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.

Watering for Christmas in Jefferson County by Carol King

Lakewood, Colorado, December 26, 2010, 5480 feet above sea level: the day was spent watering my garden.  Yes, I am watering my garden in December and you must also. We have received less than one inch of precipitation since October making this one of the driest falls on record.

You must water if you value your landscape! It's not just me haranguing you, dear gardener, Carol O'Meara says so in the Denver Post.  The folks at Denver Water say so.  Our very own Donna Duffy says so.

DO IT!!

Here's a guide to tree watering in the winter in Colorado.

Merry Christmas

Wishing You a Merry Christmas and Lots of Garden Presents!!

JEFFERSON COUNTY COLORADO MASTER GARDENER BLOGGERS.

What Does Our Favorite Christmas Flower and the Smithsonian Have in Common?

They were both "discovered" by the same person! Joel Roberts Poinsett.

The history of the poinsettia is fascinating. It was originally called cuetlaxochitl by the Aztecs who discovered  all sorts of wonderful uses for it including fever medicine.
Read all about it here!

 

Gifts For Gardeners!

From Hermes garden gloves and tools to the more reasonably priced packets of Heirloom seeds; see what Garden Design Magazine editors recommend as gifts to gardeners!

Become a Citizen Scientist and Count Birds

This sounds like a fun event for the whole family: counting birds for the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count.  It's the 111th annual count!

Look here for complete information.

Fall and Winter Watering by Donna Duffy

We are on track for one of the warmer autumns on record. In addition, we know that Colorado winters can have long spells of dry, warm and windy weather. During the cold weather seasons, pay special attention to weather and soil conditions and provide supplemental water to keep the root systems of trees, shrubs, lawns and perennials alive and healthy. Here are some tips to help them survive the winter.

Your Lawn: Don't Mow It. Eat It!

Author, photographer, landscape designer and environmentalist, Rosalind Creasy has widely influenced the course of domestic gardening over the past 30 years. She kept the then barely flickering flame burning in her best-selling 1982 book, "Edible Landscaping." Newly reissued and substantially reworked, the book introduced a new style of vegetable gardening while rejecting the prevailing model of the garden as a male-dominated holdover from the farm, with discrete crops in rows.

Read the whole story here!

Late Autumn - Up Close by Donna Duffy

Typha latifolia, commonly known as Cattail

Take advantage of the last warm(ish) days of Autumn by taking a hike in the foothills. On a recent morning on North Table Mountain outside of Golden, it was so quiet that all I could hear was the dry grasses rustling in the wind and birds in the distance. The morning light made everything golden. But don't delay - soon this will be a wintry scene!

Squanto, the First Thanksgiving Gardener

Enjoy this story about Squanto, who helped provide the Pilgrims with their first Thanksgiving feast.

Happy Thanksgiving From the Jeffcogardener Crew!

Holiday Plant Care

You are bound to get them, dear gardener.  Blooming house plants are a favorite to get and give this time of year.

Carol O'Meara from Boulder County Extension gives us these tips for caring for those holiday plants. Make them last!

Eagle vs. Turkey: America's First Bird Controversy

Did you know that the favorite bird of choice for Thanksgiving dinner was almost our National Symbol?  Would we be eating bald eagles instead had it been chosen?  Here's a great article about the controversy between Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and Benjamin Franklin about just what bird would hold this esteemed place in our history.

Read about it here.