Your pruning chores will be a lot easier with the right tool; the size of the plants stems determine the right tool to use. For stems ½” diameter or smaller, use hand pruners. Stems that are ½”-1” diameter will require lopping shears. Use a pruning saw for stems that are larger than 1”.

Try containers for your vegetables if you are running out of garden space, or just garden on a deck or patio. A 1-2 gallon pot will grow garlic, shallots, evergreen white bunching scallions or ‘Touchon’ carrots. Three gallon pots will be good for ‘Tom Thumb’ lettuce, beets, radishes or mustard greens. And in a five gallon container, try ‘Tiny Tim’ cherry tomatoes, bush cucumbers, ‘Little Finger’ eggplant or Sugar Baby watermelon.

Get FREE plants! Many annuals will self-sow in our climate and even in our clay soil. Tall verbena (Verbena bonariensis), Love-In-A-Mist (Nigella damascene), Zebrina mallow (Malva sylvestris ‘Zebrina’), sweet alyssum, calendula, California bluebells (Phacelia campanularia) and California poppies will all set seed and scatter themselves around your garden. You just have to be able to identify the flower seedlings from the weeds!

Plant chrysanthemums now for fall bloom. Cut off any flowers on the transplants to encourage branching. Other perennial plants for fall color include asters, Autumn Joy sedum, rudbeckia, helenium (sneezeweed) and goldenrod.

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

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This page updated:  August 5, 2008