A Trip to the Sod Farm: Green Valley Turf

Posted by: Alison O'Connor, Larimer County Extension

The same day that we visited Arrowhead Dahlias (that Amy just blogged about), we also visited the Platteville location of Green Valley Turf. Did you know that sod farms are a huge part of the agriculture industry in Colorado? We have some of the best sod farms in the nation--farms that are providing your favorite sports team with high-quality turf. REAL turf. Not that icky fake stuff.

Real, genuine turf. Love it!

But what Green Valley is doing to grow their sod is completely different than anywhere else in the nation. Essentially they are growing on plastic. Yep, plastic--with a couple inches of sand. And they are producing the Creme de la Creme sod for sports fields, such as the Broncos, Kansas City Royals, the Minnesota Twins (go Twins!), and more. It was a fascinating process.

Horties at the Green Valley Turf in Platteville.

Our tour guide was Evan Fowler, who has Extension roots in his blood, but worked as a sports turf manager for years until he joined Green Valley. The guy loves turf and has such passion for it.

Evan explaining about Green Valley's growing practices.

What Green Valley has found over the years is that growing high-quality sod on a sand-based system is the best way to produce turf that can be installed and immediately used by professional sports team. What you may not realize is that professional sports parks, like baseball fields and soccer pitches, are built on sand. Sand provides the best drainage and aeration for turf roots. These sports complexes are very different than our home lawns.

Growing sod on plastic isn't easy and it's taken lots of trial and error to figure it out. The concept is pretty simple--a layer of plastic on top of the native soil, top with a couple inches of sand (specific to growing sod and better matched for sports complexes), and grass seed. A few months later (maybe a year later), you have a thick mat of turf that you roll up, ship out, lay down in the new location, and welcome play.

Layer of plastic, layer of sand, and seed. The result? Amazing sod.

What's incredible is the root system. This stuff is knitted so well together with roots that you couldn't tear it apart, unless you had super-human strength, like the Hulk. We all tried to rip it apart and our attempts were futile. When you put a 300 pound linebacker on it, he can't rip it apart either, leading to great footing and excellent playability and safety.

This sod was grown for the Broncos. Just a few days after our tour in August, it was being trucked to Denver to replace the field after the Rolling Stones concert. The Broncos had a home game a couple days after the field was sodded. They lost, but it wasn't because of the turf quality.

Yes, this is the current Denver Broncos field!

Our big thanks to Evan and his team at Green Valley for a great tour. We learned so much and everyone had a greater appreciation for the sod industry. Green Valley does have sod available for homeowners too. And for the Broncos coaching staff--maybe you want to consider recruiting some horties for the team?

Go deep!

A Trip to the Dahlia Farm...

By Amy Lentz, Weld County CSU Extension  - Horticulture

It's that time of year when many of our garden's flowers start to putter out or look kind of drab. But the end of the summer is when the dahlias shine! Two weeks ago, a small group of CSU Extension folks took a tour of Arrowhead Dahlias, a family owned and operated dahlia farm located in Platteville, a small town in Weld County. It was a beautiful morning with good weather and lots of ooh's and aah's as we meandered through the many hoop houses filled with dahlias of all colors and sizes.

Arrowhead Dahlia farm in Platteville, CO

Arrowhead Dahlias was established in 2000 by Calvin and Julie Cook and specializes in growing a wide range of dahlias, along with a smaller crop of other popular cut flowers like lisianthus, zinnias and sunflowers. But their main attraction...the dahlias!

Some of the many, long hoop houses filled with dahlias!

Another popular cut flower grown - Lisianthus

The three-acre farm is filled to the brim with over 200 different dahlia cultivars, many in full bloom for us to admire while we toured the long hoop houses. The structures were covered with a light shade-type covering used to protect the flowers from hail storms that can be common in the area. They have approximately 12,000 plants in the ground and harvest often to keep the product at peak freshness to send to market. Here are a few of my favorites seen on the tour:

Cornel Bronze

Julio

Karma Chocolate

A view from inside the hoop houses

Dahlias find a very favorable climate in Colorado that allows them to grow large, showy flowers. However, they must be grown like an annual since they are not hardy here. They grow as tubers and can be planted much like tulips, but the seasons are switched. With dahlias, you would dig them up in the fall and plant the tubers in the late spring after any chance of frost has past. They don't need a lot of extra care right after planting, just wait until they sprout above the soil then start them on regular irrigation. A drip line set with an automatic watering system or timer can help to keep the dahlias watered on a regular basis as they don't like to dry out. Dahlias prefer a sunny location with plenty of room to grow. You can also grow them in containers, but make sure to give them a larger pot and staking so they don't flop or blow over - they can get quite large and tall, depending on the cultivar. For more information on planting dahlias in Colorado, check out the Plantalk article from CSU, HERE.

Calvin cutting a dahlia at the ideal stage to send to market

There are over 15,000 florists in the US, and about 70% of the retail flowers sold in the US are imported from Colombia. Other big players on the cut flower scene are the Netherlands and Ecuador. Although the US doesn't even make it into the top 10 for countries with the most exports of cut flowers, the local Colorado-grown cut flower scene is vibrant and growers like Arrowhead Dahlias offer a local product that doesn't have to board an airplane or cargo ship to make it into your bouquet. Check with your local farmers market to find cut flower growers near you!

To learn more about dahlias and other spring-planted bulbs, corms and roots, check out CSU's fact sheet, HERE.

Prairie Ecosystems: There is More Than Meets the Eye

Posted by: Lisa Mason, Arapahoe County Extension

This past week, I co-taught my first Native Plant Master course at the Plains Conservation Center. We completed the first of three sessions. It was a wonderful experience learning and teaching in such a beautiful setting.

When I was in the third grade, I went on a Girl Scout field trip to the Plains Conservation Center. I remember the day vividly. Upon arriving there were no trees in sight, just dry, brown grassy fields. Then we started to explore. We saw lady bugs and lady bug eggs, raptors, butterflies, pronghorn, flowers, the tipi camp, homestead village, and the wildlife displays in the visitor center. The message I took home that day: there is more to the Plains Conservation Center than meets the eye! There is an ecosystem full of life and diversity on the prairie. I have always had an appreciation for prairie ecosystems after that field trip.

Fast forward many years: I returned to the PCC to learn and share my knowledge and appreciation of prairie ecosystems by co-teaching the Native Plant Master course. The PCC did not disappoint! Here are a few highlights:

A bee fly, Bombyliidae family on a sunflower, Helianthus annuus. Photo: Lisa Mason

Blue grama, Bouteloua gracilis, the state grass of Colorado. Photo: Lisa Mason

Milkweed and Specialist Relationships

Showy milkweed (Asclepias speciosa) is a common native plant found at the PCC. Milkweed tends to be a popular plant for pollinators because of the available nectar, but milkweed also hosts two specialist insects. A specialist insect depends on a certain environment or food source compared to a generalist that can survive in a more variable environment with diverse food sources. Monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) are specialists of milkweed because the caterpillars rely solely on milkweed for their diet. Milkweed contains toxins that are poisonous to predators such as birds but not poisonous to the monarch thus protecting the caterpillars and butterflies from predators.

Milkweed longhorn beetles (Tetraopes spp.) also have a specialist relationship with milkweed plants. The beetles spend their entire lives on milkweed plants. Many species will lay their eggs at the root crown. The larvae develop on the roots, some living in the soil feeding on small, young roots and others tunneling in the large taproot of the milkweed. They pupate in the soil and the adults spend most of their time above ground feeding and mating on the plant. (Source: CSU Extension)

Milkweed longhorn beetle, Tetraopes femoratus. Photo: Lisa Mason

Rabbitbrush and Generalist Visitors

Rabbitbrush (Ericameria nauseosa) is also a common native plant at PCC and blooms late in the season. This plant is a fantastic food source for a variety of generalist insects including bees, wasps, flies, and beetles. I encourage you to observe rabbitbrush this time of year and notice the diversity of insects buzzing and crawling around the plant. Rabbitbrush can also be an important forage source for other animals, including pronghorn, commonly seen at the PCC.

Soldier beetle, Chauliognathus pennsylvanicus on rabbitbrush. Photo: Lisa Mason

Swainson’s Hawks and Other Raptors

Birds of prey or raptors are defined by their sharp talons they use to hunt and kill prey. Common raptors seen at PCC include Swainson’s hawks, red-tailed hawks, great horned owls, burrowing owls, eagles, turkey vultures, American kestrels and more. We were lucky to see a pair of great horned owls, a red-tailed hawk, a Swainson’s hawk and a bald eagle nest. With the season changing to autumn, the Swainson’s hawks are starting to gather into groups, or kettles on the Eastern Plains. They are eating as much as possible right now so they can migrate to Argentina for the winter.  They migrate north in the spring and many spend their summers in Colorado.

Swainson's hawk, Buteo swainsoni. Photo: Steven Mlodinow, Macaulay Library, Cornell Lab of Ornithology 

Pronghorn

Many people see pronghorns (Antilocapra americana) on the prairie and don’t think too much about it, but pronghorns are fascinating animals!  First, they are the fastest land mammal in North America and second fastest in the world! They can run at up to sustained speeds of 60 mph. They have incredible vision and a keen sense of smell. Their vision is comparable to a human looking through 8x-power binoculars.

You might associate pronghorn with deer or even mountain goats, but they aren’t related to either. They are in a family of their own called Antilocpridae and are the only living species in the family. The closest living relatives of pronghorn are actually giraffes. (Source: University of Wyoming Extension and University of Wisconsin at Stevens Point)

Pronghorn, Antilocapra americana. Photo: Lisa Mason

Visit the Prairie

Next time you are at the PCC or any other prairie ecosystem, I encourage you to look closer and observe many of the fascinating plants and animal relationships and adaptations. There is more than meets the eye.

A view at the Plains Conservation Center. Notice the colors and textures. How many different types of plants do you see? Photo: Lisa Mason

The PCC is managed by the City of Aurora and the Denver Botanic Gardens. Click here for more information on visiting the PCC.

If you are interested in taking classes through the Native Plant Master program, click here.

A Selection of Indian Paintbrush of the Southwest Colorado Mountains by Yvette Henson

Indian paintbrush has always been one of my favorite wildflowers.  When I was living I Louisiana, homesick for summers in the southwest Colorado Mountains, I often dreamed of Indian paintbrush and columbines.  Now, I am fortunate to live in the SW Colorado Mountains again and this summer I have been even more infatuated with our Indian paintbrushes.  I will share the species I have seen this summer in this blog post.  I would love it if those who read this blog will post pictures of the Indian paintbrushes they have seen in the comments. 
  

Indian paintbrushes are in the genus Castilleja, named for the Spanish botanist, Domingo Castillejo. Without getting into the details, the genus Castilleja has recently been moved from the Scrophulariaceae family to the Orobancaceae family.  One of the reasons is its semi-parasitic nature.  If you want more information, research the work botanists are doing for the Flora of North America, etc. using plant DNA and not just morphological characteristics to classify plants.  For the plants featured in this blog post, I have used the scientific names found in the Flora of Colorado by Jennifer Ackerfield.  


Our native paintbrushes possibly sometimes cross, making them difficult to identify at times.  I will do my best to correctly identify the paintbrush in this blog post.  One thing that helps to identify them is the habitat they are growing in.  There is also often a range of color in plants of each species.  The colored portion that attracts us is actually not the corolla of the flower but are modified leaves called bracts.  This is a photo of an actual corolla with sexual parts inside (Castilleja miniata).   

Castilleja corolla including sexual parts

Indian paint brushes are semi-parasitic on the roots of other plants, which is important if  you would like to try to grow them from seed.  They often need a host plant to germinate and grow on.  


To most of us, the red colored paint brushes, are what come to mind when we ‘picture’ Indian paintbrushes.  In fact the reds are the most common and abundant. 


Castilleja chromosa, desert paintbrush, can be found growing in spring, from desert to montane, often in sage brush habitats.  Sage and blue gramma grass are two of the species it is semi-parasitic on.  It is usually under a foot tall and can grow into a wide clump.  The leaves and bracts are softly hairy.  

Desert Paintbrush, Castilleja chromosa

Castilleja linariifolia, Wyoming paintbrush, can be found blooming in the summer from foothills to montane with sage brush, pinion and juniper and ponderosa pine.  Sometimes it can be found growing with aspen.  It is the most common Indian paintbrush in Utah and is the state flower of Wyoming.  Its stiff stems are 2’ tall (or more), sometimes branched, with narrow, usually entire leaves.  The bracts are orangish-red.  

Wyoming paintbrush, Castilleja linariifolia

Castlleja miniata, scarlet paintbrush, grows in moist montane and subalpine forests and meadows. Its stems are usually unbranched and more ‘pliable, with wider leaves than C. linariifolia.  The upper leaves and lowest bracts are often divided into three lobes, the center lobe being the widest.  The color of its bracts can range from salmon-orange to pinkish-red.

scarlet paintbrush, Castilleja miniata

The next three species may cross and some botanist even think they could be the same species.  But for now I’m going to try to keep them separate.


Castilleja septentrionales, northern or sulphur paintbrush, is found in montane and subalpine forests and meadows and along streams in summer.  It has white to yellow bracts and dark stems.  It is 1.5’ tall on average, taller than the next species, C. occidentalis. 

Sulphur paintbrush, Castilleja septentrionales

Castilleja occidentalis, western or alpine paintbrush, is abundant all summer in dry to moist subalpine meadows and most often in the alpine tundra, where it often grows with C. rhexifolia.  It has creamy- yellow bracts and dark, smooth stems but is usually only about 6-8” tall. 

western alpine paintbrush, Castilleja occidentalis

 

Castilleja rhexifolia,  split-leaf or rosy paintbrush, can be found blooming from snow-melt to frost in moist subalpine to alpine tundra, along with C. occidentalis.  The bracts are many shades of fushia-pink.  Not only does it reportedly cross with C.  occidentalis, making some interesting color combinations, but it apparently can cross with C. miniata as well.

Rosy paintbrush, Castilleja rhexifolia, showing variation in color

Castilleja rhexifolia and Castilleja occidentalis  hybrid?

Who knows how botanists will classify these several Indian paintbrushes in the future, whether they are different varieties of the same species or still seen as separate species.  Regardless, they are some of the most abundant and iconic wildflowers of the Southwest Colorado mountains and will remain some of my favorites!   

What are those spots on my aspen?

Posted by: Todd Hagenbuch, Routt County CSU Extension Agriculture Agent

This summer, our office has been flooded with calls about aspen that are looking poorly.  Most often, the first thing a homeowner notices about these trees is that the leaves are starting to get spots on them.  As the condition persists, the spots can cover the majority of the leaf, and leaves become shriveled.  Often times the leaves look dead, and then they fall off. 

As you can imagine, watching the leaves on your tree go through this transformation can be quite alarming.  Most people call the office saying, “My tree is dying!” When I or one of our Master Gardeners take a look at it, we see that the tree is being harmed by Marssonina leaf spot, an all-too-common fungal disease that occurs on aspen and cottonwood.

Marssonina leaf spots are dark brown flecks, often with golden yellow halos.  Immature spots may have a white center. On severely infected leaves several spots may grow together to form large black or brown  patches. 

Marssonina leaf spot on aspen leaves
Photo courtesy of Routt CMG Vicky Barney

Marssonina is a fungus that is always present in our mountain areas. The spores (or 'seeds') the fungus produces survive the winter on fallen leaves that were infected the previous year.  When spring arrives and the temperatures increase, the fungus produces new spores that are carried by the wind and land on new, budding leaves. Wet weather in the spring increases the number of spores present.

Early infections are typically not serious, but if the weather remains damp, spores from the original infection can spread and cause significant secondary infection. These secondary infections are noticed later in the growing season and create the large, dead patches on the leaves mentioned above. As the leaves are overcome by the fungus, they may fall off the tree. I assure people who have Marssonina in their tress that it rarely kills infected trees; its damage is mostly aesthetic.

As you can imagine, the wet weather we’ve had this summer has produced an ideal situation for Marssonina fungus to thrive, meaning we’ve seen more of it this year than usual. I also suspect we may not have a spectacular fall since many aspen leaves are compromised by the fungus.

Because the fungus overwinters on leaf debris on the ground, rake up your fallen aspen leaves every fall to reduce the incidence of the disease. However, this is only effective if you have a solitary stand of aspen in your yard. If your neighborhood has a lot of aspen or if you’re next to a natural stand, raking up the leaves will not significantly reduce the number of spores that could re-infect the tree next year. 

There are fungicides you can apply to the tree at bud break in the spring time that will control Marssonina. We rarely recommend this because the disease is mostly aesthetic and it doesn’t usually harm the tree. To help reduce the spread of the spores, try to keep leaves as dry as possible to reduce the incidence of leaf spots by measures you can control:  water your lawn and garden in early morning so leaves can dry out, and keep sprinkler patterns adjusted so leaves don’t stay wet.

So, what does next year look like? The reality is, if next spring is wet, then Marssonina be back. If we have a drier spring, then we should get through the season with little impact. Either way, the aspen will still turn gold each autumn and provide beautiful displays, even if the colors are muted this year. 

Planning Ahead

By Andie Wommack, Douglas County Extension

While it’s still too early to be planting bulbs in your garden, it’s never too early to be thinking about what you might like to plant. The growing season this year was much different than ones we’ve seen here on the Front Range in the past few years. Some plants thrived with the cooler temperatures and extra moisture at the beginning of the season, and others struggled. Are you noticing some bare spots in your landscape, or are there areas you’d like to renovate? Bulbs can offer a variety of color and interest to your landscape.

Early September is the best time to buy bulbs to be planted from mid-September through late October. Bulbs need time to root before the ground freezes or they may not bloom uniformly in the spring. Did you know that bulb size has a direct correlation with flower size? That’s why it’s best to be able to choose bulbs from open bins rather than prepackaged bulbs, so you have more control over the product quality. This also allows you to inspect each bulb for any damage or mold.

Have you ever thought about, or wondered where these bulbs come from? They’re grown on farms just like other crops. Bulb farms are popular tourist attractions when the flowers are in bloom. Holland is one of the most famous locations for bulb farms, but there are plenty in the states as well.

Western Washington is home to several different bulb farms. I lived near several during my student teaching. Thankfully I did my student teaching during the spring semester so I had the opportunity to attend one of their festivals. Online resources say that planting solid blocks of color are more impressive from a distance than a mixture of colors and varieties. This is true in a home landscape, and it is immensely impressive on a large-scale bulb farm.