Summer Dragonfly Activity By Joyce D’Agostino

Photo by Joyce D'Agostino

You may have noticed them – large flying insects that look like miniature airplanes traveling back and forth through the air. Their size and shape may make some think that they could be an insect that could be harmful to people but in fact Dragonflies are very active and important insect predators and are not found to be harmful to humans. They prefer to spend a lot of their time catching flying insects including ones that are annoyances to humans such as houseflies and mosquitos. 

Time to Plan and Plant the Fall Vegetable Garden by Patti O'Neal

Swiss Chard by Carol King

Colorado is well suited to fall gardening and winter harvest. While weather often dictates the length of the season, eleven months is not out of the question for Front Range gardeners. Imagine harvesting spinach for a great salad in November!

If you’ve never tried fall gardening, here are 5 reasons why you should.

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, and raised beds of all kinds.  Start with one container of spinach this year, 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 in September you can plant bush peas, radishes, Chinese greens, more spinach and lettuce and the list goes on. 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. September or October is the time to plant garlic.

3.  Fall crops thrive in cooler weather and many fall crops are frost tolerant.

Cool crop vegetables develop their prime flavors when the ambient temperatures are cooler.  Get them germinated and up now so it is cooler when they begin to mature. 

4. Fall crops do not need a full 8 hours of sun each day.

Crops still require sun to photosynthesize these leafy vegetables are designed to thrive in less than 8 hours of full sun.  If you did not have the right place for tomatoes, you may have the perfect place for a pot of spinach, lettuce or chard which all will do well with 5-6 hours of light.

5.  Season protection is easy to obtain and apply.

There are many ways to protect your crops whether they are in containers or raised beds or even in ground that can be left on and removed for harvest or quickly applied if a frost happens.  These can be frost blankets, horticultural fabrics, cloches and even having a supply of old sheets handy if applied correctly. 

Why not try your hand at fall gardening? Having a fresh organic salad grown in your own garden for Thanksgiving will be a real treat! 

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.

Gardening Power to the People: Insect Hotels Pt. 1-Getting Started (Video)

Insect hotels are all the rage in gardening now in honor of National Pollinator Week. don't you want to make one? Jefferson County CSU Extension Colorado Master gardeners show you how! Here's a link to part two: https://youtu.be/RBrTiZ8Doso

Happy Summer Solstice 2019! by Carol King

Photo Paintless Dog

Welcome to the longest day of the year!  Friday, June 21, 2019 at 9:54 am in Denver. In terms of daylight, this day is 5 hours, 38 minutes longer than on December Solstice. In most locations north of Equator, the longest day of the year is around this date. The Summer Solstice is an astronomical event that happens when the sun is directly above the Tropic of Cancer. This day has more hours of daylight than any other day of the year. In the Northern Hemisphere, Solstices occur on June 20th or 21st each year.

 It is also known as Midsummer’s Day as it occurs in the middle of our summer. Summer Solstice is considered to be halfway through the growing season for gardeners above the Equator. It marks the 1st day of summer and is celebrated by various cultures, and customs around the world. Celebrating Summer Solstice dates backs thousands of years. It was celebrated by the Ancient Greeks, Romans, Egyptians, and the Celts. Summer Solstice is associated it with good harvests and fertility, and abundance in your garden. 

Happy Summer Solstice to one an all and here’s to an abundant harvest! Here’s more information: Astronomy Facts About June.

Gardening Power to the People: Insect Puddles (Video)

In honor National Pollinator Week, Here's how to attract beneficial insects to your garden by providing a water source.

Host Plants for Butterflies by Joyce D'Agostino

Painted Lady

Swallowtail

We are all aware of the need to support pollinators in our gardens and this includes butterflies. Butterflies are part of the ecosystem of beneficial insects that helps promote a healthy and balanced environment. Providing the necessary food, shelter and water for these insects helps attract more into your yard.

Often butterfly gardens focus on growing the plants that provide nectar for butterflies. While these plants are important food sources, it is essential that host plants are also included. A host plant is one that will allow the mature adult to lay eggs which emerge into caterpillars. These caterpillars use the host plants for food and shelter as they develop. 

Many host plants are native plants but some are readily found in garden centers as transplants or easy to grow from seed. For example, black swallowtail butterflies will use common kitchen herbs such as parsley, dill and fennel as hosts for their caterpillars. 

Providing both the host and nectar plants that are available in succession over the season will help bring more butterflies (and other pollinators) into your yard and garden.  Recording which butterflies visit your garden will also help you know the host and nectar plants that each need. 

The fact sheet and link below provide an excellent chart and detailed information to help you know what to plant to attract butterflies and support them all summer. 

https://extension.colostate.edu/topic-areas/insects/attracting-butterflies-to-the-garden-5-504-2/

http://coloradofrontrangebutterflies.com/butterfly-families

https://xerces.org/pollinators-mountain-region/

Rose: The Official Flower of Father's Day by Carol King

Father's Day Patio Rose

The rose is the official flower for Father’s Day and became so because of one of the founders of Father’s Day in the United States.  In 1910, Sonora Smart Dodd, from Washington State,  recognized the need for a Father’s Day after hearing a Mother’s Day sermon in church. She lost her mother at the age of 16, was reared by her father and became very passionate about the need for a Father’s Day. At the first Father's Day celebration, young women handed out roses at church, with attendees encouraged to pin on a rose in honor of their fathers– red for the living and white in memory of the deceased. Hence the rose became the official flower of Father’s Day. 

It wasn’t until 1972, during the Nixon administration, that Father’s Day was officially recognized as a national holiday.

Spittlebugs in the Garden by Carol King

Photo Media Space

While weeding near my bee balm (Monarda), I saw several patches of a frothy white substance on the leaves. Upon further study, I discovered that I have a small infestation of the spittlebug (Cercopidae: spp) Aptly named, the white froth is what the immature spittlebug or nymphs surround themselves with as they feed on plant tissue.

Adult Spittlebug Oregon State University

Adult spittlebugs are inconspicuous, often greenish or brownish insects, about 0.25 inch long. While spittlebugs suck plant juices and can distort plant tissue and slow plant growth, they do not seriously harm plants. As they don’t cause significant damage, just wash them off with water if their appearance bothers you. Otherwise, enjoy yet another fascinating bug in action!

Here’s more information:
 http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/GARDEN/VEGES/PESTS/spittlebugs.html

Pollinator of the Week: Monarch Butterflies by Caroline Reardon

Monarch migration, photo courtesy worldwildlife.org

In mid March, the Monarch butterflies, Danaus plexippus, who’ve overwintered in temperate central Mexico and southern California, mate and then begin their migration northward. Most fly either on a Midwest/Eastern path or along the Pacific coast, but some “strays” do fly through Colorado. 

Gardening Power to the People: Pollinators (Video)—Bee or Wasp?

What is that buzzing around my head and food? This video will help you identify helpful pollinators and troublesome pests.

Memorial Day and Poppies by Carol King

Photo by Tina Negus

The Memorial Day Organization tells us that Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, is a day of remembrance for those who have died in our nation's service.  Memorial Day was officially proclaimed on 5 May 1868 by General John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, in his General Order No.11, and was first observed on 30 May 1868, when flowers were placed on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery.
In 1915, inspired by the poem "In Flanders Fields", Moina Michael conceived of an idea to wear red poppies on Memorial day in honor of those who died serving the nation during war. She was the first to wear one, and sold poppies to her friends and co-workers with the money going to benefit servicemen in need. Thus a tradition was born.

In Flanders Fields
John McCrae, 1915.

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

Why not plant a poppy bed in honor of Memorial Day?     Poppies are easy to grow in Colorado.  They are drought and pest resistant.  Many varieties grow easily from seed.

Here's an article that will help you have success with your planting.