Serving all of Eastern Laramie County since 1908
Serving all of Eastern Laramie County since 1908
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Umm! Fresh veggies. Absolutely delicious. And where do you get them? Definitely not at the grocery store. Not that the grocery store is bad, but they all have to deal with the logistics of getting the vegetables from the farm to your house. That takes time and a lot of it. The logistics chain of today is pretty good but, out of necessity, it has a lot of links and they all delay the food getting to you. Let's start at the farm. And no, children, your food doesn't come off the grocery store...
I was having a hard time believing it's already late August. But as I look at my garden it's starting to look like late September. Everything I planted outdoors took forever to start growing. I think because of the cooler than normal temperatures. Everything was transplanted on June 1st but didn't start to grow until mid-July. It all stayed about six inches tall except for the cabbage. It seemed to love the cool weather but it's even growing a little slower than I expected. The chilis, Roma...
Garden pests are a natural event every year and they can be devastating to your garden. In July-August every year they become more noticeable and it gets worse as the season progresses. You may not notice the pest itself but you'll surely notice the damage to your plants. It could be discoloration on the leaves or stem, perhaps leaves that have been chewed, maybe even the fruit or vegetable itself that's been chewed. Most often the culprit is eating to either reach maturity or to reproduce. But...
Roses seem to be a favorite flower for everybody, even those who don't grow them. They come in every color under the rainbow plus a few others. They're large. They're small. Some have double blooms and some are single. Most smell sweet but some have almost no scent at all. Most have thorns but not all. But whatever the characteristic, "a rose by any other name would smell as sweet". Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare. The history of roses is about as long as the history of the world. One...
Tomatoes are such a universally loved fruit that they deserve a unique, and special, mention every year. Stop and think about it. Tomatoes are everywhere. In ketchup, pizza sauce, marinara sauce, on sandwiches (gotta love the BLT), in stew, just name something. Then, of course, there are fresh tomatoes. I may be prejudice but I love my tomatoes right off the vine, not harvested green then allowed to ripen while they're in transit to the store. Tomatoes are coming into season now for local grower...
Raspberries are the first berry that comes to my mind after strawberries. They are pretty common here and come in a wide variety of colors and flavors...anything from gold, to red, to black. Generally speaking, the red raspberries are the hardiest in our area, followed by yellow, purple and black. Raspberries can be used for all sorts of dishes from jams, to baking, pies, raspberry liqueur or just as a fresh snack. They're great with cream. Whatever you have leftover you can freeze. Rinse, dry,...
Children are simply amazing. Especially when it comes to doing anything outdoors. Our granddaughter will be four years old soon and she loves to be outside with us. It doesn't matter what we are doing. It could be mowing the yard, planting, watering, pulling weeds, or just looking at the stars. As long as she's with us and outside, she's happy. And so am I. When the grass is ready to mow she tells me about it then mows the yard with me on the riding lawn mower. Of course, I drive the mower and s...
We've had a great year for rain, especially after the drought of the last two years. Here it is almost mid-July and I've only watered twice and that was just to start new plants. I took a trip a few weeks ago and covered half of the state in a weekend. I couldn't believe how green it was everywhere. However, the water causes more than grass to grow. It also gives new life to weeds, even noxious weeds, like Dalmatian Toadflax. When it didn't come up at the expected time of the year, I thought I...
This time of year I look around me at all the new people who've moved to the country from the city. Some are from small towns and some are from large cities, even out of state. Those I speak to want to escape city life with all of its constraints and "get closer to nature". They want clearer air, more elbow room, and more freedom, among other things. Unfortunately, far too many of them have no idea how to live in the country and they often bring their city habits with them. Believe it or not, th...
A healthy pasture is a good thing whether you have five acres or five thousand acres. Farmers and ranchers have a great understanding of the soil and what it takes to keep their pastures healthy but for the rest of us, most haven't had the training or experience necessary to know what it takes to keep our pastures healthy. I've had a running conversation on social media for the last few days concerning dalmatian toadflax. It seems as though it has grown with a vengeance this year. I thought I ha...
On one of our recent rainy mornings I sat at the table looking out the window while I slowly sipped a cup of coffee. Very slowly sipped a cup of coffee. It felt like a good morning to be lazy and I have to admit I enjoyed it. As I viewed the front yard, I couldn't help but be overwhelmed by the complexity of creation and awed by the beauty of the flowers and other plants. The blue flax whose color is so soft that it's felt as well as seen. The brilliance of the bouncing betties, the myriad of...
Earlier this spring we talked about getting a lawn started and annual fertilizing. With all the rain we've been having we have just about reached the perfect storm for lawn diseases. I've always been a strong advocate of leaving grass a little longer than golf course length to maintain the health of the root system. Longer blades shade the roots and keep them from baking in the sun, causing them to sunburn. That hasn't been an issue so far this year but there is another issue we need to be on...
We are still in a drought over most of our region. Can you believe that! All of Laramie County is abnormally dry except a small portion of the southwest corner. The Albin area is still in moderate drought, even though at least one county road has been closed due to rain. The southern half of the Nebraska panhandle is in moderate to severe drought conditions. There are rumblings in Wyoming government that California is considering exercising its rightful option over the Green River water. If...
Of all the soil amendments we could use in the garden, compost is the undisputed top of the list. This is the "Black Gold" of gardening. It adds organic material to the soil which is fantastic for many reasons. Not only does it provide nutrients for the plants, but it also provides food for the earthworms and microorganisms that live in the soil and break nutrients into forms that the plants can absorb. A spin-off, and a very important one, is that is loosens clay and packed soils when it's...
We all know that living things, both plants and animals need water to survive. Some more than others but water is a necessity of life. Animals can at least move around to find water but plants are dependent on their environment. Since we create their environment, it's incumbent on us to also provide water. Irrigation systems are the answer. Since it will be time to plant in about a week this is a good time to discuss the transportation of water to your plants. God's irrigation system works best...
We've had some really beautiful weather for the past few weeks. As I write this I'm thankful for what some people would call terrible weather. But after two years of drought, I think the rain has been great. Thankful, too, that it's been rain without hail. There was enough of a break that I was able to get the potatoes and onions planted. Right now, that's all that I want to plant and root vegetables are the only thing safe to go in right now. But...planting time for everything else is coming...
Finally! The spring flowers are starting to bloom. That means the bees and other pollinators won't be far behind. I haven't seen any yet but I have seen a few ladybugs out already. Except for root vegetables we'll start planting shortly. For me, that will be in about two weeks in the outside gardens. Tomorrow in the greenhouse. Dandelions are up and they're the first food for the pollinators in the spring. But there's a lot we can do to help them out alter by the type of plants we put in our...
Last year I tried growing potatoes for the first time with unexpected success. I always try to grow varieties that are out of the ordinary so I ordered Kennebec seed potatoes rather than the russets that are carried by every grocery store. Kennebecs are much finer grained than russets and have a thinner skin. Russets have a thick skin that holds up better to harvesting with less damage. Russets have the coarse texture normally associated with potatoes and is evident regardless how they are prepa...
It looks like spring has finally sprung even though we had about five inches of snow last week and nighttime temperatures are still below freezing. That means that it's time to dust off the garden gloves and sharpen the tools. Let's garden! My first chore this year is to get the beds ready for the potatoes and onions. This is a new bed that I'm putting beside the lavender field so it'll take some work. Fortunately, there's already a water line at the top of the field so I can just tie into it fo...
If the drought of the past two years has taught us anything it should be that we should be planting more native species of plants and plants that will help protect our homes and property from fire. We've been fortunate that we haven't had any severe fires recently in our region but the threat is always there and we have had extensive grassland fires in the past. In the long run fires are a benefit to the ecology but in the short term they destroy grassland (pasture) and threaten structures. As...
It's starting to get warm and new grass is coming up. Unfortunately, so are the noxious weeds. I walked the pasture this week and found dalmatian toadflax poking its first growth out of the ground. Toadflax is one of these weeds we need to plan for now and be ready to start controlling them as soon as they begin to emerge. Mow is the time to get them under control. Dalmatian toadflax is my greatest concern. One of Wyoming's most prolific noxious weeds, it's actually a pretty flower and about as...
Many people think of cacti as succulent plants. A succulent is a plant that stores water in various parts of the plant against those times when water is short. The common picture we envision is the cactus in the desert. In horticulture, however, the cactus isn't considered a succulent. The term is reserved for those plants that are commonly used for ornamental purposes and cacti are excluded. In botanical circles, succulents include cacti because of the classical definition of the term. Most...
Some people say there is nothing to do in Laramie County. That wasn't the case this past week. If you're into learning you had plenty to keep you busy. The Wyoming Bee College, the Garden-to-Market Conference, and a special workshop in Burns on how to make chapstick were just some of the events taking place. If you wanted to attend the Wyoming Bee College and missed it, I feel terribly sorry for you. This was most likely the last time it will be offered. With our County Horticulturalist retiring...
Last week we talked primarily about getting a lawn started and annual fertilizing. The one thing I forgot to mention last week about fertilizing is that you should only fertilize in the spring and only once with a high Nitrogen fertilizer. If you use Nitrogen fertilizer later in the year it could slow down the lawn's move into dormancy because it will think it should still be growing. If it isn't dormant when the cold weather strikes, you have set yourself up for severe winter kill. Never a good...
It's that time of year again when we all start thinking of our lawns. I'm seeing some of the native grasses starting to green-up but surprisingly some of the non-native plants, like toadflax and cheatgrass, aren't. Usually it's the other way around. But that's okay. Nature has a way of taking care of itself. Of course, we like to help it along when it comes to our yards and wanting that picture-perfect lawn. If you are putting in a new lawn from seed there are a few things to consider. To begin...
