Mountain checklist - includes related article on container plants

Sunset, July, 1999 by Lauren Bonar Swezey

PLANTING & HARVEST

* HARVEST VEGETABLES, FLOWERS. All plants, be they vegetables or flowers, exist to set seed. If you remove the fruit before the seed ripens, the plant will usually try to produce more flowers and fruit. Use this to your advantage by keeping vegetables and flowers picked so the harvest will continue.

* PLANT FALL VEGETABLES. Zone 1: Plant warm-season vegetables in large pots. If nighttime temperatures ate predicted to drop below 60 [degrees], move them under cover for the night. Zone 2 (Denver, Salt Lake City): Plant beets, broccoli, bush beans, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, green onions, peas, spinach, and turnips. Below 5,000 feet, plant winter squash among spinach; it will fill the space after you harvest the spinach.

* PLANT IRISES. Set out new rhizomes in rich, well-drained soil in full sun. Sprinkle on some complete fertilizer at planting time and water in well.

MAINTENANCE

* CARE FOR CONTAINER PLANTS. To encourage bloom and fruit production, apply a liquid fertilizer every two weeks.

* COMPOST. Add leafy garden debris and grass clippings to the compost pile. To keep it working, turn it weekly and water it so it stays as moist as a damp sponge.

* CONTROL SPIDER MITES. Mottled leaves and fine webs indicate the presence of spider mites; spray foliage with a strong jet of water, then treat with insecticidal soap or a stronger miticide.

* DIVIDE IRISES. Dig and divide overcrowded clumps three weeks after flowers fade. Discard dry of mushy rhizomes as you cut apart healthy ones, trimming leaves back to 6 inches, and replant in well. drained soil in full sun.

* FERTILIZE. Feed annuals and vegetables with high-nitrogen fertilizer and water it in well.

* MAINTAIN SPRING-BLOOMING BULBS. In coldest climates, pluck faded flowers and seed heads from daffodils, tulips, and other spring-flowering bulbs. After bloom, feed with high-phosphorus fertilizer, then water periodically until leaves turn brown. Let plants dry until fall rains.

* STAKE TALL PLANTS. Stake beans, delphiniums, peas, peonies, and tomatoes against high winds. Drive stakes at least 1 foot into the ground and tie plants loosely but securely.

* TEND FRUIT TREES. On trees with lots of fruit, thin plums to 2 inches apart and apples, nectarines, and peaches to 4-inch intervals.

* TEND ROSES. After each bloom cycle, remove faded flowers, cutting them off just above a leaf node with five leaflets. Then fertilize and water deeply in preparation for the next round of bloom.

* WATER. Continue a regular deep-watering program for ground covers, lawns, shrubs, and trees.