Anyone here on the Front Range in CO?

I'm in CS as well, Austin Bluffs area. I just discovered the site and hope to get a few gardens put in this spring. Any helpful tips appreciated! Especially when it comes to deer/rabbit issues. We back up to open space. I use what we fondly call "poop spray" on my flower beds and for the most part it works, but I don't want to use that on my veggies! We are thinking a fence is the best option.

Rachel

Nice to hear from you.
Feel free to ask questions, we have some very helpful members that would be glad to assist you. If you get a chance, please look through the various forum topics and you may find suggestions that you can use as well as answers to some of your questions.

I use deer netting to protect my veggies from the critters looking fondly at the vegetable buffet in my garden.
It can be used as a fence, or you can build a hoop or other structure over your bed on which to hang the deer netting. I don't have a problem with diggers, such as voles, moles, and such, but several members have commented that they install chicken wire or hardware cloth on the ground, then weedcloth, then their Mels Mix.

Let us know how your garden progresses.

Again, Welcome

Welcome to the forums Rachel!

I'm sure you'll find lots of helpful tips around here. One of my favorite things about square foot gardening is that IT'S EASY! So stick around and I'm sure you'll be having fun times around here.

Welcome to the forum, Rachel.

If you do a search of the site you should find plenty of discussions about keeping out deer and other critters. Voles are the bane of my existence. So far the deer have kept away - knock on wood.

Keep us posted on how your garden grows, and remember that we love photos.

Denver here (80211)...and just planted spinach and peas since the weather has been crazy warm. Too early for carrots/lettuce?

Hi,

I'm in Lafayette, CO. I'm new not only to the forums but SFG. Trying to soak up as much info as I can while I'm in the planning stages.

Firegirl wrote:Hi,

I'm in Lafayette, CO. I'm new not only to the forums but SFG. Trying to soak up as much info as I can while I'm in the planning stages.

Firegirl

Welcome to the forum and Welcome to SFG. Have you finished reading Mel's book, ALL NEW SQUARE FOOT GARDENING?
It is full of easy to understand information and gives the details on Mel's Mix, grids and plant spacing. I hope you have your copy there.

This is a great group of people and they enjoy helping when you have questions. Take some time and wander thru the various forums to find information on compost, where to find vermiculite, and other helpful subjects. If you still need help, just holler!

Please keep us updated on your progress and remember, we LOVE pictures.

I too, am new here, just joined from Parker, Colorado
Trying to find my way around the site, as I'm not computer savy.
We have horses, poultry and 5+ acres. Where do I get a recipe for the mix that I'm suppose to be using in the boxes?
Thanks
Sandi

Sandy, glad you joined us.

First things first. You really would benefit from reading the book ALL NEW SQUARE FOOT GARDENING. If you don't wish to purchase the book (though it is a great reference and I go back and check things in my book all the time) you may be able to borrow it from your local library.

Mel's Mix is a combination of 1/3 vermiculite, 1/3 peat moss and 1/3 blended compost. These are measured by volume, not weight.
Try to purchase vermiculite in 4 cu ft bags, it is much less expensive that way than trying to add together the small bags.

Peat moss usually comes bagged in compressed bales. It actually fluffs up to almost twice the volume listed so a 2.2 cu ft bale would make about 4 cu ft of fluffed peat moss.

You really want to have at least five types of compost that you would blend together to provide the best range of nutrients for your plants.

Not brands, but types of ingredients such as,

composted forestry products,

composted cow manure,

composted chicken manure,

worm castings,

mushroom compost,

rabbit manure

leaf mold

Some brand names might include

"Garden Manure": a mix of at least cow and hen manure, and possibly more

"Organic Compost": shrimp and seaweed blended compost.

Penobscot Blend: salmon, mussels, and blueberries (with peat moss).

Quoddy Blend: crab, lobster, and aspen bark.

and if a package says just garden compost, check out the list of ingredients, you really don't want to be too heavy in peat moss and some brands are compost blended with peat moss. That is not to say they are bad, just try to keep your total peat moss at 1/3 of your volume.

Hope this helps. And please keep us updated on your progress.

Sometimes it is heartbreaking being a gardener in Colorado. What I have learned so far:

Hail will destroy EVERYTHING in the garden usually once every other year

Don't plant the tomatoes until June 1st

Be prepared to lose all of your seedlings you started in the basement and have to buy plants at the garden center

However:

There is nothing like picking your salad outside and eating it out there too.

Sugar Snap Peas never make it into the house.

My neighbors are envious

My children know where carrots come from

No shoes allowed in the garden

I have used the SFG method for over 10 years and have grown the garden to 144 square feet now. We do give a lot away to friends and neighbors and have a great sense of community as a result of our garden. Love it! We are in Parker and it is challenging with our short season and funky weather but the rewards are well worth it!

Okie Angi

Really glad to have you join us. The challanges of short seasons and extreme weather are a bear to handle.

You've been doing SFG for 10 years? Well, that is wonderful, we enjoy having gardeners with experience join our group. Have you updated to the ALL NEW SQUARE FOOT GARDENING BOOK that came out in 2006? The first book was great and full of information. The second from 2006 sure makes life in the garden even easier.

Please keep us updated on your progress, plant more sugar snaps so some can make it into the house, and post pictures when you can. We love pictures.

Also in the CO front range here, though a bit further up the mountains in Evergreen. I'm amazed at how many people here are from our ornery state with its unpredictable spring weather. I'm just today planting most of my seedlings out - at 8000 feet, the cool's hung on a little longer than in Denver - and hoping for a good season.

Good luck to all of you, we all need it

Fairly new to SFG here in Longmont, CO... wondering how your SFGs are coming along? Supposed to reach 100 degrees again today! Anyone using shade cloth?

Front Range Garden Girl

It has been way to hot and dry around here lately to only be June
I'm not using any shade cloth and my plants seem fine so far. They might get a little bit stressed during the hottest parts of the day, but once it cools off in the late evening and early morning hours, the plants seem just fine.

I know this is an old thread, but I'm replying anyway. I've transitioned back and forth between sfg and longer 4' wide beds - but always with the high intensity gardening idea in mind.

It's been so dang hot this year that I'm having all kinds of problems that I'm not used to having. The leaves on my tomatoes are yellowing and browning. I've also got blossom end rot (inconsistent watering and calcium deficiency). It's bumming me out! I've usually got bumper crops from very well-amended soils (over 12 years now of working it) and lots of organic, well rotted, homemade compost.

I want to divy up my long, 20' x 4' bed back into the 4'x4' versions, but also want to add some perennial beds for raspberries, strawberries, and asparagus. Right now, the berries are in the long bed and the asparagus is in a flower bed. The work never ends! :-)

Know this is an old thread but wanted to bump it up a bit.

I lived in Erie, CO about 12 years ago and had the most beautiful square foot garden using the old method and a little "lasagna" gardening. Getting composted manure was easily available. The ground was mostly clay, but after all those years of composted stuff it was easily worked.

I moved down to Pueblo, and the first place I moved into I had a mostly flower garden, but I only lived there for a couple of years. We moved into this house with huge trees which was great during the summer as it helped keep the house cool during the summer months. It was fairly easy to start a lawn, but I wanted some flowers and veggies. I quickly found that the soil here was mostly sandy and FIRE ANTS attacked the small veggie garden and me. I tried for about 3 more years and said enough and just gardened in containers. Last year I decided Im gonna try sfg again and hopefully I can outwit those fire ants. and the hail. I will still put flowers and some herbs in containers, but Im hoping with the chicken wire covering and the plastic covering that I wont lose plants to hail. Still searching for a solution for the fire ants if they decide to come back.

We lived in the People's Republic of Boulder and found gardening to be one major pain.

When you have snow as late as Memorial Day and as early as Labor Day with over a foot on both days in the same year, it leaves you with a tiny window to grow veggies that are not frost-hardy.

When you have temperatures that start the day at 50 and reach 105 by afternoon, you don't have many options with cold-weather crops.

Our yard's soil was mostly sand, and the only things that grew in it were wild sage and yucca.

So, we planted in containers, and the deer and elk thought we were serving them. They came right onto our patio and left us their fertilizer gifts.

We gave up after the blizzard of 2003 and joined a CSA.

Good luck to you out there. It is not easy unless you are like our former trust-funder neighbor who took one bedroom of her abode and turned it into an "herb garden."

The front range is pretty much like anyplace else. You learn to adapt and work with the conditions you are given.

did you blink? Yesterday was Spring and today is the first day of summer

Has anyone started seeds yet? I'm in Boulder and was planning on starting a few today (tomatoes, brussels sprouts, broccoli), but am nervous that I'm too early! I'm obviously new to this, and have never started seeds indoors, any advice would be very much appreciated.

Hi Efisher, this is the site I use for good timing in planting. Just input your zip code.
http://www.almanac.com/gardening/planting-dates/NH/Keene

Efisher, already started tomatoes, hot peppers and eggplants. The tomatoes are already up with seed leaves showing. The peppers and eggplants will probably take just a little bit longer. Planted some old leek seed but I dont know if its viable, its mostly wait and see with that.

Thanks Lillyz, glad to know I'm on the right track. Camprn, that link was very helpful and showed I'm definitely not too early. I went ahead and started tomatoes, scallions, and some herbs tonight. We'll see how it goes!

efisher06 wrote:Has anyone started seeds yet? I'm in Boulder and was planning on starting a few today (tomatoes, brussels sprouts, broccoli), but am nervous that I'm too early! I'm obviously new to this, and have never started seeds indoors, any advice would be very much appreciated.

Efisher, you are right on time! The 13-23 is prime planting time for these plants. I started brussel sprouts on the the 13 and will be sowing tomatoes, ground cherries and peppers this weekend.

I have finally decided to raise my gardening to a whole new level...my deck, to keep from competing with the voracious deer in my back yard. They will have to learn to climb steps to get to the goods and as a bonus, am adding castors to my boxes in order to rescue from hail under the eaves of my porch.

Melodiesue