Bookcliff Gardens’ 2024 Spring Class Schedule | Call (970)242-7766 to register ~ Registration fee - $5/class

Feb.24 Ready, Set, Grow Cool Season Veggies! – 11 am at Bookcliff Gardens

You can grow cool season veggies you & your family love, and now’s the time to prepare to plant! Lettuce, spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, potatoes, peas, onions, asparagus and others thrive when planted outside in early spring when it’s still cold. From novice to experienced gardeners . . . Mona Dyer has helpful advice! Classroom space is limited so please pre-register. We’ll save a seat for you & make a pot of coffee! $5 registration fee.

March 2 & 3 Plant Expo 2024 – Saturday & Sunday at Bookcliff Gardens

Join us at Bookcliff Gardens for two days of fun! Gurus in growing spectacular Orchids, African Violets & Cacti will be at Bookcliff sharing their knowledge & expertise! You’ll see some amazing plants & learn secrets to grow beautiful specimen plants of your own! FREE ADMISSION BOTH DAYS!

March 9 Prune with Passion – Take a Whack At It! – 11 am at Bookcliff Gardens

Keeping your yard tidy may seem daunting, but a little well-timed pruning puts everything right! Mona Dyer will teach you pruning tricks that’ll keep your beds & borders beautiful & healthy! Learn what to prune, how & when … so your beloved shrubs & perennials stay healthy & grow beautifully year after year. Come to Take a Whack At It! Don’t miss out! Classroom space is limited so pre-register early. $5 registration fee.

March 16 Let’s Prune Roses! – 11 am at Bookcliff Gardens

Learning how to maintain rose bushes is a wonderful accomplishment and we have the answer to your dream! Join Jessica Crane for a hands-on tutorial that’ll keep your roses blooming beautifully for years! Bring your coat, pruners & gloves because you may spend part of this session outside addressing the thorny problem! Don’t miss out … classroom space is limited, so pre-register early. $5 registration fee. (We’ll supply the Band-Aides!)

March 23 Your Bountiful Veggie Patch (Session 1) – 11 am at Bookcliff Gardens

We all dream of that beautiful, bountiful summer veggie garden . . . juicy tomatoes, crisp cucumbers, lovely squash, eggplant, peppers & more! Let Mona Dyer help get your garden started … & make it flourish through the summer! Learn about soils, fertilizer, mulching, watering & ways to defeat those pesky bugs and diseases. The bounty of your garden is sweet & tasty once you see the world from your plant’s perspective! Classroom space is limited so pre-register as quickly as you can! $5 registration fee.

March 30 Your Bountiful Veggie Patch (Repeat Session) – 11 am at Bookcliff Gardens

April 6 Design and Grow Dazzling Pots & Baskets – 11 am at Bookcliff Gardens

Bookcliff Gardens’ Greenhouse professionals share secrets for growing dazzling displays of things you love … in containers! From displays of spectacular pots of flowers to containers of tasty herbs and veggies … the possibilities for are endless! Bring your own containers for a hands-on lesson in creativity! Greenhouse bench space is limited so pre-register early! $5 registration fee does not include containers, soil or plant materials.

April 13 Perennials: True Garden Treasures – 11 am at Bookcliff Gardens

Perennial flowers are the jewels of beautiful gardens everywhere. Capture the magic of each season’s blossoming garden … through the power of perennials. Mona Dyer is your guide. She’ll introduce you to plants … beauties that’ll give you waves of dazzling color from spring through fall. Classroom space is limited so pre-register early! $5 registration fee.

Watch for more 2024 Gardening Classes starting in late May!

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Asparagus Planting Instructions

Location and Selection Asparagus need a lot of sunlight to produce good spears. They are best grown in an area that receives full sun. There are many good varieties of asparagus. ‘Mary Washington’ has been a popular variety for many years because of it’s thick, straight, dark green spears and plentiful harvest. Or consider a “male” variety such as ‘Jersey Giant’. Male varieties produce more spears per plant. They also do not produce fruit so they don’t drop any seed which can become an invasive nuisance. There are also purple varieties which have a sweeter, “nuttier” flavor. Planting When preparing your asparagus bed you are building the foundation for many years of production. Asparagus demand good drainage so take the time to work the soil to a depth of 1 foot or more and add plenty of decomposed organic material like Soil Pep or Compost. Asparagus is usually planted in rows about 2’-4‘ apart. Space the plants 12”-18” along the row. Dig a goodsized hole where each plant will go. When planting, spread the roots out in a circular fashion and place them in the hole so that the buds at the top of the crown are just barely covered by the soil surface. Be careful not to damage that shallow crown when cultivating. Maintenance Cultivate and water as necessary. Contrary to what many people believe, asparagus don’t need a lot of water. Soak the plants well when you do water but allow the soil to dry out a bit before soaking the bed again. To encourage heavy top growth and thick spears, follow a twice-a-year feeding program. Make one application of a high nitrogen fertilizer such as Bookcliff Gardens Choice Pro Turf Food in early spring before spears appear and again in late spring once the harvest is completed. Very early in the spring, cut down the dried brown foliage to ground level. A mature plant produces about 20-25 edible spears per season. Good spear production depends on good fern growth, so be sure to take care of your bed after harvesting has been completed. Continue to cultivate, irrigate and watch for pests. Harvesting No cutting should be done the first year. Allow the plant to grow and build itself up. During the second year, only a few stalks should be removed. The third year after planting, you should be able to really start harvesting asparagus. The weather plays an important role in determining when your asparagus will be ready for harvesting. Start checking in mid to late April. You may begin cutting whenever spears reach three-eighths inch in diameter. Thinner spears should be allowed to grow into ferns. Snap or cut the stalks off just below the soil surface. Do not leave stubs because these will jab your fingers when making future harvests. As the root reserves are depleted, the stalks will get thinner. When all stalks that are being produced are three-eighths inch or smaller in diameter, it is time to stop harvesting. All spears must now develop into ferns. This will ensure the maximum yield for the following year.

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Questions?

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Garden Talk Radio

Tune in for weekly gardening tips from Dennis Hill and Mona Dyer

March 16, 2019
March 9, 2019

Topics:

7:12 - Water Wise Gardening ♦ 19:37 - Soil Response to heavy moisture ♦ 24:27 - How to handle pruning a huge rose

27:40 - Plant & Grow Okra with benign neglect ♦ 44:40 - Pre-emergent application
February 23, 2019
February 16, 2019