Colorado

[Percheron chick]

I don't think I'm brave enough to eat a year old egg that has been sitting out. I'll keep freezing them.

 

[lomine]

I don't think I'm brave enough to eat a year old egg that has been sitting out. I'll keep freezing them.

Yeah, I don't know if I'd eat them after a year, but I think I could do 6 months. I plan to freeze some too just in case it doesn't work out. Of course I always plan to do that and forget while I still have eggs.

 

[Percheron chick]

This warm winter weather is motivating me to get busy with this years garden. Have finished and filled 2 8' raised beds and have started 2 more. Also have an enclosed and trellised area I want to develop as a raspberry patch. Has anyone had success with raspberries in the front range? Any specific prep? Varieties? It was once a vegetable garden but doesn't look like it was planted recently. I dumped bags and bags of leaves, coffee grounds and horse poop but haven't gotten in there and turned it yet. I do have CSU's recommendations saved but want some real life experiences. I also want some to naturalize for a snow fence and bird feed around the house.
I have a long list started for the vegetable garden. Good thing I have too many and geese who love fresh vegetables. Ended up with 6 extra cattle panels after I built my runs so I'm going to try to trellis all my vines. After last year's bomb of a garden ( I was spending most of my time moving) I am ready!

 

[21hens-incharge]

This warm winter weather is motivating me to get busy with this years garden. Have finished and filled 2 8' raised beds and have started 2 more. Also have an enclosed and trellised area I want to develop as a raspberry patch. Has anyone had success with raspberries in the front range? Any specific prep? Varieties? It was once a vegetable garden but doesn't look like it was planted recently. I dumped bags and bags of leaves, coffee grounds and horse poop but haven't gotten in there and turned it yet. I do have CSU's recommendations saved but want some real life experiences. I also want some to naturalize for a snow fence and bird feed around the house.
I have a long list started for the vegetable garden. Good thing I have too many and geese who love fresh vegetables. Ended up with 6 extra cattle panels after I built my runs so I'm going to try to trellis all my vines. After last year's bomb of a garden ( I was spending most of my time moving) I am ready!

My experience with raspberries was that clay is to tough. Amend the area heavily to make the soil loose and mulch with leaves and compost each fall if you are dealing with heavy clay.
It is very hard to keep perennials going and producing in the heavy clay.

 

[Percheron chick]

My soil is more sandy. I am too familiar with the shoe sucking mud of the foothills but you don't have to water every day so it's all a trade off. I have a mountain of old horse poop that has some great selections of rich soil. A few truckloads could be added but we're talking a 500+ sq foot area and I sold my tractor when I moved. What was I thinking? I'm amazed how much soil went into the raised beds and I screened it all a shovelful at a time. I know it's best to put the work in upfront but I don't want to wait another year and I'm done spending money on garden lost causes.

 

[Mtn Margie]

Last year was not a good year for gardening up here for sure! Too many rodents of all shapes and sizes and then came the dry and fires. Raspberries grow wild up here and they really like rotting logs to grow around. Not sure if that is the same as heavy mulching...

 

[Percheron chick]

Margie, I was thinking about you all through the fires. The smoke had to of been awful. You know you always have a place when you need to evacuate the old horse. Good to know raspberries will go wild. Everything I have been reading has been discouraging about letting them do their thing. Maybe I'll plant a few off to the side and other then water and cutting out old cane just let them be. Trying to do all I can to encourage more birds and . Bats too.

 

[Mtn Margie]

Thanks! I did have to evacuate for the first time ever. At one point in time, there were 4 different fires that could possibly take us out. My DH stayed here, but my kiddo was traveling back from a wrestling tournament and so I took the flammable sheepies and cat and bailed in order to be able to have the kid go to school when he got back. It was an interesting couple of weeks!
I would plant them around some rotting pine cuts or add rotting pine pieces to the top mulch.

 

[lomine]

If you have rotting wood you might look into the hugelkultur method of gardening. I've never tried to grow raspberries and I have a bit of a black thumb so I wouldn't be very helpful anyway. I do know that goats like to eat raspberry plants, not sure how useful that info is to you.

 

[Percheron chick]

I went to HS and college in S Cal and have a healthy respect for wild fires. (They scare the crap out of me)
I'm N of DIA now so trees are few and far between. Even dead ones. I'm hoping Brighton does a Christmas tree mulch giveaway this spring but it doesn't look like Adams county does much of anything green. I took the plunge and ordered Anne, Boyne and Polana. All recommended by CSU. Looks like Boyne will easily naturalize. I'll report back. Now need asparagus crowns...