Building a Backyard Bird Habitat

This morning as my husband and I had breakfast, I heard a horrible noise from the front yard.  When I looked out the window, I saw a hawk that had pinned a flicker to the ground.  We watched in horror as the hawk waited until the flicker died and then flew off to enjoy his dinner.  I felt guilty as  I feed the birds and might have brought this on myself.  My son says "Mom, you fatten the flickers for the hawks."  Oh my goodness, what do you think?  Do I feed the flickers and I feed the hawks?

Anyway, here's an article about turning your yard into a bird habitat. And be prepared, it's bewildering and you might feel like a murderer enabler.

When leaves are down, it's time to assemble backyard bird habitat | coloradoan.com | The Coloradoan,

How To Make Flowers (or a Pinwheel) Using A Soda Can | Greenopolis

Your Thanksgiving holiday is over and your have a recycle bin full of beer and soda cans.  What to do? Hey, how about creating some great yard art! Here's a cool idea.
How To Make Flowers (or a Pinwheel) Using A Soda Can | Greenopolis

Choosing That Christmas Tree

Yes dear gardener, it’s that time of year. Time to decide what kind of “real” tree to get for Christmas.  There are a couple of options when looking at fresh trees.

Scientists Develop Rot-Proof Apple that Stays Fresh for 4 Months : TreeHugger

 I saw this story and began pondering the idea of scientists turning fresh apples into "cheez whiz". It is called the RS103-130 apple and is supposed to make storage easier and is resistant to disease.

There are 2,500 apple varieties grown in the US; 7,500 varieties grown world-wide.  Let's hope in a few years they don't all become a memory and a number!
Scientists Develop Rot-Proof Apple that Stays Fresh for 4 Months : TreeHugger

CSU Extension Greenhouse & Nursery Diagnostics

Small and beginning farmers might want to participate in this grant project.  Maybe you are hoping to be a part of the new "agriburbia" movement or just want to be a part of the program.

The Specialty Crops Program at Colorado State University is accepting applications for grower research and education grants for the 2010 production season. The application deadline is Dec. 15.

Read about the complete program here:

CSU Extension Greenhouse & Nursery Diagnostics

My House Has a Terrible Hangover! by Gardener Dave

During our last big weekend snow
my house went on a kind of spree
I looked up from my drive below
and RAN, before IT fell on me!

A monstrous load, a “gutter-bender”
I snapped one “pic” – then fear took over
“Move my car!  Don’t want crushed fender!”
My House Has a Terrible Hangover!

November weather has been wild
Record snow, then record warm
Acting like some mad, spoiled child
bent on doing folks some harm

Flooding, rain, more snow to plow
Monsoon storms in the Far East
“Normal” never happens now
Please! Can someone tame this beast?

Protect Your Landscape While De-icing Your Walkways by Diggin' Donna

Winter has made an appearance in Jefferson County! In addition to shoveling all that snow, many people also apply de-icing salts to make the walkways safe and passable. While these products can certainly help ensure safe footing in treacherous conditions, they can also damage the landscape plantings that they contact. So – what to do? Protect your footing or protect your plants? It’s possible to do both.

Using Garden Debris for Decorations!

Carol O'Meara, Boulder County Extension agent offers these suggestions for using items from your winter garden to decorate for the holidays.

Nature Decorates

Synchronicity and Pondering Garden Wisdom

This week, I have been experiencing what Jung calls "meaningful coincidence"  and began pondering the important differences we, as gardeners, can make in peoples lives.

One of the projects featured at our Master Gardener Appreciation breakfast was the children's garden at the Extension Office.  Heather Hodgin obtained a grant in 2008-09 to build the raised beds and this summer, Jeffco master gardeners worked with a local elementary school, and Home Depot employees to build and plant a  garden.  Mary Small shared several heart warming stories about the changes gardening made in these children's lives. One child began to write about flowers and another's drawings went from images of violence to images of plants.

Today, I  read a quote by Rachel Carson  "If a child is to keep alive his inborn sense of wonder...he needs the companionship of at least one adult who can share it..." This is exactly what the gardeners did for the school children at the Extension garden.

And then this story  appeared about a group in Denver using gardening to unite generations.

We, dear gardeners, do so much more than grow stuff.

"Agriburbia" Sprouts on Colorado's Front Range

Here's an interesting story about a relatively new concept in development called "agriburbia". We have some agriburban development going on right here in Jefferson County, Colorado.

 Agriburbia" sprouts on Colorado's Front Range - The Denver Post

There must be a role for Master Gardeners in developing these projects. It sounds like a really smart way to develop land and raise food at the same time!

Miles Davis's Container Gardening Tips.

Here is a very funny article "written" by famed jazz great Miles Davis.  Some very wise gardening advice given!


McSweeney's Internet Tendency: Miles Davis's Container Gardening Tips.

We Are Now Officially Into Fall: Lasagna Gardening Can Now Begin

Because Colorado is not one of the 23 states that ban yard waste in landfills, much of our garden waste including fallen leaves and grass clippings will be bagged in plastic, put out on the street and sent to area garbage dumps. It is estimated that as much as 33% of solid waste  sent to landfills is yard waste. This is waste that can be composted and used to improve the environment.

Michelle Obama Fall Harvest: Reveals That The White House Garden Cost Only $180 To Plant

Michelle Obama Fall Harvest: Reveals That The White House Garden Cost Only $180 To Plant

How to Harvest Carrots in Your Basement by Gardener Cumax

What a great storm this is. Being a weather geek, I got busy 2 days before this storm hit. I usually wait until the last minute to harvest my summer carrots. With a spading fork to loosen this up, I put them in the trash, tops, dirt and all and filled it up with water. I let it soak overnight. The next morning, as the storm started dropping snow, I drained the water out, cleaned the bottom and brought it down to the basement. Thus the basement carrot harvest began.

October’s Scary Themes by Gardener Dave

Here are three little Haikus to remind us
it’s Halloween time again.
Just in case you didn’t remember, ha!…

Toothy pumpkin grins
Ghosts and goblins everywhere
Halloween is here

Bedsheet ghosts abound
Kids in costumes on my porch
Trick or treaters rule!

Zombies beg for “brains”
Vampires search for toothsome necks
Chills run up my spine!

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Beyond The Usual Fall Gardening Chores by Diggin' Donna

When the days become shorter and the leaves start to fall, most gardeners go about the business of doing the routine fall tasks – pruning, mulching, garden clean-up, planting bulbs. Here are four additional fall chores that you might not think about.

1. Get a garden journal. Use it to record what worked this summer, what you want to change, new plants you’d like to try…anything that is fresh on your mind at the end of the gardening season.  Be specific rather than general: for example, “eliminate Primrose and Valerian in front garden” will be more helpful than “get rid of invasive plants.”  If you are like many of us, those details get lost in the hustle-bustle of the holidays and the long, cold days of winter. In the springtime, your journal will be a bridge between fall and spring, and will help you jump start the new gardening season.

Master Gardener Calendar Sale

Want a unique and one of a kind gift? Need a calendar for 2010 (which is right around the corner)? Jefferson County CSU Extension Master Gardeners are conducting a fund raiser with their Master Gardener Calendar sale. The calendars are available at the Extension Office for $12 each or by mail for $14.50 . The calendar consists of beautiful pictures taken by Jeffco Master Gardeners and features some of their beautiful gardens. Included with the picture of the month is a monthly "to do list", a pest watch, Plant Talk tips and fact sheets that pertain to that month's information.

The money raised will go into the Jeffco Master Gardener Fund which helps fund a scholarship for a CSU Horticulture student and helps purchase books and other items for the Master Gardener Call Center.

For more information and a copy of this beautiful calendar, please call The Jefferson County Extension Office at 303-271-6620.

San Francisco starts mandatory composting this week | MNN - Mother Nature Network

San Francisco starts mandatory composting this week | MNN - Mother Nature Network

Denver's aquaponics project aims to turn

I saw this article, Dear Gardener, and thought of all the studies I have read of the real change that gardening can make in the lives of people.  I can't imagine living in a neighborhood where one can't get fresh food and yet, in our very own Front Range, there is such a place.  This article made me think of what an important place we gardeners might take with some vision and promise in the lives of people. Kudos to the visionaries and kudos to the neighborhood!

Denver's aquaponics project aims to turn "food desert" into an oasis of health - The Denver Post

Sudden Aspen Decline

It seems that a lot of the posts lately have been concerning the dire state of many of our trees.  Aspens also are dying at an unprecedented rate in Colorado. Here's an attempt to treat and reverse "sudden aspen decline" with fire.


Next victim: aspen trees | SummitDaily.com

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