Colorado Master Gardener/CSU Denver Extension Online Plant Sale Now Through May 16

Choose from 10 types of tomatoes and 10 pepper varieties

by Molly Gaines, CSU Extension-Denver Master Gardener since 2019

COVID-19 restrictions mean Colorado Master Gardeners/CSU Denver are unable to host our traditional in-person plant sale this year, but we are happy to offer an online sale now through Sunday, May 16.

Ten types of tomatoes and 10 varieties of peppers are available for $5 per Denver–grown plant. All profits from the sale help support programming and outreach for the Colorado State University Denver Extension office. 

During my first year working at our traditional in-person plant sale, I was blown away by the variety of tomato and pepper plants offered. There were so many sizes, shapes and varieties! It is always a little overwhelming to choose, despite knowing a thing or two about what I like and how to make them grow!

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  Photo credit: Molly Gaines

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  Photo credit: Molly Gaines

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  Photo credit: Molly Gaines

An advantage of this year’s online sale is being able to read about the varieties and place an order in just a few minutes. I cannot wait to plant my favorite tomato variety, a Sun Gold cherry (oh, their color and sweetness!); an Heirloom Cherokee Purple; and a hybrid, Better Boy — a prolific variety with fresh tomato flavor. I can already taste those BLTs we will begin eating non-stop starting in August.

Where to Shop

Our online catalog contains clear descriptions of the tomatoes and peppers on sale. Personally, I am excited to try my hand at growing the Sauve Orange, a low heat, high yield, flavorful habanero pepper that will be a colorful addition to fresh salsas and summer salads.

How to Purchase

Before the purchase deadline of Sunday, May 16, visit our online plant sale store to place your order. Shop soon as popular varieties can sell out!

Be sure to order the desired quantity of plants by adding each plant to the cart individually (3 plants=3 add-to-cart clicks) or by adjusting the quantity in the shopping cart. Click here for further instructions.

You can pay using your credit card or by check. To pay by check enter “PAYBYCHECK” in the discount code box at checkout and we will collect your check when you pick up your plants.

Unfortunately, we will not have additional plants for sale during pick-up – so make your selections carefully.

After Ordering

After placing your order, you will promptly receive an email confirmation from the CSU Extension eStore. Five days later, you will receive a second email with a link to SignUpGenius. Here, you will be able to select the date/time to pick up your plants on either Saturday, May 22, or Sunday, May 23, between 10 a.m. and 3p.m. and received detailed pick-up instructions. Reservations are required for pick-up.

No-Contact Plant Pick-up

Plant pick-up will be in Denver’s City Park; you will receive further instructions on the park’s pick-up location by email.  Masks are required for pick-up. If you are paying by check, make it payable to Colorado State University Extension and be sure to bring your ID.

Arriving at your designated time during your 15-minute window is important for no-contact pick-up as plants will be available in a timed order.

Mitigating COVID-19 Risks

Plant sale staff will maintain social distance, wear masks, provide hand sanitizer, and minimize contact. Likewise, please wear your mask when you arrive.

Thank you in advance for making the plant pick-up experience safe for everyone.

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  Photo credit: Molly Gaines

Gardening Advice from a Master Gardener

When you plant your vegetables and as you move through the gardening season, know that Colorado Master Gardeners are here for you! The best way to reach us is through the Denver Master Gardener HELP line, 720.913.5278, or by emailing denvermg@colostate.edu. Also, be sure to visit the Denver extension website for a wealth of gardening information tailored to our growing conditions.

For more information regarding the plant sale, please contact  Merrill Kingsbury, at merrill.kingsbury@colostate.edu., or the office at 720-913-5270.

A Denverite Visits New Orleans in July, Leaves in Awe That Anything Grows in Colorado, Like, Ever.

Image by McKenna Hynes

I recently returned from a little summer vaca in the South. New Orleans in July (a questionably timed vacation, albeit) is showy and fragrant; the ferns suckle lovingly to any crack and crevice providing green brush-strokes and blots everywhere, palms fill beds and pots alike, all of my houseplants are thriving in the wide open, the sun is scorching, and as our pilot reminded us as we prepared to de-plane, its humid enough to confuse a frog. I was constantly amazed at how effortlessly everything seemed to grow.

While in New Orleans, I was frequently amused by how the rest of the country (mis)understands Colorado living conditions. For the most part, folks think we spend most of the year dreaming of gardens as we stare out our frosty windows waiting for the snow to melt, visiting floral places abroad, and wearing multiple layers of socks at all times. Soooo… basically gardening at 10,000+ feet? While these perceptions are laughable, I started thinking that even though we don’t live in perpetual wintry wonder, the challenges we face to make anything grow aren’t necessarily less surmountable than our fam in the lofty-actual-mountains.

We were welcomed back to Denver with a remarkable storm featuring lightning, torrential rains, booming thunder… and hail. Of course, the very next day was smokin’ hot with nary a whisper of the siege.  Maintaining a vibrant garden in the Front Range is an extreme sport with our baffling daily fluctuations; the entire notion of keeping anything alive here seems impossible at times, but we’ve gotten pretty good at strategizing. Here are a few resources I’ve tracked down this year to help us all maintain beauty, build our skills, and be stewards to our land and community.

Image by McKenna Hynes

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Resource Central is a nonprofit organization based in Boulder that helps communities conserve resources and build sustainability efforts simply and cost-effectively. Their water-saving initiatives include native plant sales with simple designs for home gardens and often include low water perennials. They also have a tool library in Boulder where you can borrow for a couple of bucks per day so you don’t just buy the tamper, hedge trimmer, turf roller, or post hole diggers you need so infrequently. 

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The cities of Boulder, Lafayette, and Louisville partnered with Resource Central to give customers a Garden In A Box for turf-removal. Their Grass to Garden initiative is available to all communities with tips and resources to convert high water-consuming turf to low water garden areas. For the North Metro area, they have resources for assistance removing and disposing of turf, landscape architect recommendations, and more.

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Denver Water coined one of our most successful water-wise strategies with xeriscaping. And to keep sharing the good water word, Denver Water also partnered with local landscape architects to provide us mere civilians with some FREE! FREE! FREE! creativity. For those of us who are new (it’s me) who struggle with vision (all me), and are easily overwhelmed by the thought of starting fresh with a blank canvas (still, totally, all me), they’ve curated a bunch of plans for a variety of situations. They have plans for sloped xeriscaping, budget-friendly xeriscaping, narrow bed xeriscaping, year-round beauty designs, and many more. July is also Smart Irrigation Month! Head to Denver Water for tips on maintaining irrigation systems, watering rules, and efficiency strategies.

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And for the grand finale top-notch gardening game-changer, check out Plant Select for all your future dreaming. Plant Select is a nonprofit partnership between Colorado State University, Denver Botanic Gardens, and professional horticulturists to identify smart plant choices for the Rocky Mountian Region. Their mobile-friendly site has a tool to help you find plants that will suit the conditions you’re facing. I tend to challenge the tool to see how obscure or specific I can get, and it always provides me with something unique and gorgeous. Plant Select: taking “right plant right place” to an accessible and fun platform. Say So Long! to the multiple Google tabs researching the same plant with contradicting information on each site; Goodbye! Big Box Store swindlers promising “You REALLY can’t kill this one!” and go get yourself some good, wholesome, ACCURATE information quickly and easily from Plant Select. They also feature some garden designs and ideas.

Image source

By McKenna Hynes

Apprentice Colorado Master Gardener since January 2019