{"id":1310018,"date":"2019-05-07T12:35:11","date_gmt":"2019-05-07T18:35:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.postindependent.com\/?p=977674"},"modified":"2019-05-07T12:35:11","modified_gmt":"2019-05-07T18:35:11","slug":"tips-for-a-successful-high-altitude-gardening-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/local-news\/tips-for-a-successful-high-altitude-gardening-season\/","title":{"rendered":"Tips for a successful high altitude gardening season"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"planting<\/figure>\n

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS \u2014 With spring in full swing, it\u2019s time to start planning this summer\u2019s garden.<\/p>\n

Even if you don\u2019t have your own plot of land, planting in containers or raised beds can make any space a green space, and many gardeners often prefer it.<\/p>\n

If you don\u2019t have a green thumb, here are some tips on what to plant, where and when and what to do when it goes wrong.<\/p>\n

Consider your soil<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Soil preparing for planting in spring (shutterstock.com).<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Soils with more organic material allow water to flow through, instead of retaining that water.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou think about the potting mix you get \u2014 like for household plants that you go to Ace or Walmart and you buy a bag \u2014 it\u2019s got so much humus in it that water kind of goes right through it, but plants love it,\u201d said Routt County Master Gardener Jackie Buratovich. \u201cWe\u2019re on the other end of the spectrum here with high silt, high clay (soils), and some plants don\u2019t like their feet being wet. The clay soils do not drain very well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Buratovich said this is why many local gardeners grow in raised beds, greenhouses or containers. While it can be easier to finagle old pallets by pulling them apart to build a raised bed or to thrift pots and reuse buckets for a container garden, you\u2019ll likely have to purchase soil with more organic material.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s hard to get good soil free,\u201d Buratovich said. \u201cYou can go to the Milner Mall and get all kinds of fun stuff to put your soil in, but you have to go out and probably purchase some soil that you\u2019d want to grow in.\u201d<\/p>\n

With a short season, learn what you can grow<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Young lettuce seedlings (shutterstock.com).<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Growing season can be as short as 60 to 80 days, depending on where someone is growing, Buratovich said.<\/p>\n

By buying young plants, instead of starting them from seeds, you can get from planting to fruit more quickly, though this is a bit more expensive.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can get a tomato that is ready to put in a pot or put in a raised bed, and it\u2019ll give you fruit from maybe as little as 60 days from the day you put it in its final growing place,\u201d Buratovich said.<\/p>\n

Different areas receive varying amounts of light at different times of the summer.<\/p>\n

Your choice of plant should be suited for where it\u2019s growing \u2014 whether it\u2019s a south-facing raised bed in a backyard that\u2019ll be sunny all summer long or a north-facing container that receives less light and will remain cooler. <\/p>\n

For this short season, Buratovich recommends cool season crops \u2014 any of the leafy greens, snap peas, onions, garlic and many herbs.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome of the lettuces (mature in) 30 days, so you can have a couple of crops in our growing season,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

For those seeking a garden that looks good rather than plants you can put on your plate, annual plants give a good variety of colorful options to meet gardening goals, and they\u2019ll last until the first fall frost, Buratovich said.<\/p>\n

Most annuals can\u2019t survive the intensity of the West Slope sun without daily watering, she said. You can also find annuals that attract butterflies, help create habitat for pollinators, such as bees, or are resistant to deer and other animals.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re looking for something that will survive the frost or go dormant and return next spring, Buratovich recommends planting native perennials, such as sages and serviceberries. She said hollyhocks, salvias, irises and Oriental poppies are easy to grow here.<\/p>\n

To reach Eleanor Hasenbeck, call 970-871-4210, email ehasenbeck@SteamboatPilot.com<\/a>or follow her on Twitter @elHasenbeck<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n

via:: Post Independent<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS \u2014 With spring in full swing, it\u2019s time to start planning this summer\u2019s garden. Even if you don\u2019t have your own plot of land, planting in containers or raised beds can make any space a green space, and many gardeners often prefer it. If you don\u2019t have a green thumb, here are some tips […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[160],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-1310018","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-local-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-16 22:56:59","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSKE Ski Country","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1310018","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1310018"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1310018\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1310018"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1310018"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1310018"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}