September 2026 E-Magazine
- 6 hours ago
- 7 min read
I was excited to see the first-ever, large maroon bloom on my Stapelia (grandiflora?) plant in the kitchen window last month, but this has not been an exciting summer in the vegetable garden. Despite my inertia and the blistering heat, a few things have done extraordinarily well, especially the lemon cucumbers, purple and red potatoes, and a different kind of pumpkin from seed that a friend from Guyana gave me.
Out of a handful, just one pumpkin seed germinated and it took a while for the plant to get going. They like the heat but this year was extreme. The finally lush, long-branching arms of the plant wilted in the heat most days but recovered by evening (I knew not to drown it by overwatering).
In just the last couple of weeks large, showy, yellow blossoms have appeared. So imagine my chagrin when I came out to water this morning and saw thin green stumps where the flowers used to be. Damn rabbits! I quickly threw some row cover over most of the plant before heading to Lakewood for a summer plant sale at Kelly Grummons’ garden. Kelly wrote the Garden Q&A column for many years in our print issues.
Two other amazing Colorado plantsmen were also selling their plants. Justin Ruiz took over Kelly’s DogTuff Grass business a few years ago and he has also been propagating and growing tough natives, and many unusual, drought tolerant perennials that you will rarely find elsewhere.
His plant business is Desert Blooms. (Check the Resources Page on our website for the links.) Michael Barbour brought alpine and rock garden plants, his specialty, to the sale. These miniature, often jewel-like plants can take years to fill a 2” pot and we’re fortunate that Michael is growing and selling them here on the Front Range.
Idelle Fisher, our web designer, writes in this issue about the BioBlitz in Wash Park that she participated in last month.
I’m including a couple of pieces on seed saving: one by Penn Parmenter and one from my book (Organic Gardener’s Companion, Growing Vegetables in the West). It’s much easier than you think. This year is a particularly good one for saving seed from any plants that thrived. They carry a built-in resilience that you’ll be capturing for future generations of the plant.
Keith Funk covers planting trees and shrubs in the fall, square planting holes (the latest fad), feeding hummingbirds, and why you should always rinse your veggies even if you garden organically (and we hope you do).
Happy harvesting and seed saving,
- Jane Shellenberger
Last month I had the joyful experience of attending a BioBlitz at the Big Gardens in Wash Park in Denver with over 30 other people. BioBlitz is a citizen science project where both beginners and experts make observations of nature using either a smart phone or regular camera, and upload the images to iNaturalist. FANS of Washington Park, together with Julie Morris, Professor at DU Department of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Xerces members, and Denver Parks & Rec Horticulturist Skyler Smith hosted the event on August 19th.
Julie provided butterfly nets and other insect catching devices, and gently chilled the captured pollinators in test tubes on ice to allow us all to take a closer look under magnification and through closeup photos. (Once the little insects woke up, they were able to fly away to get back to work.) Adults and kids alike enjoyed running through the flowers with butterfly nets; it felt quite nostalgic!
Our BioBlitz recorded over 200 observations of a variety of interesting creatures, with 70 species identified.
“Imagine your garden as a fine wine getting better and better with age...the simple process of selecting seeds from the plants that work best for you makes this a reality. You can choose seeds for amazing taste, insect and disease resistance, drought tolerance...the sky's the limit when choosing plants that perform outrageously well in your garden.”
- from Bill McDorman's intro to Seed Saving Hacked: Why Seeds Matter, Why Saving Them is Easy, and How to Save Your Own
Free seed for everyone! If you grow a garden you have seed - in greater abundance than you can imagine. Right now, hanging in your garden are the seeds of food, fruit, herbs and flowers just waiting for you to come and collect them.
When I first started collecting seed over 15 years ago I excitedly headed to the garden and, without any planning, gleaned about 5 lbs of seed from what was already there. If you plan ahead you’ll have even more, but right now is the time to go get your free seed from what’s already growing.
Brown paper bags, scissors, and a sharpie are what I grab when I head out for seed. I often cut off and drop the seedheads into a brown paper bag - labeled with name, date, and notes about growing conditions - to be cleaned later. The seed and seed heads will continue to dry in a brown paper bag in our dry climate.
I especially enjoy this cleaning activity in winter when it is snowing. 7=4Pulling out a bag or two of basil or dill seed can send you into the stratosphere of aromatherapy. There are much worse jobs than cleaning seed, I promise.
Humans have been savings seeds for thousands of years. Just a century ago our food came from roughly 1,500 plants, plus thousands of different cultivated varieties. The United States is a country of immigrants. Many brought seeds with them from their homelands and passed these heirlooms on through the generations. Pots of planted vegetables even filled the fire escapes of city tenements.
People saved their own seeds because there was no other choice, and they selected the best plants from the varieties they liked because they tasted good, yielded early, kept their kids healthy, resisted pests, thrived with less water, tolerated early frosts, or any number of other reasons.
But the tradition and art of seed saving almost disappeared in the latter half of the 20th century. As more people moved to urban areas and suburbs, home food gardening became less popular than lawn care. People were buying their food in supermarkets, with produce trucked or flown in. Fast food and junk food replaced vegetables in our national diet. The continuing disappearance of small family-owned farms overshadowed a back-to-the-land movement in the early 1970’s. Today, just four plants, wheat, rice, corn, and soybeans, provide more than 75% of the calories humans consume, and that diverse pool of 1,500 food plants has shrunk to about 30.
By Keith Funk – The Garden Wise Guy, gardenwiseguy.com
Q: How late is too late in the fall for planting trees and shrubs?
A: Fall is a great time to plant—but don't wait too long!
For Denver and much of the Front Range, September through mid-October is prime planting time for trees, shrubs and perennials. Top growth has finished for the season so there is less above ground demand on the root system. Cooler air and warm soil give plants a chance to get some roots out before winter.
Colorado's fall weather can change quickly, so I don't recommend pushing fall planting too late. Try to finish planting trees and shrubs by the end of October. Evergreens especially may struggle in late fall.
And here's something many gardeners forget: newly planted plants still need water! Give them a good soaking when you plant, then continue watering November through March, during dry periods as long as the ground isn't frozen. Colorado winters can be devastatingly dry.
At least a 2-inch layer of mulch over the root zone and beyond, will help conserve moisture and protect those new roots. Just keep it several inches away from the trunk. Give those roots time to get established before winter arrives, and your plants will have a much better chance of coming through a Colorado winter healthy and ready to grow next spring.
A: Yes! Rinse those garden goodies! With all the recent produce recalls, you may be feeling pretty good about growing your own fruits and vegetables. And I agree—growing your own can eliminate many of the risks associated with commercially grown produce. But that doesn't mean you should eat your vegetables right off the plant, especially those that are harvested from the soil like carrots, or on top of the soil like squash. Even if you garden organically.
Pesticides aren't the only concern. Bird droppings, parasites, and bacteria such as E. coli, salmonella and listeria can find their way onto garden produce. That's just part of dealing with nature!
So, give your home-grown fruits and vegetables a good rinse before eating them. When washing sturdier produce, rub them gently with your hands under running water. More delicate fruits, such as raspberries, and strawberries, should be handled carefully. Growing your own is great. Just remember—fresh from the garden doesn't necessarily mean table ready.
More Gardening Q&As...
Q: When should I stop feeding hummingbirds in Colorado? Should I take my feeder down in September so I don't keep them from migrating?
Gardening Events
Check our Colorado Gardener Calendar for our list of events including plant swaps, gardening classes, webinars, garden tours, plant sales, and conferences.
Coming up:
Parker Water & Sanitation District:
ColoradoScape 101
Sept 2, 10am-11:30am:Learn the fundamentals of ColoradoScaping and create a low-water landscape
Denver Botanic Gardens:
Rocky Mountain Bonsai Society Annual Show
Sept 5-6: Bonsai sculptures by local and regional artists
Do you have a Colorado Gardening class or event to submit to us? Fill out our form »
