Posts from — March 2009

You’ve decided to grow your own transplants this year. You’ve checked your average last frost date, so you know when to start. Now it’s time to think about seeds.

The seed catalogs that arrived around the first of the year are now well-worn, with pages dog-eared and varieties circled. I spent blissful hours going through every one, comparing glowing descriptions and luscious photographs. Having a pre-determined planting list[1] and budget helped me exercise at least some self control. I finally made my order about a month ago, which is much later than usual. Now I’m haunting the mailbox, waiting for my seeds to arrive. Next year I’ll make a point of ordering in January, so I’m prepared when spring comes.

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Crumbly potting soil, warm water, tiny seeds—I love starting my veggie garden. Even though we had almost a foot of snow two days ago, I was happily planting lettuce and tomatoes, peppers, broccoli, kale and cabbage. When your growing season is as short as mine is, it’s essential to start many crops indoors.

Of course, you can buy started seedlings at your local garden center. But where’s the fun in that? I prefer to take advantage of the wider selection of varieties found in the seed catalogs. I want seedlings that are stocky and healthy, not leggy and root-bound. Plus, there’s a certain satisfaction in knowing that you grew your plants yourself.

The first step to success is planning. What is the average last frost date for your area? You can ask a gardening friend, contact your local Master Gardener help desk, or check the Farmer’s Almanac website.

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The following article was first published by the Colorado Springs Gazette on March 21, 2009:

A brightly colored hummingbird zooms past on its way to a feeder. A finch fills the air with music. Birds provide us with hours of entertainment. How can you welcome more wild birds into your yard?

Like other animals, birds have a basic need for five essential elements: water, food, shelter, safety from predators, and a place to raise their young. While it’s fun to provide bird houses and feeders full of seed, you can design your landscape to offer these necessities and truly give yourself a yard for the birds.

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In my previous posting, I described a number of so-called “minor bulbs” that can have a major impact in the late winter garden. This time, I’ll focus on how to grow them.

Allium

You have to plan ahead to enjoy these little beauties. They all need to be planted in the fall, early enough so that they put out some root growth before the ground freezes. Most aren’t easy to find at local stores, and must be ordered from a catalog or online. I prefer to make my decisions on next year’s order while this year’s plants are in bloom.

Unlike the giant hybrids, these bulbs should increase year after year. Since they will be left undisturbed during that time, preparing the soil before planting is especially critical.

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Nothing lifts our spirits like the first crocuses of spring. They are popping up all over town, like bright Easter eggs in our dreary gardens. After months of plants that are brown and lifeless, spring blooming bulbs are an almost magical treat.

Everyone is familiar with tulips and daffodils, and crocuses and hyacinths are recognizable as well, but the assortment of bulbs available to high altitude gardens extends past these familiar flowers. The following flowers are classified as “minor bulbs,” perhaps due to their diminutive size, but they can have a major impact when planted in large enough numbers.

Among the earliest blooms, pushing up through the snow, are the aptly named Snowdrops (Galanthus). They consist of a few strap-like leaves and three drooping white petals resembling drops of milk (Galanthus means milk). While we may be hungry for brighter colors than white, we can’t afford to be too choosy at this time of year.

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BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM! My story about flickers was fictionalized, but based on personal experience. Last spring, flickers really did invade our home.

By August, my husband and I realized we’d nailed scraps of wood across 15 large flicker-sized holes. Piles of fluffy insulation littered the ground beneath each one. That fall we replaced much of the cedar siding on our house, to the tune of over a thousand dollars. The question became critical: What could we do to prevent the birds from drilling into our new wood?

A lot of people must be having the same problem. A quick web search turned up plenty of suggestions, but not much in the way of success stories. Inflatable owls don’t work—the birds are smarter than that. Flickers quickly become accustomed to hanging strips of aluminum, Mylar balloons, and small colored windmills. What else could we do?

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BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM. I was awakened early this morning by insistently loud hammering on the metal chimney guard on our roof. Yup, it’s that time again. Our resident Northern Flicker is announcing his ownership of our property. This year we’re ready. But last year we had a major issue with these woodpeckers. They drove my husband crazy, and inspired me to write the following story:

Not even the cat is awake before 5 am. Soft snoring comes from the bedroom, darkened by shades against the early appearance of the sun this time of year. It’s a lazy Saturday morning in mid-March. Nothing important is scheduled for hours. Later there will be errands to run, chores to catch up on, phones ringing and dishes. Right now, all is peaceful, all is calm.

BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM

Like a staccato burst of machine gun fire, the noise reverberates off the metal gutters directly outside our bedroom window.

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