Mulch-Moving Turkeys by Elaine Lockey

As if deer weren’t enough of a struggle for mountain gardeners, throw in some mulch-moving turkeys! 

Turkey surveying her handiwork

Ever since I put down new mulch on my garden bed, I‘ve had regular visitors who like to do some landscaping of their own.  A group of turkeys scrape out all the mulch onto the driveway and sidewalk with their strong feet, on an almost daily basis.  This not only causes a big mess but damages the plants. 

They are searching my garden for food, most likely insects as turkeys are opportunistic omnivores.  They eat a mostly plant-based diet of herbaceous green leaves, berries, seeds, grasses, and acorns.  Insects play a smaller but important part of their diet, especially for the young turkeys, called poults.  Insects might include grasshoppers, dragonflies, slugs and snails and beetles.  Turkeys do a large amount of scratching for food especially in the fall, so possibly coincidental timing with my new mulch.  They are enjoying the ease of moving the soft mulch to most likely find plentiful insects hiding within the bed.  

I wondered if this was a unique situation but I did find some fellow internet gardeners who have experienced the same thing.  And they weren't just mountain gardeners - many lived in suburban settings and reported that there were more turkeys moving in. There are some various solutions that they offered.  

Golden Rain Tree Bugs by Gardener Dave

Golden Rain Tree

A  while ago Carol King wrote an informative article about box elder bugs on this blog. Well, my yard has now been “occupied” by some of their close relatives – golden rain tree bugs – uninvited by me, mind you, but very numerous all the same. They go by several other aliases: red shouldered bug, soapberry bug and Jadera bug – the latter comes from their Latin name “Jadera haematoloma”, apparently the most common species that we see here in Colorado.

The bugs have set up housekeeping near my one golden rain (GR) tree at the west side of my house – so far I have seen only a few actually ON the tree – but they are raising families and getting ready for a big celebration for sure!  So far their favorite spot seems to be out of the sun on a cedar fence about 6 feet from the tree. They are very active bugs – and most of their life cycle (except eggs) seems to be displayed all at one time.

Early Leaf Color is Drought Related by Mary Small

When fall coloration appears early, like this year, it usually means plants are stressed.  Many factors can stress trees, but in 2012, the likely culprit is the weather.  Conditions in the Denver metro area have been dry since fall of 2011.  March, June and July were warmer than normal months.  


The excessive heat and dry conditions can kill roots or stress them.  When roots are stressed they can’t absorb water well from the soil.  Tree leaves still continue to transpire (lose moisture to the surrounding environment) and the poorly functioning roots can’t supply the need.


During the growing season, trees are constantly making and breaking down chlorophyll (the green plant pigment) to produce starches and sugars, their “food”.   When a plant is stressed, it can’t produce as much chlorophyll, so the green color fades, allowing other pigments to show.  (These other pigments are always present, but masked by the presence of chlorophyll.)  So reds, oranges and yellows begin to appear even though the calendar tells us the normal leaf coloration period is a ways off.  


You can apply water to help improve plant health, although it won’t reverse leaf color changes now.  Be sure to provide water this fall and winter to help already stressed plants survive the winter. This fact sheet  http://www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/garden/07211.html

Growing Bee Balm by Joyce D'Agostino

In the last couple of years, I had focused most of my garden space to vegetables, however this year I decided to once again dedicate some of the space to flowers. Adding flowers to your landscape not only brings their beauty and fragrance, but they can also attract important pollinators.

There is such a wide variety to choose from, I decided to grow some that not only have flowers, but fragrant foliage as well. In addition to lavender and hyssop, I also grew Bee Balm (Monarda hybrida), also known as Lambada. The showy flower heads come in red, pinks and lavender and their tubular flowers hold nectar that attracts butterflies, bees and hummingbirds.

Water: Where and When You Want It! by Dave Moland

Tomatillos, Part II By Amy Norwood

This is a sequel to the excellent post on growing tomatillos by Elizabeth Buckingham dated September 6, 2011,  a post I wish I had read before I planted my single tomatillo this spring.  Elizabeth warned us about single tomatillo plantings.

Tomatillo Plant

As of this writing , my tomatillo plant is a beauty, big and full with lots of wonderful flowers that have so far not started a single fruit.  I recently grew concerned about the lack of fruit and tried to find an explanation.  I was surprised to learn that there’s little consistent and definitive information on the subject of growing tomatillos on the Internet, in print, and in the knowledge base of seasoned gardeners.  What I concluded from my research is that, to maximize your odds for producing a tomatillo crop, you should plant two plants of the same variety next to each other.   I’m an amateur gardener, so I hesitate to offer what sounds like an authoritative an explanation for this, but here goes:  tomatillos and tomatoes are in the same family and are often discussed interchangeably in the literature.  But, unlike most tomatoes, tomatillos don’t self-pollinate.  Two plants are required to make fruit. 

How to Begin a Garden Project by Kate Sullivan-Sisneros

Author's Garden After Planning

If you have never done any gardening before or have never seen it done, getting started can be a little intimidating.  Where does one begin? 

Step 1:  Begin by asking yourself a few questions: 
What do I want to accomplish?  Do I want to grow vegetables, herbs, flowers, shrubs or some combination of all of these?
How much time am I going to have to tend the garden once it is planted?  What is my budget?  Am I willing or able to irrigate my new plantings?  Am I limited by space such as living in an apartment or patio home?  Answering these questions will provide you with some direction.

Step 2:  What do you like?  When I got started, I began by looking at pictures of different kinds of gardens.  What was I drawn to?  What are you drawn to?  Everybody’s tastes are different.  The library and internet are great sources for the budding gardener.  “Lawnscaping” by Scotts was one of the first gardening books I bought at Home Depot. 

Creating a Backyard Pond by Rich Haas

Have you dreamed of having a second home where you can privately enjoy a gentle waterfall and babbling brook leading to a cool, relaxing pond?  The trouble is, most of these great places are many miles away and most often have been turned into multi-million-dollar resorts! 

Why not create that paradise at your existing home?  It is easier than you think!

A little history: I enjoy gardening.  I turned about 95% of my property into a perennial garden.  That is why I signed up to be a Colorado Master Gardener. Then I happened to go on a “Pond Tour”.  I realized then that this was what I was searching for in a second home!  Why incur the trouble and recurring expense (2nd mortgage?) of a faraway destination when you can bring it right to your home?

All it takes a little planning, effort and some expense but think about how wonderful it will be to enjoy a cool, peaceful waterfall at a moment’s notice simply by walking out your back door! 

Hardy Succulents: Tough Plants for every Climate; Book Review by Pam Macy

 “Succulents are the drama queens of contemporary gardens,” states the back cover of this compelling book.  Hardy Succulents: Tough Plants for every Climate, by Gwen Moore Kelaidis, Storey Publishing, 2008, is a stunningly beautiful paperback, containing an abundance of close-up color photos and descriptions of succulents of every kind. After recently viewing Ms. Kelaidis’ garden during the 2012 Colorado Master Gardeners’ tour in Denver, and gradually realizing I was witnessing an experienced garden talent in action; there was no doubt I needed to purchase her book.  The array of succulents in her garden, both in-ground and in countless containers, was a visual feast.

This book is particularly useful for Colorado gardeners, since Ms. Keladis resides and gardens here (zone 5b). It references what will grow elsewhere but offers specific recommendations about what is most suitable for our western conditions. Reading the text often feels like talking to a good friend who is sharing her knowledge because she wants her friend to enjoy these plants just as much as she does, and to insure her success in growing them.  Ms. Kelaidis was a joy to meet; when I asked her about propagating hens and chicks, before I knew it, she had retrieved several starter pots of hens and chicks, and gave them to my companions and I!

Aphids by Gail Wilson

One of the most common insect problems we suffer here on the Front Range is Aphids.  They are so very common they are sometimes called plant lice.  These small, soft-bodied, pear-shaped insects are generally less than 1/8" long.  Green or black is the most common color but they can also be found in a variety of other colors as well. 

The insects survive by sucking the sap and juices from the soft, new growth, causing injury to plants.  These injuries damage the plant's ability to properly process food and causes the plant to lose vigor, wilt, distort or show spots.  Aphids can also transmit viral diseases from unhealthy plants to healthy plants.

Garden Tool Care at Its Finest: Oiled Sand by Gail Wilson

I have spent a fair amount of money on my garden tools and I work hard at keeping them in good shape.  One of the ways I do that is oiled sand and I would like to share that secret with you.

I use a 3-gallon plastic bucket because I found it at a thrift store but you can use a 5-gallon bucket or even a large trash can filled only about a third full.

To create the oiled sand I used general all-purpose sand and the most inexpensive motor oil I could find at the local big box store.  You can use mineral oil or vegetable oil but for me the motor oil was less expensive.   The success of the project is not dependent on the quality of the oil.    A 5-gallon bucket requires approximately ½ gallon of oil so for my 3-gallon bucket I used a total of about 1 and 1/3 quarts.  That is enough oil to moisten the sand but not enough to create a drippy mess.

Will my Green Bell Peppers turn Yellow? by Gail Wilson

Have trouble figuring out when peppers are ripe and ready for harvest? Here's a few tips to help.

First things first, different pepper plants produce different colored peppers so it is imperative that you know what type of peppers you’ve planted.

You can harvest peppers at any size desired, however, green bell varieties are usually harvested when they are fully grown, about 3-4 inches.  When fruit is mature, they break easily from the plant but less damage occurs if the fruit is cut from the plant.