Happy New Year!

Best wishes for happy and successful gardening in 2015!

Photo courtesy of therunninggarlic

May your garden be Merry and Bright!! Happy Holidays

Gift Ideas for Gardeners

It's not too late to get some great gifts for the gardener in your life! Also consider a gift to our Jefferson County Master Gardeners 2015 Gardening Symposium on January 24, 2015. Here's the link for more info. http://sprgardsymp2015.eventbrite.com

Building Terroir to Impart Flavor and Place to Your Garden by Pete Biggam

The French have an old expression that relates the taste of an agricultural product to the place in which it was grown: gout de terroir, or terroir (Tare-wahr) 

Terroir is both a geographic area with specific soil and climate characteristics that also portrays a legacy steeped in traditions of agricultural practices and crop production that is a reflection of the people that work its land. 

Making the most of one’s land is the common goal of farmers and gardeners and is the heart of the notion of terroir, and relates back to “a sense and taste of place”.

Spring Gardening Symposium 2015: Improve Your Garden, Improve Your Life

Taste your place

Jefferson County CSU Extension Colorado Master Gardeners announce their 2015 Spring Gardening Symposium to be held on Saturday, January 24, 2015 from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM  at the Jefferson County Faiurgrounds.  Come join us for a full day of vegetable gardening excitement for beginning and intermediate gardeners in particular.

Morning Session:

Building Your Terroir. Come learn how everything from the minerals in your soil to whatever is growing nearby affects the taste and nutrition of your vegetables.Your own terroir (taste of place) is special and cannot be matched anywhere else.

Going Organic. What are the steps to transforming your garden into a completely organic one? Learn the top 5 things to insure tproduction of clean food that also nurtures the earth.

Understanding Pests and Disease. Learn how to prevent pests and diseases from being a problem and what to do if they are.

Lunch

Lunch and Learn Class (requires special registration)

Qi Gong for Gardeners – Learn to prepare your mind and body for the garden season with this gentle exercise session

Afternoon Session:

Top Ten Vegetables to Grow In Colorado. Easy and unusual vegetables to try will be presented.

The Thrill of Starting Seeds. The five key things needed to successfully start seeds at home .

Saving Seeds As If Your Life Depended On It. Learn why we should be saving and adapting seeds; vegetables, herbs and flowers, and a primer on where and how to start.

Let us help you step up your vegetable gardening success this year by taking your gardening skills up a notch. No questions unanswered! 

To register visit http://sprgardsymp2015.eventbrite.com. For more information call the Jeffco Extension Office at 303-271-6620.

Painted Poinsettias by Sheilia Canada

It is time to add those holiday plants to your home like amaryllis, paperwhites, Christmas cactus, and poinsettias. You may have seen the great varieties in color choices poinsettias come in. You can even get them in unusual colors that are painted.

I have the fun job at a local garden center of painting and adding glitter to our poinsettias.  I am an organic gardener and permaculturist in addition to being a Colorado Master Gardener so it is always a concern for me what is being applied to our plants. At our center, we use vegetable based dyes that are specially formulated for poinsettias. We spray these dyes so we can achieve those beautiful purples, mauves, blues, and oranges. 

Making an Ice Candle by Donna Duffy

My calendar and the thermometer are having a disagreement about what season this is. Even so, it really is winter, and the weather is bound to get cold again. When the day and nighttime temperatures stay well below freezing, you can make an ice candle (think Stock Show weather!). 

The Great Christmas Tree Conundrum: Real or Fake? by Carol King

Heading Out for the Perfect Tree!

If you are considering a “real tree” for Christmas,  here are a couple of options when looking at fresh trees.

You can cut your Christmas tree at several U. S. Forest Service locations near the Front Range, provided you have a permit.  The USDA Forest Service web site has information on where and when to get a permit, cutting dates and times, tips on caring for your tree including a recipe for a fireproofing mixture, and other details. There are also Christmas tree farms along the Front Range that allow you to “cut your own.”

Winter Watering by Donna Duffy

Baby, it’s dry out there! It’s been weeks since we’ve had measurable moisture in the lower elevations of Jefferson County, and our landscapes are thirsty. The lack of soil moisture and atmospheric humidity can damage plant root systems unless they receive supplemental water. Affected plants may appear normal in the spring only to weaken or die later because the amount of new growth produced is greater than the weakened root system can support.