beetle management. Down the road, probably way down the road from now, IF/WHEN these biocontrols get well established along the Front Range area, then the use of spray products and or grub control products to kill Japanese beetles should cease entirely.

Otherwise the spray you use on adult beetles, dunking in soapy water and the granular or spray used on lawns WILL also kill the beneficial biocontrol agents. We are not there yet, but I will keep you posted on the progress of the biocontrol releases and establishment. Hopefully any good news will make front page print and online news everywhere in Colorado. Please pass this along.  

Additional Resources:

Japanese Beetle Management in Colorado - My Dedicated Japanese Beetle Website 

Products to Manage Adult Japanese Beetles All Summer

Cultural Ways to Reduce Japanese Egg Laying all Summer 

Plants - From Resistance to Extensive Feeding   

Japanese Beetle Fact Sheet 5.601 - Dr. Whitney Cranshaw

Saturday, August 1, 2020

Will August 2020 be Hot and Droughty Too?

How hot was it in July?

Too hot for Ferris to nap on the patio behind the outdoor sofa. This is one of his favorite spots to hide and sleep. Napping is about the best part of the day when weather is consistently in the 90s. Not that I nap very often these days, I should, we all should according to Reader's Digest.

I counted at least twenty days in July that were over 90 degrees. What will August be like? I predict more of the same but hoping for fewer 90s, so are the tomatoes. I'm diligent about utilizing shade cloth each afternoon to cool them a few degrees, it's helping quite a bit and ripe ones should be on the menu soon. Sungold tomatoes are eaten as fast as they ripen. Hands down, Sungold is one of the best tasting cherry tomatoes on the market.

August is a great month to freshen up containers that look like they've lost their spark. First, try perking them up with a good pruning of dead and leggy growth. If they still look a bit puny, head out to your favorite garden center and shop for annuals that are blooming now and will continue for several weeks. Consider some bright colored snap dragons, cosmos, dahlias and rudbeckia that will look great and take you all through fall until frost. It may seem invasive to the plants (it's not), dig around the poor performing plant, lift out and plant new ones. Buy plants large enough to fill the space that is dug out or double up on 2 and 4 inch sized plants. Add new potting soil in and around the plants. Sprinkle some slow release fertilizer around and water the whole container.

Another must do while shopping is to pick up some herb plants, and pop them in a smaller sized container or individual pots that can transition into the house in a couple of months. The easiest ones to grow in containers, plus they look awesome are chives, oregano, basil and rosemary.

Check out other August to dos here.


                                                                     



Friday, July 24, 2020

Learn at Home Gardening Series

Starting in March I began posting PowerPoints from past classes I've taught in the gardening community.  Below are the direct links to each presentation. My next program on Tomato Growing Part III will be posted in August. Click on each title to be taken to the blog where the presentation is posted. I hope that you're having a wonderful outdoor vegetable and ornamental growing season so far.

Lettuce Leaf Basil





 




Monday, July 20, 2020

Fall Vegetable Planting 2020

It's time, let the third season of vegetable planting begin!

Leafy Greens - Swiss Chard, Lettuce
Check the
chart below for many cool season plants that can be directly seeded right now and into September. This is a very inclusive list of cool season plants that can be used now and next spring. I included two warm season plants on the chart - basil and New Zealand spinach, both can be seeded right now. 

Other warm-season plants that can go in right now are - summer squash, bush beans and cucumber.  Check the seed package for maturity days, look for shortest time 50-60 days.
  
Direct Seed Basil NOW while temperatures are warm!


Wednesday, July 15, 2020

Mid-July Garden Photos

Here are some recent snaps of our garden and around the neighborhood. Enjoy!

I wouldn't normally plant perennial liatris in a container, but needed to move them from the pollinator bed for new plants I wanted to try this year. The container needed color and I'm a fan of single specimen containers. This location gets plenty of sun and is a warm micro-climate too. The plants may winter over just fine since past perennials have survived in this same container. Time will tell.

Perennial Liatris


Honeybees were regular visitors to this outstanding mid-summer bulb bloomer - Allium 'Ping Pong.'  The smaller bee flying in from stage left visited often, but was so quick it wasn't easy getting a close up and I don't know the bee type. She seemed happy though.

Two Honeys and Another Friendly Bee


I walk by this house often with Ferris, a few weeks ago the bindweed was in full bloom. I now completely understand why the neighbors both north and south have the yellow insecticide signs on their lawns through the summer. Playing defense has a whole new meaning.



A friend of mine is getting into the flower business and she specializes in gorgeous centerpieces. She just filed all the paper work and when she has her website and social media all set to go, I'll let you know. The centerpiece below was one of her first creations and I'm more than impressed. Awesome!! Way to go Beth!!


Remember the blog I wrote back in mid-March about starting the organic carrot stubs for their flowers to plant outside and attract pollinators? The experiment more than worked. I ended up planting them in containers (two) and they grew so tall I caged them. The pollinators go crazy, so many that I have never seen before in our garden. The blooms seem endless, I love watching all the action!  Here's the blog from March, click here.


2020 was a very good fall planted garlic harvest year. Last summer we got hail in the night a few weeks before harvest that damaged the leaves extensively (I could have covered, but didn't, my bad, very bad). I've written several blogs about planting garlic in the fall and usually have a class on planting at Denver Botanic Gardens and an independent garden center, not this year with the virus. Here's my amateur YouTube I did a few years ago on planting garlic in the fall, click here.

Click here for my Denver Post video on harvesting fall planted garlic in the spring.

Click here for my blogs on the topic (can you tell it's one of my favorite herbs?)




Finally, the six tomatoes I planted are all doing pretty well so far this summer. Several flowers have dried up due to the extreme heat, so fruiting has slowed down quite a bit. Crossing my fingers, hail, thrips, psyllids and early blight will stay away, the four worst tomato problems my garden experiences.