General Info: Beans are members of the legume family. Legumes are “givers” – essential for good crop rotations. Their roots have a symbiotic relationship with microbes that help fix nitrogen. All varieties prefer a non-acid soil (pH 6.0-7.5) with plenty of organic matter.

Seeds: Come in a range of shapes and sizes from small roundish shell beans to large flat fava beans. Seeds store for 2 years (or longer in the fridge) and germinate in 7 -14 days. [Read more…] about Bountiful Beans

General Info: Lettuce is a cool loving, fast growing, leafy annual that does not like high heat or direct summer sun. It tastes best when grown quickly in moist, fertile, mineral-rich soil.

Seeds: Small, black or white seeds shaped like arrowheads. Seeds store for 3 years and germinate in 6 -12 days.

Varieties: Hundreds of varieties that fall generally into the following categories: [Read more…] about Lovely Lettuce

Gardening Resources Questionnaire

This questionnaire looks at the assets and challenges you bring to starting and maintaining your garden.  What intentions, knowledge and means can you personally invest in your garden? [Read more…] about What Kind of Gardener are You?

Most people have grown a plant in a pot. Growing vegetables in containers is similar but needs a little more care and attention, particularly at the start. The idea is to reproduce a mini garden ecology. Disregard advice that suggests mono-crops in soilless potting mixes with chemical fertilizers. Think rich moist soil, mulches, companion planting and micro-environments. [Read more…] about Growing Veggies in Containers

There are many styles of compost making. Over the years, I have developed a set of procedures that are simple and effective for my Colorado environment. Making compost is similar to cooking: you start with a basic recipe and then adjust it to your specific situation. The basic compost ingredients are: organic materials, air, water, microbes and heat. [Read more…] about Secrets of Making Compost

I was 18 years old, living in the far west of Ireland, when Paddy Daly taught me how to make my first raised bed to grow potatoes.  Paddy was younger than I, only 15 and very quiet – but he could dig a trench quick as a plow.  He came from the farm at the end of the boreen, the narrow dirt track that passed Eskeraha farm on the Sheeps Head peninsula, where I lived and worked.  The Daly clan had cultivated long rows of lazy-beds in the Irish peaty soil for generations.  You could see the wave-like ripples along the length of small walled fields, stretching off to the cliffs and Atlantic ocean. [Read more…] about Creating a Raised Garden Bed

I ask a lot from my soil. The very same patch of soil may grow collards, lettuce, beans and turnips all within one year. To keep the soil healthy and fertile, I have a simple regimen: homemade compost, compost tea and cover crops. Cover crops, or green manures, are a crucial element of sustainable organic cultivation — not only for soil renovation, protection and nourishment but also to control weeds, disease and pests. [Read more…] about Cover Crops and Green Manure

Water is a scarce and precious commodity here in the high desert of Colorado. The State water laws are labyrinthine, the cause of bitter wrangling and pitched battles. Luckily I have my own well, plunging 600 feet deep through the granite, tapping an underground stream fed from snow melt. I know there is plenty of water down there. [Read more…] about Moisture in the Soil