Boulder Skills Foundation

Promoting Time Honored Skills & Local Resiliency

Holy Moly Me-Oh-My,  Wind-blown, Rattled, Cross am I!

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I think I jinxed it this winter when I talked about how we haven’t had a classic windy spring for a while. We were due and we got it! As if spring isn’t hard enough with everything wanting to be done all at once!
 
OK so here are some topics that feel relevant now:
 
HARSH WINDS
Our dry winds are so tough on transplants. If it’s blowing all the time you can’t leave your starts out to “harden-them-off” because by nature they’re so tender. They’ll wilt and wither almost immediately. But when you do finally plant them the wind can whip them around so hard it kills them. 
You need to be even more attentive with the water than usual to keep them happy. The same is true about germinating seedlings, you must keep the seedbed moist to ensure good germination, and these winds dry it out almost immediately!

Starts waiting for the right time to move outside!

Notice the boards holding the Agribon in place.

The uncovered spring spinach at Red House Farm.

REMAY
Remay (agribon) is handy in these conditions since it moderates the seedbed environment so nicely. However you must be diligent about weighing it down WELL so the wind doesn’t get underneath and tug it loose. I weigh it down in the corners with rocks and the sides with boards. You need to pull it tight side-to-side and end-to-end, straight and proud like a soldier’s made bed. As mentioned before you can water right through it. You should check underneath though every few days so you know what’s happening. Your seedlings should be emerging nicely but the bindweed could be flourishing as well. 
 
PESTS
My brassicas have been completely consumed by something biggish. There’s a guilty-looking robin who’s been lingering there. I think she knows I know.
I’ve been hearing the same from others—the brassica’s (cabbage, broccoli, arugula, radishes family) are being decimated. I’m guessing it’s partly because they are often the first plants to be out in the garden and there is not much else to eat. Plus they’re SO GOOD for you and of coarse all the critters just know this. My arugula also is being eaten but by little flea beatles. They put tiny holes in the leaves. Actually it’s the arugula I intentionally planted that is having issues. The volunteer arugula both in the hoophouse and outside (under remay) of course is fine. Elena and I were just discussing this—that volunteer arugula is usually superior (whereas, interestingly, volunteer lettuce is not.)
I’m now collecting cans to help protect the plants from both wind and pests. I’ll cut the bottoms out and place them around my starts next time.
Are you having pest problems? 
 
SHORT PLANTING WINDOW
OK so we’re in the third week of May and where are you with your garden? 
Are you the plant-it-all-at-once type or the plant-it-in-succession type?
Tessa and I today, while weathering the wind and bemoaning our brassica woes were discussing the merits of the former.
Whichever you are you need to know that some longer-season crops need to go in as soon as it is safe to be assured enough time for maturity. Each season is different, as is each location. There’s such a difference in micro-climes here and elevation too. That’s one reason the indigenous peoples settled here in Boulder, it’s a short distance between the different growing/harvesting zones (from lower desert to the Aquarius).
 
Tony at the Hell’s Backbone Farm said it feels earlier and warmer to him and his plants are jumping. But here on Boulder Creek it still feels cold. The rhubarb is now up but it’s looking tentative and is still not ready to eat. The asparagus is, however. YUM!
There’s usually but not always a late frost at the end of May/beginning of June here in Boulder. A lot of folks won’t put their tomatoes in until a week into June, if the forecast looks good, just to be sure. Last year was warm early and stayed fairly warm. Jackie Austin and Heather went for it early with tomatoes and had us all beat by weeks!
Potato expert Barbra Gardner says about anytime in May is good for planting potatoes but you absolutely should have them in by the first week of June. I’ve done that and it worked out fine. I know HBG got theirs in quite early with no issues but sometimes if the leaves are up frost can kill the plant.
Other roots crops, especially storage onions take a full season. I usually start those from seed in Feb/March and plant them in April.
 

You can recycle yogurt cups as plant markers! (Write on the unprinted side with a permanent marker).

Winter squash needs a long season but so easily freezes, so I seed my Blue Hubbards (for squash rolls!) usually around June 7-10th when it feels safe.
So get all your garden spaces ready to go so that you can plant when the time is right!
Interestingly, at least here on the creek (the coldest spot ” in town”) there’s very little time between the “early-crop” and “late-crop” planting dates for certain crops that even have two like lettuces and kale, but particularly carrots and beets. If I don’t get my fall beets and carrots in by the second week of June I won’t get any. 
 
Another good thing to understand, especially if you have lean soil, is that you want your plants to get to their full size in a sprightly manner, so that they have time to actually produce for a decent amount of time. I’m talking here especially about the warm-weather fruit crops like tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, melons, etc.
This has everything to do with soil fertility. So even if you have done your best to amend your soil with manure, compost, and/or other organic materials you may also want to consider using good fertilizers like sea kelp and fish emulsion. It’s nitrogen in particular though that produces leaf-growth, and that collects the sun’s energy to grow the plant’s architecture. Just FYI…
 
THINKING AHEAD ABOUT SEED-SAVING!
This year feels like a very good one for saving seeds! If you have never done it you should try. Peas, beans, and lettuces are especially easy. 
With peas and beans, if you only have one variety or your rows are separated by a row of a different crop, you shouldn’t have any crossing and you can save that seed. Ideally you section off some of your crops with flagging tape and don’t harvest from there. Just let the pods mature until dry then collect those and Voila! you have seed for next year.
With lettuce you can harvest as usual, just mark your healthiest-looking plants and leave those in place after you pull the others. Let them grow out their seedheads and harvest when plump and dry.
Most crops are easy to collect seed from, you just need to know a few tidbits and take a few more steps. Some crops need some distance from different varieties and you may need to adjust your garden plan and perhaps even coordinate with your neighbor. 
 
To first-time seed-savers I like to recommend Marc Rogers’ book “Saving Seeds.” It’s got all the info you need (but not too much) to proceed with confidence.
Suzanne Ashworth’s book “Seed to Seed” is the absolute classic and the one you want if you really get into it. I could see it being a bit much though if you’re just getting started.
If you’d like more info or would like to borrow a book ask me or another Boulder Skills Foundation person and we’ll talk it up!
 
—Brynn Brodie
Red House Farm & Boulder Skills Founation Founder

A Typical Week in April…

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Today was a lovely gorgeous day, and a most welcome relief from the unsettling winds, clouds and cold temps of the last several days. Nighttime temps got down into the low 20s this last week! 
 

Larkin prepping beds using the broad fork

But today was sunny and calm, and practically tank top weather, at least if you were operating a broad fork. It was a satisfying day to be in the garden. 
Larkin and I were preparing beds in the northeast part of the garden for planting peas, carrots and eventually cabbage. We first dug up the grass, then broad forked to loosen and aerate the soil, then added compost. Tomorrow the Super SugarSnap Peas we’re soaking overnight will finally be planted! It will be interesting to see how these outside ones compare to the peas in the greenhouse which are about 10″ tall now.
 
Soaking, by the way, gives the peas a few days head start with sprouting. You just want to be sure you really plant the next day otherwise you may rot your peas.
 
In the perfect world, we’d have all-out beds prepped a month before we plant. Ideally, the soil is “awake” and humming with life before planting. It takes some time for even finished compost and aged manure to integrate with existing soil systems. You especially want your soil to be moist for a while, you need moisture to support soil life. Think about the worms you want wiggling and making tunnels and castings. 
 

Kale that was under agribon

Aside from prepping beds, we’re trying to keep alive and happy the crops we already have planted. 
We put our kale and arugula starts out on the 4th, which is early but they were ready to be out of their 6-packs. They’ve been under agribon, a protective garden fabric, to keep from freezing. It’s great stuff, you can water through it even, but you have to remember to uncover your plants once in a while to check their condition. I’d taken sneak peeks but today uncovered the beds to assess all the plants and they were wanting some attention. Some of the outer leaves were looking wan so I pinched them off. Plants gather their energy through their leaves (photosynthesis) and need all of them when they are small. But when they get a bit bigger it’s best to pinch off any leaves that aren’t healthy. There’s no sense for the plant to waste energy on unhealthy parts of itself. 
 
Also, some plants hadn’t settled in well so I re-tamped them. When transplanting you must firmly tamp the soil when planting. The plant takes in nutrients through the soil and must have complete contact with it. You don’t want any air pockets around the roots! Often you’ll hear not to compact the soil, which is true (!) but don’t worry about that when settling your plants in.
 
I think the kale and arugula will be OK now. Really though the test for my garden is that plants must tolerate some degree of benign neglect—wussie plants don’t cut it in the desert!
 

Spinach with bug damage and also volunteer arugula.

The spinach in the hoop house is looking pretty good, except for a little damage from earwigs and pill bugs. I often experience that at the beginning of the season, but then it tapers off. I think it’s because my soil is a small degree out-of-whack since it’s largely made with composted manure-and-bedding pack, which I’m very happy to have as a resource. But I’m sure it’s got more bacteria than fungi—the ratio is off. Anyway, if your soil isn’t well-balanced it will attract bugs. But my trick is to sink empty tunafish cans into the soil at ground level, then pour them half-full with beer. It’s gross but satisfying to see them full of the leaf-eaters…
 
Another thing about the spinach is that they too had been covered by agribon, but they’re in the hoop house where it’s warmer of course. A lot of seeds germinated under it (another great use—germination ) and so now we have lots of arugula and chard starts too.
 
Once you’ve had a garden in the same spot for a while you’ll get lots of volunteer plants. I love that and take advantage of moving those around to where I want them and offering them to friends. That’s another spring-time garden project! So far this year I have as volunteers: parsley, arugula, borage, cilantro, tomatoes, chard, lettuces, dill, chamomile, feverfew, honey locust, raspberries, blackberries, comfrey, and I’m sure more is on the way—tomatillos, certainly. An abundance already!
 
– Brynn Brodie
Red House Farm & Boulder Skills Foundation Founder

Calling All Aspiring & Passionate Gardeners

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Now more than ever we’re becoming aware of how important it is to be food self-sufficient. Whether you’re new to gardening or not, the high desert can be a tricky place to grow. In hopes that you’re all growing big gardens (or interested in growing big gardens!) this year, I’ve put together some advice and tips that I’ve learned from putting my hands in this soil for the last 20 years.

So welcome to growing food in the high desert! If you can do it here you can do it anywhere.

The Daunting News First:

We growers here contend with: a short season, spring winds, intense sun, lean soils, hail, drought, predators, ants, grasshoppers, aphids, hot days, cold spells, snow and freezing nights any time of year—OH MY!

Growing a garden here can exercise your patience, but it’s also infinitely rewarding. There’s nothing like being outside, fingers and toes in the soil, tending plants and growing your own food that you will enjoy throughout the rest of the year. Well, you or someone else because we have a lively food bartering culture!

 

Some Things to Consider:

– WHEN TO PLANT –

The weather can fool you—just because it’s finally glorious one day doesn’t mean it will be tomorrow or next week. So don’t be fooled into planting too early, unless you’re willing to go the extra mile to coddle your crops to get an early start. Folks who have been here a while and have busy lives with other jobs, family, etc but like to put up a bunch of food tend to garden in a no-nonsense kind of way—they get it in at the earliest safe time and get it out and “put up” before the fall freezes.

Some folks will put everything in at once so as not to stretch it out any longer than necessary—peas, tomatoes and everything in between! Allie Andersen, who was an intern at Red House Farm then moved for a season to Escalante, noticed that everyone there just kind of instinctively knew when to get their gardens in, and everyone did it on the same weekend! Of course, Escalante is a thousand feet lower, but the “right time” could be as early as the second week in May if the weather is warm and looks to be for the predictable future (I’m talking about planting all at once). Or it could be the beginning of the second week in June, or when the snow melts in “the notch” upon the Aquarius above town. But don’t wait any longer than that or you’ll run out of time on the other side of the season.

– WHAT YOU SHOULD DO NOW –

A) PREPARE YOUR GARDEN SPACE: Make a Garden Plan, Amend and/or Turn your Soil, Layout your Rows.

Prepare your garden space now so that when the warmer, less tempestuous weather arrives you’ll be ready to plant.

How much space do you have? How much do you want to grow? Making a garden plan on graph paper is a great way to go. Do you wish to grow winter storage crops like cabbage, beets, carrots, onions, and potatoes? Do you want to bottle or dry a lot of tomatoes? Clarify your gardening goals, but don’t plan to do more than you can manage or you’ll get discouraged. Aim to be pleasurably productive. You’re growing a garden, but hopefully, you’re also growing yourself as a gardener.

Is your garden area full of grass or last year’s weeds? The grass is the bane of gardeners here. You can try to exhaust it by tilling it in multiple times but really I think loosening the soil with a shovel and pulling out the clumps is safer. Be sure to shake out all the valuable soil and worms! You can put the grass clumps somewhere you want it to grow—dig it in and water—presto new grass!

Also, remove from your garden plot any old weed seed heads, but other harmless debris can stay and be turned in. You want to clear and loosen your soil.

Then you want to amend your soil because it’s most likely quite lean. Most folks have very little organic matter in their soil here so that’s your number one priority—increasing your garden’s organic matter content. You want to feed your soil to increase all the microbial activity and critters that make your soil hum. Every time you plant a crop you want to add a layer of compost (really fall is a great time to add a layer of organics too- but more on that later). Aged manure is also an awesome soil amendment here – see if you can score some. Or even fresh manure works IF you won’t plant for more than a month AND you dig it in somewhat AND water it several times. Otherwise, you’ll scorch your crops. But that’s what Kim Nelson used to do and she had the best garden in Boulder.

Escalante Home Center is selling organic compost by the ton (826-4004); also good to know is that Eric Feiler has volunteered to be a composting consultant (335-7393).

B) SET UP YOUR IRRIGATION: Will you overhead water with a sprinkler? Hand water? Ditch irrigate? Or set up drip irrigation? Each method has its attributes. If you’re not sure which is right for you, ask your gardening friends and neighbors for opinions or ask someone from the Boulder Skills Foundation (I always have opinions!)

C) BEGIN YOUR STARTS* (optional): If you want to try your hand at that…

You’ll need either a sunny south-facing window, grow lights, or a heated greenhouse space. Also containers (old yogurt containers or nursery six-packs, seed-starting trays, whatever) and seeds!

*Otherwise you can direct-seed a lot of crops later. But some plants need a head start like tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, etc. These can be purchased locally from Escalante Home Center beginning around the third week of April, also Brian Farm Service (Loa), Late Bloomers (Lyman), and also check in with the Boulder Skills Foundation and other growers here who may have extra starts to buy or trade.


What’s Happening Now at Red House Farm?

I have quite a large garden because I preserve a bunch of food for winter and also sell at the market. So I try to get an early start so I have time to prep all my beds and plant before it’s too late. I usually start with my hardiest crops sometime in April and often finish a week into June with my last crop in—winter squash.

So I often first do peas, onion sets, radishes and possibly hardy greens like kale, arugula, and spinach.  I haven’t gotten my pea zone ready yet this year though and my onions I started in February could be a bit bigger but I did transplant some spinach starts in the hoop house maybe a week ago and Larkin and I planted kale and arugula starts outside 2 days ago. They’re under Agribon though (the white protective garden fabric) and we waited until those below-freezing nights had passed. Not that there won’t be more but the starts should have time to settle before it gets quite cold again.

All I know is that my irises in the southeast corner of the house are looking perkier but the ones on the northeast side not as much. And the rhubarb? The redbuds are just now barely popping up through the soil.

Have you seen any penstemon, paintbrush or cactus at our elevation looking springly yet? It’s still feeling cold out there. We are down on Boulder Creek though so this is one of the coldest spots in town because of the cold air drainage down-canyon from the mountain every night.

The random self-seeded arugula and borage in the hoop house is now just looking eager to grow, however. It’s getting watered daily and is under agribon because of the spinach starts in there. Did I say it’s IT’S IN THE HOOP HOUSE? The point being that’s it’s definitely getting coddled.

— Brynn Brodie
Boulder Skills Foundation Founder

Grow a Garden in 2020!

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Boulder Skills Foundation is offering free garden consultations to any new or existing growers. 

Now is a great time to be planning and prepping your garden. The more food we have growing in town this season, the more resilient we will be to the ongoing scenario. 

We can assist you with seed selection, planting schedules, harvest plans, ground prep, soil amendment tips, pest management, fencing, and irrigation recommendations, you name it! 

To set up a consultation, email Elena at ehughes614@gmail.com

We’ll start with a phone consultation and can, if you’re comfortable, come check out your space, and offer on-site recommendations (keeping a safe distance, of course). Your garden consultant buddy will also be available throughout the season as you run into questions/concerns in your garden. 

What We are Planting Now

(Salt Gulch)
BMGR: parsley, a few early flowers (heliopsis, love in a mist) in planted outside; carrots, radishes, arugula, beets planted in a cold frame; kale, cabbage, zinnias, echinacea, strawflower, rosemary, oregano started in flats in a cold frame

Other things to put out now: peas, onion sets, ideally with protection.

(Boulder Town Center)
Red House Farm: Spinach starts in the hoophouse, Lettuce starts in the greenhouse, Arugula and Red Russian Kale and Radish outside (pushing the envelope) under 2+ layers of agribon and peas shortly

(Lower Boulder)
Some of us are digging our beds and some are planting potatoes! (Have you ever tried dipping your cut potatoes in ash to prevent them from rotting before you plant them?)

(The Draw)
Tessa’s Garden: peas, oats, radishes, spinach (most of these covered for now with agribon or something else to keep them a little warmer)

We Recommend the Following Varieties for Our Short Growing Season
(Based on our collective growing experience)

Leaf Crops:

  • Cilantro
  • Arugula: Astro, reseeded arugulas
  • Parsley: Italian Flat-leaf
  • Basil: Sweet Basil, Genovese
  • Kales: Red Russian, Scarlet Curley, Dazzling Blue Dinosaur, Blue scotch curled
  • Chards: Rainbow, Fordhook Giant, Bright Lights
  • Spinach: Winter Bloomsdale (Fall), America (Spring)
  • Lettuces: Merlot Red, Butternut Bibb, Flashy Spotted Trout Romaine, Red Iceberg, Crispina Iceberg, Red-tinged Looseleaf, Pirat Butterhead, Buttercrunch

Cruciferae:

  • Cabbages: Golden Acre, Mammoth Red, Early Jersey Wakefield, Blue Chinese, January King  
  • Broccoli: Waltham 29, Piracicaba
  • Cauliflower: Snowball

Legumes:

  • Beans: Provider Bush, Jade Bush, Dragon Langerie Bush Wax, Kentucky Wonder Pole, Tiger’s Eye Shell/Dry, King of the Early Dry, Pintos and Anasazi (classic Dry Beans here)
  • Peas: Oregon Giant Snow, Sugarsnap Peas, Super Sugarsnap Peas

Root Crops:

  • Carrots: Scarlet Nantes, Nantes Fancy, Red Core Chantenay, Shin Kuroda
  • Beets: Cylindra, Chioggia, Early Wonder Tall Top, Detroit Dark Red
  • Onions: Patterson Winter Storage, Rossa Lunga di Tropea Red Summer, Cabernet Red Summer
  • Leeks: King Richard
  • Potatoes: Russet, Yukon, Kennebec, Colorado Rose 
  • Turnips: Gold Ball
  • Radishes: Cherry Belle, French Breakfast, White Icicle, Daikon, Pink Lady Slipper

Flower Crops:

  • Calendula
  • Nasturtiums

Fruit Crops:

  • Tomatoes: Bison, Bellstar, Bloesser Pink, Aosta Valley, Cherokee Purple, Sungold Cherry, Galina Cherry, Green Zebra, Golden Jubilee, Pink Brandywine, Black Cherry, Anna Russian, Valencia Orange, Celebrity
  • Tomatillos: Purple Bush
  • Peppers: Jalapeno, Hungarian Hot Wax 
  • Eggplants: Pintung Long, Rosita Bell-shaped
  • Cucumbers: Silver Slicer, Marketmore 76, Painted Serpent, Suhyo Long
  • Zucchini: Black Zucchini, Cocozelle
  • Summer Squash: Saffron Yellow, Early Summer Crookneck
  • Winter Squash: Table Queen Acorn, Spaghetti Squash, Red Kuri Kabocha, Burgess Buttercup, Lower Salmon River, Waltham Butternut, New England Pie, Blue Hubbard, Pink Banana
  • Melons: Desert King Orange (storage), Blacktail Mountain

Winter Food Storage Crops:

  • Winter Squash: Blue Hubbards, Red Kuri Kabocha, Lower Salmon River, New England Pie
  • Blue Hopi Dry Corn
  • Potatoes: Russet, Colorado Rose, Yukon, Kennebec
  • Onions: Patterson 
  • Beets: Cylindra, Early Wonder Tall Top
  • Carrots: Red Core Chantenay, Scarlet Nantes, Shin Kuroda, Nantes Fancy
  • Turnips: Gold Ball

 

Our Favorite Seed Suppliers:

  • Fedco Seeds
  • Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds
    Johnny’s Selected Seeds
    Boulder Seed Collective – Stay tuned for a seed swap & sale! 
  • Joseph Lofthouse Landrace Seedsman
  • Grand Prismatic Seeds
  • Delectation of Tomatoes
  • High Mowing Organic Seeds

& Resources for Starts & Supplies:

  • Boulder Community Market – (2020 plan TBD)
  • Bob Emerich – Fruit Trees, Native Plants, jobodan@color-country.net
  • Eric Feiler – Compost Consultant (435) 335-7393
  • Escalante Home Center (Starts, Seeds, Seed Potatoes, Onion sets, Chicks, Chicken feed, Organic Compost by the cubic yard & Trees & Shrubs) 826-4004
  • Delectation of Tomatoes – Start Order placed! Delivery est. 5/20
  • Late Bloomers (Lyman) – (Starts)
  • Pet’s & Stuff (Richfield) – (Starts)
  • Boulder Seed Collective – (Starts swap TBD)
  • Brian Farm Service (Soon – Starts, Seeds, Seed Potatoes, Onion sets, Chicks, Chicken feed, Organic “mulch” by the yard (sounds very broken down though) (435) 836-2884.

Local Produce Suppliers

Now:

  • Hills & Hollows
  • Griffins Grocery

Upcoming:

  • Red House Farm
  • Corry & Kandace Johnson
  • Fire Rock Farm (Escalante)

Sincerely, 

Boulder Skills Foundation
(Brynn, Constance, Pam, Eric, Jennifer, Dan, Elena, Tessa, & Jane)

Have Questions?

Send us an email at boulderskillsfoundation@gmail.com and we will try to answer your questions in our next newsletter. 

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