Author – The Durango Herald

A fond farewell after 17 years

I never dreamed of being a horticulturist and I’m not sure I knew what Extension was until graduate school. But somehow those two worlds collided and I found myself sitting in a back desk at...

DATE: Mar 3, 2024 | CATEGORY: From the Extension Office

Old school vs new school - raised beds

I wonder if ‘old school’ gardeners are anything like ‘old school’ skiers, or bikers, or even students. You know, they start every sentence off with “when I was (enter hobby/profession/age), ...

DATE: Feb 4, 2024 | CATEGORY: From the Extension Office

With holidays upon us, what are you wishing for?

We are about halfway between the two holidays celebrated in our house – Thanksgiving and Christmas – and I am somewhat torn about what to write about: what I am thankful for or what’s on my ...

DATE: Dec 2, 2023 | CATEGORY: From the Extension Office

Batten down the hatches: Deer are in their fattening-up stage

I live smack dab in the middle of Durango – Test Tracks five minutes away; Fairgrounds 10 minutes; downtown 15. I appreciate that we share our neighborhood with old-time Durangatangs, new fa...

DATE: Nov 1, 2023 | CATEGORY: From the Extension Office

When it comes to green chiles, can you take the heat?

Forgive me if I’ve said this before, but my dad likes to eat green chile that burns your face off. Or maybe that’s just how I like to remember the story. Or maybe he still like his chile hot...

DATE: Oct 3, 2023 | CATEGORY: From the Extension Office

Thrips can wreak havoc on your plants

Just over a week ago, we hosted – alongside Manna soup kitchen – the 14th annual Tour de Farms. The tour was a leisurely bike ride through the neighborhoods of Durango, where we visited a sc...

DATE: Sep 2, 2023 | CATEGORY: From the Extension Office

2023 has turned into the year of the ‘pirouette’

Pivot (intransitive verb): To turn on or as if on a pivot; to adapt or improve by adjusting or modifying something. Side note: I would like to start a movement where the definition of a word...

DATE: Jul 28, 2023 | CATEGORY: From the Extension Office

Thanks to Mother Nature, gardening can be challenging

If the first six months of the year are any indication, 2023 will go down as the “Year of the Wacky Weather.” I honestly cannot remember a stranger start to a growing season, and to cap it a...

DATE: Jul 1, 2023 | CATEGORY: From the Extension Office

Keeping the diva of the garden happy

Lycopersicon esculentum. That is the Latin genus and species for the beloved diva of the garden, the tomato. To be more specific, the Latin is the binomial nomenclature, or a two-part na...

DATE: Jun 2, 2023 | CATEGORY: From the Extension Office

New plants for the season

We all have our favorite things, right? Now that I just recently turned 51 (please send belated birthday presents to the CSU Extension office at the Fairgrounds), I find myself being drawn t...

DATE: May 17, 2023 | CATEGORY: From the Extension Office

Soil moisture may stay cold

I had the pleasure of being born and raised here in Durango – back when the family could fulfill all its shopping needs in the Town Plaza (Safeway, Montgomery Ward and TG&Y), Main Avenue got...

DATE: May 15, 2023 | CATEGORY: From the Extension Office

Seed swaps, exchanges and sales can help solve sold-out woes

Back in 2021, and even lingering into 2022, there was a shortage of vegetable seed available to gardeners (and even farmers). All sorts of factors led to scarcity, and you could lay blame wi...

DATE: Mar 4, 2023 | CATEGORY: From the Extension Office