June 2017

Top 12 Teton Cool Season Garden Plants

By Jennifer Werlin, University of Idaho Extension Educator, Teton

County May 1, 2017

Growing a thriving garden in the Tetons takes without a doubt some smart planning and patience. While Teton Valley gardeners can do a lot to mitigate freezing temperatures through season extension measures like utilizing transplants, floating row covers, cold frames, hoop houses/high tunnels, and green-houses, and planting in raised beds or containers, choosing frost-tolerant vegetables, fruits and flow-ers can deliver a rewarding and bountiful harvest. Cool season seeds can often germinate in soil that is 40 degrees F or cooler. Know the average frost date predicted for your area and watch the weather forecast. Water plants thoroughly and cover them before nightfall if frost is predicted. The following are my top 12 favorite cold hardy gar-den plants that not only grow well and relatively quickly, but also can thrive with cooler temperatures.

Kale: There is a reason that this green is among the top of

the latest food trends—a cool-season Brassica species, kale is not only one of the most nutritious vegetables

on the planet, it is one of the hardiest vegetables one can grow. It can withstand most Teton frosts. If you’re hesi-tant to eat kale, try it in a fruit smoothie or bake up some yummy and addictive kale chips.

Carrots: The secret to the tasti-est, sweetest carrots around is you guessed it…cool weather. Carrots are usually sweeter after the first frost and can even be overwin-tered in many Teton gar-dens. Sow in shallow, loose soil directly in your garden up to two weeks before the last killing frost.

Swiss chard: Another yummy and nutritious packed veg-gie, Swiss Chard is often the sweetest early season. Baby swiss chard leaves taste

UNIVERSITY OF IDAHO EXTENSION UPDATE

Teton County 235 S. 5th E., Driggs, ID. 834232

(208) 354-2961 teton@uidaho.edu

Highlights

In this issue

Top 12 Teton Cool

Season Garden Plants….………1-2

May 2017 Farm-to-Fork News: Short Season Gardening Tips..3&5

Census of Agriculture……………..4

Teton Food and Farms Coalition/

Teton Regional Economic Coali-

tion Chance Meeting…………….…4

Project Wet workshop…………….5

Master Water Steward workshop…..5

Master Gardener Convention…...6

4-H Happenings…………………….6

Meet Liz Nielson…………………….7

Horse Feed Clinic…………………...7

Livestock Feed Clinic………………7

4-H Calendar………………………...7

4-H Dutch Oven……………………..8

Quilt Raffle Information………….8

Scholarship Thank you…………...8

The University of Idaho is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer and educational organi-zation. We offer our programs to persons regardless of race, color, national origin, gender, religion, age, sexual orientation, or disability.

(Continued on page 2)

great raw in salad mixes. More mature plants are great in many savory cooked dishes.

Spinach: A quick growing salad green that’s a fa-vorite in our household. Spinach grows best ear-ly in the season and doesn’t like extreme heat or drought, as it will often bolt. Plant early in the spring and then plant again later in late sum-mer/early fall.

Peas: Yes, my preschooler likes to eat pea shoots directly from the garden. Peas are another early season crop, and they don’t do well in extreme summer heat. Plant peas as soon as the soil can be worked. There are many varieties to choose from, but the “wrinkled” seed types are often the sweetest.

Radishes: These plants grow amazingly quick (20-30 days) and are often the first veggie ready to be harvested. If the sharp, pungent flavor isn’t your thing, harvest early when they are small and before the heat of the summer. Explore dif-ferent varieties such as daikon radishes that are often a staple in Asian dishes like Kimchi.

Onions: An essential veggie for many cooked reci-pes, onions can be sown in the ground very ear-ly—as soon as the soil can be worked and formed into medium-size crumbly balls. To get larger onions here, it is best to start seeds in-doors for transplanting, but you can also plant directly in the garden, especially if you like to eat green onion scallions.

Lettuce: Easy to grow in our climate, most lettuces are semi-hardy, but also quick growing and do well under row covers almost all summer long (remove the cover when it gets warmer than 85 degrees F). The covers also help protect lettuce from wind injury, harmful insects, and hail. I succession plant and harvest lettuce frequently throughout the season.

Potatoes: We know Idaho is known for our pota-toes, but did you know there are a wide variety of potatoes not readily found at the grocery

store that you can grow in your home garden? Buy certified seed varieties to minimize spread of disease. (Teton County, ID is a certified seed

potato area. To prevent the spread of disease, Idaho Certified Seed Law prohibits commercial potato growers from planting their own saved seeds. Instead, certified seeds need to be pur-chased). Our local nurseries already have many certified varieties in stock, so enjoy growing in-teresting and unique types not typically found in the grocery store.

Snap beans: Widely used by Native Americans, there are many varieties of snap beans including wax, flat pod, green, and purple. My favorite are purple beans, as they are easy to spot and har-vest (they turn green when cooked). Beans also germinate and grow quickly. Avoid planting beans that are cracked, as that will negatively affect germination.

Strawberries: Nature’s candy! There are hundreds of cultivars of strawberries, although not all are well-suited for our high-altitude climate. Day-neutral and June-bearing strawberry varieties are high yielding. June-bearing strawberries often produce larger fruits, but Everbearing varieties often produce a continuous supply throughout the sum-mer. Our local nurseries have well adapted varieties. Help prevent cold injury by mulching the plants and apply a float-ing fabric row cover to warm the soil and pro-tect from birds/wildlife. While many gardeners divide their strawberries every 3-4 years, you’ll get higher yields by replacing your plants with new plants at that time. The second year usually produces the largest harvest.

Nasturtiums: These flowers come in a variety of warm colors. They not only look and grow amazing in potted plants, but they also are an edible delicacy often garnished on salads. Plant-ing these flowers in your vegetable garden with full sun also helps to attract beneficial insects and pollinators and can even help deter harmful insect pests. Plant about a month before the last frost. Eat the flowers frequently and/or cut off the faded and dried flowers to prolong bloom-ing.

Check out the University of Idaho’s Extension Re-

sources page for further information about cool season gardening: http://www.extension.uidaho.edu/homegard.aspx

June 2017 University of Idaho Extension page 2

May 2017 Farm-to-Fork News: Short Season Gardening Tips

By Jennifer Werlin, Extension Educator in Community Food Systems

University of Idaho, Teton County Extension

Are our long, cold Teton Valley winters giving you trouble? Are you throwing your hands up in the air and feeling discouraged because of a mid-summer snowstorm or frost? With a little planning and sea-son extension, gardening in the Tetons can be quite enjoyable, not to mention a great way to get outside, eat fresh and healthy food, and save money.

Perhaps one of the easiest ways to garden in short seasons is to pick garden vegetable and flower varieties that are classified as either half-hardy or hardy and that grow from seed to maturity quickly. Half-hardy plants are those that are planted 2-4 weeks before the last killing frost. Hardy plants can be planted as soon as the ground can be worked, which is usually 6-8 weeks before the last killing frost. Some of the hardiest veggies that grow well here in-clude Brassica species such as kale, kohlrabi, and swiss chard. Other hardier plants include onions, leeks, garlic, carrots, peas, and beans. Nasturtiums and pansies are edible flowers that are more tolerant to our cold Teton nights.

After picking plants that grow well here and that you enjoy, the following are some short season gardening solutions that will help give you the edge for a reliable garden harvest.

Transplant seedlings: Start your seedlings earlier in the season indoors and then trans-plant outdoors when soil temperatures have warmed up and when your garden space is ready. There are a variety of seed start tech-niques, including reusing egg cartons and shells, making containers out of newspaper, reusing plastic lettuce containers, etc.

Floating row covers or plastic mulch: Employ floating fabric row covers (e.g., Reemay) for cool evenings and to protect against insect and other garden pests. Floating row covers are great outdoor gardening solutions that help trap in heat, but still allow sunlight to pass through. They can be left on until about 85 degrees and secured either with landscape staples or rocks/bricks. Plastic mulches (e.g., polyethylene sheet) help to cut down on weeds and warm the soil, leading to more rapid plant growth, although they block rain-water from getting in the soil and can contrib-ute to landfill waste.

Wall-o-Water and plastic jugs: Lasting several years, plastic “Walls of water” create a micro-climate for your container plants using water-filled UV resistant plastic covers that encircle your container plants. The water heats up during the day and helps to retain solar heat at night when temperatures plummet. By keeping a more constant and warm tempera-ture, plants such as tomatoes or peppers grow more quickly and are less susceptible to frost. Another less expensive option is to recycle plastic bottles and jugs and surround your more sensitive plants with them.

Cold frames, hoop houses/high tunnels, and greenhouses: An obvious tool to help ex-tend the season and allow you to grow more warm season plant varieties such as tomatoes, peppers, basil, etc., cold frames and green-houses help warm the soil and surrounding environment. They can also provide another barrier to garden pests. While cold frames made of recycled windows tend to be more economical and easier to move, greenhouses and high tunnels allow much more space.

June 2017 University of Idaho Extension page 3

EXTENSION OFFICE EVENTS

June

13th Master Water Steward Workshop

18 N. Main St. #310, Driggs, ID

27th Teton Food and Farm Coaltions:

@ Three Peaks at 5pm

July

15th Tin Cup Challenge

Raised beds: Raised beds and other containers help to heat the soil more rapidly (usually allowing you to plant 2-4 weeks earlier) and provide additional advantages. These include re-ducing weeds and allowing you to provide the ideal soil pH, texture and structure using a 1:1 mix of compost and topsoil. Especially in compacted and rocky soils, raised beds, although more expensive because of material costs, can help make gar-dening easier and less time intensive.

Using these short season gardening techniques will give you the edge when gardening in the Tetons, but remember to select appropriate crops and varieties that are better adapted to our area. Make certain that your garden is properly irrigated and weeded. Check the weather forecast reg-ularly. If there is a chance of frost, make sure your plants are well hydrat-ed, cover them, and/or bring container plants inside.

Do you have other short season and season extension techniques that you use to help you successfully grow in the Tetons? I’d love to hear about them. Message me on Facebook at the University of Idaho, Teton County Extension or send me an email at jwerlin@uidaho.edu

June 2017 University of Idaho Extension page4

Every five years, America's farmers and ranchers have the op-

portunity to represent ourselves, our farms, and our communi-

ties by taking part in USDA's Census of Agriculture—and 2017 is

a census year!

If you're new to farming or did not receive a Census of Agricul-

ture in 2012, you MUST SIGN UP BY JUNE 30th in order to com-

plete the 2017 Census.

www.agcensus.usda.gov

The 2017 Ag Census is a critical opportunity to shape American agricul-ture for years to come. It is the only source of uniform, comprehensive, and impartial agriculture data for every county in the nation. NASS de-

fines a farm as "any place from which $1,000 or more of agricultural prod-ucts were produced and sold, or normally would have been sold, during

the census year (2017)."

Teton Food and Farm Coalition

will meet with Teton Regional Eco-nomic Coalition Chance Meeting

Tuesday, June 27th at 5pm

Three Peaks Diner

(15 South Main Street)

Giving period is open now un-til July 21st at 5pm for the

10th annual Tin Cup Challenge.

Your gift to the Teton County 4-H program makes a dif-

frence to our 4-H youth! Each gift will be matched by about 50% by generous community

challenges

Raised beds: Raised beds and oth-er containers help to heat the soil more rapidly (usually allow-ing you to plant 2-4 weeks earli-er) and provide additional ad-vantages. These include reduc-ing weeds and allowing you to provide the ideal soil pH, texture and structure using a 1:1 mix of compost and topsoil. Especially in compacted and rocky soils, raised beds, although more ex-pensive because of material costs, can help make gardening easier and less time intensive.

Using these short season gardening tech-niques will give you the edge when gar-dening in the Tetons, but remember to select appropriate crops and varieties that are better adapted to our area. Make certain that your garden is properly irri-gated and weeded. Check the weather forecast regularly. If there is a chance of frost, make sure your plants are well hy-drated, cover them, and/or bring contain-er plants inside.

Do you have other short season and sea-son extension techniques that you use to help you successfully grow in the Tetons? I’d love to hear about them. Message me on Facebook at the University of Idaho, Teton County Extension or send me an email at jwerlin@uidaho.edu

June 2017 University of Idaho Extension page 5

Thank You Silver Star Communica-tions for helping build the 4-H giv-ing garden . We are so excited to see what we can grow and give away to those in need this year.

June 2017 University of Idaho Extension page 6

Name (pleaseprint)

StreetAddress

color, national origin, gender, religion, age, sexual orientation, ordisability.

Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of program information or

Reasonable accommodations should contact Lance Ellis by June 17, at the Fremont

19 W. 1st N., St. Anthony, ID 83445. (208)624-3102

City: State: Zip:

Telephone: ( )

Email:

Convention Schedule

Friday, June 30th

Located at the Thomas E. RicksGardens

on the BYU-Idaho Campus, Rexburg,ID

8:00—8:40Registration and check-in. Location of

registration is the East side of the Benson

building, signs will be posted.

8:40Welcome and presenterintroductions.

9:00—12:00Classes and tours begin and rotate on the hour.

12:00Lunch isprovided on site in the orchard.

1:00—4:00Afternoonclassesandtours continue,whichrotate

on thehour, andfinishat4:00.

RegistrationTake advantage of the pre-registration rate of $35.00

per person. Pre-registration deadline is:

Tuesday, June 27, 2017.

Enclose a check payable to:

Bonneville County ExtensionOffice,

for pre-registration, in the amount of $35.00per person

attending. (Registrationat the door will be $40.00)

To request avegetarian lunch please mark the box.

Please return this section of the form with payment to:

Bonneville County ExtensionOffice

2925 Rollandet

Idaho Falls, ID83402

For registrationquestions:

Contact LanceEllis at 208-624-3102 or

Email:ellis@uidaho.edu

Master Gardeners and those of the public

interested in attending this program from Idaho,

Wyoming, Utah and Montana are invited to

attend. Students and faculty from the Universityof

Idaho and BYU-Idaho are also invited to attend.

Master Gardener2017 Regional Convention

Enjoy – Learn – Give

Families needed Please consider opening your heart and home to an international 4-Her this summer. The States’ 4-H Inter-national Exchange team need three families in Eastern Idaho to host the following delegates:

Shuhei, a cheerful 13-year-old boy from Japan. Shuhei likes playing tennis, learning English, camp-ing, animals, and arts and crafts. His favorite type of music is classical.

Nene, a cur ious 14-year-old girl from Japan. Nene likes to cook, paint/draw, swim and play tennis. Her fa-vorite school subjects are science and home economics.

Ruka, a studious 14-year-old from Japan. Ruka likes to play volleyball, run and read. Her favorite movies are Harry Potter and The Chronicles of Narnia.

Delegates arrive July 22nd and will attend the Alpine 4-H Camp until July 25th; the delegate’s host sibling is welcome to join free of charge. Arrival transportation is provided by States’ 4-H Exchange, along with transporta-tion back to Boise. You will be responsible for your delegate July 25th – August 17th.

Please contact Judith McShane for more information at or (208) 454-7655.

Welcome

Hi! My name is Elizabeth Nielson and I am the new intern that will be working at the Teton County 4-H office this summer. I just finished my first year of college at the University of Idaho (Go Vandals!) where I am a stu-dent in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, studying Animal Sci-ence-Business. I am the President of the Student Idaho Cattle Association at the U of I, which has encouraged a lot of travel and exploration through Ida-ho as well as education about their agriculture industry. Being a Central Washington native, the small town agriculture life has always felt like home and I am eager to immerse myself in this community and continue to learn. After breeding, raising, and show-ing pigs and steers myself, I’m excited to work with kids and their 4-H projects as well as the small farms around the area. Coming from the land of crop dusters, Lays potato farms, John Deere tractors that frequently stall traffic, and irrigation powered by the mighty Columbia River, having the opportunity to engage myself in a new type of agriculture will be beneficial to becoming a well-rounded agriculturalist. I’m look forward to this sum-mer and excited to meet you all!

June 2017 University of Idaho Extension page 7

CALENDAR

JUNE

9 Last Day to sign up for Camp.

9 Livestock Feed Clinic 10-11am Fairgrounds

13 Basin Barrel Racing starts in the fairgrounds arena 6:30-9. Everyone is welcome.

14-16 Alpine 4-H Camp (Registration deadline is June 9)

17 Teton Valley Queen Contest

19 “Ask a Veterinarian” at the pavilion building of the fair grounds 6:30-8:00 Horse Species

23 Teton Valley Rodeo #1 of the 2017 Season. Every Friday night at 7:30 at the stadium

JULY

11-14 4-H Horse Camp in Alpine, WY Registration Required

15 Tin Cup!! Run, volunteer, donate and/or enjoy!

25 Fair paper work and RULES AGREEMENT due by 4 p.m.

AUGUST FAIR!!

03 Archery 10 am

04 Shooting Sports / Style Review

05 4-H Horse Show

06 4D Barrel Racing

07 4-H Interviews/Pig Wrestling

08 Dog Show/Ice Cream Social

09 Open Class /Team Penning

10 Small Animal Show/Horse Pulls

11 Livestock Show & Sale/Rodeo

C-A-L Ranch

June 21st at 7pm

125 Valley River Drive Suite 109, Rexburg, Idaho

C-A-L will be hosting a horse meeting with Dave Far-ris from Nutrena Feeds on Wednesday June 21st. All 4-Hers are wel-

come to come and learn about nutritional needs for your younger and older horses. Come and ask questions and learn about their

show program discount.

Friday June 9th,there will be

a presentation about basic animal nutrition

and it will be discussing multiple species.

Earl Cole will be speaking about basic

feeds and how different feeds can help you

manage 4-H projects This presentation will

be from 10-11am at the Fair-

grounds. Come and learn from a

great expert.

Animal Nutrition 101 Clinic

4-H Quilt Raffle

84 X 104 Log Cabin

$5.00 a ticket or $20.00 for 5

Money made from quilt sales will go support 4-H program

and clubs.

Tickets are for sale at 4-H

office or call for 354-2961 and

we can get you set up

Thank You So Much!!!

We would like to thank everyone for selling and attending the 4-H

Scholarship Dinner Night. It was a fun night with imagetive silent

auction items, incredible desserts and a remarkable

live auction. Thank you 4-Her’s, parents, leaders,

Chris Miller, Kenny Chambers, Moulton Family and

4-H advisory committee for such a successful night.

Congratulations to all graduating seniors

Look forward to next year.

DUTCH OVEN COOKING

Last chance to get signed up for Dutch

Oven Cooking. Starting next week you

will be learning how to cook great food

outdoors like dutch oven

chicken and more.

We are pleased to announce that we will be having a series of clinics performed by Wyda-ho mobile vet, Katie Alexander. Our first one will be a horse clinic on June 19, 6:30 to 8 at the arena at the fairgrounds. This is open to all 4H participants. Katie will do an overview of basic horse health care and will do a ques-tion-and-answer segment. Thank you Dr Alex-ander for your willingness to help our youth with horse health issues. Wydaho mobile vet is also offering discounts to 4-H participants. Stay tuned for her small animal clinic next month.

June 2017 University of Idaho Extension page 8