Colorado Garden Update July 2016

Posted byColleen M. ChesebroPosted inUpdatesTags:, , , , ,

Just as I promised back in early June, here is the status of my Colorado gardening experiment. The other day, we got this cool sign to hang in our living room. I really love it!

I am learning much about the climate and elevation. I spoke with a neighbor the other day and she was telling me how babies born here in Colorado Springs are born at a lower birth weight. The elevation affects their development. That got me to thinking about my vegetables. They are a tad smaller than normal.

Tomatoes and squash

Left to right: peppers, mint, and zucchini

Left to right: peppers, basil and a small zucchini, peppers

My tiny harvest: green pepper, orange cherry tomatoes, and a small zucchini

We have tremendous heat. It has been around 90 degrees F. daily now for a couple of weeks. My garden began to explode with growth. I thought the thunderstorms were torrential in the South. They are nothing compared to the storms that brew over the Rocky Mountains.

Last night, the wind howled and torrents of rain lashed at our windows. A couple of times, I feared they would break. The lightning was the most spectacular I have ever seen. Just south of us, there were reports of golf ball sized hail. Windows were blown out of houses. Numerous cars sustained hail damage. Hail piled up in the streets!

This is a picture of the hail from just south of us, courtesy of the KKTV Facebook page

The storms here are violent. Here’s a great PDF article about the climate in Colorado and how the mountains dictate what happens to our weather.

So, all in all, I would say my gardening venture is working out. The veggies might be smaller, but that doesn’t affect the taste.

Have a great weekend. I am still in editing mode. Thanks for stopping by!

Published by Colleen M. Chesebro

An avid reader, Colleen M. Chesebro rekindled her love of writing poetry after years spent working in the accounting industry. These days, she loves crafting syllabic poetry, flash fiction, and creative fiction and nonfiction. In addition to poetry books, Chesebro’s publishing career includes participation in various anthologies featuring short stories, flash fiction, and poetry. She’s an avid supporter of her writing community on Word Craft Poetry.com by organizing and sponsoring a weekly syllabic poetry challenge, called #TankaTuesday, where participants experiment with traditional and current forms of Japanese and American syllabic poetry. Chesebro is an assistant editor of The Congress of the Rough Writers Flash Fiction Anthology & Gitty Up Press, a micro-press founded by Charli Mills and Carrot Ranch. In January 2022, Colleen founded Unicorn Cats Publishing Services to assist poets and authors in creating eBooks and print books for publication. In addition, she creates affordable book covers for Kindle and print books. Chesebro lives in the house of her dreams in mid-Michigan surrounded by the Great Lakes with her husband and two (unicorn) cats, Chloe & Sophie.

54 thoughts on “Colorado Garden Update July 2016”

    1. The temperatures are the best in the US! Thanks, Olga. I just hope we don’t get that hail here. It missed us yesterday! ❤

      Like

  2. I always try to buy small vegetables and fruit as their taste is by far more intense and better. Often they are cheaper too as they don’t fit into the categories people or the EU wants.

    Liked by 2 people

  3. Wow! That’s crazy! Glad you are all well, Colleen! Oh, and next year your harvest will be already a lot bigger! But it is wonderful what you got in this first season!

    Liked by 2 people

    1. I agree. I was excited to see how well it all is doing. I had fun this morning fertilizing and watering. A great break. ❤

      Liked by 1 person

    1. The storms are out of this world. I had no idea the mountains drew the energy like they do. We have been lucky so far! ❤

      Liked by 1 person

    1. Wasn’t that interesting? I never thought the elevation would do that. It took a while to get used to how high up we are, but now I am fine. I love it here. Absolutely gorgeous. ❤

      Like

      1. My husband visited Colorado a few years ago as a pig nutrition scientist at a big meeting and without him knowing it he had heart problems and if it was known, he hadn’t been allowed to fly. Luckily he came home in good shape and got his operation a few months later

        Liked by 1 person

        1. Wow. I know the elevation made it worse. I am so glad that he is alright. It took me about 4 months to get used to the elevation. I have asthma but now I am doing fine. ❤

          Like

          1. It’s so interesting to hear about different parts of the world. And we were glad he managed to attend this pig nutrition meeting as he had been on many others every fourth year for thirty years.

            Liked by 1 person

  7. You moved from the South to Colorado? Were you from Waaaay down south or just “down south?” 🙂

    Didn’t know the storms were that severe. I did move from South Florida to Minnesota. The culture shock was hard enough, but the winters! 2 years in Minnesota and 7 years in Wisconsin and I never got used to the winters.

    In the 1980’s, I visited some people who lived over 8000 feet up on a mountain in Colorado outside of Denver. That’s when I discovered that altitude sickness can manifest itself via anxiety attack. Before that happened, I wanted to move to Colorado. After it happened, I swore that I would never stay in a place higher than 8000 feet for 4 days again. 🙂

    Hope you fare better than I. It sounds like you’re already getting acclimated to the growing season.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. We moved around the last few years looking for a place to retire. We are retired military so used to our gypsy ways. We were in Montana, then we went to Arizona. From there, Pensacola, Florida and then to Colorado. We are done. We found our utopia. LOL! I grew up in Wisconsin. Colorado is cold, but nothing like Wisconsin or Montana’s 40 below. I love Colorado. I wish we had come here years before. I hated Florida. I lived in Okeechobee years ago. I didn’t like it then. We thought we would like it now that we were older. Nope. Too bad you didn’t fare well here. No humidity, no bugs, and the people are awesome! ❤

      Liked by 1 person

      1. I believe that people should be where they can acclimate to the weather. I am happy you found your utopia. Not everyone is as lucky as we are. 🙂

        It’s 90 degrees in my part of Florida (was 95 earlier). I’m sitting in my office with the fans going and no A/C. And I’m comfortable. Most people would be sweating. To me, this is as close to heaven as it gets.

        Liked by 1 person

        1. I would be dying! LOL! It’s about 80 degrees here and little to no humidity. We keep the house closed up during the day to keep the heat out. See, that’s what is perfect. We all find our Utopias! ❤️

          Liked by 1 person

  8. My family was stationed at USAFA for five years, 04-09. As the active duty member my wife ran the cadet chapel while I ran the old Carmike Chapel Hills 15. I remember the hail and sudden storms there!

    Liked by 2 people

    1. We are retired Air Force… my husband is. I did my four years. My first base was supposed to be the Air Force Academy! (I worked at the chapel). That didn’t happen then, but I am glad we are here now. I love it. The storms are crazy! ❤

      Liked by 1 person

  9. Those bins in your garden are wonderful, such a great idea. Do you have to water often? We’ve had so much sunshine here, heat, no rain. Your veggies may be small, but they look perfect. Enjoy the harvest. ☺

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Hi, VAN! I have missed you. These are sheep troughs. Yes, I water daily or Ron does. The heat is really intense here, and the winds. I am happy with the harvest. Much more to come. Take care and I will stop by soon. Hugs and love! ❤

      Liked by 1 person

  10. Well done on your crop..they look amazing..we are currently in the middle of a storm as I type and it’s 7 in the morning but I am sure it will cease soon ..but it’s still warm…Lost a few tree branches the other night so some garden clearing to be done …luckily they missed my plants which seem to love the climate here and grow bigger while I am watching them. Ohhhhhh the wind is howling…..Have a lovely day 🙂

    Liked by 2 people

        1. Thank you. I just sent my first newsletter. Sorry it is a repeat. ❤️ hugs! 🦄

          Like

  11. I’m way too lazy to garden but I love the way your yard looks with the border of gravel? stones? and the sheep troughs for the plants. Lovely 🙂

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Thanks. We lucked out when we bought this house. The sod and gravel were there. We did the rest. It is a lovely area to hang out in. ❤️

      Liked by 1 person

  12. The garden looks wonderful, Colleen. The perfect harvest for your salad! With that sort of weather, there’s many a story to tell up there in the mountains. Maybe inspiration for the next book?

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Oh, yes. The next in the series is the meadow fairy. Next is the mountain Fairy. I have plans! LOL! ❤️

      Liked by 1 person

  14. The garden is looking truly wonderful, Colleen. Well done on the harvest. Here in Wales, we’re having problems growing vegetables this Summer as the weather has been so cool and wet (and there’s no signs of it changing). Looks as if we will little if any harvest unless we get a little more heat and sunshine.
    Enjoy your garden. 😎
    xx

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Thanks, Hugh. Last summer was so warm in Wales, I thought. I had no idea how things would grow in this elevation. It has been great fun. Maybe next year. ❤️

      Liked by 1 person

    1. Really spectacular weather all dominated by the mountains. I really love it here. ❤

      Like

  18. Pingback: A Mindful Journey

Comments are closed.

%d bloggers like this: