Fort Collins Nursery

Starting in May, the fine folks from Fresh Start Produce Company will be vending the finest fresh produce at Fort Collins Nursery. From peppers, corn, and arugula to blueberries, lemons, and artichokes, you will find a wonderful array of delicious fruits and vegetables for sale.

Fresh Start’s produce comes from all over the place. While most of it comes from farms all around Colorado, some of it comes from the great US of A. The gentlemen who run Fresh Start previously worked for a family run produce distribution company from Denver, and much of their produce is supplied by the same farms that support their family’s business.  They provide both conventional as well as organic produce. They source food from farms statewide, so if there is something specific you are looking for, please let them know!

Fresh Start will be here on Tuesdays and Fridays through the month of May, and will add Saturdays and Sundays beginning in early summer. They accept cash and credit cards.

For more photographs, check out our photo album on facebook!

Owner Jesse Eastman takes a tour through his vegetable garden as we move into May.

It’s spring and all that is green and plant-like is cranking right along. Soil temperatures are rising, and I am very excited about my garden.

Soaker hose is a snap to install and is gentle on tiny seeds like carrots

The garden is a series of raised beds. I used pallet collars (available for $16.99 ea., or as a complete kit w/soil for $99.99) as bed frames. These frames are ready-to-use garden beds, measuring 30”x48”x7.5”. They require absolutely no assembly, although I did opt to line the bed frames with some sheets of plastic to keep the moist soil from decomposing the untreated pine. ½” sch. 40 PVC pipe makes up hoops for row covers to provide a light protection from cold nighttime temperatures. These row covers make a nice compliment to the water filled protective Season Extenders.

I used ProMix BX soil in several beds, and EKO Organic Outdoor Planting Mix in the rest. While the EKO product was more cost effective and works great for started plants, small seeds like lettuce did not germinate well. On the other hand, seeds had no trouble at all getting started in the much lighter and finer ProMix BX.

The irrigation system uses ¼” soaker hose. It is looped through each bed so that the water it releases can soak evenly throughout each bed. A battery operated automatic timer runs. Once the seedlings reach 2” tall, all the will receive a covering of mini bark to prevent weeds and reduce evaporation.

Basil, thyme, cilantro, and marigold surround a pair of tomato plants

I choose my plants based on what I eat the most. I make a lot of salads and stir fry, and I love to grill, so tomatoes, peppers, corn, lettuce, carrots and herbs are bountiful. I made sure to utilize all the available space in each bed. In one bed, I surrounded the tomatoes with carrots. In another, I have planted lemon thyme, cilantro and basil around the tomatoes. I have devoted two beds to peppers, mostly hot. I find that I don’t eat as many mild peppers, so I chose to buy my bells and use my space for spicy!

In several beds I am going to use the “Three Sisters” method of planting. This is a Native American method that uses corn, beans, and squash in a mutually beneficial combination. The corn grows tall, giving the beans a pole on which to grow. The beans fix nitrogen in the soil, which helps feed nitrogen-hungry corn. The squash covers the ground with its gigantic prickly leaves, acting as mulch as well as preventing many predators from approaching the beans and corn. Additionally, the grouping provides a complete nutritional combo – corn for carbohydrates, beans for protein, and squash for a huge variety of vitamins.

Other beds include leaf crop beds that will be used for successive plantings, providing yummy lettuce, spinach, arugula, cress, and kohlrabi all season long. Peas will grow up the fence, and broccoli and brussel sprouts will benefit from the afternoon shade the pea vines provide.

Row covers & Season Extenders allow for a great jump start!

Finally, marigolds, crocosmia, nasturtium, and sweet peas round out the garden. Providing a welcome splash of color, these plants are also useful. Marigolds repel many pests. Nasturtiums have brightly colored flowers that are edible, adding a sharp bite to any salad. All in all, I am looking forward to a bountiful and beautiful garden this year!

by: Kent Hixson

As the snow melts off our flowerbeds, we begin to dream of planting our favorite bedding plants. It is well known that Jack Frost can visit our area well into mid-May and can damage tender plants. So what is a gardener to do? We recommend you plant frost-hardy bedding plants such as hardy annuals and perennials. Select plants that have been cold frame-grown or those that have been hardened-off. They will tolerate frosty mornings better than those that are greenhouse-tender.

Frost-hardy bedding plants include all perennials and many annuals. Those annuals that can withstand 20 degrees or so include pansies, snapdragons, dianthus, alyssum, dusty miller, viola, flowering cabbage and kale. Keep in mind that flowers may be a bit ragged after such cold but the plants should come through fine. Annuals able to tolerate a light frost include varieties of petunia, nicotiana, calendula, Victoria sage, and verbena canadensis. There are half-hardy annuals which tolerate cold temperatures but not direct frost. Select from the upright verbenas, asters, ageratum, gazania, geraniums, and lobelia.

One measure of inexpensive protection is to keep frost cloth or row cover material handy to cover up beds during really chilly periods or when harsh winds start to blow. All these frost-hardy annuals and perennials can be used in containers set out on decks and patios to brighten up our outdoor living areas. We invite you to come out to the nursery to see the huge selection of hardy plants waiting to be planted for an exceptional early burst of color in your garden.