Garlic

During my fathers visit this fall he brought me several garlic heads that he grew in his own garden in Texas.  I have never grown garlic before so there is no better time than the present!  Fall is the time to plant so I selected the largest bulbs and planted a dozen or so.  As a general rule, seeds and bulbs are planted at a depth that equals their height.  So for these, about 1.5 inches.  These are large bulbs with a mild flavor.  It will be fun to see how they do next fall.  I plan to mulch them in with some leaves to protect them.  Hopefully they are not too soft given that they came from Texas!

Millions of Peaches

This is my peach tree.  Just a little tyke in the world of peach trees and hardly more than about 7' tall.  It has been in the ground two seasons now.  The warm spring brought tons of little peaches.  I picked about 50% off to start as I knew there was no way the tree would hold that many.  The second time I cleared another 25% as it was looking really heavy.  Last week I came home to find it nearly laying on the ground and decided it was time for a little intervention.  The peaches were mostly red so I picked 75% of them keeping the largest.  I knew there had to be a way to turn them so they didn't go to waste.

A google search turned up the following idea.  I placed them in the basement between two tea towels.  Carefully laying them in one layer, stem side down and not touching, I tucked them in. About one week later, I have some wonderfully ripe peaches!  I wish I had kept the small ones too but it will be wonderful when the few left on the tree ripen naturally.  It seems pretty common to think they can be put in a paper bag to ripen but most of the research I turned up discouraged it.

The birds are coming now.  Pecking at the ones that are visible.  After the birds come the ants come.  I hope there are a few ripe ones left on that that tree for me!

If you were wondering, I picked this tree up at Happy Life Gardens here in Greeley.  It is a Red Haven Peach.  I couldn't be happier with the selection!

To share...

I will be dividing many of my iris this season.  Let me know if you are interested.

Promises of Spring

Peach

Strawberry

Pear

Cherry

Has this gentle spring promised you plenty of fall harvest?

Dig it and its yours!

• Chives
• Mint
• Dandelions
• Tickseed Coreopsis
• Purple
• Lambs Ear

Email: UrbanFarmGirlz@gmail.com

Garden Clean Up

I cannot believe it is the first of April and I am half done with all of the garden clean up!  I have been furiously trimming, cutting, moving and dividing!  Spring is a great time to share plant material.  Be sure to be take inventory while you move through your gardens.  I will post a list soon.

Seed Share

The past ten days have been terrific garden weather!  I have seen sprinklers watering, heard mowers running and witnessed lots of people working on spring clean up!  Hard not to do when the weather has been in the upper 70's!  Some of you have probably already started your seeds, some of you are just starting to think about it...regardless, remember that this is a good time for sharing!  Hardly ever does anyone need the 30 seeds in the zucchini packet and most likely they will go bad before you get to planting them all.  We all know one plant will have your family hating zucchini by the end of summer so consider sharing or making available what you have  extra!

Happy Valentines Day!

Don't forget to get your sweetie something special!  You can often find garden items on sale this time of year as retailers try to jump start the garden season and get everyone in the mood.  I for one am ready!

Colorado Master Gardener Progam

Have you ever considered a Master Gardener Program? I myself, would love to! The only thing holding me back is the mid week schedule and the fee. But maybe, you are in the position to consider it. This is a great local and comprehensive program put on by the Colorado State University Cooperative Extension office. It is a 60 hour program that covers everything from plant and tree disorders to pruning and where, what and how to grow. CMG certified individuals can get continuing education by volunteering in the community and attending additional training. If your interested in our local program visit the Colorado State University website.
So if you are looking for a solid background in local garden information, give it a try.
Don't delay, most Master Gardener Programs start in January!

Goings On

Mark your Calendars! Lots of cool gardening events coming up. Winter is the time to educate yourself, get new ideas and plan for a gardening season that is really not that far off! The Greeley Tribunes Home and Garden Show has announced their dates. Click the link if you would like more information on becoming a vendor! The event will take place at Island Grove Park February 24th, 25th and 26th.

Currently in session we have Greeley Winter Farmers Market. 9-Noon every first and third Saturday through April!

Greeley's Local Community Gardens has also announced their lineup of lectures! The first one is February 4th: Starting and Swapping Seeds.  Its a timely topic!

Don't miss the  Colorado Farm Show next week.  Nothing like sitting in a brand new tractor to make you feel like your a part of Colorado's agricultural scene!

I'll continue to load events into the calendar so be sure to check back regularly!