Gardening in Larimer County

Many of us these days are choosing to live in apartments, condominiums, and patio homes where there is little or no yard in which to plant flowers or a vegetable garden.  Yet, the urge to exercise our green thumb still overtakes us at times.  So, what can we do?

If you find yourself in this situation there are still several ways you can have the fun of growing things.  Give some thought to following ideas:
 

• Container gardens in half barrels or large pots are both decorative when planted with flowers as well as useful for growing some vegetables.  Many people don’t know that tomatoes, peppers, carrots, beans, lettuce and even members of the squash family can be grown in containers.  A container of moist potting soil is heavy and can be difficult to move but if mounted on sturdy casters this problem can be solved.  If left outside to grace your patio, porch or balcony, don’t forget that our intense sunlight and drying winds can require you to water them often, sometimes every day or even several times a day.  This kind of garden can even be superior to the one in a yard since you are providing the soil over which the backyard gardener often has little control.

 
• A window greenhouse that mounts on the outside or inside of one of your house windows can be a great place to grow things.  Again, remember our intense sunlight on the south side of the house.  But, that might be just the place for succulents and cacti.

 
• House plants are always a fun and inexpensive way to have some live green things close at hand.  Although vegetables are not usually grown as house plants, you can always have potted herbs on a window sill.  They are pretty, fragrant and can also make cooking more exciting.

 
• Your local library has multitude of books on the subjects outlined above.  Unlike gardening outside in the yard along the front range where books written in other parts of the country can give misleading information, container and indoor gardening are essentially the same everywhere.  Just remember to use good potting soil in the containers and pots and not soil from someone’s yard.

If you must get out in the great outdoors to satisfy your gardening desires, consider the following:
 

• A good way to have the enjoyment of flower or vegetable gardening and doing your “good turn for the day” at the same time would be to volunteer to plant or maintain the garden of an elderly or disabled neighbor.
  
  
• Your local city horticulturalist can usually use some help maintaining the flower beds around city buildings.  And, you won’t even have to buy the bedding plants.
  
  
• If the above ideas still don’t satisfy your gardening urge, find someone in your neighborhood who would like to rent out part of their back yard in which you can raise a garden.  Perhaps the rent could be a share of the produce.

Q: Is the Saturday morning Larimer County Farmer’s Market moving to a new location?

A: Yes, the Market has moved to a new location along north Mason Street, between Laporte Avenue and Maple Street, north of the new Downtown Parking Garage.  Hours will continue to be Saturday mornings 8:00 a.m. to 12 Noon through September 30.  The market will continue to have the finest in Colorado peaches, apples, melons, corn, tomatoes, peppers, honey, flowers and much more.

Q.  My fruit trees are loaded with fruit but it is all very small.  What can I do to avoid this in the future?

A.  It could be the result of our very dry winter, spring and summer.  To promote larger fruit it is usually necessary to thin the crop early in the season so that the fruit at full size are several inches apart on the branches.

Q.  A large web tent has appeared in one of my trees.  The caterpillars inside the web are eating all of the leaves.  What can I do?

A.  This sounds like the work of the fall webworm.  It is unsightly but usually does little lasting damage to the tree.  If you can reach it, simply prune the branch supporting the web.  Most common garden pesticides can also be used to deal with the webworm.  It is especially susceptible to the pyrethroids in fly and mosquito sprays.

Q.  When should I dig up my gladiola bulbs?

A.  This is a good time to dig and store cannas, gladiolas, dahlias and begonias.  Store them in slightly damp peat moss until next spring and prevent them from touching each other during storage.

The average killing frost along the Front Range is usually in mid to late September (varies according to your location) and earlier in the mountain areas.  A killing frost occurs when the temperature drops to 28 degrees.  As fall approaches, pay close attention to the weather forecast for frost warnings and be prepared to protect your plants.

Aerate your lawn this fall to decrease thatch and help eliminate soil compaction. Compaction decreases the amount of oxygen that is available to the roots.

Millipedes and boxelder bugs move inside homes following wet periods and cool weather in fall.  For information about this insect, refer to Fact Sheets #5.552 - Millipedes, Centipedes and Sowbugs, and  #5.522 - Boxelder bugs.

The authors have received training through Colorado State University Cooperative Extension's Master Gardener program and is a Master Gardener volunteer for Larimer County.

Fact Sheets are available at the Larimer County Extension Office, 1525 Blue Spruce Drive, Fort Collins, Colorado, telephone (970) 498-6000, or contact us by e-mail at larimer@coop.ext.colostate.edu

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This page updated:  September 9, 2000