Firewise, plus the city vs weeds

An important part of a native plant garden is leaving last season’s dried vegetation in place over the winter. It helps trap snow for moisture and provides seeds for birds. A Habitat Hero sign shows this is not a patch of weeds. Photo by Barb Gorges.

Firewise information, plus city ordinances regulate weeds and native plant gardens

Published March 15, 2024, in the Wyoming Tribune Eagle.

By Barb Gorges

Firewise

            Firewise is a program educating homeowners, especially in areas prone to wildfire (grasslands or forest), on measures to safeguard their homes. The idea is to eliminate flammables within 5 feet of buildings, including under the porch or deck and in the gutters, plus other aspects within 30 feet.

            You can read my interview with folks creating a Firewise community across the highway from Curt Gowdy State Park, https://cheyennegardengossip.wordpress.com/2015/06/01/firewise-preparing-your-home-for-wildfire-season/, and find information at www.firewise.org.

            Native plants are recommended for landscaping Firewise homes.

Weeds and the native plant garden

            I recently heard a story about a man who has been working on turning his front yard into a native plant garden since 2003 and how it was mistaken for non-compliant weeds and mowed at the direction of the city.

            The good news is that most of the plants in a native plant garden are perennials that will come back. But how did this happen and how can we keep it from happening again?

            This incident came up at the 10^th annual Cheyenne Habitat Hero Workshop in February and I followed up later with more questions. It seems that the homeowner had just left for vacation when the notice came and “the time for appeal had expired by the time I returned,” he said.

            I asked if he had a plant list. Not really, but plants include penstemon, asters, yarrow, salvia, columbine, coneflowers and early blooming non-natives such as tulips, daffodils and crocus.

            One way to mark an area as a flower garden is to have flowers blooming across the entire growing season, which his spring bloomers help with. He said he even does some deadheading to get plants to bloom a second time. But the city mowing took place in October, when it can be difficult for some to see the beauty of seedheads attracting birds.

            I asked if he has a weed problem. “So far bindweed hasn’t been a problem in the front yard (it is in the backyard). Thistle is an issue and I work to keep it under control,” he said.

            Another way to indicate a flower garden is to define the edges well. At my house, it’s a sharp shovel making the line between bed and turf. The sidewalk is one boundary, he said, “I place a 4×4 between the sidewalk and yard as an additional buffer. I trim back the plants when they grow into the sidewalk.”

            City councilman Richard Johnson, who attended last year’s Habitat Hero workshop, put me in touch with John Palmer, code enforcement supervisor, who emailed me a reply:

            “If a homeowner who is turning their yard into a garden receives a letter for a potential violation of the weeds/grass ordinance, they should call or email the nuisance officer listed at the bottom of the letter as soon as possible and arrange for a meeting at the address to discuss the matter on site.

            “Our concern usually is that noxious weeds or weeds that spread quickly, such as dandelions, are allowed to grow along with flowering plants and become a problem for neighbors who have a traditional grass yard. Also, some of these locations allow flowering plants/weeds to grow tall enough to become an obstruction of the sidewalk.

            “If troublesome weeds and any obstruction of the sidewalk is addressed, then we generally don’t have a problem with whole yard gardens and the case would be closed.

            “As with any violation letter that we send out, timely communication is important to resolve situations like this,” wrote Palmer.

            As in traditional flower beds, you can plan for short plants along the sidewalk—keeping the sunflowers farther back so they don’t lean over the sidewalk.

            Another traditional flower bed design element is planting drifts of each species rather than a patchwork of “onesies.” Of course, self-reseeding perennials don’t always cooperate.

            Zach Hutchinson, from Audubon Rockies, who lives in Natrona County, said he had a similar experience with someone mistaking his native plant garden for weeds. The county people suggested that to show his intentions better, he should put up a sign.

            Habitat Hero certification through Audubon Rockies, https://rockies.audubon.org/habitat-hero, or the National Wildlife Federation, https://certifiedwildlifehabitat.nwf.org/ both offer signs.   

            And of course, keep your garden weeded. Some Wyoming native plants are considered agricultural weeds, but they shouldn’t be a problem in your garden unless you are on a farm or ranch.             Nancy Loomis’s advice at the workshop (follow her on Facebook, NativeNancy3072): Disturb soil as little as possible to keep weed seeds from germinating. Cut down annual weeds before they drop seeds. Consider targeting difficult perennial weeds that don’t respond to digging, like bindweed and thistle, with the right poison at the right time.              

Winter sowing magic

Translucent plastic jugs planted with seeds can be left outside for the winter. Seeds are protected from wind and critters and will sprout in spring. Photo by Barb Gorges.

Winter sowing magically protects and sprouts seeds outdoors

Published February 9, 2024, in the Wyoming Tribune Eagle.

By Barb Gorges

            Winter sowing is a fun technique I originally learned from Laramie County Master Gardener Michelle Bohanan in 2016.

            It’s now so popular that an internet search brings 149,000 results.

            Winter sowing imitates nature by leaving seeds outdoors over the winter. Sowing seeds in a container with a clear or translucent cover protects them from wind and critters but exposes them to snow and cold. Some kinds of seeds need to freeze and thaw to sprout.

            The seeds sprout starting late April in Cheyenne. They can be transplanted directly into the garden (usually late May) without having to gradually harden them off the way indoor grown seedlings need to be.

Seeds

            I use the technique primarily for native perennials, but it can be used for other perennials, annuals, and cold happy vegetables (cabbage, kale, etc.). Tomatoes, eggplants and other heat happy vegetables, not so much—it would give them too late a start to have ripe fruit before our first fall frost.

            My native seed choices for beginners include:

–Narrowleaf Coneflower (purple coneflower’s Wyoming sister)

–Mexican Hat, also called Prairie Coneflower

–Blanket Flower, also called Gaillardia

–Black-eyed Susan, also called Rudbeckia

–Rocky Mountain Penstemon

–Beebalm, also called Monarda

–Showy Milkweed (most common milkweed in southeast Wyoming)

–Columbine

            Look for these at the Laramie County Library’s Seed Library or from companies that specialize in prairie plants like Prairie Moon Nursery, Prairie Nursery, and High Country Gardens.

            For more inspiration, see the Habitat Hero information at https://cheyenneaudubon.org/habitat-hero-resources/.

Timing

            I aim to get seeds sown in January and February, when it’s finally cold enough, yet there is still enough cold weather for seeds that might need eight weeks of cold (stratification) to break dormancy.

Jugs

            Michelle’s and my containers of choice are the 1-gallon pliable, translucent water, juice or milk jugs because they are deep and roomy, and even if you don’t buy those beverages, you probably know people who do.

            My problem is that our family’s preferred brand of milk now comes in white containers. Because I donate jugs of seedlings to the Master Gardener spring plant sale, I’ve learned to hang onto the old translucent lids and reuse them with new white bottoms. If you store jugs in the dark the rest of the year, they will last for years.

Jug prep

            Plastic jugs are so flimsy these days that my pointy kitchen shears are sharp enough to make a hole level with the bottom of the handle and then I can cut all the way around. I also poke four holes in the bottom for drainage.

            Run-of-the-mill, peat-based potting soil works for me, though I should think about trying something more ecologically friendly.

            Peat can be dry and very hydrophobic so I dump a bunch in a large tub, water it well, mix it and let it sit for a bit to get it wet evenly. Then I scoop it into the bottom of each jug 3 inches deep.

            I use a Sharpie permanent ink pen to write the seed names on the sides of the jug bottoms.

Seed planting

            Michelle counts out her seeds, planting them in grids of 4 x 4 or 5 x 5 per jug. Me, I tend to just scatter seeds. Once, I ended up with 200 in one jug. When crowded, seeds sprout but then don’t grow much, except for their roots, so they need transplanting much sooner.

            Some seeds, usually the tiny ones, need light to germinate so just sprinkling them and pressing them against the soil is good enough. Plant 1/8^th inch and larger seeds 1/8^th inch deep. Check seed packets or the internet for more specific information.

            After planting, force the top of the jug into the bottom. It’s Ok if the sides buckle. Remove the jug’s lid—more access for snow to get in.

Jug placement

            Find a safe, semi-shady spot where snow likes to drift. If you have only a sunny spot, you may have to water periodically. After sprouting, move jugs to a sunny location and remove the tops of the jugs on nice days.

Removing seedlings

            Good root growth holds the soil together in a jug like a giant peat brownie.

            Remove the top of the jug, stretch your fingers across and through the seedlings. Then tip over the container gently to let the brownie drop out onto your hand.

            Gently break the brownie apart, teasing out the individual seedlings for planting directly into the garden or into pots with more room. Be sure to gently shake off most of the potting soil before transplanting a seedling into the garden.

High Plains Arboretum’s living legacy

Published Jan. 12, 2024, in the Wyoming Tribune Eagle.

The High Plains Arboretum: A living legacy of horticultural research

By Jessica Friis, guest columnist

For decades after the Homestead Act, many settlers had tried and failed to establish roots in the high plains of Wyoming. The combination of short growing seasons, unpredictable early and late frosts, low precipitation, high winds, and lack of winter snow cover makes it especially hard for trees to survive.

Hoping to help settlers get established and beautify budding communities, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) constructed a horticultural field station west of Cheyenne to find or develop plants that could survive the harsh conditions of the high plains.

From 1930-74, station staff tested native plants from around the region, as well as foreign plants collected from similar climates around the world and introduced by USDA plant explorers. If no suitable plants could be found, researchers bred new varieties. They developed varieties of strawberries, raspberries, tomatoes, pumpkins, and ornamental plants specifically for Wyoming’s harsh climate and short growing season.

A class featuring the heirloom vegetable varieties that were tested or developed at the station will be offered at the Cheyenne Botanic Gardens on February 24, and seeds will be available for purchase. Visit www.botanic.org for more information.

Trees and shrubs grown at the station were distributed around the state and region to help landowners establish shelterbelts and beautify the grounds of many government buildings, including the state capitol, University of Wyoming, Colorado State University, the Veterans Administration hospital, highway department, and many more.

The research conducted at the station changed the landscape of the high plains. New varieties released by the station were shared with local nurseries so that homeowners could grow their own produce at a time before refrigerated shipping brought fresh produce to grocery stores.

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) had two camps at the station during the Great Depression. A veterans’ camp assisted with the daily labor needs from 1935-42. A junior camp beautified the area around the Roundtop Water Treatment Plant from 1935-37. Buildings, stone terraces, bridges, and campsites constructed by both CCC camps remain on the station. For more information on the fascinating history of this site, the book “High Plains Arboretum” is available at the Cheyenne Botanic Gardens giftshop or online.

                In 1974, the focus of the station was changed to livestock grazing and mining reclamation research. With these changes came a new name, the High Plains Grasslands Research Station. Rangeland research still continues at the station under the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service.

When the focus of the station shifted away from horticulture, most of the horticultural plots were removed. The trees and shrubs in the arboretum were left standing, and members of the staff continued to till the weeds and irrigate during dry spells. Despite these efforts, almost half of the 1,175 trees and shrubs inventoried in 1978 had died by the turn of the century.

                In 2000, a group of concerned citizens formed to save the trees remaining in the arboretum. After years of negotiations, 62 acres of land encompassing the arboretum was returned to the City of Cheyenne. The space was named the High Plains Arboretum and opened to the public in 2008. Since that time, the Cheyenne Urban Forestry Division and Cheyenne Botanic Gardens have worked together with limited funding to preserve the remaining plants, replace some of those lost, and provide interpretative signage for visitors.

                The City of Cheyenne and other stakeholders are now working with Wyoming State Parks and Cultural Resources to create the High Plains Research Station and Arboretum State Historic Site. The bill to create this historic site will go before the Wyoming State Legislature in February.

The vision is to have the city continue to care for the historic arboretum, while state parks will manage the remaining property. This includes preservation and restoration of historic structures, interpretation of Roundtop and the history of the site, and master planning to ensure all partners can work together seamlessly.

The city of Cheyenne is working to return to the original mission of growing plants best adapted to Wyoming’s climate for statewide use. We hope that by working together, the site can be more accessible to visitors and serve the public as a wonderful historic site.

For more information on this effort, an information session will be held at the Wyoming State Museum on Tuesday, January 16 at 6:30 pm.

Jessica Friis, horticulturist at the Cheyenne Botanic Gardens, and author of the book “High Plains Arboretum”, enjoys beautifying the Paul Smith Children’s Village, researching the High Plains Arboretum and educating the public on growing plants in Wyoming. Contact her at jfriis@cheyennecity.org.

10th Annual Cheyenne Habitat Hero Workshop Feb. 3, 2024

10th Annual Cheyenne Habitat Hero Workshop

Feb. 3, 2024, 8 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Laramie County Community College:

 “Ways to Make and Keep a Garden for the Birds and Bees Plus Advice on Trees”

          This year we look at how different people approached making a Habitat Hero-style garden and how they maintain it.
 We will introduce the makers of six local gardens who will be panelists for discussion on what works and doesn’t work:
Gary Kayser has created a meadow at the corner of 3rd and Carey avenues that drew the attention of the Wyoming Tribune Eagle photographer.
Eric Dalton has made Habitat Hero gardens at his home and his business, Bella Fuoco Wood Fired Pizza on Warren Avenue.
Nancy Loomis keeps the weeds at bay in the garden at the Laramie County Library.
Isaiah Smith, horticulture and operations supervisor at the Cheyenne Botanic Gardens installed gravel garden beds in the parking lot last year.
Isaiah Smith and Jacob Mares prepared the Habitat Hero garden site at the Cheyenne Botanic Gardens and Barb Gorges keeps it weeded.
Rex Lockman, wildlife and range specialist for the Laramie County Conservation District, will report on the Native Prairie Island project, sowing seeds over new septic fields.

Lunch – Included in registration
Jacob Mares, Community Forestry coordinator for the Wyoming State Forestry Division, will introduce trees appropriate for water-wise Habitat Hero gardens.
Scott Aker, director of the Cheyenne Botanic Gardens, formerly in charge of horticulture and education at the U.S. National Arboretum in Washington, D.C., will show how to prune young trees to help protect them from wind, snow and ice damage. 
          To bring us an update on the size and scope of the Habitat Hero program, we will hear from Audubon Rockies staff.
         Finally, everyone’s favorite part–Michelle Bohanan has selected native seed for everyone to take home for winter sowing.

Registration for in-person attendance will be $25 and will include lunch. Registration for Zoom only will be $5. Registration information at: www.CheyenneAudubon.org/habitat-hero/

Or register directly at: https://act.audubon.org/a/make-keep-garden-birds-bees

Barnes & Noble book signing Dec. 9, noon – 3 p.m.

Come see me at Barnes and Noble Saturday, Dec. 9, noon til 3 p.m. I’ll be signing copies of my books, “Cheyenne Birds by the Month” and “Cheyenne Garden Gossip,” and talking about birds and gardening with anyone who stops by.

If you haven’t been to the new store yet, 5116 Frontier Mall Drive (the old Natural Grocers location), this is your excuse!

Gardeners’ Christmas wish lists

Some kind of greenhouse is on almost every gardener’s wish list. This geodesic design built in Fort Laramie seems to be holding up to Wyoming’s wind. Photo by Barb Gorges.

Gardeners’ Christmas wish lists include tools, vinegar and manure

Published Dec. 15, 2023, in the Wyoming Tribune Eagle.

By Barb Gorges

            I asked Laramie County Master Gardeners what they want for Christmas and received a variety of replies, from tools to greenhouses to sheep manure.

            Manure?!

            Donna Woitaszewski wrote, “My biggest garden wish this year is to have some sheep do-do tilled into my garden spot. I’d take basically any good organic soil-builder but that one comes to mind first. I don’t have a truck, a tiller, or any help to do it, so Santa would need to include that, too.”

            Equally basic, Peggy Zdenek wants wooden posts for installing a fence. Fencing can be so important. Not only does it separate animals and people from tender plants, but solid fences can throw a little shade and act as a windbreak out on the prairie.

            Tools are a popular category. Christine and Steve Johnson garden on a larger scale than many of us, so I’m not surprised by the larger tools in their long list. It’s actually from last year, but now that they’ve tried these items, they highly recommend:

–Raised garden boxes with hoop tops that can be removed

–Automatic timer for the outside faucet  

–Drip system

–Tree spade, (flatter than a shovel)

–Hoss wheel hoe plow and attachments (you push the wheeled plow) 

–Scythe or brush cutter with curved steel blade and two wooden handles from vidaXL.

            Power tools are on the lists of two women. Kathy Juniker says she wants a ‘girl-sized’ garden tiller. “I need to get rid of more turf grass and build more flower beds full of pollinator friendly plants. Digging out that sod by hand is back-breaking! There is a Black and Decker electric tiller that we had at the Boys and Girls Club this spring that I could handle. It’s not that expensive.”

            Rosalind Schliske wrote, “Earlier this year, Keren Meister-Emerich wouldn’t stop raving about her new battery-operated DeWalt pruner. She was so excited that she had filled her husband’s truck so many times with branches to take to the city compost facility.

            “Then in June, the Prairie Garden Club held its cleanup of the grounds at the Historic Governors’ Mansion. Members Jutta Arkan and Martha Mullikin were using their DeWalt pruners to cut back the numerous white roses and other out-of-control bushes around the building. They, too, raved about the pruner, and seeing it in action, I could understand why.

“However, I didn’t wait until Christmas to buy my own. In addition to cutting the usual suspects like lilacs and cotoneaster, it was amazing during fall cleanup on thick-stemmed goldenrods and hollyhocks and even thinner perennials. The lightweight pruner is wonderful for those who us without a lot of hand strength. I think we all would highly recommend the 20v MAX cordless battery-powered pruner (DCPR320).”

            Sabine McClintock hopes her Santa hears her wish for a way to store very long, heavy-duty hoses. And maybe make her a simple board with large nails for holding tools. And find some 30% horticultural vinegar for killing weeds.

            I don’t know if it will work for Sabine, but Suzy Sauls told me about her dream hose from Hoselink. A hundred-foot hose retracts itself into a tidy container the homeowner mounts on a post next to the outside faucet. And the company has fittings for hose ends so they easily snap together, instead of being difficult to twist and then they still leak.

            A greenhouse always makes this list—well, not made of glass in our climate. Marla Smith said, “The only thing on my Santa list is a high tunnel. The ability to extend the season for my flowers and vegetables would give an additional support to everything I enjoy about gardening in these high altitudes!”

            Having heard of at least two high tunnels self-destructing in our wind, I asked Marla if she had heard about the stronger, geodesic dome types. Yes, she had, even helping erect one during last spring’s Bee College at Laramie County Community College. She hasn’t been able to choose between them yet.

            Jutta Arkan, on the other hand, thinks the Master Gardeners could play Santa by contributing a garden-themed bronze to the collection on downtown street corners. She’s even picked out Loveland, Colorado, artist Julie Jones’s “Sweet Moment.”

            If you are tasked with finding a gift for a gardener, consider gardening magazines like “The American Gardener.” Or, a Cheyenne Botanic Gardens membership which gets members into 300 other gardens across the country for free or special rates.

            Or, maybe a gift certificate for an appropriate seed catalog like Pinetree Garden Seeds from Maine. They specialize in vegetables for short growing seasons like ours.

            Or, a big, fat, garden-filled coffee table book to sink into when winter is at its worst.

Library book signing Nov. 25

I’ll be at the Local Author Celebration at the Laramie County Library Saturday, Nov. 25, 2023, from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. I’ll have copies of all three of my books for sale (cash, check or Zelle),:

— “Cheyenne Birds by the Month – 104 Species of Southeastern Wyoming’s Resident and Visiting Birds” – $23

–“Cheyenne Garden Gossip – Locals Share Secrets for High Plains Gardening Success” – $25

–“Quilt Care, Construction and Use Advice – How to Help Your Quilt Live to 100” – $10

–“Dear Book – The 1916-1920 Diary of Gertrude Oehler Witte” – orders, $23

Signing special: All prices include sales tax.

If you only have a credit card, pick up books at one of these Cheyenne locations and bring them by for signing: 307 Made, Barnes & Noble, Bonsai Books, Cheyenne Botanic Gardens, Cheyenne Depot Museum, Cheyenne Honey, Curt Gowdy State Park, the Hawthorn Tree, JAX, Riverbend Nursery, Sunshine Plant Company, Wyoming Game and Fish Department Headquarters, Wyoming State Museum.

See more about my books at https://yuccaroadpress.com/.

Succulents and air plants popular

Melissa Mead, proprietor of Succulent Journey, shows off a Sedum morganianum ‘Burro’s Tail.’ Photo by Good Karma Creative.

Succulents, air plants are big hits at holiday markets

Published Nov. 10, 2023, in the Wyoming Tribune Eagle.

By Barb Gorges

            The market for houseplants continues to boom.

Previously, most of us accumulated houseplants as pass-a-longs from our mothers, grandmothers and friends and have continued the tradition.

            But now with the internet, two local plant business entrepreneurs say, one can find so many kinds, it’s easy to become obsessed. And the pandemic certainly spurred people’s inclination to adopt houseplants.

Succulents

            Melissa Mead started her houseplant business, Succulent Journey, at the farmers market in Taos, New Mexico, and transplanted it to Cheyenne when she moved here a few years ago.

She can ship online orders and is a frequent vendor at local shows including those coming up Nov. 25, Heroes Holiday Market, and Dec. 9 and 10, Cowboy Christmas Market, both at the Event Center at Archer, 3801 Archer Parkway. She also sometimes brings sourdough baked goods via her other business, Windy Kitchen.

            Melissa’s plant journey began at the start of high school when she found a plant in a dumpster and took it home. It continued through high school with her part-time jobs in nurseries at various locations along the Colorado Front Range.

            Concentrating on succulents works because there is such a wide variety. Most of us know the jade plant is a succulent—thick, juicy leaves, but there are hundreds of others such as Aloe, Crassula, Echeveria, with many species and varieties. One, a tiny jade-like plant but with upright leaves, is “Hobbit.” It makes terrific top-of-the-head feathers for a tiny, 2-inch pot with an owl face on it.

            And this is where Melissa’s plant business takes an artisan turn. Her specialty is pairing a plant with a pot that will make both look good. Her husband makes custom wooden shelves to display them. Her mother contributes vintage finds. Any container can become a pot if it can withstand moist soil and Melissa can get the drill press in to make a drainage hole.

            Every plant goes to its new home with a set of instructions which are also available at her website, https://www.succulentjourney.com/: how much light, water and fertilizer and how often.

Some plants are what she calls beginner types, those that can withstand a wide spectrum of care intensity. Melissa sells her own succulent soil mixture for when your succulent needs to be transplanted to a larger pot.

Air plants

            Andrea McHenry, doing business as “The Air Plant Lady,” doesn’t worry about soil. Her plants, mostly in the Tillandsia genus, get their nutrients from air and water, no matter where they are perched.

            Andrea’s first acquaintance with houseplants was through her mother. Then she bought her first air plant in 1985, but it was about four years ago she discovered they were cheaper by the dozen. Next thing she knew, she’d started a business.

            The typical beginner air plant is a star-shaped bundle about the size of your hand made up of pointy leaves, but there are bigger–much bigger–kinds.

“Air Plant Lady” Andrea McHenry displayed a Tillandsia vernicosa air plant on a seashell. It’s important that the plant not hide in a container because it requires air flowing around it to be healthy. Photo by Andrea McHenry.

            Air plants have a different life from “soil” houseplants, Andrea told me. Once they bloom, they die. But before they die, they start new plants, “pups,” that are attached to them. People often remove these when they are about one-third to half adult size and throw out the mother plant.

But if the pups are left attached, soon you have what’s known as a “cluster.” A cluster can eventually be several generations. In the middle are a bunch of dead leaves. However, Andrea once tried cleaning out those remnants of a great-grandmother and the whole cluster fell apart.

Andrea said air plant care in our dry climate is as simple as misting a plant twice a week and soaking it once a week for 30 minutes, then turning it upside down to dry for at least four hours. Hopefully, the surfaces around your air plant on display can withstand a little misting.

Fertilizing air plants is a bit tricky since they are allergic to copper, Andrea said. It’s best to go with what is formulated specially for air plants.

Andrea showed me various ways air plants are displayed: on metal structures, macrame hangings, wooden stands. They don’t do well inside bowls because they need airflow.

Some air plants “blush,” getting red-tinged leaves when they are getting ready to flower. Others are a soft gray-green because their trichomes, or hairs, are long, covering the leaves. Some of the larger air plants have long, curling leaves.

Look for Andrea McHenry on Facebook (while she gets her website set up) and at the shows coming up at Archer. 

“Greenhouse in the Snow” tour

Here’s a peek inside the Brights’ “New Greenhouse in the Snow.” Photo courtesy Greenhouse in the Snow.

Geothermal “Greenhouse in the Snow” is popular way to grow fruits and vegetables year round

Published Oct. 13, 2023, in the Wyoming Tribune Eagle.

By Barb Gorges

A greenhouse is at the top of many gardeners’ wish lists in a climate like ours.

Hoop houses are affordable, but our wind can quickly shred them. Plus, greenhouses are expensive to heat if you want to grow through the winter, not just get an early start in spring and extend the season in the fall.

Russ Finch, of Alliance, Nebraska, where winter is even colder than here in Cheyenne, gave the problem some thought about 35 years ago.

First, for heating, he decided to go with geothermal. He’d already tried it and liked it for his home. In our climate, the temperature is a constant 50 degrees at 8 feet below ground level. If you put tubes filled with air (some systems use fluids) down there, you can circulate it to help you warm a structure in winter, or cool one in summer.

Second, he put a third of the greenhouse height below ground level. A conventional greenhouse may have tables at counter height filled with pots of plants, or plants are planted in raised beds or directly in the ground. Russ dug out a 4-foot-deep trench that was 4 feet wide for planting citrus trees. The shoulders on either side, held in place with retaining walls, grow shorter plants.

Conventional greenhouses have glass or other light-conducting coverings all the way around. Russ put a solid wall in on the north side of the long, south-facing structure to conserve heat.

Russ’s “Greenhouse in the Snow,” https://greenhouseinthesnow.com/, worked so well, other people wanted to build one. Eventually, Russ, now in his 90s, partnered with Allen Bright, who has a machine shop in Alliance and can make the overhead trusses from steel.

Laramie County Master Gardener Charles Pannebaker suggested we take a tour of this amazing greenhouse last month, and 13 of us went with him. He is the most likely of us, partnering with his son, to build one.

We toured the “New Greenhouse in the Snow,” built at Allen’s house eight years ago. His wife, Lisa, gave the tour. She has orange, lemon, lime, kumquat, grapefruit and fig trees growing along with pineapples, everbearing strawberries, vegetables and herbs, plus flowers for the bees.

While Russ made it a business taking his produce to the farmers market so people could buy locally-grown citrus, Lisa is more interested in experimenting and gives away surpluses.

Much of Lisa’s information concerned general greenhouse management issues such as how to deal with pests like whiteflies and aphids. She has turtles and toads helping, plus safe sprays. She uses a combination of drip irrigation and spray irrigation on timers.

Some crops can be grown regardless of the season, but others, like tomatoes, require additional lighting in winter because winter days are just not long enough. Lisa does not use supplemental lighting and adjusts her crops seasonally.

While a kit and labor for building this geothermally-heated greenhouse is comparable to a conventional glass one, the difference is that heating and cooling cost very little. A conventional garage heater may have to kick in when temperatures get down to minus 20.

Kits can be ordered for a structure as short as 56 feet long and in 6-foot increments up to 102 feet. Some components you buy locally. You can save on labor if you have your own backhoe and have construction experience.

Ballpark cost for the newest full-length kit is equivalent to one new pickup. Labor would equal a second, fancier truck. But you would save on your grocery bills and could skip the trips to Hawaii you used to take to warm up mid-winter.

Next to the “New Greenhouse in the Snow” at the Brights’ is the “Newest Greenhouse in the Snow” that was still under construction when we toured it.

The idea, Lisa said, is to make this one more accessible and more aesthetically pleasing. The trench is still 4 feet deep, but it is 8 feet wide and the beds on either side are only 3 feet high. The retaining walls have planting pockets in them and there are upright supports that could support hanging baskets and vines.

The north wall is heavily insulated. The 230 feet of geothermal tubes are laid directly under the greenhouse instead of buried in a trench circling it. Solar electric runs the system. The floor is covered in concrete pavers instead of woodchips. The pavers can be removed wherever trees are going to be planted.

It will be interesting to see how the newest version works. Meanwhile, the “new” version is selling like hotcakes, 700 so far. Russ and the Brights have licensed businesses in Canada and France to offer the kits so shipping costs don’t get out of hand. A deal in Australia is pending.  

Tankhouse Nursery

Tankhouse Nursery, the retail arm of Arbor Valley in Cheyenne, is a new business interested in publicly offering plants adapted to our local climate. Photo by Barb Gorges.

The new Tankhouse Nursery carries plants suited to Cheyenne

Published Friday, September 15, 2023, in the Wyoming Tribune Eagle.

By Barb Gorges

            Did you notice last summer the small forest that sprouted on the southeast corner of Interstates 80 and 25? By those old buildings, including one very long and low and another a square tower?

            Eventually I saw the sign advertising a wholesale tree nursery, Arbor Valley, at 521 Southwest Drive, just north of the Cheyenne Animal Shelter. Then this year an additional sign appeared: Tankhouse Nursery. The mysterious tower is in its logo.

            I stopped by a few weeks ago and met the manager, John Jacobs, who explained everything.

            Arbor Valley is a family-owned nursery business headquartered in Brighton, Colorado. Cheyenne marks its sixth expansion along the I-25 corridor. The Cheyenne owner is Ed Ernste of Monument Homebuilders. He saw the need for another nursery in town as the city goes through a growth spurt.

            The difference in the Cheyenne location is that in addition to selling trees and other plants to landscaping professionals, it is also open to the public as the Tankhouse Nursery.

            What the heck is a tankhouse? If you lived in western Nebraska or California at the turn of the last century, you would know that it was a house attached to a tower with a large water storage tank in it, filled by a windmill.

            The tankhouse at the crossroads of I-80 and I-25 was part of Stansbury Farms, a dairy for many years, John said. About three acres of the original farm is being used for setting up the small forest of trees for sale, as well as a nice display of shrubs, perennials, herbs and annuals.

            The barn, house and outbuildings in the shade of old cottonwoods have potential for making a garden center, a place to go for education and fun family events. John says they have plans for fall events and sales this year. Watch for information in your Valpak coupon packet that comes in the mail and through other media.

            September is a great month for planting perennial flowers, trees and shrubs here. From what John told me, his trees could be your best bet for several reasons.

You don’t have to drive out of town.

You can hire their staff to plant them, and even have a landscape plan drawn for you through their associated business, Bison Brand Landscapes.

The trees are varieties adapted to this part of the Mountain West, something the big box stores don’t seem to pay attention to.

Cheyenne might be a bit colder and windier than the Colorado Front Range cities, John admitted. But the learning curve will be shorter for Arbor Valley and Tankhouse Nursery since they are already using stock grown from local sources.

Did you know that two plants can have the same name, right down to the variety name, but where they grow will make one’s offspring more adapted to the conditions the parent is growing in than the same plant variety grown from seeds of a plant in different conditions?

So, a particular maple variety from Midwestern or Eastern stock may not be as successful here as the same kind grown from Rocky Mountain stock.

Arbor Valley grows all its own deciduous stock on the Front Range. However, its coniferous stock, though from local seed, grows the first couple of years in the Pacific Northwest.

Cheyenne is lucky to have a source for successful trees and shrubs that Arbor Valley and other area nurseries make use of. Our High Plains Arboretum is a well-known source for plant material adapted to our growing conditions: late spring heavy snows and cold, dry summers, hail, early snow and frost, dry winters – you name it. Every year seems to be a different mix of extremes.

Another advantage Arbor Valley/Tankhouse has is a couple thousand trees on site, plus knowledgeable staff like John, with years in the industry.

Although new to Cheyenne, the businesses jumped right in and recently became major sponsors of Rooted in Cheyenne, the people who are making planting street trees fun and economical. Rooted in Cheyenne, https://rootedincheyenne.com/, has a fall community planting date scheduled for Sept. 16. Volunteers and orders for trees are welcome.

See a popular column I wrote, “How to Plant a Tree in Cheyenne, Wyoming,” at www.CheyenneGardenGossip.wordpress.com.

Be sure to water your new trees, shrubs and other perennials enough the first year, even in winter, and they will have the best chance of survival.

Don’t forget your old trees. Make sure they are pruned right so snow-laden branches don’t droop onto utility lines or roofs.