Baking and Cooking in the Garden

By Kurt M. Jones, Chaffee County Extension Director

I was at a conference recently and was visiting with some colleagues from across the Western United States.  The conversation came around to how baking, cooking and gardening all relate to one another.  It was an interesting analogy that I will attempt to recreate for you here.

If you think about it for a while, you realize that for many of us, Baking is a prescriptive activity.  You find a recipe that you like, maybe tweak it for high altitude adjustment, but then you follow the directions and let the science of chemistry and physics turn into delectable treats.  Gardening has similar attributes.  You pick plants that will work in our growing environment, arrange them according to their irrigation needs (what we call “hydrozoning”), and provide plant care including proper irrigation, proper plant nutrition to minimize stress, and Integrated Pest Management (IPM) techniques when problems appear.  Even our current Master Gardener textbook is entitled The Science of Gardening, and employs many of these concepts for those students.

I have to admit, I may be addicted to cooking shows.  I find it fun to see cooks sweat it out when presented with a basket of mystery ingredients and they need to create a meal from unusual ingredients.  They are judged on taste, creativity in how they use the basket ingredients, and cooking technique.  In other words, they are skilled in the art of cooking based on their understanding of the base ingredients and cooking techniques. 

Gardening definitely has an artistic component as well.  Landscape Architects utilize design concepts such as line, color, texture, form, unity, scale, balance, simplicity, variety, emphasis and sequence when creating themes for the outdoor “rooms” they create.  They create rooms by considering the plants that make up the floor, walls, and ceilings in the outdoor spaces based on a family’s desires for that space, and the potential of the site where the landscape will be located.  Plant selection and placement in the landscape is much more about its “fit” into the total picture, rather than the “pick and plunk” method that many of us employ.

Much like how the creative cook utilizes different spices and herbs to elicit different sensations on the palate, the artistic gardener utilizes plant materials and other garden elements to create different emotions for those who experience it.  Understanding the science behind how to grow appropriate plants successfully and keep them healthy is much like the baker who utilizes the science to create delicacies which compliment the gourmet meal. 

It is about time for lunch, so here ends the analogy between baking, cooking and gardening.  Happy Gardening, Cooking and Baking!

IT’S DRY DRY DRY!

By Sharon Faircloth, Master Gardener

We’re in the throws of another record, dry, winter.  The dry wind that brings those unseasonably warm days in the winter, cause substantial damage.  The seed catalogs are coming in the mail so spring MUST be just around the corner.  Hopefully, we’ll get feet of that lovely moisture-laden snow in March and April to help mitigate the stress created from so little precipitation (without the damage that can come along with that wet heavy snow)!

In the meantime, if you have no snow cover but do have water rights, consider watering trees, shrubs and susceptible plants.  Trees that are particularly susceptible are spruce, alders, mountain yews, maples, mountain ashes and conifers.  Watering can be done when temperatures can get to about 40 degrees by mid-day.  Ideally, you’d like to be able to get the water down about twelve inches and to give the enough time to soak in before temperatures drop.  Also, try to water to the drip line and beyond if possible.  If you’re on a well and watering outside is prohibited, you may want to contact a local arborist for a price to provide water, or look into getting a cistern.   Our trees are precious and water will protect that investment.

Some ways to mitigate dryness around all plantings is to use mulch.  Mulch can reduce moisture loss as much as 25-50%.  It also protects soil against temperature extremes and erosion.  Try applying 2-4 inches of heavier weight mulch away from the base out the drip line. 

Colorado native plants are an excellent choice for your landscape.  Natives are already acclimated to our environment, soil and local conditions.  They are unique and attract a wide variety of wildlife including bees, birds and butterflies.  They are also more pest and disease resistant than non-natives when planted in their optimum environment.  Natives typically require little maintenance and resources, once established. There is usually little need for fertilizing or soil amendment; just keep weeds away and then let the plants go to seed in the fall.  Clean out the dead stuff in the spring and enjoy, enjoy, enjoy.  As always, you have to choose the right plant for the right place for the best chance for success.

There are a number of ways to incorporate natives into your landscape.  You won’t find natives at your local box store but there are local garden centers that source them and check out the Colorado Native Plant Society website for plant sales.   You can also start from seed.

Combining plants and seed will give you a bigger impact faster.  It’s very important to use the scientific names when choosing, as there are a number of similar varieties that are not native.  Also, if you’ve ever studied the Noxious Weed website, you may have seen plants that you like and wonder why they are being demonized.   One of the biggest problems with the “noxious weeds” are they are not native and have become invasive.  You will find many examples of very similar plants that are native for you to choose from.

As in life, we can’t control the elements but we can control how we react and deal with them.  We live in a magical environment where we have many, many challenges.  Try incorporating natives into your landscape for a unique, water-wise alternative.  If you’re looking for a new challenge, look into being a Native Plant Master! (http://conativeplantmaster.colostate.edu/)

www.ext.coloradostate.edu

Native Trees: CSU Extension Fact Sheet 7.421extension.colostate.edu/topic-areas/yard.../native-trees-for-colorado-landscapes-7-421

Native Shrubs: CSU Extension Fact Sheet 7.422 extension.colostate.edu/topic-areas/.../native-shrubs-for-colorado-landscapes-7-422

Colorado Native Plant Society:  https://conps.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Low-Water-Native-Plants-for-CO-Gardens-Mountains.pdf

Noxious Weeds: https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/agconservation/noxious-weed-species

Native Plant Master program: http://conativeplantmaster.colostate.edu/

Sunflowers

By Cherie Luke

Sunflowers, an annual, are one of the easiest plants to grow. The botanical
name for sunflowers is Helianthus, helios meaning sun and anthus
meaning flower. They are part of the asteraceae family and are native to
North America. They have a habit of turning their heads to face the sun,
usually facing east when their flowers open.

Although gardeners in general love to grow the tallest and biggest
sunflowers, there are many varieties that are beautiful and fit nicely into
almost any garden setting. Sunflowers can be grown in colors besides
yellow and gold. You can find seeds at your local garden center in bronze,
purple, orange, and red, and in varying heights. At one seed catalog I
visited there were 42 sunflower choices.

Farmers in the U.S. started growing sunflowers commercially after WWII
because of their many uses. The commercial crop consists of two types of
seeds; confection and oilseeds. The confection seeds are used in baked
goods, trail mixes, granola, and cereal. Oilseeds produce a citron-yellow
oil pressed from the seeds which is low in saturated fat and high in
polyunsaturated fats. It’s an ingredient in magazines, soaps, cosmetics,
and is also marketed as wild bird food.

Plant seeds after all danger of frost is past and chose a site in full sun.
While the sunflower is not particularly fussy about soil type it does
appreciate a well drained, loose loam soil.
The easiest way to prepare sunflower seeds for snacking is by roasting
them whole. Begin by soaking unhulled seeds in water for 8 hours. Drain
the water, spread the seeds on a shallow baking sheet, and roast at 200
degrees Fahrenheit for 3 hours, stirring occasionally until crisp.
Be sure to include one of the many varieties of sunflowers in your garden
this year, you’ll be happy you did. Not only are they fun to grow, the birds,
bees, and other pollinators will love them.

You can find more information about sunflowers at Planttalk Colorado
#1828.