Articles written by Mike Heath Laramie County Master Gardners
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Weather..friend or foe?
We’ve all heard the old adage, “If you don’t like the weather, wait five minutes and it’ll change”. Especially our weather. I’ve known for years that was true, but I never really knew why until last week. I was one of a very fortunate...
Soil...Just dirt... or is it?
I've hit the subject of soils pretty hard these last few months and there's a very good reason. Soil is the foundation of everything we do as gardeners, be it home gardening or even commercial....
Country Living 101
We love it! The clean air, unobstructed views, nothing between us and the North Pole but a few fence posts, and the beauty of the starlit night sky amplified by the lack of artificial light. That’s country living at its best. But, there’s a lot...
Wyoming Bee College - 2019
This past weekend more than 200 people attended the 5th Annual Wyoming Bee College at the Laramie County Community College. The Laramie County Extension Service hosts this intensive educational...
The Universe Within
What universe within? Is this a SYFY article now? Not really, but the universe I’m talking looks kind of like a scene right out of a SYFY movie. Yet it is as real as me sitting here in front of the computer. That’s the universe in our soil....
What to Do??? Pre-gardening planning
It's in the air. I smelled it this morning. Did you? It's coming. Not quite here yet, but Spring is on the way. I went outside this morning and there was a very different feel and smell to the air....
Pollinators - More than just Bees
For many years, I was told that bees only liked white and yellow flowers. That they would go to other colored flowers only when the first two were unavailable or in short supply. What a myth to believe in. Nothing could be further from the truth. I...
Dalmatian Toadflax - Scourge of the Plains
About seventeen years or so ago, I was visiting a neighbor and noticed a very pretty yellow flower in the draw behind his house. I took a closer look at the plant and considered asking if I could dig...
Cold and plants - not always a good mix
How did your plants fare this year with the COLD weather? Yes, I know it's February and a bit late to bring this topic up, but maybe not so much. What got me thinking about it is the recent "polar...
Crevice Gardens - a little piece of of mountainside in your yard
Crevice gardens are a relatively new concept brought to us by the avid rock gardeners from the Czech Republic. The Czechs have been acclaimed as some of the most passionate and enthusiastic rock...
Short Season? Not Necessarily
Do you go into the growing season wondering if your vegetables will be able to ripen because of our short growing season? Or maybe you're concerned about that special variety that you wanted to grow,...
Essential Oils - Power packed in a plant
Although January is nearly over, we're still in the cold and flu season. Not to mention the Legislature is still in session and with that comes a lot of talking and more than our fair share of...
Fertilizer - Energy for strong plants
We’ve all seen the fertilizer ads with the rich beautiful lawns and tall, lush flowers. As we get closer to spring the ads will increase in volume and make us all wish that our lawns were that lovely and lush and our flowers were bursting with all...
Grow Your Own Seeds
This year has been quite unusual as far as the weather goes. One day it seems like we're really going to have a good winter, snow and all, then the next several days are nearly tee shirt weather....
Love Me, Love Me Not...Companion plants in the Garden
When I first started gardening, and I mean something besides just zucchini, I just planted whatever seeds I wanted directly in the ground and expected them to grow and produce the vegetables that I...
2018 in the Can... Moving on to 2019
As I sit here in front of the computer and look back at 2018, I'm feeling tired. And getting more so. That was a truly busy year, both physically and mentally. Mostly the year was spent preparing for...
Master Gardener Course Open for Registration
It's Christmas and time to give your favorite gardener a treat for next year. A registration for the next Master Gardener course being offered by the University of Wyoming Extension Service. If you...
The Plants of Christmas Part 4 Holly
On my many travels through my memories as I write these articles, some of my fondest involve hikes through the woods. I've always loved to walk and I would take off for hours, and sometimes a few days...
The Plants of Christmas – Part 3 Christmas Cactus
Growing up I really had no idea what a Christmas cactus was. My grandmother had one, but to me it was just “that plant over there”. It was pretty for a few weeks out of the year and I never...
The Plants of Christmas - Part 2 The Poinsettia
WOW! The year just seems to be zipping by. It's hard to imagine that it's already December and Christmas is just around the corner. Even though I started writing about the plants of Christmas last...
The Plants of Christmas Part 1
As Christmas approaches, I can’t help but think back to my childhood and the Christmas traditions my family shared so many years ago. House plants were always a part of the season, but not all could be found in our house. Some were in relative’s...
As We Gave Thanks
It was cold, bitterly cold, on December 18, 1620 when the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock in Massachusetts to form their first colony in the New World. Since they had no shelter on land, they had to...
Town rallies to beautify Columbarium
In last week's column, I included an invitation to the residents of Pine Bluffs to come out and help plant bulbs at the columbarium last Saturday. The town responded and the Cub Scouts, American...
Tis the Season to ... Plant BULBS
If you're anything like me, you've been working fast and furious to get those last-minute outside chores finished before winter really gets here. We've been very fortunate to have such beautiful...
Betty Nussbaum receives Community Service Award
On Saturday, Betty Nussbaum of Burns received the Laramie County Master Gardeners Community Service Award. The timing was perfect with the award being given on Betty's 90th birthday. This is the...
