Plan a Colorado Vegetable Garden - A Rewarding Experience to Add to Your Family’s Activities.

Plan a Colorado Vegetable Garden - A Rewarding Experience to Add to Your Family’s Activities.

By:Jonathan Manning, CLT
A Better Garden Maintenance, LLC
Denver, CO

Home grown vegetables are a great, healthy way to add nutrition to family meals. Planting a vegetable garden starts with timing of planting seeds, starting them indoors or buying vegetable starts from your local greenhouse. Along with this, you must consider how much area to devote to growing a crop and stagger planting time and variety to ensure a continuous harvest. Crop rotation is an important factor in reducing pathogens in your home garden. Home vegetable gardening is a rewarding experience and should be done to provide healthy food for your family


The first thing which needs to be done to have a good harvest is knowing when to plant each vegetable. Some seeds require what is known as stratification to have a seed germinate. Stratifying a seed can be accomplished by a thaw freeze cycle or even by washing away certain chemicals produced by the plant. Various seeds only germinate under the right temperature. This is why it is usually easier to research the veggies you are wanting grown in your garden to see the best way to plant the crop. A good choice is always to go down to a nursery and get plants which have already been started. Some gardening services also offer at the least installation, while others, such as A Better Garden Maintenance LLC, install, maintain and assist in harvesting your garden.


Planning spacing and which types of vegetables seeds to sow for the harvest can be a new experience. Along with the area devoted to supporting a plant of a specific crop, you must also look at use of the garden area in regards to shading, crop height, water usage and any effect on second plantings of fall season or cool season crops. Something to consider in a garden recommendation for planting does not mean the plant will be confined between these areas. Watermelon and squash are very invasive and can quickly cover lower and slower growing plantings. Planting these along your path will help in allowing this unutilized area to become a space to grow a juicy melon. Additionally tske a look at planting corn as this may cause a shading effect which will affect the crops grown behind and beside it.


You also want to consider planting based on having a continuous or prolonged harvest. This is done by planting every few days or choosing different cultivars of the same vegetable. Most vegetables have an estimated time to harvest based on field trials conducted. By considering sun, harvest time, invasiveness, and how to prolong your harvest you will have a garden which provides fresh vegetables for your family throughout the season.


Call now (303) 433 - 3750, if you need consultation for a vegetable garden in the Denver Metro Area. It is a great opportunity to work as a family or enjoy the fruit of your land. A Better Garden Maintenance, LLC is a full service lawn maintenance &, garden maintenance firm which offers services for both residential and commercial properties.

Fall is great for New Sod - The time to install sod, shrubs and seed is now.

Fall is great for New Sod - The time to install sod, shrubs and seed is now.

By:Jonathan Manning, CLT
A Better Garden Maintenance, LLC
Denver, CO

The summer is winding down and fall is on its way, yet now is a perfect time to think about next year. In the fall you should take time to make sure your contract for lawn, sprinkler and garden maintenance is in order, get new shrubs installed, get a lawn sprinkler system installed and even get a new sod lawn installed. Any and all of these items are great things to have performed in the Fall. The thing to remember, any plants installed in the fall must be hand watered throughout the winter months. During Denver's fall and winter months, plants are still active and need water.



Plants being active during the winter in Colorado is actually a good thing. During the fall in Denver, the above ground temperature drops dramatically while the soil temperature is buffered. The protected soil still has the trapped energy of summer to allow roots of plants to continue to grow during the winter and spring. In winter wheat, the process of roots growing laterally is known as tillering. Colorado farmers plant wheat plants in the fall to allow better establishment of the "stand," by tillers, for the next seasons crop. This is great since the newly installed sod is looking to establish roots. By planting in fall, you reduce the immediate heat stress conditions and encourage good rooting of the freshly laid lawn in Golden, Littleton, Arvada or Greenwood Village. Whichever city you live in, it is a good time to plant in the Denver Metro Area.


Yes, the hose needs to be dragged, a water trailer utilized, the irrigation system reactivated to water your new or established plants. The alternative option is to pay someone to perform the services above, which are offered by A Better Garden Maintenance, LLC., over the winter months for your newly installed plants & established plants. Anytime the winter temperatures are above 40 degrees farenheit with no snow on the ground, it is recommended to water all plant material(sod, perennials, shrubs, sod & turf areas). It is recommended to deeply water to allow deeper penetration and deeper establishment of roots.


There is something more important to root establishment in newly planted areas then just watering. The ability for the roots to grow though the soil and the ability of the soil to hold water is important as well. This is increased by ammendment of the soil by adding composted manure and rototilling. Various cities require a different number of yards of composted manure per thousand square feet. I recommend and install approximately five (5) cubic yards composted manure per thousand square feet. This is done prior to grading the areas which will have sod installed. It is important to make sure the grading is done correctly(away from the house, proper drainage, etc.) and is smooth without rocks or large chunks/clods of dirt. When installing sod, it should be layered with the second row of sod being a half piece off laterally to prevent gaps and the help prevent the sod from rolling.



Watering is the best way to prevent gaps and rolling of the newly installed sod. The soil below the sod needs to be saturated to not shock the sod. As soon as the sod has been installed the areas should be watered and then placed on a regular schedule to water the sod at least three to four times a day for the first three to four weeks. After that point the regular irrigation schedule should suffice but should not be depended upon. If the plants look stressed, water should be applied.
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If there are any questions or if you would like to get an estimate for sod, sprinklers, or maintenance give me a call (303) 433 - 3750 or send an email to abettergarden@abtrgarden.com .

Storm Damage - Disaster bring opportunity to refresh your gardens

Storm Damage - Disaster bring opportunity to refresh your gardens.

By: Tonya Wisch
A Better Garden Maintenance, LLC
Denver, CO

On Monday, July 20, a large storm packed with high winds, large hail and a considerable amount of rain hammered the Denver-Metro area; particularly the Northwest side and cities such as Lakewood, Wheat Ridge and Arvada.



Excessive rain, damaging winds and large hail stones reaped havoc on many homes, cars and garden landscapes. The storm left many Coloradoans without power and with quite a mess to clean up inside and out. In some cases, trees were completely uprooted or their branches stripped bare. Garden landscapes were washed or blown away, buried under inches of nickel and quarter sized hail or, in some cases, all three! It was a storm unlike any Jefferson County residents are used to experiencing.



At A Better Garden Maintenance, we can help you mend your trodden garden landscape. Whether you just want to have your existing landscape restored to its pre-storm condition or you’re thinking now would be the perfect opportunity to finally make some of the changes that perhaps there has not been time for, we’ll be glad to provide an estimate regarding your landscape needs. Additionally, we strive to fit your schedule and make your landscape recovery as quick and effortless for you as possible and can provide weekly or bi-weekly maintenance of the property thereafter if desired. Call today to see what we can do for you. We look forward to helping you in pursuit of A Better Garden.