Category: Gardening

Posted on in Gardening, Green Gardening Tips, Landscaping, Xeriscape

Stop Fighting Mother Nature

Penstemon 'Red Rocks' @ExtDemoGarden 2008sept25 LAH 264Alkaline soils, sparse rainfall, extreme temperatures, low fertility. Colorado doesn’t exactly sound like a gardener’s paradise. Few places do. Lamenting the current drought and expected summer water restrictions, I often dream of gardening in a place with ample rainfall. Wouldn’t it be wonderful?

Then I visited my daughter in western Washington. She and her husband live in Everett, north of Seattle. They have a view (on a rare clear day) looking east to the Cascades. These impressive mountains form a barrier blocking clouds that would otherwise move on into eastern Washington and Idaho. As a result, my daughter’s area gets a lot of rain.

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Posted on in Veggies

Too Much Zucchini?

  • Zucchini - large @DBG LAH 355Are you growing zucchini in your garden?
  • Are your plants… prolific?
  • Do your neighbors hide when they see you coming?
  • Do you sneak over at midnight to leave it on their porch?

You might be showing signs of zucchini overabundance! Luckily for you, I have some suggestions for dealing with an onslaught of squash. (And if you don’t have too many zucchinis, check out my post on squash pollination.)

If you’re going to use up zucchini, you have to prepare it in appetizing ways. No one wants to stare at a mess of soggy, overcooked squash day after day after day. For best results, vary your recipes enough that no one notices the main ingredient stays the same. Here are some suggestions to get you started…

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Posted on in Plant Profiles

Sneezeweed

helenium-sneezeweed-csutilxeriscapegarden-9aug2006-lah165rWhy would you grow a flower called Sneezeweed? Picture a striking, three-foot high perennial covered with 2 to 3 inch daisy-like flowers of yellow, orange, red, rust, and copper. The leaves are six inches long, lance-shaped and dark green. Actually, the name comes from the use of the dried leaves and flowers as snuff; the pollen is unlikely to cause hay fever. However, handling the plant can cause an allergic reaction, so it’s wise to use gloves. Also, the plants are bitter and toxic, so keep them away from small children and pets.

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Posted on in Veggies

Tiny Black, Jumping Leaf-chompers

Flea beetle damage on bok choy_BlkForest-CO_LAH_3411 Our family loves bok choy, so I always plant at least one block of the baby variety. And every year I harvest bok choy that looks as if it’s been peppered with buckshot. I can explain that I washed the leaves and they’re perfectly safe to eat, but really—who wants to eat leaves that were eaten by something else first? Ewww.

The culprit behind all those holes is an aggravating insect called a Flea Beetle. No, they aren’t really fleas, and they only bite plants, not people. If you look closely, you’ll see they’re shaped like beetles (fleas are vertically flattened). Still, they are very small, dark brown to black, and they can jump—just like fleas. And just like fleas, they can drive you crazy.

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Posted on in Conservation, Plant Profiles, Weeds

Bad Daisies

Oxeye_Daisy_TaylorCanyon_2008jul14_LAH_006-001Fresh as a daisy. Daisy chains. “The daisy’s for simplicity and unaffected air.”*

Symbols of simple charm, it’s hard to imagine that daisies could be anything but pure and innocent. Yet, the familiar Oxeye daisy has a dark side. Under that attractive and cheerful guise lurks… a noxious weed!

Take a trip to the mountains to see the wildflowers, and you’re bound to see Oxeye daisies as well. They’re all over the Rockies, preferring the higher elevations. Unfortunately, they don’t belong here. They’re native to Europe, and we heartily wish they had stayed there!

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Posted on in Gardening, Seed Starting, Veggies

Season-long Harvests

Kohlrabi_ColoSpgs-CO_LAH_4863You’ve been hard at work all spring. First you started some seeds indoors, then you hardened them off so they will withstand the rigors of Colorado weather. You set your transplants in beds you carefully prepared with just the right amendments and fertilizers. Then you seeded some other crops (such as bush beans and squash) outdoors where they are to grow, and now you have cute little seedlings, putting out their first true leaves, on their way to providing you with some delicious eating.

Finally, it’s time to take a break, sit back, and snooze in your hammock (in between chores such as watering and weeding), and wait for your crops to mature.

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Posted on in Veggies

Help! My Lettuce is Blooming!

Flowering lettuce_BlkForest-CO_LAH_5932My lettuce is blooming. Instead of sweet, tender Buttercrunch and crisp red Prizehead, I have leaves so bitter, even my hens are spurning them. Rats.

At this time of year, it’s common for leafy greens to bloom or, as it’s known in garden-speak, bolt. Long hours of sunlight, combined with torrid temperatures induce flowering. In most cases, there’s nothing to be done. It’s simply time to pull the plants that haven’t yet been harvested and add them to the compost pile.

For example, spinach blooms when days last more than 14 to 16 hours. (Interestingly, spinach will only bloom when days are long.) Warm temperatures will accelerate this process. Dorothy Hinshaw Patent and Diane E. Bilderback explain why this happens in The Book of Garden Secrets:

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Posted on in Gardening, Landscaping, Plant Profiles

Garden Fireworks

Helictotrichon sempervirens - Blue Oat GrassWith the Black Forest fire fresh in my mind, I’ve been wondering, how could we celebrate Independence Day without any sparks or explosions? I’m just not in the mood for fireworks! Well, being a gardener, I started thinking of all the plants that could be part of a 4th of July garden. What plants remind me of fireworks? What blooms now? Here are my suggestions—what can you add to my list?

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Posted on in Veggies

Oops! I Forgot to Mention That

K garden 3Last spring, our daughter and son-in-law moved into their first home. For the first time, she has a yard of her own. And being my daughter, of course she couldn’t wait to grow her own veggies. Although they moved in March, her advanced state of pregnancy took priority, and instead of carrots and beans, she grew an adorable baby girl. But this year, it’s time to garden!

At first, things seemed to go well. We consulted on the best crops and varieties for her area, and she wrote away for some local seed companies’ catalogs. Seeds were ordered in plenty of time, the packets arrived, and she started preparing the garden space where things were to grow.

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Posted on in Chickens, Gardening, Veggies

My Garden Miracle

hens_home after fire_LAH_4008-1Our forced evacuation dragged on and on. Glued to the news, we prayed for the firefighters, for those losing homes, for protection for our own home. So far, the closest the flames had come was about three blocks. Thank you God!

On Thursday we called the Humane Society to ask if there was any way to rescue my chickens. I realized they were lower priority than horses, dogs, and other pets and livestock, but maybe if someone was in the area anyway? I was sure they had used up their food and water by now.

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