tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-87817953840483261192024-03-18T00:13:17.426-06:00 CO-Horts<p align="center">Colorado Gardening for Everyone<br>**Advice and Observations from your CSU Extension Horticulture Agents and Specialists**</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger835125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8781795384048326119.post-89153902531520811232024-03-13T08:57:00.001-06:002024-03-13T08:57:52.056-06:00Growing Asparagus in the Home Garden Written by: Ruth Sens, Weld County Master GardenerDelicious, fresh asparagus (photo from canva.com)The best time to plant asparagus was three years ago, the
second best time is now. If you love fresh asparagus and want to try growing it
in your home garden, the time is now to get started.
While it can be grown from seed, Asparagus is easiest started
from bareroot crowns or crowns already CSU Hort Agentshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07154323110226732641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8781795384048326119.post-58762606177468153502024-02-21T11:01:00.003-07:002024-02-24T17:37:13.799-07:00A Philospher's Guide to Composting CondomsPosted by: Derek Lowstuter, Mountain Region ExtensionCan
a likely made-up story about a famous Greek philosopher help us decide if something
should be added to our compost pile? The
answer, much like the question, may surprise you. In a viral story about the Stoic philosopher, Socrates is credited with creating three questions we should ask ourselves before
speaking. These “Three Filters” CSU Hort Agentshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07154323110226732641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8781795384048326119.post-90278383550230284012024-02-05T14:10:00.002-07:002024-02-06T09:13:20.275-07:00It’s spring! (really!)posted by: John Murgel, Horticulture and Natural Resources Specialist, Douglas County
Ever wonder why Groundhog Day is even a thing? It is one of
a broad selection of holidays across cultures and times that mark the mid-point
between the winter solstice and the spring equinox.
These holidays are known as “cross-quarter days,” and you
can read more about them here: https://CSU Hort Agentshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07154323110226732641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8781795384048326119.post-75027820015445019622023-12-11T12:42:00.002-07:002023-12-14T11:18:41.372-07:00A Few New Vegetable and Flower Varieties for 2024by Yvette Henson, CSU Extension, San Miguel BasinIt’s that time of year again! That time when garden seed catalogues are arriving in our mailboxes,
either in our post office boxes or in our email inboxes. Most seed companies highlight new
introductions for the year. I recently attended
a webinar hosted by a well-known seed company all about their veggie introductions
for 2024 CSU Hort Agentshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07154323110226732641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8781795384048326119.post-16196710983442278852023-10-25T17:20:00.001-06:002023-10-25T17:20:49.165-06:00 Ripening Tomatoes Indoorsby Denyse Schrenker, CSU Extension, Eagle CountyThe temperatures are consistently below freezing at my house and I am ready to put my gardening tools up for the season. Now I need to decide what to do with all of my unripe tomatoes that have been stuck in purgatory for most of October; not progressing under their frost blankets but also not dying. I can only handle so many fried green tomatoes CSU Hort Agentshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07154323110226732641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8781795384048326119.post-38524428126858975932023-10-05T14:12:00.001-06:002023-10-05T14:36:38.818-06:00How to Squirrel-Proof Your Bulbs by Angela K. Nickerson, Colorado Master Gardener - Broomfield CountyI have one neighbor who feeds the squirrels – daily putting out pounds of peanuts for them which I find buried in my garden blocks away. Another neighbor is absolutely at war with the squirrels doing everything she can to discourage them from entering her yard. Me? They are a bit of a nuisance in my opinion, but we areCSU Hort Agentshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07154323110226732641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8781795384048326119.post-35045860838459439432023-09-07T14:00:00.001-06:002023-09-07T14:00:00.149-06:00Some Superior Annuals from 2023
Some Superior Annuals from 2023Colorado
State UniversityJ.E.
Klett The following annuals are
some of the top picks from both public and industry evaluations. The public evaluations
were held on August 5, 2023 and industry evaluations were held on August 8th,
2023. Official winners will be
posted in late September on our website: https/www.flowertrials.colostate.edu Begonia HybridCSU Hort Agentshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07154323110226732641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8781795384048326119.post-1683658144720098602023-08-29T11:18:00.002-06:002023-08-29T11:18:35.167-06:00Native Fruits of the San Miguel Basin by Yvette HensonLast Thursday I led a native fruit field trip that we call Native Fruits and Nuts of the San Miguel Basin. This is a local class I developed and have taught several times over my years with Extension. I enjoy it very much! I thought I would share a little about the day and what we learned.The San Miguel Basin refers to the San Miguel River watershed. CSU Hort Agentshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07154323110226732641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8781795384048326119.post-86691266375181823092023-08-28T17:00:00.001-06:002023-08-28T17:00:00.140-06:00Western Slope Willow Workshop Posted by Mollie Freilicher, CSU Extension, Tri-River AreaEven though it meant a trip through Glenwood Canyon twice on a rainy day, last week I attended a willow identification workshop in and around Vail. (Spoiler alert - the canyon stayed open and the workshop was great!) The workshop was hosted by the Betty Ford Alpine Gardens and the Colorado Native Plant Society and led by CSU Hort Agentshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07154323110226732641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8781795384048326119.post-85394160024703105272023-08-11T15:20:00.003-06:002023-08-11T15:20:45.665-06:00Flower-Visiting Beetles--not always visiting why you think! Posted by John Murgel, Douglas County Extension
We get a pretty
regular supply of interesting insects coming through the Extension office as
folks find bugs in yards and gardens through the season. This time of year, with many native shrubs
and flowers coming into full bloom, is no exception. Flowers are entomological restaurants,
pick-up joints, and crime scenes; well CSU Hort Agentshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07154323110226732641noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8781795384048326119.post-18419455328484865432023-07-27T08:27:00.003-06:002023-07-27T08:27:33.642-06:00What's going on with my Veggies? Today we’ll go into a few problems that you may or may not
be seeing in your vegetable garden. I’m dividing the topics into two
categories: Biotic and Abiotic. Biotic problems mean those issues that arise
due to a biological, or living agent, whether it be insect, disease, or human!
Abiotic are those that are outside of the above category, so can be
physiological, environmental, or culturalCSU Hort Agentshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07154323110226732641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8781795384048326119.post-89657462380259720542023-07-17T13:22:00.000-06:002023-07-17T13:22:06.095-06:00The Amazing Summertime BluesThe backyard entry garden greets people withnative flowers including penstemon and flax.Posted by: Todd Hagenbuch, CSU Routt County ExtensionThe only thing that really makes me really blue in the summer is
knowing that it is but a fleeting moment for us in the Yampa Valley. This year
that seems especially true as the winter snows stayed longer than usual and we
had an exceptionally short spring. CSU Hort Agentshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07154323110226732641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8781795384048326119.post-21065022290178506142023-07-06T12:07:00.000-06:002023-07-06T12:07:34.871-06:00Don't Give EAB a Ride!Posted by: Denyse Schrenker, Eagle County ExtensionPeople were seeing fireworks last week when it was confirmed that emerald ash borer has made its way to the Western Slope. Two new pockets of emerald ash borer (EAB) in Littleton and Carbondale were recently discovered. These new locations are well outside of the known infested area north of Denver: see Colorado State Forest Service map for knownCSU Hort Agentshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07154323110226732641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8781795384048326119.post-70121653982230474542023-06-19T09:00:00.033-06:002023-06-19T09:37:12.210-06:00Low Flammability Landscape Plants Low-Flammability Landscape PlantsHot off the press is a fact sheet with efforts of a combined team of Colorado State University Extension- and Colorado Forest Service. The Low-Flammability Landscape Plants Fact Sheet 6.305 is part of a Wildlife Mitigation Series, Landscaping and Planting. To begin to understand how to help mitigate a fire to the home, this fact sheet gives you the basics ofCSU Hort Agentshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07154323110226732641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8781795384048326119.post-7670078433498507752023-06-15T09:00:00.018-06:002023-06-15T09:00:00.143-06:00Squash Bugs in the GardenBy David Fuller, Colorado Master Gardener, Tri-River AreaSquash bugs (Anasa tristis) are a common pest in gardens that attack various types of cucurbits, including all types of squashes, zucchini, pumpkins, gourds, melons and cucumbers. Squash bugs cause significant damage to plants by sucking the sap from within leading to wilting and death.Squash bug adult, Whitney Cranshaw, Colorado StateCSU Hort Agentshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07154323110226732641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8781795384048326119.post-43815355495256174012023-06-01T16:58:00.004-06:002023-06-01T16:58:37.712-06:00San Miguel Basin High and Dry Research Garden Best Performing PlantsBy Yvette Henson, San Miguel Basin Extension
I first heard about High and Dry Gardens in Colorado in 2003
or 2004 when I was in graduate school at CSU in Fort Collins. It piqued my interest because my own graduate
research was a drought study. The
concept behind High and Dry gardens is to trial plants to see how they perform on
little to no supplemental irrigation.
I got my CSU Hort Agentshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07154323110226732641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8781795384048326119.post-73015750725640657702023-05-16T11:59:00.003-06:002023-05-16T11:59:34.138-06:00 Why I Gardenposted by: Susan Magill, Colorado Master Gardener, Douglas CountyI see my garden as a metaphor for the essential lessons in
learning to lead a full and authentic life. My garden is a place where I
encounter the creative energies and rhythms of the eternal life force that both
bonds me to everything in nature and animates my spirit.
Gardening is a sacred act, a mutual nurturing of human and
CSU Hort Agentshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07154323110226732641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8781795384048326119.post-29630179491858344192023-05-08T14:04:00.000-06:002023-10-05T14:37:08.483-06:00From Dirt to Soil If you're ever in a room of soil scientists, I would recommend that you think twice before using the word "dirt". Dirt and soil are not the same thing (i.e., dirt is devoid of any life, while soil is teeming with life), and some people will get quite upset if you interchange the two words (for the record, I am not one of these people). Case in point: I happened to meet someone who had gone CSU Hort Agentshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07154323110226732641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8781795384048326119.post-80635456129754986382023-05-04T13:27:00.003-06:002023-05-04T13:27:56.982-06:00Rabbits, voles, and gophers...OH MY!Posted by: Todd Hagenbuch, CSU Extension, Routt County
Classic rabbit 'trimming' of smaller branchesWhile many of you reading this blog have been watching the
daffodils and crocuses bloom for a few weeks, those of us in the higher
elevations are just seeing the ground as it becomes uncovered by rapidly
melting snow. As the snow recedes, what’s becoming evident is that, at least in
CSU Hort Agentshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07154323110226732641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8781795384048326119.post-73432544334187549792023-05-02T11:09:00.000-06:002023-05-02T11:09:52.384-06:00No Mow May? Let's help our pollinators all year!Posted by: Denyse Schrenker, Eagle County ExtensionNo Mow May keeps popping up on my news feeds so I decided to do a little digging. The idea is that pausing mowing for a month in the spring gives flowers in the lawn a chance to bloom. The goal behind the movement is to provide floral resources for pollinators at a time they are often limited. I don’t have to mow in May and it helps the bees! CSU Hort Agentshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07154323110226732641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8781795384048326119.post-39793168852637027512023-04-26T13:59:00.002-06:002023-04-26T13:59:36.774-06:00The Curious Incident of the Foam in the Nighttime Posted By: John Murgel, Douglas County ExtensionThe recent windy days we had across the Front Range recently
made me remember a strange phenomenon from a similarly windy period last
fall. My aunt, an avid water gardener,
awoke to find her largest pond--the one with the waterfall--awash in fluffy
suds. It reminded me of when students
would pour dish soap into the fountains in CSU Hort Agentshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07154323110226732641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8781795384048326119.post-9299300271474347462023-04-21T06:00:00.001-06:002023-04-21T06:00:00.362-06:00Alternative Small FruitsBy Yvette Henson, CSU Extension, San Miguel Basin.Recently, I was a co-instructor for the Colorado Master Gardener Small Fruits Review. One of my favorite sections to cover is Alternative Small Fruits.What is a 'small fruit'? The way I understand it is that both the plants and the fruits are generally smaller than tree fruits like apples. Both the apple and the tree it grows on are larger thanCSU Hort Agentshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07154323110226732641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8781795384048326119.post-73569188100094285422023-04-17T11:23:00.001-06:002023-04-17T11:23:27.555-06:00Perennial trials reveal top 9 performers in Rocky Mountain conditions by Jim Klett After three seasons growing in the challenging conditions of the Rocky Mountains, nine perennial plants have been named “Top Performers” by researchers at Colorado State University.The purpose of the trial garden is to evaluate new perennial plant species and cultivars under the unique Rocky Mountain environmental conditions. Plants are evaluated for plant vigor, uniformity, floriferousnessCSU Hort Agentshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07154323110226732641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8781795384048326119.post-59058129678944912002023-04-13T08:34:00.000-06:002023-04-13T08:34:48.541-06:00Corn that can feed itself? Recently during a late night deep dive into YouTube, I stumbled
across a video from the BBC. The video was highlighting a type of corn, Sierra Mixe, that we
don’t have here in North America. This corn, the video proclaimed, was able to
fix its own nitrogen. My poor husband had to listen to me rambling and pondering
how this could possibly happen, that it couldn’t happen, only legumes
are CSU Hort Agentshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07154323110226732641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8781795384048326119.post-88662049728015557752023-04-10T08:40:00.001-06:002023-04-10T08:40:00.207-06:00Did You Know Who Coined the Term "Nativar"? Posted by: Linda Langelo, Horticulture Specialist, Golden Plains Area Extension Photo Credit: Wikipedia
Allan Armitage, author of Armitage's Garden Perennials, CSU Hort Agentshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07154323110226732641noreply@blogger.com0