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.

Be Prepared - Prepping for a Spring Garden in Denver

Be Prepared - Prepping for a Spring Garden in Denver

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

Already most of your landscape is exposed since the majority of Denver’s snow has melted. Soon plants will start budding with new foliage and flowers. The lawn will need the first cutting, trimming and edging to make things look sharp. The lawn sprinkler system will need activated and all sprinklers repaired to start the growing season off right. Plan now in order to be prepared for Denver’s upcoming lawn mowing and garden maintenance season.


The twigs from shrubs protruding are looking bleak among the mulch and trees. The bare ground where your lush garden stood last year is still active and growing in your Denver garden. These apparently baron sticks will bring forth leaves and early spring flowers. Fruit trees will present their beautiful and fragrant blossoms. It is important to tend to these plants in the correct season to add consistent splendor to your Colorado garden.




Whether you live in Englewood, Golden, Lonetree, Greenwood Village or in the heart of Denver your lawn will need to be trimmed multiple times in April. This prevents shock and stress to the turf grass which occurs when you take off more than 1/3 of the grass’s leaf blade. Usually in the Denver metro area, a Denver lawn mowing contract would be from the beginning of April and last through the end October. During the first month and the last month of the lawn mowing season, April and October, the grass is usually only mowed twice due to the turf areas growing more slowly at these times. Irrigation systems for your lawn and garden might affect how quickly your grass grows.



A properly functioning lawn sprinkler system is essential in Denver. With our weather patterns always changing ,we never know when the next rainfall will occur. Your Denver lawn sprinkler system repair’s need to occur when the irrigation system is started up. All sprinkler zones need to be ran through and adjusted on a regular basis, weekly after mowing is best, through out the season while actively irrigating your residential or commercial landscape. Having your system tuned up by a qualified sprinkler repair technician is an important way to help prevent water waste from irrigating your lawn and garden.



A wise person prepares for and takes stock of what needs to be done. If you need some assistance, A Better Garden Maintenance, LLC provides full gardening & flower maintenance, lawn mowing contracts and sprinkler repair services. Call on us, (303) 433-3750, if you need help this year. Not only will your plants be healthier and happier, you will have A Better Garden.

Supplemental Water in a Colorado Landscape- Do I Need a Lawn and Garden Sprinkler System in Denver?

Supplemental Water in a Colorado Landscape- Do I Need a Lawn and Garden Sprinkler System in Denver?

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

Colorado has a semi-arid, or a high plains desert, climate which needs supplemental water at times. Rainfall is inconsistent and sometimes sparse throughout Denver’s growing season. Automatic lawn and garden sprinkler systems are the best way to properly water the landscape at your Denver home or business. Just remember, most cities require contractors to pull permits and to be licensed & insured. It is important to make sure things are done correctly to prevent problems in the future.


Plants need supplemental irrigation to survive the high light intensity produced at the higher elevation of the Denver front range. The sun at our altitude can place more stress on plants at a much quicker rate. The rainfall varies from year to year. At times there is nothing but afternoon thundershowers which drench our lawns, gardens and Denver streets. Yet there is weeks of endless Colorado sunshine with high temperatures which cause drought conditions. These times make our parched plants scream for water to survive. During these periods of drought, water must be applied to prevent stress and provide healthy growth.


The best way to supplement water is with a system which efficiently provides it to the plant. It is important to ensure that the system is installed properly to achieve water wise management of the turf and garden areas. If a Denver lawn sprinkler system is not installed in a manner to irrigate similar areas with the same style of sprinkler head, or areas are not split to be ran by themselves, you will have water wasted in your landscape. Drip systems should be used whenever possible as the provide the water to the root of the plants, which deters a lot of foliage disease. Annual flowers for spring and summer color should be on a zone to allow them to be watered individually throughout the heat of the day. Make sure you hire a professional, with water wise experience, to design and install your Denver lawn sprinkler system.


At A Better Garden Maintenance, LLC we specialize in lawn sprinkler systems and garden drip irrigation systems. We provide lawn and garden sprinkler system renovations, design/build sprinkler systems based on pressure and available water, provide spring start-ups and sprinkler activation, install & service backflow devices, and also service the Denver metro area with a sprinkler repair technician & parts service. If your lawn is getting parched, needs a new sprinkler system or if you need to renovate your existing system to make it more water-wise we are here for you. Call us (303) 433-3750 to setup an appointment. Make sure you and your contractor understand the unique needs of your Denver lawn and garden landscape in order to have A Better Garden.

Great Denver Gardens-Off Season Preparation is Essential to Having a Great Garden.

Great Denver Gardens - Off Season Preparation is Essential to Having a Great Garden.

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

Denver’s is snow finally melting and temperatures are forecasted to stay in the 40’s and 50’s for the next week or two. Now is a good time to get the rest of the leaves cleaned up in your garden. Some bushes need to be rejuvenated or just cleaned up. Adding mulch to your garden will make your yard have color during the bleak days ahead until spring. A little extra care now can make your Denver garden healthy and vigorous this growing season.


Plant growth is stunted when disease is present. Many plant pathogens over winter in the leaves of the plants they effect. Removing these leaves from the garden will seriously decrease the risk of pests and diseases being present this next gardening season. With perennials last years leaves have lost their color and began new basal growth (new lush green growth at the bottom or base of the plant). These plants need to have the old growth of the plant cut off and removed from the garden. Remember, most perennials die back to their base and begin new growth for the next season. Bushes are similar, yet are more specialized since their growth produces lignins which strengthen the previous years growth.


Shrubs are also termed as a “woody plant” since these chemicals produced affect the strength of the shrub, usually allowing it to grow much larger than a perennial. They also will produce new buds towards the end of the growing season which are where the new leaves or beautiful flowers are produced for the following Denver spring. It is important to understand the bushes characteristics, such as whether the buds will be flowers or leaves, before pruning any branches of shrubs in your garden. If necessary it is important to revitalize the shrub when growth gets too old or to remove any spent flowers such as rose hips or other seed pods created last year. Branches that cross each other and which might rub together should be removed as well. All debris such as branches and the extra leaves stuck between newly branches should be removed to give your garden a wonderfully clean look.


When the garden is clean of all leaves and debris, mulch should be the next consideration. There are a few varieties of mulch to choose from. Shredded cedar and bark mulch are the by far the most popular selected. They add a lovely touch to any home or business in Denver or Greenwood Village. Various people also appreciate a more recycled and colored mulch. Metro mulches are produced from construction waste, tree limbs and other recycled products. These woody materials, once recycled and steam treated to reduce weed seeds, are stained different colors to accent your house or commercial building. Mulch beautifies your property and by helping to retain water in the soil, enriches the life of all plants in your garden.


Great gardens, whether in Golden, Denver, Lonetree or Greenwood Village, are based upon the preparation provided when plants are not visibly growing. Your garden‘s, whether residential or commercial, risk for disease is reduced as leaf debris and pruning debris is removed. A well groomed woody plant or shrub, from pruning, makes for healthy, vigorous growth in the upcoming spring season.
Mulch will give some color to the bleak winter days where your garden plants sits seemingly idle. If these items are out of your skill range or if you just do not have the time, give us a call (303) 433 - 3750 and we can help you have A Better Garden.