New to Colorado? Five Gardening Tips for Success

Photo courtesy Colorado Dept. of Tourism

Welcome to Colorado! Regardless where you came from, you are likely to find gardening in Colorado different than it was in your home state - both rewarding and challenging. It's not too early to start thinking about your Colorado landscape. Following are five tips to help you get started on the right foot. 

Soil Testing: CSU Extension or DIY?

Photo by Donna Duffy

One of the first recommendations that we make as master gardeners is to have your soil tested before you add any amendments, plant anything or take any action at all in your home garden. This is probably the most important step any gardener can take before planting that first seed. The "blue chip" soil test is done at a Cooperative Extension soil testing lab such as the one at CSU.

However, we know that realistically, many home gardeners utilize a "do it yourself" soil testing product from their local garden centers.

So how do those testing kits stand up against the "real deal" at the Soil, Water and Plant Testing Laboratory at CSU? 

The Benefits of Planting a Fall Cover Crop by Jennifer Verprauskus

Hairy Vetch cover crop, photo courtesy Urban Farmer Seeds

When Fall rolls around and everyone starts to put their gardens to bed, there are a few things to consider before you say good bye to the garden until next spring. It’s during this time of year that we have the choice to either plant a fall garden or a fall cover crop. 

The fall garden is typically started at the end of July or early August but it can be planted into September and October. In early to mid-October, we can replant spinach, cilantro, arugula, asian greens, kale, and other fast growing semi-cold hardy crops. However, when I plan on planting this late into the Fall, I think about using a season extender, which is a structure that captures heat from solar radiation and warms the plants and soil inside the covering, such as low hoops, heavy weight Reemay, cold frames and much more.

Proper Soil Drainage Helps During Monsoon Season By Joyce D’Agostino

Gardening in the rain! Photo courtesy i.telegraph.co.uk

Gardeners in the front range of Colorado often find themselves during the summer growing season with hot temperatures and little rainfall or watering restrictions. This month we experienced the opposite effect with monsoon effect storms. While the moisture is welcome, often these storms produce very heavy rain in short periods of time supersaturating the soils and can include high winds and hail. 

Is Plant Fertilizer Safe for Pets and Children? by Joyce D'Agostino

Read the Fertilizer Label Carefully and Follow Directions.

I recently received a call on the JeffCo Extension Master Gardener hotline from a consumer in Jefferson County who wanted to know which fertilizer that we could recommend to him that was “pet safe”. He planned to use fertilizer on his lawn and garden in the future and wanted to be sure that his pets would not be harmed should they be exposed to the fertilizer when it was applied.

While we do not endorse or promote a specific product, my first suggestion to him was to be sure that he bought his fertilizer from a reputable source and carefully read the label.  Some consumers may not be aware that the label information on products like fertilizer, pesticides and herbicides are actually legal statements. The companies that make these products are obligated to outline on their label the components of their product, how it should be used and any safety guidelines that the person must use to handle and apply their product. In addition it should tell what to do if a person or animal is exposed to their product.

The label should include the name of the manufacturer and the contact information so consumers can call their customer service department with questions or concerns. If there is no label information that supplies all of these important details, it should be avoided.

Even some products that are organic in nature could be toxic if used in the improper levels or for the wrong application.   All of the information must be carefully reviewed and considered before making your choice.

Taking the time to research the products that are available, read labels, contact the manufacturer with questions or ask for guidance from a reliable garden center will help you choose the product that is both safe and effective.

Here are some Extension Fact Sheets that might be of help:

http://msuextension.org/publications/HomeHealthandFamily/4499.pdf

http://ipm.ucanr.edu/QT/gardenchemicalscard.html

http://www.healthline.com/health/fertilizers-and-household-plant-foods#overview1

Get Your Soil Test Before You Start Planting by Donna Duffy

Most of us take our soil for granted, and don’t give too much thought about it until it’s time to plant. Even then, it’s easy to dump a bag of compost on the planting site and walk away thinking that we’ve done our soil a big favor. Not so! Soil is a dynamic living substance in which complex biological and chemical reactions take place every day. Taking time to learn about the soil in your yard is one of the best things you can do to maximize the success of your landscaping efforts.

Before planting that new garden, get a soil test! Photo by Donna Duffy

Help for Lawn and Garden Problems by Donna Duffy

It’s starting to be that time of year – our yards can be a delight or a headache. Does your lawn look lousy? Are you bugged by bugs? Are your perennials puny? The good news is that help is just a phone call or click away. Here are five great resources to help you solve your home yard and gardening challenges.

Caution on Compost . . . Can It Be Too Much of a Good Thing? by Patti O'Neal

Amend, amend, and amend.  It is the mantra we all chant when managing our Colorado soils.  We here at CSU are constantly recommending that you add organic materials to your soils to improve water and nutrient holding capacity if you garden in sandy, gravelly or decomposed granite soils and to improve soil structure, drainage and filtration of water and nutrients in clay soils.  Improving the soil is still important for good plant growth and production of fruit and flowers.

But can you have too much of a good thing?  Much is being made, and justifiably so, of phosphates these days and their adverse effect on our groundwater supplies.  As a result many states are adopting laws to prevent the addition of phosphates to many products for household and outdoor use.

Two Foothill Gardening Experiences in 2013 by Ed Powers

In 2013 I started the year where I left off in 2012. In 2012 I had just moved to Evergreen from Detroit, Michigan and was able to start seeds in late April. Almost too late for this area. I planted a few tomatoes, squash, peppers, marigolds, Icelandic poppies and zinnias. Of course I brought the seed from Detroit. Everything sprouted and grew.

A Case for Cover Crops and Green Manuring by Sally Berriman

Crimson Clover and Annual Rye Photo by Peg Tillery

A cover crop is simply a high number of plants, not grown for food but as plant material which is used to improve the soil.   When the cover crop is tilled into the soil, it is referred to as a green manure crop or green manuring.  The terms are often used interchangeably.  While cover crops have been used extensively in commercial agriculture, recently more home and community gardeners are starting to use cover crops on a smaller scale.

Cover crops are beneficial because they build soil structure, add organic materials, replenish soil nutrients, fix atmospheric nitrogen, protect the soil from wind and water erosion, suppress weeds and reduce insect pests.  Additionally, cover crops can provide a green and much more attractive alternative to an expanse of dry dirt during the off-season.  

Fertilizer Safety by Joyce D'Agostino

I recently received a call on the Master Gardener hotline from a consumer in Jefferson County who wanted to know which fertilizer that we could recommend to him that was “pet safe”. He planned to use fertilizer on his lawn and garden in the future and wanted to be sure that his pets would not be harmed should they be exposed to the fertilizer when it was applied.

While the Master Gardeners do not typically endorse or promote a specific product, my first suggestion to him was to be sure that he bought his fertilizer from a reputable source and carefully read the label.  Some consumers may not be aware that the label information on products like fertilizer, pesticides and herbicides are actually legal statements. The companies that make these products are obligated to outline on their label the components of their product, how it should be used and any safety guidelines that the person must use to handle and apply their product. In addition it should tell what to do if a person or animal is exposed to their product.

Cover Crops by Amanda Dowdy

Its a safe bet that those veggie plots and annual beds have worked hard this year, and even if they haven't, it may be a good idea to give them some TLC! The Autumn harvest brings many chores, but this one may prove to be so beneficial, you'll be happy to add it to your clean up routine. Cover crops, or green manure, are grasses or legumes like winter rye, crimson clover and hairy vetch, that can be planted in early spring or fall. 

 

Winter Rye in Raised Bed

Higher altitudes should plant sooner as some varieties will winter kill faster than others, yet others like winter rye may show growth throughout the winter season. These crops protect the soil from erosion and suppress weed growth. Also tilling the crop into the earth in spring improves the soil structure and may fix extra nitrogen.  Its a small step that has a great payoff, so start thinking about next year's bounty and give your garden a boost! Check out Plant Talk 1607 and 1616 as well as some great literature out there. Good luck and happy harvesting!

Here's another couple of links.
http://www.specialtycrops.colostate.edu/rmsofp/green_manure.htm
http://cmg.colostate.edu/gardennotes/244.pdf

Green Manuring By Grace Olson

    Once when I was in early high school my mother asked me to take my old Toyota pickup and drive to a local dairy farmer to buy some manure for her garden. I dutifully chugged over to the quiet farm, where the owner’s teenage son helped me load several tractor buckets full of fresh, steaming slop into my truck bed. I puttered on home and began shoveling it out onto her beautifully maintained plot, eyes watering with the stench and wondering how anyone could stand using the stuff. A half-hour later, my mother came home, took one breath of the chaos ensuing in her yard, and explained to me in some very heated language all about the term “composted.” In the end, her garden recovered and we now laugh about how that was some really “green manure.”

Herbicide Carryover: From Digestive Tract to Your Garden

Herbicide Carryover Injury

Considering getting manure from your local farmer for your garden?  Dear gardener, you might want to be cautious about this!

Dr. Tony Koski, CSU Extension Turf Specialist, recently informed staff about an excellent publication from North Carolina on the topic of herbicide carryover. 

North Carolina State University received reports from organic farmers and home gardeners of damage to vegetables following application of aged and composted horse and cattle manure to the soil. The symptoms exhibited on the crops are twisted, cupped, and elongated leaves; misshapen fruit; reduced yield; death of young plants; and poor seed germination. They found that one source of this crop injury is the presence of certain herbicides in manure and compost. With so many folks using composts and manures to improve soil, there have been increasing cases of contaminated amendments.  Unfortunately certain herbicides can pass through the digestive tract of grazing animals and into their manure.  Some straw products can contain herbicide residues used to manage weeds growing in the crop. 

Read more about the problem, recommendations and how to conduct a bioassay – a test for determining if that manure you’re going to buy from a local farmer is such a good idea!  Read the report here: Herbicide Carryover Injury

Put Your Garden to Bed and Tend the Soil!

"Autumn is always bittersweet for gardeners: We celebrate the end of weeding while simultaneously mourning the end of the harvest."

Joel Reich, CSU Extension Agent tells us how to put our gardens to bed.  And in the process, we can make a more fertile garden.  Read this!

Impact of Soil on Veggie Gardening by Gardener Cumax

Applewood Community Garden (32nd Ave. and I-70 in background)

It's been a week since the start of Fall weather, which started Saturday, August 14 with the cool weather. It was cool enough to start turning my tomatoes red. The recent warm up hasn't altered the rate of ripening.I've been the busiest I've ever been gardening this year. The seedlings kept me busy from March to June. Then gardening and yardwork kept me busier from June to even now. I've wanted to stop and write down my observations, some things I've learned this season as it happened but decided that each time I watered I would spend that time observing and memorizing what I've learned and see if those still apply throughout the season.

Gardening Tips: Healthy Soil

Here's a great article about building healthy soil in the Intermountain West. It's different here than in other parts of the country.

Gardening Tips: Healthy Soil | Boulder County Home & Garden Magazine

Let the Lowly Radish Till Your Soil

I know what you are thinking, dear gardener.  You are thinking, "I am sick of tilling the soil".  Well help is on the way:  try this.

Soil Interface by Gardener Cumax

Years ago someone thought it would be a great idea to put down plastic mulch and then cover it with river rocks and dirt. Eventually this soil interface was 8" below the ground level. I'm not sure what the goal of this was because if it was for weed blocking, that failed. They all do because weeds have a powerful urge to reach the sunshine. I've seen bindweed roots go straight up 24". They were an easy pull though. This deeper plastic mulch was in a different category of futility and aggravation. First I had to shovel out heavy river rocks in order to get down to the plastic. Then I had to carefully and forcefully pull that up. There was no way to get all the rocks off of it beforehand. Is it any surprise that the plastic was littered with root holes? And that those roots were only from weeds? Never underestimate the power of weed roots. the first photo is the soil/plastic interface from the plastic side. This is the very bottom of the plastic. See how those rots are spreading all over? These are mostly bindweed and crab grass roots. In the second photo, look down and right of the shovel blade. There's a smooth area where the plastic used to be. There are some roots there. They're probably pretty weak but I'll bet you anything that right now, a day after, that they are growing like nuts. Free from plastic at last. Speaking of growing like nuts, dandelions do. I mowed the lawn and 24 hours later I had dandelion flower stalks ranging from 2-5" with most of them in the 4-5" range.

Double Digging With a Bout of Stomach Flu by Gardener Cumax

I got back into double digging. I needed two spots of yard dug out because I need sunny places. A huge silver maple blocks my garden for the first half of the day and where I dug is where the maple doesn't block it. I had a small area last year for squash. The dead grass was killed with leaves. I left those leaves on there from November to the first of May. I left it uncovered for 2 weeks to see if the grass would rejuvenate. It didn't, so on with the dig. I was dreading this dig for some reason but it went super smooth. It took me 30 minutes max to grid the grass cuts, dig them and make a small retaining wall with the grass chunks. I got this idea from visiting another gardener who tore out 1,000 sq ft of grass and made walls raised bed gardens from them. That seemed like an excellent idea to me. It takes less labor to move the grass chunks and since it's clay, it's pretty heavy and will eventually compact into its own little retaining wall. Then I got into the double-dig itself. I don't have pictures of this because if I stop, I'm going to take a rest and not really get back into the flow of it. It took an hour to dig it. Those white bags are top soil and composted manure from Ace Hardware. Since I've double dug this out, I need to amend the soil. This is a one time thing for both the digging and amendment. I did it last year to my main garden plot. One time amendment is only possible if you compost. Remember this: feed the soil if you want to feed your plants. Unless one has a compost in place throughout the year, your garden might not do so well in its second and subsequent years because most plants take nutrients out of the soil. These nutrients need to be replaced. You can learn more about gardening from the JeffCo Master Gardener's program. It's a great course with great people.