Tentative 2010 GPA Garden Class Schedule

January 9: Designing Your Garden - Garden layouts, watering systems, companion planting & vertical gardening.

February 6: Compost Happens!- Composting & vermicomposting & soil improvements.

March 6: Starting Your Garden From Seed - Do’s & don’ts of starting plants indoors - grow lights & cold frames.

April 3: Raising Micro Greens & Salad Gardens - Fresh salad & greens year round & raising sprouts.

May 1: Gardening in Raised Beds & Containers - Produce a lot in a small space! Hands-on workshop at Williams Floral & Garden Center after class time.

June 5: Raising Herbs Inside and Out - Raising, harvesting, storing & using the herbs you grow.

August 7: Raising Fruits & Berries – Ext. Agent Bruce Bosely - Methods of raising fruit & plant varieties for the Plains.

September 11: Raising & Storing Root Crops - Compare & contrast methods of growing root crops & best way to preserve them.

October 2: Starting Early & Finishing Late - Extend the growing season with micro-greenhouses.

November 6: Raising Vegetables Year Round - Triumphs & pitfalls of growing food in greenhouses.

For more information contact Linda Langelo, GPA Horticulture Program Associate or (970) 854-3616 or Lisa Brewer, GPA Master Gardener (719) 346-8828

Class Offered for Growing Pumpkins & Squash

Perhaps no family of plants is more fun and rewarding to grow than pumpkin and squash. The variety of pumpkins and squash is amazing. Their colors and shapes are interesting and even a bit artistic in the garden. The vines are fast and aggressive and require no great skills on the part of the gardener as long as a few simple rules are followed. Come learn about the ins and outs of raising pumpkins and squash. We will learn about heirloom varieties and new ones; raising them in large gardens or in smaller spaces with trellising tricks.

Local master gardener, Lisa Brewer, along with Extension Agent Linda Langelo, will be offering a class entitled “Powerful Pumpkins and Super Squash” as part of their on-going series of home gardening classes. The class is free to anyone interested in raising their own vegetables and fruit. Joy Akey, Extension Agent from Yuma County, will be there with lessons on the proper way to preserve the bounty from your next pumpkin and squash harvest! Squash and pumpkin are nutrient dense and calorie thrifty vegetables that we should utilize more often in our healthy diets. Recipes will be available to get you started on adding squash and pumpkin to your meals.

Class will be held at Old Town in Burlington on Saturday, November 7th. Class begins at 10:00 a.m. and will last until noon. If you are attending the class you may enter the facility at the west gate (the old Emporium entrance) between 9:30 and 10:00 a.m. After that, you will need to go around to the new entrance on the east side of Old Town. If you would like more information on this or any other classes being offered please contact Lisa Brewer at 719-346-8828.

Thanks!
Perry Brewer

True and False -- What to do for fall lawn care and other tidbits!

Fall and spring are the two better times to overseed your lawn. True.

When you overseed your lawn, your seed must make good contact with the soil. True.

Overseed your lawn with different types of grass species other than what you have. True.

When you fertilize your lawn in the fall, it keeps it greener longer and greens up earlier in the spring. True.

Fertilizing your lawn in mid-September stimulates healthier root growth. True.

Fertilizing your lawn in mid-November and mid-September also helps stimulate healthier root growth. True.

Fertilizing late in the season does not provide the same benefits to buffalograss and blue grama grass, bermudagrass or zoysiagrass as it does Kentucky Blue grass. True.

Fall is a bad time for core aeration. False.

Needled and broadleaf evergreens are at a higher risk when planted in the fall. True.

Needle drop occurs every autumn on conifers/evergreens. False.

Needle drop occurs every 3-4 years on ponderosa. True.

Needle drop occurs every 4-5 years on austrian pines. True.

Water your trees at the root zone once a month, if it is a dry month in the winter. True.

Start monitoring water for you trees beginning November 1 to March 1. True.

Fall Bulbs -- Iris Rebloomers -- Order Through Your Local Master Gardeners

Top left: Blue Suede Shoes is a reblooming iris for zones 3 to 9 with a late spring and early summer bloom.

Top right: Mariposa Skies also a rebloomer with the same zones and bloom time as Blue Suede Shoes.

Lower left: Immortality again with the same zones and bloom time.

Lower right: Pure as Gold again with the same zones and bloom time as the others.

Remember these will bloom again in the fall. They are spectacular and when there is not much blooming what a show. I used Immortality on a golf course back east and what a show stopper it was.

So, if you are interested in ordering this collection, it sells for $40 through Master Gardeners in the Golden Plains Area or call Linda Langelo 970-854-3616 and place your order.

Flower Power Bulb Sales

Flower Power Bulbs come direct from Holland through the Dutch Bulb Company. We have been using the fall sale of bulbs for a Master Gardener Fundraiser in the Golden Plains Area for the third season in a row. Each year, we get to keep 50 percent of what we raise. The funds go to support projects like classroom supplies for Master Gardeners who teach about gardening or for other community projects like the local community gardens. Two years ago in Holyoke, Master Gardener funds were able to pay for a tree for an after school class on proper tree planting. These are just a few examples of how the funding is used to educate our communities children.

The bulbs that are for sale this year are as follows:

A Reblooming Iris Collection for $40 with Blue Suede Shoes, Immortality (white), Pure as Gold, Mariposa Skies (white and blue)

Jumbo Crocus (20) for $10

5 Allium Purple Sensation -- always popular for $10

5 Fragrant Hyacinths Mixture for $12

8 Deluxe Tulip Mixture for $12

Turkenlouis Oriental Poppy for $15

3 Stargazer Lilies for $15

4 Avalon Daffodils for $12

20 Glory of Snow for $10

4 Pagoda Dogtooth Violets for $10

25 Lavender Mountain Lilies for $10

8 Pink Impression Tulips for $12

1 Brookside Hardy Geraniums $15

12 White and Blue Grape Hyacinths for $10

And a spring garden collection for $25 with 5 Tulips, 5 Deluxe Daffodils, 10 Jumbo Crocuses, 10 Blue Grape Hyacinths, 10 Tall Dutch Iris and 10 Alpine Rosy Bells.

We hope you consider Master Gardeners. Thank you for your donation.

Please call (970)854-3616 and speak with Linda Langelo for information and placing an order.

Vegetable Gardening Classes Offered

The C.S.U. Golden Plains Area Extension Service is offering classes in vegetable gardening to anyone interested in raising their own produce. Vegetable gardening is a wonderful way to relax, spend time outdoors, connect with children and/or grandchildren, and even get a little exercise! It also offers the added bonus of fresh tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, etc. for your table!! What could be better than that?

Extension Horticulture agent, Linda Langelo, and Kit Carson County Master Gardener, Lisa Brewer, will be offering many classes in the coming months. Most of the classes will be held in the old gift emporium at Old Town in Burlington. A small fee of $10.00 will cover the costs of materials and handouts. In addition to these classes, there will be some hands-on workshops next spring at Williams Floral & Garden Center in Burlington.

Some of the class topics will be on designing your garden, raising and using herbs, vermicomposting, raised bed and container gardening, small fruit and berries, water-wise gardening, preserving your harvest, and many more. Each class will last from two to three hours and you will come away with good information that you can adapt to your particular gardening needs.
If you are interested in attending one or more of these classes, please call the Burlington Extension Office at 719 346-5571 to register.

Fall 2009 schedule of Classes:

Sept. 12th – “Staring Early & Finishing Late” – extending the growing season with micro-greenhouses and harvesting the garden twice.

Oct. 3rd – “Gardening with Heirlooms” – the pros and cons of raising heirloom varieties of tomatoes, squash, peppers, etc.

Nov. 7th – “Powerful Pumpkins & Super Squash” – growing, cooking and canning pumpkin and squash for nutrient dense, low calorie dishes.

*All classes will begin at 10:00 a.m. at Old Town in Burlington

The Mountain Pine Beetle Arrives on the Plains

The Colorado State Forester for the northeastern region of Colorado, Norland Hall, announced the mountain pine beetle was found in Willard, Sterling and Fort Morgan over the last couple of weeks in August. The picture to the left shows a close up dorsal view from the USDA Forest Service.
Yes, the mountain pine beetle has been concentrated in the Rocky Mountains and Black Hills areas. For the past few years, those residing on the plains have watched the devastation from a front row seat. However, this bark beetle which is only about ¼ inch long with black or brown coloring. The larvae are yellowish-white with no legs and dark heads.
These beetles attack ponderosa, lodge pole, limber and occasionally scotch pines. If you have any of these trees in your landscape keep the trees healthy. The best natural defense is a healthy tree. Healthy pines are less attractive to the beetle. Other natural defenses are woodpeckers and clerid beetles. Mother Nature can help control outbreaks by providing extremely cold temperatures. However, when planting your landscape use a diversity of trees in your plan and properly space the tree to match its mature height and width. Overcrowding adds stress to the trees. To create an analogy for you, picture the idea of having a family of ten live in a two bedroom home with no basement and two bathrooms.
In our current economic state, everyone is looking for a bargain. Firewood for some people is the primary way they keep their homes heated in the winter. These beetles have devastated acres of trees and are providing a cheap source of firewood. Firewood is being sold from acres of those ponderosa trees from Colorado and Wyoming. If you purchase firewood from such a source, remember if the bark is still intact, there may be mountain pine beetle larvae still alive and active in the firewood.
The signs to watch for are a popcorn-shaped masses of resin on the trunk where the beetles initially attack and have started tunneling. Notice any sawdust in the bark crevices or on the ground. Woodpecker feeding is another piece of evidence with pieces of bark on the ground. Woodpeckers also feed on other larvae as well. In May or June the crown of the pine would turn reddish-brown and would be a late symptom of attacks the previous season.
If you have any questions or see the popcorn-shaped masses of resin on the bark or fresh sawdust, please feel free to contact your local Extension office.

What is Swiss chard?

Swiss chard is a member of the Beet family that does not produce an edible root, but rather produces edible crinkly leaves. This is not a popular vegetable because people do not know what to do with it or even know what it is.
In the Holyoke Community Garden, we are growing the 1998 All American Selection called Bright Lights. The stem colors or petioles of Bright Lights range in color from orange, red, white, yellow, gold, pink and striped. It takes 55 days to maturity. Swiss chard is excellent as an ornamental.
Swiss chard can grow in any soil type, but likes the soil to stay evenly moist. It will grow in any day length and temperature. The seeds can be planted in spring an inch deep and 4 to 6 inches apart. If the soil is high in organic matter, this will keep the soil moist.
There are no major disease or insect problems occasionally aphids and leaf miner. Aphids can be hosed off with water or sprayed with insecticidal soap.
This crop will provide a full season of harvesting once the leaves get to be about 4 inches tall. Harvest the outer most leaves. Once you harvest it, it is best eaten fresh, but you can freeze, can or dry it.
Swiss chard has the bitterness of beet greens and a salty flavor of spinach leaves. But with swiss chard, you can eat both leaves and stalks. The stalks need to be cooked slightly longer than the leaves.
The vitamin content of Swiss chard starts with the highest percentage of vitamin K, then A and then C. Besides these, magnesium, manganese, potassium and iron are also high percentages within this vegetable. Other nutritional benefits of lesser levels are calcium, copper and dietary fiber, B6, B2, B5, B1, B3, folate, zinc, tryptophan, biotin and phosphorus.
With this easy to grow vegetable, there is a far greater benefit with a full season of harvesting.

A native---Cleome

This is a native of the western region. Right now it is blooming in Sedgwick County in Julesburg along the roadside growing among the fenceline into the fair grounds.

This plant can be found on dry sandy soils along roadsides and waste places. The bees appreciate the nectar from the blossoms of this plant. However, livestock stay away from the plant because it has an unpleasant odor. The flowers are attractive in gardens. This is as an annual.

The common annual that you can purchase from Burpee is called Cleome hasslerana and can flower from early summer until fall. It takes full sun and likes a dry location in the garden. The Queen series has violet and rose colors. This plant can get 3 to 4 feet tall or taller and needs to go in as background in your garden or as a focal point. It does not need dead heading and can reseed next year, but may not come up in the same location. The more popular name for it is Spiderflower.

Other seed mixes that you can purchase of this annual are called Sparkler Mix with white, purple and pink. It is best to just sow the seed directly. This annual takes little care. And the best part is that it should be considered as a xeric plant.

As for the plant's cultural assets, the Indians used the plant for food and making pottery paint. The whole plant was boiled to make into cakes of black dye. The seeds were eaten raw or cooked. The seeds were ground into a meal to be used as mush or used in flour for bread-making. The shoots, leaves and flowers were used as potherbs.

Do not underestimate such as easy to care for plant in your annual borders next year!

Xeric Landscapes

People are becoming more and more interested in xeric plants. Xerophyte plants have many different innovative adaptations of their physical to survive an environment of extreme heat and drought. Cactus have spines to help shade the plant and a waxy coating to hold the moisture in the plant. Some plants store water in their stems. Other xerophytes have no leaves and there for no transpiration. Some come out of dormancy for a short period, flower and go to seed and go back into dormancy.

There are many types of plants to choose for the xeric landscape. Calylophus serrulatus is a golden-yellow flowering plant that is very drought tolerant as well being among the native plants. It is readily available in several mail order catalogues.

Plan on planting these xeric plants during the fall when their root system has the opportunity to have a lot more moisture and produce a well-developed root system by next spring and summer. The ability of these xeric plants is to have roots that can grow to several feet in order to have access to subsurface moisture. Some other types of plants are butterfly bush, agaves, ice plants, hesperaloe, hyssop, pussytoes, prickly poppy, fringed sage, red valerian to name a few.

Anyone can go to Plant Select website and search through some seventy selections for xeric plants. Plant Select is a plant program started by Denver Botanic Gardens and Colorado State University in search of plants that were the best selections for our native climate. Among the list some are more xeric than others. There are some listed as annuals and not winter hardy. Pay attention to the zones. For those in northeast Colorado, we are in zone five, but it is better to select plants hardy to zone 4. If we have a slightly colder winter, then the plants are sure to overwinter.

The last and most important point about xeric plants is they need to be well-drained soil. Some of the plants can tolerate a periodic flooding, but if their root systems sit in consistently wet soil the crown of the plant will rot, along with the roots.

Go out and explore and add some xeric plants to your garden today.