My Winter-Time Master Gardener Work by Ed Powers

One of the African Violets grown in the winter enclosure.
We did lose some of the violets due to the moisture level
but most of them made it.

Every late fall and winter are an interesting time for me as a Master Gardener at 8,000 feet.  I enjoy gardening during the late spring and summer.  My question after summer is what is next.  

Preparing Your Soil for Winter by Nancy Shepard

 

Photo by Lukas. Pexel.com

By November you’ve probably pulled out your dead vegetable plants, pulled out plant stakes, cleaned up your perennial areas, and mulched the leaves over your lawn. But what about your soil? We usually think of our garden soil in the spring when we get ready to plant and want to amend it. But you can do some beneficial things for your soil before winter arrives.

Black Oil Sunflower Seed – preferred by birds everywhere by Elaine Lockey

With almost a foot of snow descending from the skies at my house in the foothills, I worry about the wild critters who are scrounging for food outside.  I am very glad that I filled my bird feeders the day before the snowstorm so there would be plenty of abundant food for the birds.  Juncos, House Finches, Chickadees and Stellar Jays all compete for room on my feeders and what falls below them.  

Spider mites on my houseplants – yuck! by Vicky Spelman

 

Close-up of spider mites
University of Maryland Extension

How are your houseplants doing?  See any webbing or discolored leaves?  You might have spider mites.  

Spider mites are tiny eight-legged arthropods that are related to spiders and ticks. 

How Do Birds Survive The Winter? By Cornell Lab of Ornithology - Bernd Heinrich

                                                                              Illustration by Megan Bishop

<<It seems logical that most birds flee the northern regions to overwinter somewhere warmer, such as the tropics. Their feat of leaving their homes, navigating and negotiating often stupendous distances twice a year, indicates their great necessity of avoiding the alternative—of staying and enduring howling snowstorms and subzero temperatures.

Water by the thermometer, not the calendar by Associated Landscape Contractors of Colorado

Associated Landscape Contractors of Colorado 

Yes, we’ve had some moisture and colder weather, but we are still experiencing drought and warmer temperatures. Fall is a critical time for trees, shrubs and lawn care moisture. Taking care of your plants now can help ensure that they stay healthy and ready to go next spring.

Tips for Winter Watering

Colorado winters are unpredictable and it isn't unusual to have an extended dry period before the spring rains begin. Following are tips for winter watering of turf, trees and shrubs from Dr. James Feucht, CSU Cooperative Extension Landscape Plants Specialist.

Want to grow some herbs inside this Winter? by Vicky Spelman

Poster by Vicky Spelman

Herbs grown indoors offer many benefits including fragrant foliage, various foliage colors and shapes, and a constant supply of herb leaves for cooking.