Colorado State University Extension Education Exhibit 2014 by Duane Davidson

If you missed the 2014 Colorado Home and Garden Show and Jefferson County CSU Extension  Colorado Master Gardener Volunteers' display,  watch this great video created by Duane Davidson.

Watch. Enjoy. Learn!

Tomato Grafting: My First Experiment by Duane Davidson

One of My Grafted Plants

In June, 2012,  Barb Klett wrote here on the subject of grafting tomato plants in an article "Grafted Tomatoes -- REALLY?" This is a follow-up, reporting my own experiences trying out this technique.

Early this year I was startled to see a familiar seedhouse catalog offering grafted tomato plants. I start a few tomato plants from seed each year, hoping to enjoy home-grown tomatoes mid- to late summer. But I had never heard of grafting tomato plants. I researched the subject and found the procedure intriguing.

We know that tomato plants, particularly the tasty old-fashioned varieties, are susceptible to a number of diseases that limit tomato fruit production and often kill the plant, once it is infected. We are taught to not grow tomatoes in the same spot each year and to remove and destroy any plant showing symptoms of disease before it spreads to other plants. I have not experienced any serious disease outbreak, but often have had a plant or two show leaf wilt in mid-summer or bear undersize fruit or fruit streaked with yellow.

Cider Pressing and Tomato Tasting 2012 by Duane Davidson

Tomato Tasting Table

Char and Tom Gottlieb's harvest season event, making cider and tasting multiple varieties of tomatoes, celebrated its 15th anniversary this September. Family, friends, neighbors, and Char's Colorado Master Gardener colleagues gathered in the Gottlieb front and back yards on a recent Saturday afternoon. It was a pleasant, sunny day with a hint of fall, a perfect afternoon to celebrate the bounty of garden and orchard.

Though gardeners agreed this year's hot temperatures hampered tomato production, they provided about thirty different varieties for the tasting. Many were familiar, but several newcomers were introduced by their proud growers. Some were a little sweeter, some more tart; all were delicious and fun to taste.  

Using the Cider Press

 As for apples, it was a bountiful year according to those carrying in large buckets and boxes to the cider press. They took their turns, first chopping the apples into small pieces in the grinder, then squeezing the juice out in the turnscrew press.

Word has spread about this gathering. Even a news photographer turned up to record this year's activities. Watch for a feature item in your newspaper.

Tomatoes for Thanksgiving by Duane Davidson

I've volunteered to provide the salad for this year's Thanksgiving dinner. I plan to show off my fresh home-grown tomatoes. I always try to have a taste of my own tomatoes as late as the beginning of December. You could, too. Here's how.

I grow tomatoes mostly in containers these days. A couple of the containers are lightweight pots of manageable size. (Mine are made of a foam material, but sturdy plastic would do.) They spend the summer in my backyard. At the end of the season I bring them inside when an overnight freeze is expected. But they go back out into the sunshine every time the temperature reaches 50 degrees. I don't expect the plants to continue blooming and setting fruit, but this is a good way to let existing fruit ripen – more or less naturally.

Straw Bales Garden by Duane Davidson

(Click on Image for Slide Show of Process)

The idea came from an article in a gardening magazine. I was already changing the way I gardened in the back yard, adding raised beds and converting lawn sprinkler heads into drip irrigation distributors. Why not give a corner over to a small straw bale garden and see what I might grow there? My approach to gardening has always been about trying something new and learning from my experiments. The uncertainties of gardening make it fun for me. Introducing new elements only heightens the challenge.

The author of the magazine article had some specific reasons for creating her straw bale garden – aside from the vegetables she expected to harvest. She utilized a spot in her yard where the soil was so poor she had never grown anything but weeds in it. By the following year it was covered in a thick layer of rich compost "replete with fat and happy worms." She figured she could revitalize another plot with a straw bale garden each year, progressively improving her whole yard.

Upside-Down Tomato Planters by Duane Davidson

My upside-down tomato vine in early October.

As I start plans for the coming gardening season it's time to evaluate several experiments from last year. Among them was a trial of one of the upside-down tomato planter.  Let me share my results. I'll begin with some overall findings and then fill in the details.

• I harvested several dozen small-medium size tomatoes from a tomato plant that grew hanging from the bottom of an "upside-down tomato planter." I picked them into late fall.

• There were no insect or disease problems except for a single instance of blossom-end rot.

• It was difficult to monitor moisture levels inside the container, but I made a daily check part of my morning chores.

• To avoid frost at the end of the season I moved the container to a sunny spot indoors where tomatoes continued to ripen on the living tomato vine.

Great Plant Ideas at the Garden and Home Show by Duane Davidson

When you visit this year's Garden and Home Show, be sure to stop by the Educational Garden presented by Colorado State University. The CSU garden offers plant suggestions for every exposure in your landscape: north, south, east, and west. The center island in CSU's garden is divided into four sections, one for each type of sunlight and weather exposure. In each section are samples of plants suggested for that location. Many of the plants are in early bloom, as well, so you can get a better idea of how well they might fit into your yard.

On the sides of the CSU garden are plants for shady locations, plus a sampling of the many plants selected for the Plant Select program (which identifies plants that do well in our area), and a colorful display of spring-flowering bulbs.

The garden is staffed by Colorado Master Gardeners from the Denver area, who answer questions about the various plants and any other horticultural problems that visitors pose to them.

The show continues through Sunday, February 20. It is open noon to 8 p.m. on weekdays, 10 a.m. to8 p.m. on Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday.

Here's a slide show for you to enjoy!

Growing Hops for a "Native Lager" by Duane Davidson

Jeffco and other area gardeners who enjoy a cold brew on a warm day must have been intrigued by an article in the Denver Post recently. The headline and sub-head: "People's beer: AC Golden asks customers to grow hops and contribute them to its Colorado Native Lager, and 373 fans jump on board." Read it at http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_16851639 .

The article explains that AC Golden Brewing Co., a small-batch unit of MillerCoors, brews a beer called Colorado Native Lager, "ostensibly made with all Colorado ingredients." But in truth it is only 99.89 percent local. Missing is enough locally-grown hops, which gives the beer its bitter taste.

Jefferson County Master Gardeners Seed Swap by Duane Davidson

Patti Explains Seed Saving

Picnic Lunch

About 20 Jeffco Master Gardeners and family members braved a chilly wind last Saturday, October 9, to learn about saving seeds from their gardens and then swap some seeds already collected.

The gathering was at Kendrick Lake Park, near Kipling and Jewell, in Lakewood. (This park is known for its innovative xeric garden and has been featured in previous blog postings.) The program began with Patti O'Neal of Jeffco Extension's horticulture staff talking about seeds, including the importance of efforts around the world to collect and preserve seeds. She offered tips to help home gardeners collect and store their favorite varieties of vegetables and flowers.

Thirteenth Annual Tomato-Tasting and Cider-Pressing Party by Duane Davidson

Guests tasted and rated more than 25 varieties of tomatoes at Char and Tom Gottlieb's 13th annual tomato-tasting and cider-pressing party the other weekend.  Char, a Jefferson County CSU Extension Master Gardener, grew most of the tomatoes evaluated, but several guests brought samples of their favorites, too.

Molly the Witch Peony by Duane Davidson

Last year I wrote about an unusual peony, the fernleaf peony, that makes its appearance earlier each spring than its better-known cousins. Growing nearby, and blooming even earlier, is another little-known member of the peony family. This one bears the nickname "Molly the Witch," a rendering of its unpronounceable botanical name Paeonia mlokosewitschii. A half-dozen flowers began opening last weekend to join the tulips, daffodils, hyacinths, and other spring bulbs blooming on my street.