June Blooms and Blues

Food Systems alert: the folks over at Pueblo Seed & Grain Hub, which is part of the greater Pueblo Seed & Food Company, are walking the walk. Tom and Darrin head to a (rainy!) McElmo Canyon to visit Dan Hobbs and talk about this new opportunity for local heritage grains, and the impact that may have for our agricultural, and consumer, communities.

While Darrin and Tom like to tout about how breathtaking their gardens are - while at the same time being doting husbands - their wives may be saying something different. And perhaps they may be revealing what it's like being married to these two - dirt-stained hands, big heads, and all - on air. Lord help us as Beth and Jenny takeover the airwaves and shovel the real dirt (or manure) on the Garden Guys. 

Some updates on our gardens - what's working, what's not, and new (bears) and old (deer) visitors to our spaces. Other topics we cover in a scatter-shot pattern: parasites and bacteria in our food supply, paying homage to the garden guru Eliot Coleman and his new book, and Tom and has adoption of technology in his garden (woohoo, a tiller!). Stay cool folks!

Vacations are officially over and the harsh reality that is gardening in southwest Colorado has been in full effect. Blast furnace activated! And if that's not enough, we delve into the world of scientists deciding that they need to put pig protein into lettuce. I mean, why not?

Happy Birthday, America! 250 years old and you don't look a day over 200! We fire up the (veggie-oil-fueled) copter and head over to the SOIL Garden in Durango. We talk about all things gardens, how plants make kids grow (see what I did there?), and why places like SOIL should be in EVERY town and city in this great county we call America.

Love us a site visit, especially when we see someone else's garden doing better than ours! This week our intrepid duo travels (by bio-fuel helicopter) to a site visit in La Plata County where Sean Stewart (Red Cliffs Pottery) has developed his own ecosystem of food gardens. The discussion during the garden tour ranges from his multi-layered selection of growing methods to his highs and lows as a food gardener amongst the cottonwoods.  A very inspiring visit.

Darrin's on vacation (what do you expect - he's a government worker) so we go back to the summer of '23 when the season sure felt similar. AND: the word of the week!

The good, the bad, and the ugly. Thank you, Mr. Eastwood.Glass half-full: it hasn't really been that hot. YetGlass half-empty: it hasn't really rained south of Hermosa. For a long time. We talk about irrigation, all things alliums, sad seed situations, and trying to play catchup in the garden and how that can be an uphill battle.

Really, I'm not even sure we talked about butterflies. But we should have - everyone loves them (and ladybugs). However, we are seeing how a changing climate, season abnormalities, human movement, and insect (and earthworm) activity intersect, and the outcomes aren't always positive. Some are down-right spooky. That led us delving into the benefits and learning opportunities of observing the natural patterns around us and how the weather, temperature, timing, plants and humans all work their dance.  Come join us.

Today our intrepid duo continue their interview with New York Times best-selling author Jo Robinson.  This is part two of an interview that started in the last episode on finding the best nutrition in our food. This week Jo delves into the various benefits of grass-fed animals and how that nutrition starts with plants - to find out more check out her book Pasture Perfect.