Between the Rain Garlic Check

Splayed 'Hot Wings' Maple, May 2015

All gardeners agree about one thing - moisture...we never seem to get enough along the Front Range.  Dare I say that enough is enough already after last week...or at least until the downspouts quit dripping?  I guess I won't drone on about the mushy lawn, the broken tree branches or the unhappy broccoli, so forget I even mentioned them.     
   
What's next?  My only advice is to enjoy this dynamic Colorado spring weather, what else can we do? Move to Arizona and complain about oven-dry heat or California where there's no rain in sight?  Nope, we're in this together and come what "May" we will get through this together.  And if hail, rain, cold nights, uninvited four-legged critters, disease, or giant snails invade your garden, someone, somewhere...a kind neighbor or friend will share their tomatoes come August!

Remove wet mulch around garlic

An easy chore you can do right now if you're growing fall-planted garlic is give them drier ground.  Yesterday I filled two large garbage cans with wet, heavy mulch around the garlic plants (excellent fodder for the compost pile).  The garlic bed was just too wet and as the plants put on their final growth the next six weeks, they don't want to be sitting in swampy conditions. Ted Jordan Meredith, the all-knowing garlic growing expert and author recommends removing wet mulch in the spring to prevent mold, slugs and snails.  After mulch removal give them a diluted foliar spray of liquid fertilizer. They'll appreciate the nutrient bump.  

So...what about New Mexico? Dry...but not too dry and they get rain...ah heck, there's no place like Denver, staying put.     

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