It was in the sixties last week. I had to laugh because all of my local gardening groups were in a tizzy talking about starting seeds indoors and when to plant outside. If you know anything about Colorado’s weather, then you know that the first hint of spring is always a lie. There is always another round of winter coming and this year didn’t disappoint. Over the weekend, we got about 20 inches of snow! It was the fourth largest snow storm in Colorado’s history.
Even though I know it’s not safe to plant yet, now is the time for me to get serious about what and where I’m going to plant for this season. The general rule is to plant cold weather plants around St. Patrick’s Day and warm weather plants around Mother’s Day. I’m planning on doing my snap peas, lettuce, and spinach the first weekend of April. It should be warm enough for me to work the soil.
I already ordered my tomato plants for this year. I got San Marzano, Summer Girl, and Baby Boomer varieties. These a different varieties than last year as I wanted to try something new and am hoping for a larger yield. I ran through all of the tomatoes last year with canning projects and wasn’t able to get to everything I wanted.
I still need to figure out what else I want to plant. I decided to be smarter about my growing plans. Rather than picking things to grow and then figuring out what to make with them, I’ve decided to go through my canning recipe books and figure out what I need to grow for the recipes I want to make. Don’t laugh…
In addition to the tomatoes, I know that I’ll need the following:
- strawberries,
- jalapeños,
- bell peppers, and
- cucumbers.
I’ll add more to the list as I finish going through my canning books. After last year’s lessons, I’m only going with strawberries for fruit. I don’t have the bandwidth yet for other fruits. I’m still on the fence about zucchini. Last year, it was the gift that kept on giving. It turns out that we aren’t all that keen on it.
More to come as I finalize my plans for the season!
Homespun in Colorado 
Love that you can your produce, and plan to grow accordingly. I’d have to add beets for pickling, and onions (to use with the tomatoes and bell peppers for salsas, ketchup, sauce, etc.) Green beans would be next on the list, for canning straight and making pickled dilly beans. Depends on your space…Happy growing, and hope your snow is melted by April.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thankfully it’s all melted already! Denver is strange. This week we’ll be in the 60s and 70s. I don’t have a ton of space as I can only grow in my itty bitty front yard. If I have room left over, I may try onions this year. Thanks for the idea!
LikeLike