Category Archives: Uncategorized

Thank you to EVERYONE who helped make our plant sale a success!

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We could not have had a successful sale without all the awesome volunteers who gave of their time and energy!

Morning Volunteer Sessions Underway in Gardens

by Erin Eisen HAS President

We had a bit of a false start for garden volunteering this year due to the snow and colder temperatures. Luckily, the temperatures for the second week of April looked better, so we started working in the garden then.

We have much to do: cutting back perennials, weeding, picking up debris that has blown down into the garden from the trees, etc. We also have our new vegetable garden (located in the Demonstration Garden) to plant up. Board member Eva Regan has taken charge of the planning and planting of the vegetable garden — if you have a particular interest in this area, let us know!

Our current volunteer hours in the gardens are 9 a.m.-noon:

• Tuesdays we are at the Demonstration Garden with Rob Lucey leading.

• Wednesdays we’re at the Heritage Garden where Terry Webb heads activities.

• Thursdays we’re back at the Demonstration Garden with Louise Conner heading up the projects.

If you would like to get outdoors and help a good cause, sign up to volunteer here.

NOTE: We adjust our hours when the weather gets hot — usually starting at 8 or 8:30 a.m. We will let our volunteers know ahead of time. Also be watching your email for possible cancellations if the weather should take another freezing, snowy or particularly damp turn.

See you in the gardens!

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Dishing the Dirt on Soil Testing
by Barb Valenti, HAS Trustee

We recently held a class, “Soil: The Foundation of a Successful Garden” by Joan Nusbaum. She highly recommended having your soil analyzed before creating a new bed, be it vegetables, lawn or perennial garden bed. This lets you know the baseline (e.g., pH, nutrients, type of soil, etc) before you start amending or improving your soil.

Before planting our new vegetable beds in the Demonstration Gardens, we sent off for a soil test. The results came in and we learned that the composition of the soil is very good. It is high in organic matter, high in all macro and micro nutrients, but just a little low in manganese.

There are several options for obtaining an analysis of your soil sample, including:

• Colorado State University’s Soil, Water, and Plant Testing Laboratory (SWPTL). They offer comprehensive analyses of soil, water, plant tissue, manure, compost, and other agricultural material for $35 per test. The web page is: https://agsci.colostate.edu/soiltestinglab/ and address for mailing or dropping samples is:

Soil, Water and Plant Testing Lab

CSU Spur Terra Building

4780 National Western Drive

Room T-316

Denver, CO 80216

Phone: (970)491-5061

Email: soiltestinglab@colostate.edu

• WardLaboratories: 

https://www.wardlab.com/services/soil-health-analysis/

Their routine test gives the same info as CSU lab for $22 per sample.

• Weld Laboratories: https://weldlabs.com/ 

Their routine test provides enough information, in almost every case, for home gardeners for $20 per sample.