Top Ten Reasons Everyone Should Plant a Fall Vegetable Garden – And the Time Is Now! by Patti O'Neal

Many people are just beginning to see production on their tomatoes.  So it may be hard to think about what you will eat in October and November when your tomatoes are gone, but now is the time to think about that.  Colorado is well suited to fall gardening and winter harvest and it can be done successfully almost anywhere.  If you’ve never tried it, here are 10 reasons why you should.

Winter Hardy Rainbow Swiss Chard

1.  Gardens can be any size – So anybody can do it.

Fall crops are primarily greens and root crops, so they are very well adapted to container gardening, table top raised beds, raised beds of all kinds.  They are also well suited for intensive planting, so you really can get a big bang in a small space.  So even if you start with one container of spinach this year – do it.  You’ll catch the bug and increase it next year.

2.  There are many vegetables that thrive in fall front range gardens and can be planted NOW!

Beets, broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, kale and chard can all be planted now.  August is the best time to plant arugula, cabbage, endive, spinach, cilantro and September you can plant bush peas, radishes, Chinese greens, more spinach and lettuce and the list goes on. Where it gets really interesting is in the varieties of each crop that is possible to try.  My fall garden has no fewer than 5 varieties of spinach, 10 varieties of lettuce and 4 Chinese vegetables, like Pac Choi and Bok Choi  and 3 kales to name a few.  Salads and stir fries are never the same. September or October is the time to plant garlic.

Five Things to Know For a Successful Fall Vegetable Garden by Patti O’Neal

Plant Lettuce now for Fall Harvest photo CSU Extension

Front Range weather has been especially challenging to gardeners this season.  After a fairly dry winter, spring presented with cold nights, freak snow storms, scorching heat and pounding rain and hail – and all of a sudden it’s mid July and we have had scorching heat!  But take heart.  One of the nicest growing seasons is yet to come; fall. 

There are many vegetables that will happily germinate from seed in the warm summer soil and thrive in the cooler temperatures of fall once they mature, and even taste better after a cold snap. This includes about 20 varieties of leaf and head lettuce, Swiss chard, radishes, kale, about 6 varieties of spinach, many oriental greens, onions, cilantro, peas, beets, turnips, arugula, carrots, kohlrabi and collards.  Even better news is that thinnings of all of these vegetables can be used in salads or soups.

Spring Forward With Your Gardening By Joyce D’Agostino

It’s March, and for gardeners this means that Spring is quickly approaching. For most of us in the US, we will observe the “spring forward” by setting our clocks an hour of daylight ahead on March 10, 2019 to observe Daylight Savings time. This month the “Vernal Equinox” or the first day of spring also occurs in March on March 20, 2019. 

House Plant Problems: Rosemary and Powdery Mildew by Carol King

I received a nice little rosemary Christmas tree as a gift.  I was cooking chicken and decided to add some when I noticed it was covered with some white powdery dust.  It seems that my little tree had powdery mildew.

Notes on Container Growing – 2018 By Joyce D’Agostino

Herbs, 6/28/18, photo by Joyce D'Agostino

Container gardening has long been used successfully for many vegetables, herbs and flowers. This year I had my chance to really test it out. We had planned to move at some time in 2018 but this move happened sooner than expected and in May, which left me right very close to the time to set out the young plants.  Since our garden area completion was delayed, and I had plants to get into the ground, I had to think quickly in order to have a place for all of the plants.

The good news is that I not only had quite a few containers on hand, but had also found some grow bags at my favorite garden center this spring that I planned to test out. These bags are made from a strong felt type fabric that allows good drainage. 

Gardening Under Cover by Joyce D'Agostino

Photo courtesy Joyce D'Agostino

Most gardeners have to deal with a variety of weather and growing conditions each season. These challenges can include early or late frosts, too much rain or too little, excessive heat or a variety of garden pests or diseases.

Here in Colorado, many parts of our state lie within a band that goes through the US and is known for hail damage. Protecting your plants from this damage is a necessity if you want to see your garden grow from early planting to fall harvests and what is the best way to protect.

Tomato Growing Techniques (Video)

Tomatoes are arguably the most popular vegetable grown in the home garden. However, they are not an easy vegetable to grow.  Here are several short videos to help in making your tomato growing efforts successful.

Rosemary “for Remembrance” By Olivia Tracy

Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis); photo courtesy of PlantTalk Colorado

During Shakespeare’s time, rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) was often associated with memory or remembering; it was given as a sign of friendship, and the early Herballs believed that the scent could “quicken the senses and memorie” (John Gerard, The Herball, Or Generall Historie of Plantes, 1597). These herbals may have been on to something-- recently, scientists have found possible relationships between the scent of rosemary and improved cognition.⁴

Today, rosemary is a welcome presence (and scent) in an indoor winter herb-garden. A Mediterranean plant, rosemary doesn’t tolerate low temperatures well; however, when planted in a container, you can keep it indoors during the winter, and move it outdoors during the warm summer months.² You can buy rosemary plants from a store, or you can start them from seed. (You can also propagate rosemary through cuttings; however, it is best to take cuttings from rosemary in the spring or summer.)³ 

• Plant your rosemary plant in soilless mix (potting soil),² and be sure to allow the soil to dry between watering (rosemary is a fairly drought-tolerant herb).¹ 
• Apply water-soluble fertilizer every few weeks to help the plant thrive in the indoor space.² 
• Like most herbs, rosemary loves sunlight, so be sure to place your rosemary plant in an area that will receive the largest amount of possible sunlight (in a south- or west-facing window).² 

If you’d like more information about rosemary, other herbs, and herb gardening, the following webpages were sources for this post, and are excellent sources to explore: 

¹CMG GardenNotes #731, Herb Gardening http://www.ext.colostate.edu/mg/Gardennotes/731.pdf , 

² PlantTalk 1056- Indoor Herb Garden http://planttalk.colostate.edu/topics/annuals-perennials/1056-indoor-herb-garden/

³If you hope to propagate rosemary or other herbs by cuttings, you may find useful advice in this article by the Missouri State Extension: https://extension2.missouri.edu/g6470 

⁴Recent study exploring the relationship between the scent of rosemary and cognition in schoolchildren: http://www.scirp.org/journal/PaperInformation.aspx?paperID=79934 

Adding Flowers To Your Vegetable Garden By Joyce D’Agostino

Photo courtesy veggiegardeningtips.com

The spring temperatures will soon be settled and it will be safe to plant your summer garden. If you have focused mostly on growing tomatoes, peppers and other favorite vegetables, consider adding some flowers to your garden. Not only will flowers add a splash of color and interest, but they can serve a significant role in providing nectar and pollen for pollinating insects, and attracting these insects will in turn help to pollinate your vegetables.

Here They Come...Seed Catalogs! by Donna Duffy

Photo courtesy treehuggers.com

It's the stuff gardeners' dreams are made of: seed and nursery catalogs that fill our mailboxes in January and put us on the road to planning our next garden. Those catalogs are a lot more than a list of products the seed companies want to sell. They are encyclopedias of information that, among other things, tell us which plants won't grow in Colorado. That keeps us from throwing away money for plants destined to fail with our growing conditions. Dan Jewett, Denver County Master Gardener, offers the following information to get the most out of the seed catalogs that end up in your mailbox. 

Symposium Sneak Peak: Companion Planting by Dustin Foster

An example of trap cropping, photo courtesy organicfarmingblog.com

Separating the facts from fiction when it comes to companion planting can be tricky.  There are many “old wives tales” and practices learned from grandparents and parents.  Some actually, if not accidentally, have some scientific truth to them and some, not so much.  Once such scientific concept is called trap cropping.  Although it may not have been known as that back in the day, it is a scientifically proven companion concept.

Symposium Sneak Peak: Plentiful Container Vegetable Gardens by Jennifer Verpraskus

Photo courtesy harvesttotable.com

Container gardening can be a fun and easy way to grow vegetables as well as flowers in the Front Range. Quick and easy access to food, as well as utilizing small spaces and hard surfaces makes growing food in pots desirable. Container vegetable production is somewhat more demanding than growing flowers and other ornamentals, but it can be done following some simple guidelines.

Symposium Sneak Peak: The 10 Easiest Vegetables to Grow in Colorado by Amy Bubar

Photo courtesy extension.unh.edu

The vegetable gardening season is over for most of us. And with winter just beginning, it might feel like next season is an eternity away. But the truth is that it’s never too early to start planning next year’s garden. In fact, now’s the prefect time to get started.

Symposium Sneak Peak: Vegetable Garden Planning - Why it Makes a Difference by Bill Orchard

Photo courtesy vegetablegardener.com

As the carpenter says, “measure twice, cut once,” so should the gardener say, “plan twice, avoid goof ups!” Planning ahead is the first way to avoid making costly mistakes when starting a vegetable garden. And now is the time to start planning. We are indoors for the next several months, so armchair gardening is the way to increase your knowledge – it will pay off when it comes time to start outside. It will make your garden a compliment to your existing landscape and provide you with an abundance of healthy vegetables.  Following are five best management practices to make planning go smoothly.

Try Growing Leafy Greens to Provide Ongoing Winter Nutrition By Joyce D’Agostino

Photo by Joyce D'Agostino

The summer is winding down,and for many that means the end of gardening season.  There is good news, however, for those who want to try to extend  harvests into the cooler weather and to try some new methods.

Many of the vegetables commonly called “greens” such as spinach, kale and collard greens enjoy and even get better tasting with the cooler weather. It’s well known that these leafy greens pack a lot of nutrition, and can be enjoyed in salads, prepared as a side dish or added to smoothies.

With a little protection such as frost blankets, floating row covers or plastic tents, these plants can go well into the colder months and possibly even provide ongoing harvests well into early winter. Planting them now allows them to establish their roots and begin growing their leaves for sturdier plants. Other great vegetables to try that tolerate colder weather and shorter days are root crops such as carrots, beets, kohlrabi and turnips.

For the most part, the fall into the winter gardening is more of a harvesting time rather than seeing plants getting bigger and producing ongoing fruits and vegetables. One good reference book to read on this topic is “Four Seasons Harvest” by Elliot Coleman. Coleman began experimenting growing into the colder seasons on his Vermont farm and has some valuable tips for trying this in your own home garden. He explains that the colder months are more for harvesting what you have sown weeks before and how the proper protection and cultural practices keep the harvests going.

Here are some research based references for spinach and kale that give you tips on starting and growing these delicious greens this fall and winter:

http://www.colostate.edu/Dept/CoopExt/4dmg/Whats/spinach1.htm#WINTER HEAD START

http://www.colostate.edu/Dept/CoopExt/4dmg/VegFruit/spinach.htm

http://www.colostate.edu/Dept/CoopExt/4dmg/Pests/leafmine.htm

Ripening Green Tomatoes Before First Frost by Carol King

Photo by Carol King

Tomato season is almost over and there are only a few weeks left before frost. (Average first freeze date in Denver is October 7).  Now is the time to start thinking about dealing with green tomatoes. 

Here are a few tips to speed-ripen on the vine:

• Stop watering. This encourages ripening.
• Root prune the plant. Dig into the soil 6-8” deep and cut around a circle 12” from the stem. Shake the plant but don’t dig it up. This will stress the plant and the fruit will ripen faster.
• Pinch off any flowers, small fruit, new shoots, and suckers. Newly setting blossoms, small and very green fruit won’t mature in the remaining growing season and are best pruned off. It’s too late for them to become anything. Do this now and all the plants energy will go toward ripening.
• When the fruit set is heavy, try removing some of the mature green fruit to ripen what’s left on the vine. Ripening numerous fruit takes a lot of energy from the leaves and tends to delay the whole crop turning red.

When frost is expected, try these:

• Cover the plant completely and anchor so the wind doesn’t blow it off. Use old blankets, thick plastic, or anything similar and make sure it goes all the way to the ground providing the plant with trapped warmth.
• Harvest the tomatoes by pulling the plant from the ground and hanging it upside down in a garage or other shelter. Check often for ripe ones.
• Pick the pink ones and put them on the counter to ripen
• Pick the green tomatoes and store them in a shallow tray lined with newspaper. They need 60-70 degrees and no light. The warmth ripens them not light.    
• For more information, try these Fact Sheets:  http://www.ext.colostate.edu/ptlk/1832.html, http://www.colostate.edu/Dept/CoopExt/4dmg/VegFruit/ripening.htm, http://www.ext.colostate.edu/ptlk/1831.html. 

Photo by Carol King

Transpiration-Vegetables Wilting in the Sun by Joyce D'Agostino

Photo by Carol King

Have you ever hurried home after work, looking forward to some quality gardening time only to find some of your pumpkins and squash look like they have died?

If the wilt is not caused by insects, then chances are what you are observing is called Transpiration. This process is normal and your plants will likely bounce back later to their former healthy appearance once the temperatures cool down. 

Transpiration is the loss of water vapor through the stomata of the leaves. The stomata is the outer layer of the leaf’s outer “skin” layer. 

Plants that often show dramatic transpiration are ones like pumpkins, squash and gourds which may develop very large leaves. Transpiration actually is a very effective process for the plant to move minerals up from the root, to help cool the plant and for the “turgor pressure” which helps non-woody plants have their form and shape. 

Help your plants handle their transpiration efficiently by keeping them well hydrated, watering in the cool time of the morning. Once your hot day cools down, you can recheck your plant and the soil area. Chances are that your plant has sprung back up to its normal shape and will continue on with healthy growth and production. If your area seems especially hot and dry, using some light shade cloth may help protect your plant from sunburn as well.

For more information on transpiration and other related processes, refer to this GardenNotes publication:

http://www.ext.colostate.edu/mg/gardennotes/141.pdf 

Don't Forget to Thin Your Seedlings! by Amy Bubar

Photo courtesy vegetable-gardening-online.com

Your vegetable garden is finally in!  Now, don’t make the mistake of neglecting your labor of love.  Those seeds tend to sprout and grow faster than we often realize, so once your seedlings are a few inches high they may need to be thinned out to make room for their roots to grow. It may seem disheartening to pluck from the ground something that you nurtured to life, but thinning is important to help reduce competition for water, light, and nutrients by nearby plants.  This will allow space for your roots to expand morph into the crop of savory delights they were destined to be!

Growing Tomatoes in Colorado by Carol King

Photo CO-Horts

Tomatoes are the most popular vegetable to grow in the home garden in the US. In fact 93% of American gardening households grow tomatoes!

Here are a few fun facts about tomatoes: 

• The tomato plant originates from the family of Nightshade plants (potato, tobacco, chili peppers) in Central America. It was domesticated around 500 BC by Aztecs and used not only as a food, but also as powerful (and dangerous) hallucinogenic.
• It is speculated that there is over 25 thousand tomato varieties.
• Americans obtain more vitamins from tomatoes than from any other vegetable.
• An average American eats around 24 pounds of tomato each year.
• Americans have increased their tomato consumption 30% over the last 20 years. In the last few years however, salsa has replaced ketchup as the top selling condiment in the United States.

It’s finally time to plant tomatoes here along the Front Range in Colorado and this CSU Fact Sheet has all the information you need to have a great tomato crop: 

http://www.ext.colostate.edu/mg/Gardennotes/717.html

Interested in container grown tomatoes?  Try this video: 

Other interesting Tomato Facts can be found at http://www.vegetablefacts.net/vegetable-facts/tomato-facts/

Happy gardening!

Preventing Animal Damage in your Garden By Joyce D’Agostino

Squirrel damage photo Missouri Botanical Gardens

Few things are as disappointing to a gardener as to find a vegetable or fruit you were looking forward to harvesting has been destroyed by an animal. 

Depending on your area, the animals that can invade your garden can be as large as deer or small like voles, chipmunks and small rabbits. All of these animals are used to foraging plants and welcome any readily accessible source of edibles. These edibles often include many of your favorite plants including lettuce, greens, fruit and even tomatoes.

I first noticed few weeks ago that the squirrels seemed to be nipping off the heads of the sunflowers. Then shortly after, I found some tomatoes and peppers that had been pulled from the plants, a bite or two taken out of it and then left to rot.  This was especially disappointing when these animals seemed to be doing this on a regular basis and actually starting to thin out the fruit on the plants.