The term "cold" in reference to plants, refer to temperature and those plants that can withstand cold nighttime and cool daytime temperatures. In fact, they not only tolerate them, but some plants thrive in them. Plants such as lettuce, radishes, peas, carrots, potatoes, and onions are cold crops. There are many more cold crops than cole crops. And these vegetables are not only good to plant in the spring, but will return an abundant crop in the cooler fall temperatures as well.

 

So how do you get ready to plant any of these? The first thing to do is to check your soil. It should be moist, but not soggy. Then amend your soil. Test your soil by going out and taking a handful and squeezing it together. If it feels sticky and clumps, you have clay soil which is very common in this area. Clay soils compact and keep the roots from getting oxygen. If it feels gritty, you have sandy soil - also common in this area. If your soil has pieces of rock, then you have rocky soil which is common in the Mancos area.

 

Amend your soil with peat moss, compost, cow manure (well aged or bagged) or our favorite, Back to Earth. Any of these will help to loosen soil and add organic matter back in so that your plants have a better chance for success.

 

If you want to start your plants from seed, begin approximately 4-6 weeks before you can set them out. In most areas, now is a good time to do this. The root crops such as potatoes, onions, beets, radishes, carrots, etc should be directly sown into the soil. They will not, or in some cases, cannot, be transplanted. Why start from seed? You'll save money. Seeds are generally less expensive than the transplants or starter plants. You'll have more varieties to choose from. While transplants are available for the most popular varieties, you'll find the more unusual and sometimes more interesting or challenging varieties are only available as seeds in our area. You can control how they're grown. If you are a fan of organic gardening, start with organic seeds and then monitor how and what is applied as they grow. And finally, it's easy and fun. Watching a seed grow is a great activity for the whole family.

 

Once the seeds or starts are planted, keep them watered and fertilized on a regular basis using a good, all-purpose fertilizer. Plants are like people, they don't like wet feet and don't like to be hungry. Most of these will grow slowly at first but the cold will not hurt them. Most will tolerate temperatures down to 25-30 degrees, but if you feel uncomfortable with that, cover with row cover or sheets in the evenings. Do not use plastic. Plastic conducts the cold and can actually damage your young plants more than protect them. There is a product called Freeze Pruf that is an inexpensive, water based formula that you spray on to plants that improves their cold tolerance. In our inconsistent Colorado weather, this product may be just what you need. The only caution is that you cannot wait to apply it until the day of the cold snap. Since it's a systemic, it must have time to work through the plant's system in order to protect it from freezing.

 

If you'd like more detailed instructions, please e-mail or call us. We'll be happy to help with specific plant variety recommendations for your area, or additional help in preparing your garden.

 

Depending on the weather, the amount of sunshine, and the temperatures, some of the cold and cole crops that are planted now, could be harvested as early as late-April to early-May. What better way to truly catch spring fever than with vegetables fresh from the garden?

 

Want to learn more this spring? Click here for a list of our upcoming classes!

One of the requests that came to us from a customer this winter, was to help her, as a beginning gardener, know what to plant and when. So here's what's up and blooming at the garden center or what's in store and ready to purchase for your garden now.

 

~Sweet Pea Vines- a wonderful cold tolerant plant. Fragrant and colorful, these little gems are a great spring plant and can also be planted in many areas now.

 

~Tomatoes- Yes! We have tomatoes up and ready to take home. These are available in 2.5" starter plants and also gallons for those of you who just can't wait for that first taste of summer.  The gallon plants are even starting to flower. These would have to be kept indoors, or in your greenhouse, for the present time.

 

~Onion sets, seed potatoes. Plant these along with your cold crops as soon as the ground is workable in your area.

 

~Seeds of all kinds have arrived. If you want to start your seedlings early, indoors, now is the time to do that for many plants.

The folks at Four Seasons love to tease me because when I travel I invariably come home with a list of new ideas and thoughts and end up driving them crazy. "Oh geesh- we let her OUT AGAIN!" Well, the weather has been so poor that last week I decided that it was time for a road trip. Thanks to Brad and Ken at Watters Garden Center in Prescott, AZ for being such gracious hosts not only to me, but also to three of my fellow Four Seasons folks that went along for the trip. Now the rest of the crew is wondering what they've done- they let four of us out at once! And we came back with many lists of great ideas to make your experiences with us even better. Whether you're looking for icicle radishes or snow peas, we're all ready for spring!