Serving all of Eastern Laramie County since 1908
Serving all of Eastern Laramie County since 1908
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I harvested my first pinto beans yesterday to try a new baked bean recipe. It was good but not as good as my wife's recipe. That's the best way to use those vegetables you been growing all summer...direct from the garden to the table. Unfortunately it doesn't work that way for long. If you did well you'll have more vegetables than you can possibly eat right away. So what are you going to do with all the vegetables that you have stacked in those boxes, filling your kitchen, your garage or...
In 1985 the Air Force decided to move me from Rapid City, South Dakota to Spokane, Washington. Just a routine assignment as far as the base goes but the experiences outside of work were out of this world. Before we got to the base we visited the World Fair in Vancouver, British Columbia. That was a once-in-a-lifetime experience that I'll never forget. But the longer lasting experiences were the orchards and the fruit trees that were everywhere. The base itself was covered with fruit trees. Each...
Although it's hard to believe, it's September and winter is right around the corner. Today I'm expecting another 90 plus degree day with no rain in sight and low humidity. That we're already dry is no revelation to anyone but this puts our winter preparation into high gear to get ready for what some are predicting to be a colder, wetter winter season, starting in December. I'm actually hoping for another month of warm weather. It doesn't have to be as hot as it is now but planting garlic and...
This is the first year I've tried potatoes so I'm completely unfamiliar with growing and harvesting. So far, the growing piece of the equation seems to be going well. The plants are about two and a half feet tall and lush. I've been able to keep the potato beetles off so they even have most of their foliage. Last week I dug up one of the plants to see how the potatoes were developing, hoping I could start harvesting, and they weren't ready. I had about five good sized potatoes (supper) and a...
Where has the summer gone? It seems like I just planted a few weeks ago and now it's the end of August and harvest is just around the corner. I've been harvesting tomatoes and peppers for the last month. Cabbage is ready now and the squash and potatoes are only a few weeks out. In fact, I'll probably dig one potato plant in the next week or so to see how they're coming along. Right now I'm looking at starting to harvest them in late September but we'll see. The garlic is already harvested and...
Saturday night I had the unique opportunity to attend the Live Fire Farm to Table event presented by Visit Cheyenne and the Wyoming Department of Tourism and hosted by Rabou Farms north of Albin, Wyoming. I wasn't completely sure what to expect but it sounded intriguing. It turned out to be exactly what the name implied, a meal cooked over an open fire using locally produced meats and vegetables. It was a night I'll never forget. The night started about 5 pm with a social hour (or three) with...
Lowing cows, squealing pigs, bleating sheep, clucking chickens and the delighted screams of kids being squirted with water and jumping in the bounce house fill the air with a cacophony of sound only found at a county fair. The Laramie County Fair is Wyoming's oldest and largest county fair, held for the first time in September 1886. That first fair offered $7,000 in premiums, an unheard of amount at the time. In 2021 the fair paid out over $32,000 in premiums. It's easy to understand why our...
Have you ever wondered why you can walk into some homes and they just smell fresh? Not heavy with scents, but just fresh? If you look around you will most likely find several plants around the house. Not necessarily flowering plants, although they are the most fragrant, but a wide variety of plants. Fragrances can overpower odors but respiration will remove odors. Some people will be skeptical. Can plants really purify the air in our homes? That's a good question. Some researchers, such as...
Whenever I mention the word "squash" most people I talk to immediately think zucchini and roll their eyes. It's almost like I'd said a dirty word. I think it's because zucchini is so prolific that most of us plant way too much and start looking for ways to get rid of it. I remember planting zucchini in my small garden at the USAF Academy in Colorado Springs and, like so many others, I planted far too many plants. I had no idea how many fruits each plant would produce. I started giving it away...
As I drive past some of the homes in our county housing developments, and even visiting with people, I'm often disheartened by the poor prairie management practices I observe. Last year about this time Laramie County entered into a drought that continues to this day. You'd think that with the rain we've had over the past few weeks we'd be out of the drought but, in reality, it's gotten worse. All of Laramie County is in a severe drought except for the southeast corner which is in extreme drought...
At least it feels like it sometimes. No, there aren't any body snatchers around. At least that I know of. But at this time of year the noxious weeds seem to be taking over. As I walked through a pasture of cheatgrass recently I felt like it was "snatching" me. I rail often about dalmatian toadflax as one of our greatest weed problems but it isn't the only one. Among the list of many plant species that are considered to be invasive there are two others that are at the top of the list with...
Last week I discussed the health benefits of garlic. This is one of the more fascinating plants I've grown, not just for health, but for flavor as well. It's a plant that anyone can grow with little effort. I will throw out a word of caution here. Although you can go to the store and buy a garlic bulb it won't be a variety that will thrive in Wyoming. Nearly all of the garlic in the store is a variety called California White. It requires a warmer climate and a longer growing season. You may be a...
It's just about the season to start harvesting garlic so it's time to talk about this fascinating plant. Garlic is an herb that's not only good but it can make a dull dish exciting. People have added garlic to foods to enhance flavor for thousands of years. Take a bland dish, add a few sprinkles of garlic and, VOILA, it suddenly takes on an entirely new flavor and goes from a boring and totally unremarkable food to something full of flavor that we'll anxiously devour. Garlic is historically...
This past few weeks I've been traveling the county, mostly the eastern side, and I've noticed signs that soil health is deteriorating. Mind you, I'm not seeing these signs from the road necessarily. I'm visiting people and looking at their yards and pastures while visiting. Everything seems to be in pretty bad shape. I checked my lavender and elderberry this afternoon and they're struggling pretty hard. I will probably lose some of them. It doesn't take a lot of thought to realize that the...
Kinda', somewhat, maybe. Or not. With downcast eyes and a cowed demeanor, I have to admit that I never liked tomatoes. Everybody around me would put raw, sliced tomatoes on their sandwiches or even just eat the fruit by itself. But me, no, I just couldn't stand them. UNTIL! Yes, until I tried a tomato right off the vine. Suddenly I fell in love with this terrific, tasty fruit. I don't quite understand this phenomena because I've always loved ketchup, pizza, marinara sauce, spaghetti sauce and...
It's that time of year again. Time to submit your entries for the Laramie County Fair. The Laramie County Fair is the largest and oldest county fair in Wyoming. And guess what? It's not just for kids. While the 4-H and FFA classes draw a lot of attention there is a whole lot more to the fair that includes adults, too. The Fair Book is available online at www.laramiecountyevents.com/fair/. The Fair Book is where you'll find all the information available about the fair and what you can enter. I...
When I first started gardening, and I mean something besides just zucchini, I just planted whatever seeds I wanted directly in the ground and expected them to grow and produce the vegetables that I wanted. Sometimes they did and sometimes they didn't. It seems like zucchini is what a lot of gardeners start out with because it nearly always grows and produces very well. Did I say, "very well"? I mean to say that it produces an overabundance of fruits. In fact, my neighbors started locking their...
As the gardening season gets underway I've found a great deal of pleasure and enjoyment watching my granddaughter learn about plants and working in the garden. She's about two and a half now and still loves to be outside with us. A version of this article ran about a year ago but having her with me in the garden this year has been so much fun I had to speak to the topic of gardening with children again. She is actually starting to learn about the plants and she still mimics our actions. She...
French fries, mashed potatoes, hash browns, baked potatoes, potato chips...few vegetables have a greater diversity that the potato. This is my favorite vegetable and with as many as are sold in this country I'd guess that you probably like them pretty well, too. The potato is one of the few vegetables that originated in the United States and migrated around the world. In fact, after being introduced to Ireland it saved the country from famine on many occasions. Of course there's always another...
I'm feeling pretty good about the work I've done on my garden and flower bed irrigation systems since last year. We have several rose bushes that were transplanted from my in-laws farmstead in Nebraska nearly 20 years ago that have never had any significant amount of water. It isn't that I didn't care but flowers just aren't at the top of my priority list. I think about running water to them every year then get tied up doing something else. Last year I finally buckled down and put in an...
It's spring and everything seems to be coming to life. Birds are nesting, yards are turning into jungles, and trees and shrubs are budding out. This is the perfect time to plant new trees. Actually you can plant a tree anytime as long as you can get the shovel in the ground. But spring will give your tree the best chance at survival. New trees can come from a variety of sources, but there are some things to consider before you purchase. To begin with, ask yourself what you want the tree for. Is...
Last year we had consistent warm weather by now and this year I'm hot one day and freezing the next, always looking for more rocks to stuff into my pockets. But that doesn't mean there isn't anything to do to get ready for those spring gardening projects. Time moves on regardless of the weather and it'll be time to plant before you know it. I've been working in the greenhouse all winter and by about 9 am it's easy to work in a tee shirt. That environment set me to thinking about what I needed...
This week I finished one harvest. Asparagus. Besides green peas, asparagus is one of my most favorite vegetables. In fact, just because the harvest is done doesn't mean that I'm finished cutting it. While I'm out weeding or working in the garden, I've been known to cut a spear or two and eat fresh, right there, as a snack. Just like picking the currants as a snack later in the season. Not only is asparagus tasty, but it contains a whole bunch of nutrients. And fresh asparagus is even better....
Earlier we talked about getting a lawn started and annual fertilizing. I did forget to mention that when sowing your seed, make two passes at right angles to each other. You'll get better coverage. Now I want to cover what comes after your seed comes up and you have this beautiful new grass. Don't worry that it looks a bit sparse. If you had good seed and planted correctly it will fill in with time. Now it's time to move into maintenance. Fertilizing is on most everybody's mind at this time of...
If there was ever a time to start growing your own vegetables this may be it. Joe Biden has recently informed us that we will face food shortages this year. Not "may", but "will". What does he know that we don't? I don't know but it sounds ominous to me. If you've been paying attention you seen prices rise on nearly every commodity on the market. I was appalled at the price of a sheet of OSB lumber, going from $15 a sheet to more than $60 almost overnight. Gas prices are more than double what...