Photo & Video Sharing by SmugMug

Check out this video of my homemade fountain. Click on the video image above.  It’s only 20 seconds long.

This fountain is easy and relatively cheap to make.  It attracts all sorts of birds (which makes me very happy).

In the next little while I’ll make a video showing you the components of what went into making this super easy fountain.

 

 

 

 

Growing Warm Season Vegetables

Colorado State University Extention

Yes, there are some veggies you can put in the ground as early as April.  But others need to WAIT until the temperatures at night are 50 degrees or higher.  Check out the link above for information on what can go in the ground AFTER the last frost date here in the Front Range.  If you are like me and don’t want to check the weather forecast, just shoot for Mother’s Day, knowing that there is little chance of a freeze overnight.  Little chance, but not impossible.

Believe me, I’ve made the mistake of putting in peppers FAR TOO EARLY.  But that is what you have to be willing to do when you garden — BE WILLING TO MAKE MISTAKES.

Growing Cool Season Vegetables In Colorado

Colorado State University Extention

image courtesy of weatherclipart.net

Here on the Colorado Front Range, you can have an early spring, a summer and a fall vegetable garden by planting cool and warm season vegetables. Cool season?  Yes, you CAN plant vegetables as early as April (sometimes as early as March) for an early summer harvest and again in mid-to-late July for a fall harvest.

Cool season veggies like cooler weather.  This is why they are labeled cool (or sometimes cold) season.

Go to the link above to read more about these vegetables who like to chill.

 

Freezing Basil Is So Easy!

Freezing basil in olive oil is so easy.  And I’m so glad for this because I grow a lot of genovese basil (pictured here).  By a lot I mean a ton.  By a ton, I mean enough to use while it is growing and enough to freeze to get us through the winter.  I’m married to my personal chef who loves to use basil.  Freezing it is similar to freezing oregano except you use olive oil instead of water.

Because basil grows throughout the summer and you need to pinch it back and keep it from flowering so it keeps on growing, I freeze in batches throughout July, August, September.  It’s easy so keep reading! 

trowel

Trowel and Error: Over 700 Tips, Remedies and Shortcuts for the Gardener (New York: Workman Publishing, 2003)

trowelJust the title should tell you why I love this book.   If you want to garden you have to be willing to make lots of errors.  A friend and Denver Seminary colleague gave this book to me.  It’s so easy and accessible.  And, it has the most creative illustrations.   It’s just fun to flip through.  I learn something every time I pick it up.

Vegetable Planting Guide for Colorado

June 15, 2014

Please, pretty please go to the link above for a chart that indicates WHEN you can plant your veggies.  Probably the biggest mistake a Colorado gardener makes is planting veggies at the wrong time.  For example, it took me years to learn that I can plant peas in early April for a June harvest (and again in mid/late July) for a fall harvest!

Where To Learn A Lot of Gardening Basics

June 15, 2014

I often find myself meandering over to Margaret Roach’s website.  Click on the link above.  This is a great place to learn.  But to learn here you have to NOT be intimidated.  Yes, she was a gardening editor for Martha Stewart’s Living magazine.  But we must get past that fact and learn from her.