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Reply to: Getting started in gardening Posted July 23, 2020
Reply to: Getting started in gardening Posted July 21, 2020
Reply to: Getting started in gardening Posted July 21, 2020
Reply to: Getting started in gardening Posted July 21, 2020

I’m at 10,200 feet and have been experimenting with different vegetables for about 10 years up here in Colorado. It’s a challenge, but very doable for the right kinds of plants. Your altitude may be higher or lower, making these factors more extreme or less, but the general ideas still apply. The biggest modification is being realistic about what you can grow. You asked about what’s different and here are several factors conspiring at altitude that you’ll need to work around: Cold nights: plants such as tomatoes and peppers do a lot of their growing at night, so where I live you can’t grow these without some means of artificially elevating the temps at night (covers, rocks, water bags, etc). Intense sun: The other extreme. Days can get hot. Here we peak in the 70s but middle elevations such as Denver (5280ft) regular hit high 90s. You’re closer to the sun and it can really zap plants on a cloudless day, even if you’ve watered in the morning. Weak soil: There’s just not as much deep, rich topsoil at higher elevations. My base soil is little more than decomposed granite. The soil high up along the Continental Divide is younger than, say, the rich loam on the coasts. The tips in the initial post on developing your soil are good. Low humidity: this conspires with the intense sun and sandy soil to rapidly dry out areas that get all-day sun. As you wondered in your comment. I use straw to mulch over seed planted directly and around transplants until plants get big enough to shade themselves. See any of the mulch tips in the initial post for ideas. Avoid large swathes of bare soil at all costs because they allow moisture to fly out of your garden patch. Sounds daunting, right? Yes, but it’s still worth doing. It’s midsummer already, so if you just want to get started and grow something, keep it simple. Make yourself a small raised bed or just till up a a patch of your yard and mix in some compost or even potting soil. Plant a packet of radish seeds (unless you hate radishes!) and buy some herbs such as cilantro, dill, parsley, mint, etc and just try to get the radishes to grow and keep the transplants alive. If you can get some initial success and enjoy the process, you can do more next year and go down all the rabbit holes of composting and trying different plants and varieties to see what works in your area. Radishes are a good pick because they are tough and grow to a harvestable size in just over a month. I like herbs for new gardeners in general because they add a lot to meals without requiring a ton of space. Growing beans all summer and only getting one meal’s worth can be disheartening to new gardeners, but herbs can deliver big value in small spaces over a longer period of time. Last tip is to find your local cooperative extension if you live in the US. Every state has these and they exist to help farmers and gardeners deal with local conditions. Your specific property will have its own unique features, but they usually have lots of information for your region to get you started.

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Reply to: Getting started in gardening Posted July 23, 2020
Reply to: Getting started in gardening Posted July 21, 2020
Reply to: Getting started in gardening Posted July 21, 2020
Reply to: Getting started in gardening Posted July 21, 2020

I’m at 10,200 feet and have been experimenting with different vegetables for about 10 years up here in Colorado. It’s a challenge, but very doable for the right kinds of plants. Your altitude may be higher or lower, making these factors more extreme or less, but the general ideas still apply. The biggest modification is being realistic about what you can grow. You asked about what’s different and here are several factors conspiring at altitude that you’ll need to work around: Cold nights: plants such as tomatoes and peppers do a lot of their growing at night, so where I live you can’t grow these without some means of artificially elevating the temps at night (covers, rocks, water bags, etc). Intense sun: The other extreme. Days can get hot. Here we peak in the 70s but middle elevations such as Denver (5280ft) regular hit high 90s. You’re closer to the sun and it can really zap plants on a cloudless day, even if you’ve watered in the morning. Weak soil: There’s just not as much deep, rich topsoil at higher elevations. My base soil is little more than decomposed granite. The soil high up along the Continental Divide is younger than, say, the rich loam on the coasts. The tips in the initial post on developing your soil are good. Low humidity: this conspires with the intense sun and sandy soil to rapidly dry out areas that get all-day sun. As you wondered in your comment. I use straw to mulch over seed planted directly and around transplants until plants get big enough to shade themselves. See any of the mulch tips in the initial post for ideas. Avoid large swathes of bare soil at all costs because they allow moisture to fly out of your garden patch. Sounds daunting, right? Yes, but it’s still worth doing. It’s midsummer already, so if you just want to get started and grow something, keep it simple. Make yourself a small raised bed or just till up a a patch of your yard and mix in some compost or even potting soil. Plant a packet of radish seeds (unless you hate radishes!) and buy some herbs such as cilantro, dill, parsley, mint, etc and just try to get the radishes to grow and keep the transplants alive. If you can get some initial success and enjoy the process, you can do more next year and go down all the rabbit holes of composting and trying different plants and varieties to see what works in your area. Radishes are a good pick because they are tough and grow to a harvestable size in just over a month. I like herbs for new gardeners in general because they add a lot to meals without requiring a ton of space. Growing beans all summer and only getting one meal’s worth can be disheartening to new gardeners, but herbs can deliver big value in small spaces over a longer period of time. Last tip is to find your local cooperative extension if you live in the US. Every state has these and they exist to help farmers and gardeners deal with local conditions. Your specific property will have its own unique features, but they usually have lots of information for your region to get you started.