Introduction to Vegetable Garden - Learn at Home!

In the current climate of shelter in place and maintain distance from others to prevent the spread of COVID-19, it is not possible to take a garden class in person along the Front Range of Colorado. 

Over the years I've taught several garden classes on many topics. A popular one is beginning vegetable gardening. What better timing than to share this with you right before the beginning of another busy outdoor garden season. Please feel free to forward to others.  

My only goal is to be a credible resource among all the gardening websites out there today. This should be applicable for Zone 5 gardeners in the Rocky Mountain Region.

My very best to you as we get through these difficult times together. 

It ALL Starts with your Soil - Part II

Back on March 6, 2020, when I wrote It ALL Starts with your Soil Part I we were living in a "normal" world. There weren't any shelter in place orders and store toilet paper shelves were fully stocked. What hasn't changed in what seems like a blink of an eye, is the outdoor gardening season. What better place to be than in the garden during these uncertain times.
 

Stunning Front Yard Raised Bed, Photo by Donna B-B.

Wishing you safe health and appreciated respite as we eventually ease back to our daily routines, careers and quality time with family and friends. 

Part II-click here for Part I:

In a nutshell if your soil is typical Colorado clay and so dense a shovelful looks and feels like a block of smooth, dense Christmas fudge, then you're going to have to help it along so it can support healthy root growth which equates to nice plants for you to enjoy. 

Managing soil properly depends on what you'll be growing, so I'll break up the recommended cures for clay "fudge" soil and sandy soil conditions in three bullets and one bonus bullet.

Large hunks of clay (fudge-like) garden soil

1)  One of the easiest ways to deal with poor soil is to simply accept it, skip trying to fix it by adding bags of soil amendment year after year which may technically lead to too much - read more on this topic from last May's blog - Soil Test Enlightenment. Opt for raised beds.

Build raised beds and add soil. Raised beds can be used for growing vegetables, perennials, herbs, fruits, trees and shrubs. 

There is cost involved in installing raised beds, however, there are scores of re-purposed material ideas online or in your creative mind. Click here and here for some ideas. Local, independent garden centers also sell raised bed kits, check them out (most are open or offer curb side delivery during this state-wide shut down). Instead of hand watering, consider adding sprinkler lines or soaker hoses for ease of watering. Click here for an excellent how to on installing drip irrigation to raised beds.

One caution about bagged or cubic yards of soil to fill up raised beds. Most commercial amendments have added fertilizers, organic matter, are high in salts and more (as described in the Soil Test Enlightenment blog). Before seeding or planting, plan on leaching the bed of soil with water several times to dilute and drain through excessive additives. Before adding more fertilizer (organic or chemical) this season, send a sample off to the CSU soil lab for testing. There are delays due to Coronavirus.

Our Corner Pollinator Berm Bed, Many Natives

2)  Go native, that is ... by planting native plants. Native plants for the most part do not like nutrient rich soils like the kind found in bagged and bulk soils. What they need is good soil drainage so their roots don't drown. 

The key to creating quality conditions for natives to grow is to use less added bagged/bulk soil (only 10%) and some small aggregate like expanded shale or pea gravel (15%) mixed together in your existing soil. Read more here. Consider building berms (man-made hills) for plantings which can be interesting and out of the ordinary in an existing landscape.

3) Whether you have overly clayey or sandy soil, the best way to improve both conditions to grow all types of plants (see above for natives) is to add amendments to and mix well into your in-ground soil. Amendments help break up clay soil while it helps slow down fast draining sandy soils. Yep, the cure for both conditions is adding amendment. How much to add? All the amendment types and amounts to add to your current in-ground soil can be found on this very helpful fact sheet from CSU Extension, click here. A must read!

Ohhhh Noooo

Bonus Bullet - if you can't deal with the clay or the sand or planting in general, you can always go rock, literally! 

No Garden Cancellations this Season

We all get it, better safe than sick. People are dying from COVID-19.

Life, livelihoods, and routines as we know them are suddenly very different and it all seems surreal - this word is getting a lot of use of late. In these uncertain times, surreal is spot on.

Everyday I wake up feeling like a shaken snow globe and it takes a few hours to get back to a routine that is no longer a normal routine. 

I'm not cancelling gardening this spring or any spring, that is, until I'm no longer able to lift a trowel. In fact, I'm going to plant more plants and seed more seeds this spring just to spite the evil disease out there and evil in general just to cover all bases.

Onward with Spring -

One fun new planting experiment I'm trying right now is forcing full grown, store bought organic carrots to grow in soil. The end goal is not to grow more carrots for eating - that doesn't work since a grown carrot is actually the root and can't grow another carrot. Carrots are biennial vegetables, they grow leaves in year one, then flower in the second year. We normally treat or grow carrots as annuals and eat them after seeds are planted, then ready for harvest in 60 to 75 days of growth. 

Carrots left in the ground from the previous season may bloom this spring if they didn't get mushy over the winter. If left over ones don't grow new foliage and flowers, then go ahead and pull and toss in the compost.

What I'm trying to grow from a mature carrot is carrot foliage then blooms (umbels). After growing well in the container for a few weeks, I'll transplant into the spring garden after they have been hardened off. I'll use cloches to cover the transplants on cold nights.

Carrot Flowers from Sunset Magazine

Carrots and other root vegetables can be cut off from the end (the larger top end) and planted in soil or water to grow roots. Try this method with your kids or grandkids as an indoor project.

Why such consideration for carrots? The blooms of carrots are spectacularly beautiful and attract pollinators and beneficial insects to the early spring garden. Plus I read about a Seattle based gardener who does this every spring for pops of color throughout his garden and the wows - "what are those plants" from visitors and friends. We know what Oscar Wilde said about imitation.

Resources -

How to Grow Carrot Tops with Time Lapse

Plant Flowers to Encourage Beneficial Insects

Here's the progression so far. I planted four stubs three weeks ago and additional ones yesterday. When shopping for organic carrots in stores, look for purple and other colored carrots for a variety of bloom colors like in the photo above from Sunset Magazine.

I'll circle back later and show you the beautiful flowers in my garden ... hopefully, if all goes according to plan.

Carrot's cut from bottom ~2 inches length

 

Carrot Foliage ~3 weeks after planting

 

Carrot Roots on Stub after ~3 weeks

Spring Plant Sales 2020

Internet Photo from https://hasgardens.org/plant-sale/

Soon we'll be in motion headed to garden centers and plant sales for you know what ... yes ... plants!

Until it's go time, stroll your landscape and look for open real estate or re-do areas that are on your list for plants or hardscape opportunities like patios, pergolas, perhaps a nifty grill station? 

Save the dates below for local plant societies, clubs and organization's plant sales along the Front Range. Many are non-profit and have been hosting for several years with a strong following. Dedicated volunteers work tirelessly to make these sales a success. They often sell out of plants which is good for everyone (and the plants).

Remember that your local garden independent retailers will be stocked to the brim with plants, supplies and accessories all through the growing season. There are plenty of plants out there that need good homes.

                                     Here's the 2020 plant sale list so far. 

                   Please check back often for additions to the list.

MANY plant sales scheduled for this spring have been cancelled or are changing their procedures for ordering or pick up (curb side).  I'll leave the list up for now, however, be sure to click each link or contact the organizer for more information.  Wishing everyone the best during these uncertain times.

 
Order now online, pick up in May and June. Garden In A Box - low water, professionally designed plant kits, Boulder

April 11 - June 14 Desert Canyon Farm Day & Farm Stand Plant Sale, Canon City

May 1 - 31 Plant Sale - Vegetables, Herbs, Berries, Ornamentals, Order via email, curb side pick up plants

May 2, 3 Growing Gardens Community Plant Sale, Boulder

May 6-8 Pickens Technical College Annual Plant Sale, Aurora 

May 8, 9 Denver Botanic Gardens Spring Plant Sale

May 8, 9 Denver Urban Gardens Spring Plant Sale

May 9 Loveland Garden Club Plant Sale, Loveland 

May 9, 10 Growing Gardens Community Plant Sale, Boulder

May 15, 16, 17 Gardens on Spring Creek Plant Sale, Ft. Collins

May 16, 17 Denver Master Gardener Plant Sale, Denver

May 16, 17 Growing Gardens Community Plant Sale, Boulder

May 23, 24, 25 Cheyenne Mountain Zoo Annual Memorial Day Plant Sale, Colorado Springs 

June 6 Fairmount Heritage Foundation Annual Rose Sale, Denver

June 7 Colorado Water Garden Society Annual Plant Sale, Littleton

August 28, 29 Colorado Native Plant Society AND North American Rock Garden Society Plant Sale, Golden

It ALL Starts with your Soil - Part I

"There is no spot of ground, however arid, bare or ugly, that cannot be tamed into such a state as may give an impression of beauty and delight," says Gertrude Jekyll. 

The "taming" gardening season starts now with attention to your soil.

Colorado Soil - News Flash - for new residents and first time gardeners, our soils differ from the moist, rich, "anything grows in it" soil found almost anywhere but the Rocky Mountain region. Your umbrella won't get much use either. 

This blog is a short primer on understanding our growing conditions and working in our drier, often limiting soil properties. My hope is to help you improve your soil (if that's your goal) and make smart, plant choices this gardening season.

In Part II I'll cover ways to improve your soil quality and drainage.

Colorado Soil:

Internet Photo

• Soil is a fascinating mixture of microscopic to larger forms of life (like earthworms, which are good in soil), plus varying amounts of air, water, decomposing living matter - also known as organic matter, and different sized soil texture particles or pores (three main types). 
• Particle sizes - think of sand, the largest soil particles sized like golf balls, next are the medium sized particles of silt, represented by marbles, and finally clay, the smallest particles which act more like layers of pennies in soil. Putting them all together with different percentages of the pore particles indicates how well plant roots will grow and thrive.
• Moisture drains more slowly in smaller pore spaced clay soils - so drowning plant roots can easily happen. Heavy clay soils are common along the Front Range. On the opposite end, sandy soils with large pore particles are fast draining, lose nutrients easily and dry out quickly. This condition is not as common as clay soils. 
• Plant roots need a good balance of all of these particles to allow water, air and organic matter to support existing landscape plants and your new plants this spring.
• The first step in correcting under performing soil is to figure out what you have.
• For a spot-on low tech structure "feel" test, squeeze a small handful of soil, add a little water. If the soil sticks together and makes a shiny, smooth ball that doesn't break apart, the soil is clayey (yes, we call it clayey). If the ball is less dense, a bit easier to move in your hand, it's probably a combination of sand and silt. A loose ball that easily breaks apart generally has more sandy particles. 
• If you're overly frustrated in dealing with clay soils, consider growing more native plants which often don't need as much sweat equity to improve drainage. Gardening in raised beds or containers is a good way to avoid the darn clay. You can always take up another hobby, maybe golf? Honestly, golf* can be very challenging and really, who can forego planting and caring for a tomato plant or two for homegrown BLT joy.
• Tilth is the catch all term on the quality of soil structure, texture and balanced pore space. Gardeners strive for great soil tilth. I'd give up chocolate for great tilth, oh dear, maybe not. 

Resources:

Colorado Gardening: Challenge to Newcomers 

The Living Soil

Managing Tilth Texture, Structure and Pore Space


*Full transparency - I like golfing and wasn't have bad at it back in the day. Life and circumstances change, so, at this time my clubs are collecting dust in the basement 😞. 

Hello March 2020!

What are you going to bring us this month? March is Denver's snowiest month, averaging eleven inches. The record for March since 1882 is thirty-five inches, set back in 2003. In 2012 we had the driest month since 1872 with a mere 0.03 inches. The take away - don't have any expectations for March moisture totals and temperatures. The projections below are just that (thanks NOAA). It's the ideal month to find your summer shorts, hang them right next to your puffy coat.