UW Extension publications focus on extending growing season

Growers interested in extending the growing season can find information in three free University of Wyoming Extension publications now available for download.

Karen Panter, UW Extension horticultural specialist and author of the publications, said the bulletins cover season extension from very basic and inexpensive strategies to the greenhouse, which is the ultimate season-extender. She said together with UW Extension’s “High Tunnel Handbook,” growers can use the information to start crops earlier in the spring, produce them later in the fall or go year-round with a greenhouse.

The publication “Extending the Vegetable Growing Season” provides information on how to start vegetables indoors, warm-season vegetables, cool-season vegetables, variety selection, mulching and tips on how to extend the growing season. Panter said with slight modifications, vegetable gardens can be grown almost anywhere in Wyoming.

“Greenhouse Structures” provides general considerations in selecting a greenhouse and information on covers, heating, ventilation, cooling, controls and accessory equipment. The publication includes drawings and charts with suggested appropriate temperatures for growing common vegetables and flowers.

The third publication, “Gardening: Hotbeds & Cold Frames” teaches how to construct, cover and manage hotbeds and how to build, shelter and manage cold frames.

Panter said hotbeds provide an economical way to grow plants until they are transplanted to permanent outdoor locations, and cold frames work as solar heat traps to warm soil and plants during late fall and early spring.

The publications can be downloaded in PDF, HTML or ePub formats and can be accessed on the following websites:

Extending the Vegetable Growing Season: http://bit.ly/B-1148R.

Greenhouse Structures: http://bit.ly/B-1147R.

Gardening: Hotbeds & Cold Frames: http://bit.ly/B-1151R.