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Here I am in the mountains of Colorado and we had a horrible spring. A late frost that was worse than forecast killed all my hand grown heirloom tomatoes so I broke down and put in some nursery stock, early girl and celebrity. They've been in two weeks now and they look okay if not great...

Well I use the round soaker hoses in my raised beds, laying them down lengthwise and back and forth, with about 2ft between courses. And over the hoses and in between plants, I mulch with straw. This works fine for my beds, but I have a heavy soil that holds water pretty well. But this might...

You are far from alone. I am here in the Colorado Rockies about an hour's drive from Aspen. Sunny Colorado, right? Not this year. Grim, grey, episodes of horrible wind and unusual cold fronts. My greens and potatoes are fine, but my beautiful heirloom tomatoes are struggling even in their...

Wow! That's a lot of info. Unfortunately, here in the Colorado Rockies, I have to take advantage of microclimates, ie only one spot really warm enough for a decent tomato crop and I have to grow tomatoes. If the Lord would tell me when we will have an unusually warm summer, I would plant them...

Do any of you use one of the newer reel mowers -- the ones that use no power. What has your experience been? Can you recommend a model? We live in the Colorado Rockies and have a lawn consisting of a dryland pasture mix. (We water it but if we didn't it would survive quite a while). We like...

Well you all have to pray for my tomato plants. I live at 6500 ft in the Colorado Rockies not far from Aspen. This has been my first year starting stuff in my new grow light setup I got my husband to make for me. Three shelves of 4ft long lights. It has been great since we have had the...

Well when you first put transplants out, it's a good idea to cover them with something like remay or agribon. These fabrics come in various weights, let in varying amounts of light, but they all breathe, protect from wind and scorching sun and even frost. I usually leave the fabric on three to...

I would love some tiger lilly bulbs. When should I plant them? I live in the Colorado Rockies at an elevation of 6500 ft. My address is 288 Cabin Drive, Carbondale, Co 81623. I should send you some $ to defray cost of sending them. You can email me at marypboland@sopris.net...

Have you ever considered using agribon instead of plastic. It's a remay like fabric that breathes, holds up better in wind and comes in various thicknesses for various levels of frost protection and light transmission. Also you can buy clips that fit various sizes of PVC pipe. Check out...

Well if you have raised beds, it's a simple matter to make hoop frames with pieces of rebar stuck in the ground and then bending some of those hollow plastic tubes (what are they called? -- PVC?) over them. Then you can cover the frames with a remay type product -- I use agribon which comes in...

I don't enclose my potato bed and I live on a fairly windy mesa here in western Colorado. Since you add the straw gradually around the plants as the plants grow up, the plants and the wetness of the straw (because you're watering) hold the straw in place. I don''t know about heat for sure but...

Well instead of hilling, I just plant them about 3-4" deep, then as they grow, I keep adding straw all around and the potatoes form in the top few inches of soil or the straw. I end up with maybe 6-8" or more of deep straw. Harvesting is easy -- just pull back the straw, pick up what formed in...

Your method of soil preparation is an old technique called "sheet composting." I used it to build all my garden beds. The first year I just planted field peas in the hay and manure mix late enough that frost got them before they had peas. Then next spring turned that in and planted a variety...

Well I have messed around with cold frames for years, but was never too pleased with the results. This year I went a completely different route. I bought three 4' long grow lights with the fixtures for hanging on chains (to adjust heights) and got my husband to make me a 52" tall stand with...

Hi, I have a fruitful garden of 5 raised beds, each 5' by 15'. One bed lies just along the South side of my yellow metal barn and is thus very warm. This is where I have grown tomatoes. Then I grow beans in the next bed north, and greens, then potatoes as main crops in the two remaining...