Haven't posted in awhile. Random garden pics from Denver.

[countr21]

Been awhile since I posted. Just wanted to check in and show some pics of my cheap, little garden in Denver. My wife and I just do a very small garden in our back yard in some raised beds and large trash cans. Growing tomatoes and peppers can be challenging some years along the Front Range. We're up to the mercy of the weather basically. The most important thing is our average night time low temperatures. If it's consistently above 60F, tomatoes can prosper along the Front Range. If the lows are below sixty, it's not going to be a fruitful year. Last year was awesome, and we didn't get the first frost until well into October (avg mid-Sept). This year has been a nightmare. My suburb has seen about 15" of rain fall since May 1 (avg annual precip for the area is 14" - and that includes all snow totals), and it's been very cool. Just getting a chance to work the soil and get stuff planted has been a challenge. Not only until last week did I finally get my cukes and squash seeds in the ground and pulled up my Wall-O-Waters.

We love to garden for the enjoyment of it. If and when we have disappointing years, it seems there's always enough harvest to eat well out of it. We try to do "organic", but I try to spend as little on the garden in the first place (you can tell by my construction of it!!!). Gardening is supposed to save you money, right? I do buy soil amendments almost every year - mostly just cheap manure, peat moss, and sand. And we go thru about $20 worth of diatomaceous earth each year to control earwigs early in the season. It has been about five summers since, but I've used Seven and some chemical fertilizers in the past.

[ginger2778]

Great pictures, great captions, very cute little kitty. The Kung Pow made me hungry!

[luigiwu]

Looks great - though I'm curious why the need for such large containers/trash cans. That's a whole lot of potting mix!

[pinklady5]

Looking good and so does that Kung Pow!!!

[shelleybean]

I love all your food pics! Thanks for sharing!

[greyghost]

Great photos; wonderful harvest! Love orange (or any color) kitties!

[HollyinNNV]

I enjoyed your pictures! Your kitties are lucky to have a garden with special touches for them.

[AlittleSalt]

Great pictures. Now I'm hungry and want to pet our cats.

[countr21]

Originally Posted by luigiwu

Looks great - though I'm curious why the need for such large containers/trash cans. That's a whole lot of potting mix!

To everyone, thx for the kind words. We currently have two huge trashcans and two medium-sized ones. Both sizes are back filled with about 8-10 inches of gravel for drainage, and we drilled some drainage holes along the base of each plastic trashcan. I will admit that the two large cans look like overkill. We have tried doing two plants in one large can, but production was down a little that year......even though the mix in the containers is good. I make my own with garden soil, manure compost, peat moss, and sand. The growing conditions along the Front Range ain't what they are out East, so I'm just resigned to only put one plant per large container. Long story short - they just produce better.

I'm doing snap peas in them this year. When the peas are shot, I'll rip out the plants and try "Picklebush" cucumbers.

[wildcat62]

Great pics

[Mojave]

Nice garden, thanks for sharing! I like that you included your little buddies in the plan.

[BucksCountyGirl]

Very nice! Love your pics and your little garden buddies. Cheers!

[CharlesM]

It's a great garden!

[barefootgardener]

First, the "Colonel" is a cutie. He reminds me of our Mr. Kitty.

Your garden is lovely, and the trash cans are not overkill! The more deep fertile soil, the better. What ever works for you.

Your kabobs look so yummy, as do the rest of your food picks! Did your salsa last you through the winter? Yumm!!

Ginny