As vegetables grow in your garden, they remove important nutrients from the soil that are necessary for development. Adding fertilizer will help replace elements like nitrogen and phosphorus to aid in growth and yield. There are many methods of fertilizing and many types of fertilizers out there so you have a number of options to […]
Seasonal Tip: Spring
Staking and Supports
Now that you put in the time and effort to plant your garden, don’t forget to give your plants the additional support they need to thrive through the summer. Support structures such as garden stakes, trellises and cages encourage a healthier crop and provide many benefits to the plants like proper air circulation and additional […]
Growing pumpkins
Pumpkins, with their edible flesh and long storage life are a warm season crop. They require a long growing season of nearly 85 days, so it’s best to start them indoors from seed. About a week after the last frost (on average May 15 along the northern Colorado front range), pumpkins can be planted outdoors. […]
Tomatoes: A taste of summer
One of the most popular additions to any vegetable garden is homegrown tomatoes. Nothing beats the taste of a juicy, sweet tomato that has ripened on the vine. At Fort Collins Nursery, we offer a huge variety of tomato plants and seeds to satisfy your hankering. Our varieties include: Beefsteak, Cherry, Roma, Brandywine, Lemon Boy, […]
Growing sunflowers
Sunflowers are not only an attractive flower, they also have rich history providing edible seed crops. Sunflowers do best when planted directly in the soil, after night temperatures warm to above 50 degrees. As their name suggests, need plenty of sunlight (minimum of 6 hours per day). They will also turn their flower heads to […]
Test soil before amending
- Season: Spring
Soil tests are one of the most essential keys to a successful landscape. Many people add an all-in-one fertilizer every spring, thinking one application and forget about it. This can actually build up nutrients to levels that lead to plants’ decline. Besides basic at-home test kits available at the nursery, we have the added benefit […]
Native shrubs for low maintenance
Our Colorado environment is home to some amazing native shrubs. Not only are these shrubs disease resistant and perfect for our native soil, they attract birds, butterflies and provide year-round interest. Try adding to your landscape a sumac, Apache plume, serviceberry, rabbitbrush, fernbush, mountain mahogany or buffaloberry. These shrubs have some very unique features, such […]
Caring for your lawn
The recommended height for blue grass lawns is 2 ½”-3″. Mow frequently so that no more than 1/3 of the grass height is removed during a single mowing. With this program, you will be mowing every 4-5 days in the Spring and every 7-10 days in the Summer. Keep ryegrass, fescue and wheatgrass to a […]
Give your lawn a breath of fresh air
- Season: Spring
As soon as the soils warms in Spring, it’s a good time to have your lawn aerated. Aeration, which is better for your lawn then thatch raking, will reduce soil compaction and to improve nutrient and moisture delivery. Lawns will also benefit from more oxygen to the grasses’ root system. If thatch in your lawn […]
Speaking of Weeds….
Did something new pop up in your garden? Did you hope it was a volunteer? Keep a close eye on your garden for noxious weeds. Invasive, aggressively-spread weeds can take over after very little time. Some of the worst Colorado noxious weeds are: leafy spurge, spotted knapweed, diffuse knapweed, Russian knapweed, Canada thistle, musk thistle, […]