Master Gardeners

Our Legacy Garden planting is complete, helped again this year by our partners with Arapahoe County Master Gardeners and of course all the rain in the past few weeks. (Actually, all the rain has made it difficult to plant on some days because the ground was too wet.)

(Editor’s Note: This email was forwarded to Director Julie Deden from JoAnne, one of the Arapahoe County Master Gardeners we’ve worked with for many years. The Master Gardeners have been working with our students since early May to prepare the Legacy Garden and begin planting. JoAnne gives a great summary of Tuesday, June 13’s activities and, indeed, of the season thus far. BTW, we’ve had a lot of rain for the Colorado Front Range this year. A lot of rain!

During the latter part of August in Colorado, and into the first week or so of September, we are all going crazy about Western Slope peaches. They are big, they are juicy, and they are to die for. They are in the supermarkets, the farmers’ markets and many from the Front Range make the trip across the Divide to get a case or two, and maybe even attend the Palisades Peach Festival. They end up in cobblers, pies, crisps, freezers, and we have heard at least one reported instance of homemade peach ice cream. Some folks never get around to any of that, but eat as many as two to four fresh peaches a day during this period.

No matter what the calendar says, it’s the first week of summer. The temps are in the 90s, the garden is being planted and summer staff are shadowing their ITP staff counterparts. Friday 25 teenagers (summer students) begin arriving and on Monday the elementary Confidence Camp kids start too.

So here’s another first or two. Above, Amber uses a spade for the first time out in the garden. When asked if she’d dug with a shovel before she promptly answered, “I’m about to.” And then she proceeded to do it. In the process she and classmate Annette planted this year’s pumpkin and zucchini hills.

It’s yet another sign of spring when the Arapahoe County Master Gardeners first arrive to work with our students in the Legacy Garden. Of course, everything starts with getting the soil ready for planting and, after our spring rains, that means pulling out the eager weeds already leaping up. Tyler, Annette, Abdi, Tucker and Brad took first crack at it on Tuesday. Next week planting begins!

Master Gardeners and students joined forces one last time in mid-October to put our Legacy Garden to rest for the 2017 growing season. There were still a few things to harvest, mostly walking onions and mint, but the rest was clean-up. Still, it was a bright fall day and great to be outside and enjoy a few laughs and good work.

Thanks again to our Master Gardeners. It was a great season!

It’s still too chilly for tender basil and eggplant and jalepeños, not to mention tomatoes and tomatillos and thyme, but it was a great morning to plant seeds in our Legacy Garden with Arapahoe County’s Master Gardeners! So that’s what happened – Jen and Carina’s 1st hour Braille classes went out first, followed by Tech classes with Chip, Chris and Showe.

By next week, the night airs will be considerably warmer, and we’ll be able to put in our plants. For now, it’s exciting – the growing season is definitely underway!

Last year’s gardening season, with the Arapahoe County Master Gardeners from first to last spade, and Kimberley giving us historic background.

Yes, it’s time to start getting the garden ready for the 2017 growing season! Tuesday morning some of our Colorado Master Gardeners from the Arapahoe County 

Extension Office came by to start getting our Legacy Garden area ready for planting next month, clearing out and cutting down all manner of last year’s growth. Zach, our student from Montana, couldn’t pass up the chance to be outside on such a lovely morning.

In the photos below, he takes the stalks of Russian Sage to task, making way for new growth this year. The Russian Sage has a great scent throughout the summer, and is just one plant of many that offer odors, from savory to sweet in our Legacy Garden. And we can’t forget about the great veggies and herbs that we’ll be planting soon!

Every Tuesday morning a different group of Center students heads out back to our Legacy Garden to meet the Colorado Master Gardeners from Arapahoe County, and to see just what’s happening out there. Students work with the Master Gardeners to plant, cultivate and harvest the bounty. In these hot, hot days of August the lilies are done blooming, but the vegetable garden comes into its own, and it really is a bounty!

On recent Tuesdays students have begun bringing in eggplant, zucchini (quite large), tomatoes, tomatillos, various peppers, kale, cucumbers, celery, basil and peaches! The produce is used in the kitchen in Home Management class or taken home for personal cooking by the students at the McGeorge Mountain Terrace Apartments. If there’s any leavings, staff gather it up for their own kitchens.

What could be better than freshly picked, home grown (organic) produce? Hmmm, maybe only the confidence and satisfaction that comes from knowing that you helped grow it!