After years of envying other gardeners’ bounty, I finally got my wish for a little more spice in my summer. Year after year, despite my best effort, the garden lacked a little zest until Bill Renner, a friendly Colorado Master Gardener, gave me his secret: all I had to do was let things heat up [...]
Archive for September, 2010
Peppers: a sweet, hot summer
Posted in Vegetables and fruit, tagged Garden, gardening, Mother Nature, mulch, pepper diseases, pepper problems, peppers, Vegetable, white spots on peppers on September 29, 2010 | 1 Comment »
The not-so-giant pumpkin
Posted in Vegetables and fruit, tagged Atlantic Giant, gardening, Gourd, Halloween, Jack-o'-lantern, Longmont Ledger, Pumpkin, Pumpkin Pro on September 27, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Early in the summer, I dreamed big. The weather was warming and the spring garden abundant, so when the small package of Pumpkin Pro arrived in the mail, I gave in to my inner child and sprinkled the powder into my pumpkin hills. Touted as “the secret ingredient to growing gigantic pumpkins,” I let myself [...]
Weekend edition: Zucchini defends against bear attack
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged American Black Bear, Missoula County Montana, Montana, Squash, zucchini on September 25, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
“Woman squashes bear,” was the headline on a small snippet my spouse brought home for me yesterday. He knows I live for stories like this. It seems that a woman in the mountains near Frenchtown, Montana, has large zucchini and isn’t afraid to use them, especially when a 200-pound black bear attacked her dog, then [...]
Denver Urban Gardens turns 25
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged Colorado State University, Community, community gardens, Denver Urban Gardens, DUG, Garden, Home and Garden, Michael Buchenau, Non-profit organization on September 23, 2010 | 1 Comment »
When you’re having an anniversary, throwing a party is a popular way to celebrate. Haul out a shovel to dig in the soil during the party, and most people think you’ve gone off your rocker. But if you’re Denver Urban Gardens, getting your hands dirty is what your big day is all about. To celebrate [...]
Video Thursday: Harvesting tomatoes when frost threatens
Posted in Vegetables and fruit, tagged Boulder Daily Camera, Harvest, harvesting green tomatoes, Tomato on September 23, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Despite Mother Nature’s hot flashes, eventually we’ll start getting frosty days. Here’s a quick primer on harvesting and storing those not-yet-ripe tomatoes. Video produced by the Boulder Daily Camera.
After the fires
Posted in Trees and shrubs, Uncategorized, tagged Colorado State Forest Service, Colorado State University, Douglas-fir, Firefighter, Lodgepole Pine, Pinus ponderosa, Wildfire on September 21, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
What ever you do, stay out of the burned zone, is the message experienced foresters, researchers, and firefighters have for residents returning to their homes after the Fourmile Canyon and Reservoir Road fires. The blazes that left hundreds homeless leave another hazard in their wake: falling trees. “Really hot fires burn the tree, its roots, [...]
Hops taking root in Colorado
Posted in Uncategorized, Vegetables and fruit, tagged Ali Hamm, Beer, Brewing, Colorado State University, Fort Collins Colorado, gardening, Hops, Left Hand Brewing Company, Ro Guenzel, Summit Plant Laboratories on September 15, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
A pitfall of being a gardener is overconfidence. After triumphing over soil, weather, and a few insects, there’s a swagger to your walk; you find yourself smugly thinking you could master any plant your heart desires. When you reach that point, there’s always one that calls your bluff. In my case, it’s hops, the essential [...]
When to harvest apples and pears
Posted in Vegetables and fruit, tagged Apple, Fruit, gardening, harvesting fruit, Longmont Ledger, Pear, tree fruit, Trees on September 13, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Every year has bumper crops and busted dreams, so a gardener learns to go with the flow. Though chilly nights this summer kept some vegetables to a minimum, Mother Nature made up for her stinginess with an overload of tree fruit. Apples and pears are on people’s minds, and if you’ve been staring at the [...]
Video Friday: Powdery mildew on zucchini
Posted in Vegetables and fruit, tagged Boulder Daily Camera, gardening, powdery mildew, white coating on zucchini, zucchini on September 10, 2010 | 1 Comment »
Learn to recognize the one organism that can’t get enough of zucchinis in this video produced by the Boulder Daily Camera:
Ash coating on leaves from fire
Posted in Trees and shrubs, Uncategorized, tagged ash, Boulder Colorado, Colorado State University, fire, Four mile fire, gardening, Plant, Shrub, Tree on September 7, 2010 | 2 Comments »
Watching the 7,000-acre fire burning west of Boulder reminds me that every area has its share of heartbreaking natural disasters. We live in a dry state where fire is a destructive force we fear every year. Seen from my home to the east, the plume of smoke from the Four Mile fire is boiling near the [...]
