When To Plant Your            Garden Plants In Denver 


If you ask my 84 year old neighbor, she would say most of her garden plants are planted near the end of May.

She has lived in Denver for over 47 years and has learned the hard way.

 

 

So have we, as pictured below.

Hail surrounds a mound where a melon plant once called its new home. May 18, 2011    


Varieties of garden plants from our starter plant list that can NOT handle freezing temperatures. 

  • Tomatoes
  • Peppers
  • Tomatillos
  • Basil
  • Watermelon
  • Cucumbers 
  • Egg Plant
  • Pumpkins
  • Squash
  • Zucchini

 It is recommended to wait until  Mother's Day (May 13, 2018) to plant these into the ground without using some kind of protection. 

You can plant these types much earlier then Mother's Day If you 

  • Plant them in pots and are able to bring them in on cold nights.
  • Have a greenhouse, hoop house, cold frame or similar structure.
  • Use a Wall O Water as insulation. 
  • Use plastic to cover your rows to help warm the soil up.
  • Wrap plastic wrap around your tomato cage to make its own greenhouse.

A one day harvest of heirloom tomatoes from our 2014 garden.

In 2014 we planted our first tomato and pepper plants into the ground on May 26th and still had a great crop. We just had to wait a bit longer for them than people that planted earlier. 


 


You can still plant some garden plant varieties in the ground much earlier then tomatoes and peppers.            


Varieties of garden plants from our list that CAN handle cold nights.

Even if it freezes.

  • Lettuce
  • Kale
  • Chives
  • Cilantro
  • Dill
  • Sage
  • Spinach
  • Oregano
  • Chard
  • Broccoli
  • Cauliflower
  • Cabbage
  • Parsley
  • Rosemary
  • Thyme
  • Chamomile

If the ground is workable ( not muddy or snowy) I will try and get these varieties in our garden in the middle of April.

If the forecast calls for heavy snow after they are in the ground, I will cover them with something to protect them from being squashed.