A Year in the Garden

by Senior Education Specialist Judy Elliott

November in Denver is a time of varying degrees of temperature change and precipitation, with temperatures ranging from daytime highs of almost 60 at the beginning of the month, to the mid-40s by the month’s end. Nights are chilly, gradually cooling from the low 30s to the high teens, with daylight hours rapidly shortening. The possibility for snowfall increases with several inches expected during the month, although there have been years in which blizzard conditions have occurred.

The last fall leaves blanket the ground with a welcome cover, reminding us to use their bounty to mulch our garden beds, surround our perennials, shrubs and trees with a protective coat, and appreciate the importance of slowing down and gathering together. It is not the season of ‘doing’, but developing deeper roots. We are gently reminded to share.

S | Show up for the earth and others.

• Make sure that all garden beds are protected from the effects of erosion by covering them with fall leaves, straw, and/or cover crops
• Renew and restart compost piles utilizing disease-free end of garden crops, fall leaves, and non-meat food scraps
• Utilize extra fall leaves as part of the indoor bedding mix for red wiggler worms (vermicomposting). This provides an easy-to-manage system for creating nutritionally-rich amendments for spring gardens and houseplants
• Extend a helping hand to others in your community by sharing garden skills, recipes, and seeds

A | Arrange tool areas + tools. 

• An often neglected task during the off season involves arranging your tool storage areas and making sure tools are in good working condition for the upcoming season
• Store shovels and hoes off the floor to prevent rust accumulation & dull edges
• Remove caked-on soil, oil any wooden surfaces with a thin coating of linseed oil
• Garden centers offer end-of-season sales on that ‘must have’ pruner or other too essential. Tools make great gifts for yourself or friends

Quick Garden Tip: Successful Seeds 

Prior to planting season, spend a bit of time checking seed viability (their ability to germinate successfully). Seeds such as lettuce and onions generally germinate poorly after several years of storage. 

Do an easy test to check for seed germination:

• • Spread 10 lettuce or onion seeds out on a double layer of moistened paper towels. Space them evenly in 1 row on top of the towel
  • Roll up paper towel & place in a ziplock bag, keeping the bag in a cool, dark area
  • Each day, carefully remove the ‘seed towel’, unroll & lightly blow on it, releasing carbon dioxide that encourages germination
  • After around 6 – 8 days, if at least 6 seeds have germinated (60% rate), the seed variety is ‘safe’ to plant for the upcoming season.

by Senior Education Specialist Judy Elliott

October in Denver usually provides us with sunny days, not much in the way of precipitation, and temperatures that range from the low to mid-60s during the day, to a gradual lowering of nighttime temperatures from the 50s to high 30s. It is the time of obvious shortening of daylight hours, falling leaves, and the potential first snowfall.

Our gardens respond in kind: slowing and then ceasing growth of warm-season crops, welcoming the onset of cooler weather that allows us to replant some of our salad greens and kale. It is the season where we begin to notice the individual brilliant colors of remaining flowers and autumn leaves that stand out against the intensity of the blue sky. The ripening pumpkins and winter squash beckon us to put our gardens to bed, gather, and follow age-old cycles of renewal. It is the season of covering and connection to the cycles of the garden, and also of our lives.

Incorporate some of the lessons this month provides by:

C |Creating conditions for a thriving garden

• Remove any remaining warm season crops.
• Dispose of any diseased or insect-infested plants such as tomato vines and/or squash family members such as summer and winter squash, pumpkin vines, and cucumbers that have ‘powdery mildew’ on their leaves. Don’t put them in the compost pile!
• Weeds left standing in the garden provide an ample supply of seeds for early spring growth. Be conscientious about digging them out & disposing of them now.

V | Visioning is important

• Learn to view your season as part of a cycle, remembering and jotting down every step to garden learning.
• Resolve to make different mistakes each year and don’t try to become a garden ‘expert’.
• Plan for internal pathways for feet to ‘dance’ and care for crops & planting areas that are not more than 3’ wide.

Quick Garden Tip: Green your windowsill

If you are still determined to continue ‘growing’, consider planting or transplanting lettuce, basil, or chives.

Process:

• For lettuce or basil, fill 3” pots with an all-purpose ‘indoor’ potting mix that has been moistened well.  Do not use garden soil. 
• Plant 2 seeds of lettuce or 3 seeds of a shorter growing basil variety per pot. Use the information on the back of their seed packets to determine planting depth
• Place in an area that receives sufficient sunlight
• Check for when to water by inserting a toothpick or sharp pencil into the soil several times a week. If soil adheres to the toothpick or pencil tip, no water is needed. Soil should always feel like a ‘wrung-out’ kitchen sponge. 
• Garden chives can also be dug & transplanted for indoor growth. Again, when planting indoors, utilize a commercially available potting mix.

by Senior Education Specialist Judy Elliott

September in Denver is usually a month of glorious sunshine, changing leaf colors, sunny days, and not much in the way of precipitation. If we are lucky enough to experience decreasing smoke and haze from western wildfires, we can anticipate brilliant blue skies, temperatures from the 70s to mid – 80s during the day and nighttime temperatures cooling to the low 50s. With all of these changes, daylight hours have decreased dramatically, giving us less than 10 hours of sunshine and a lower angle of the sun. Our first frost of the season can usually be expected during the last week in September or the first week in October.

All of these different scenarios seem to precipitate a focus around ‘bringing in the harvest,’ planting ideas rather than crops, and slowing down enough to begin to appreciate the true lessons of the garden. As I consider the ‘harvest’, my thoughts turn inward to successes, challenges, and messages of possibility. Here are some ways to think in new ways about the harvest.

H |Harvest and care for crops regularly 

• To maximize the yield from warm-season crops such as tomatoes, understand their growth habit. In early September, prune several inches off of the top of tomato plants to restrict vegetative (stem) growth and promote the reopening of ‘green’ tomatoes.
• Continue to remove ‘suckers’ and long, trailing side stems that are interfering with air circulation
• Remove most newly opened flowers on warm-season crops, since it takes at least a month from time of pollination to gain a fruit that will successfully ripen inside
• Prune back rampant growth of winter squash and pumpkins to promote ripening of fruit
• Check and harvest summer squash and cucumbers several times a week to make sure you don’t ‘miss’ any rapidly growing fruit

R | Review, reap, and renew

• Remove unproductive warm season crops
• Renew the soil with 1 ½” of plant-based compost dug into the top 4 – 6” of soil
• Plant small quantities of quickly maturing crops such as lettuce, spinach, radish, arugula, or bok choy
• Cover any bare soil with mulch
• Plant garlic in late September or early October

Quick Garden Tip

Over the winter, soil can be eroded with our harsh winds and snow storms. Protect and restore your soil with cover crops!

Cover crops are best planted in mid-late September. As you harvest your summer veggies, consider creating space to plant cover crops like winter rye and hairy vetch.

by Senior Education Specialist Judy Elliott

August marks a transitional time in the garden. With daytime temperatures that can stay in the low to mid-90s during much of the month and nighttime temperatures falling a bit to the mid-50s, it can be confusing, to say the least, for our veggies, herbs, and flowers.

Rain is sporadic, winds seem constant, and the air is thick with the smoke from fires in Colorado and other western states. At this time of the season, many veggies and herbs seem to be not quite as vigorous in their growth and show increasing incidences of insect infestations or disease progression. Considering that from the beginning to the end of the month, we’ve lost a little over an hour of daylight, it’s not surprising that plants are stressed.

Let’s consider some strategies that either extend the productive lifespan of our garden or renew its possibilities for the fall months that are right around the corner. 

Quick Garden Tip

Another benefit of visiting your garden in the early morning cool, in addition to the peace and tranquility of the special moments, involves the absolute joy that can be found in:

Zero Cost, Minimally Invasive, 100% Effective Pest Control

• For those noxious Japanese beetles that decimate everything, including Virginia Creeper vine, roses, pole beans, zinnias, marigolds  prepare a solution:
  • 1 cup water with around a Tbsp. of any kind of dish soap
  • Take the bucket to the garden
  • Stand quietly with cup underneath affected leaves
  • Brush off beetles into their bath. They will not emerge
  • Enjoy
  • This also works for cucumber and/or squash beetles in early morning, before they fly

by Senior Education Specialist Judy Elliott

July is one of the hottest months in Denver, with temperatures ranging from the mid to high 90s during the daytime to lows in the 60s at nights. There are some years in which we are lucky enough to receive a bit of moisture from monsoon rains, but this is a sporadic occurrence. Humidity is generally very low, making it seem ‘hot and dry’ throughout the month.

Additionally, daylight hours, after the vernal equinox in June are decreasing, with a loss of about 45 minutes from the beginning to the end of July. Since plants use sunlight, with the process of photosynthesis to produce food in the form of sugars and starches, that accumulate in the leaves, they begin to react to light changes in many ways. Some exhibit signs of stress by sending up seed -stalks, signaling the end of their lives, others send out chemical signals that seem to magically attract pest insects, others slow down their growth and seem more prone to diseases.

This is a month of transition, providing moments of reflection that allow us to evaluate our current garden plan, proactively plan for renewal of soil and spirit, and actively learn from our environment. 

Quick Garden Tips

• Consider the use of ‘shadecloth’ over your tomato cages for a few hours during the heat of the day. Shadecloth is permeable to light and water but a strategy that aims to limit the burning effects of late afternoon sun intensity. The cloth can be attached to tomato cages with clothespins

• Handpick Japanese beetles in the early morning hours, when they are more sluggish, and drown them in buckets of soapy water. They are also a preferred culinary delight for chickens! 

by Senior Education Specialist Judy Elliott

June, a month in which temperatures range between the mid-80s during the day to mid-50s at night, is a prime month for growing most garden veggies, flowers, and herbs. Rain is usually low to non-existent, with humidity also low. It basically is beginning to feel ‘hot and dry,’ and early spring-planted crops, such as salad greens, are approaching the limits of their preferred growing conditions.

You can extend their lifetime by picking outer leaves for your meals, a process that stimulates the growth of new, inner leaves. After a time, however, they develop a bitter taste, signaling that their ‘edible’ journey is ending. In the case of spinach, which matures in less than 40 days, the shape of its leaves changes from broad and rounded to one that resembles an ‘arrowhead’. Shortly after those ‘weird’ leaves begin to grow, the plant sends up a stalk that soon opens into flowers and then seed-heads as pollination occurs. You will notice the same process with lettuce.

It’s helpful to know that although our veggies provide copious quantities of nutritious meals, their true purpose in life is really to produce seeds for a new generation. Respect their life cycle and continue to provide the conditions that allow your June garden to flourish.

Garden Tip

Create Opportunities to Linger!

Colorful flowers not only provide gathering places for beneficial insects but also stimulate our senses with visual and olfactory messages that encourage us to ‘stay awhile’. As we spend more time in our plots, we begin to notice early signs of insect damage or disease and can more easily attend to management strategies.  Consider using small tree stumps, straw bales, or even old folding chairs in your plot to custom design your ‘home away from home.’

by Senior Education Specialist Judy Elliott

May, one of our main planting months, has our temperatures all over the place, ranging from 77 – almost 90 degrees daytime to the mid 50 degrees at night.  Thanks to the ample March snowfall & precipitation in mid-April, plants of all types, including copious quantities of weeds are flourishing. 

Let’s think on the positive side. Their leaves, using the process of photosynthesis, capture atmospheric carbon dioxide (yes that same gas that contributes to climate warming), storing it in the roots which then release nutrients to feed the diverse community of soil microorganisms. So weeds can actually be thought of as providers of ‘free food’. We just need to manage them before they produce seeds or remove their underground creeping stems or long ‘taproots’ (like found in dandelions). As we get ready for another gardening season, let’s look more closely at what the month may have in store for us.

Do remember to focus on ‘prevention’ strategies.

Garden Tip

Keep them out!

Prevent damage from many pests that damage your crops by physically excluding them. Products such as:

‘Reemay’, or its equivalent, are lightweight row -covers, composted of spun polyester & can be placed directly over transplants or seeded rows to prevent insects such as aphid & cabbage butterflies from feasting on your crops.

If the crop requires pollination, such as peas, simply remove the covering. You can water directly through the fabric & it not only provides adequate sunlight transmission but also provides several degrees of frost protection.

by Senior Education Specialist Judy Elliott

April, like March, is a month of ‘wild weather’, alternating from moisture-laden snow, drying winds, and even rain/snow mixes (yes, Denver does experience rain at times) to a range of temperatures between 65 degrees in the daytime to 35 degrees nighttime.

If you think that sounds confusing for us, imagine the delicate dance that our trees, perennials and early-season veggies must navigate to survive. Perennials and trees (including fruit trees) have a ‘built-in’ time clock that responds to increasing daylight hours, sunlight intensity, and (for fruit trees), a number of hours below freezing for fruit buds to appear. Once those swelling buds open and leaves unfurl, it almost is a signal for more unsettled weather to descend.

One of the challenges in April appears to be our warming climate, and, concurrent increasing drought situation. It’s all too easy to be lulled into a false sense of complacency regarding our changing climate, especially if tree limbs are bowed down with spring snows. For the entire year, Denver receives between 9 – 11” of water but in the past few years, strong winds & rapidly warming temperatures in spring have made less of that available. With greenery emerging daily our thoughts turn to the process of ‘growing’. 

April is the month to ‘GROW.’

Garden Tip

Know when it’s time to ‘dig your soil’.

Don’t rely upon daytime temperatures as a sign of when to begin your gardening work. For a more reliable measure that deals with soil moisture:

• Use a hand trowel or regular shovel to dig down several inches and obtain a small quantity of soil
• Make a tennis ball-sized mound with the soil
• Drop the ‘soil ball’ from about a foot in height
• If it stays together as a ‘ball’, it’s not time to dig your soil. Wait several days and try the test again
• If it breaks apart (shatters), go ahead and ‘dig in’
• Our soils are usually high in clay, warm slowly, and have very tiny soil particles. If you dig your garden soil too early (i.e., the soil still stays together as a ‘ball’) it may dry like an adobe brick and make it difficult for smaller seeds to germinate

Remember, patience really does pay off!