Kat’s Gardens 

Down at sea level in tropical Thailand, gardening is easy.  Most anything you stick in the ground will grow.  The same is not true up here in the Rocky Mountain north at 6200′ MSL (+/- 2000 meters).  Gardening here is hard!  It can literally freeze any day of the year, and the average growing season is barely three months, with only 45 to 65 frost free days guaranteed—on average!  Add to this the near-constant threat of summer thunderstorms, with their high winds, punishing rain, and deadly hail; unexpected mid-summer snow storms, and the endlessly hungry mule & white tail deer, voles, field mice, slugs, moths and birds.  Gardening here is not for the weak of heart.  And organic gardening—like Kat does—is even tougher!

In March/April, Kat must start her seeds, harvested and retained from her own garden the previous year, down in her basement sprouting area using artificial lights and heaters on timers.  She can start to move seedlings up to her greenhouse in late-April to early-May, while at the same time, she starts preparing her outdoor raised beds with moldy hay and horse manure from our neighbor’s mustangs, and her own homemade compost, which she makes using our coffee grinds, kitchen cuttings and waste, and left over organics from last year’s gardens.  In Teton Valley, nothing can be safely transplanted outside until Memorial Day.   

There’s also an active local gardening group on Facebook, that you can find: here.  And a great Facebook Page on local wildflowers, which you can find, here.  Also take a look at John Cheeseman’s beautiful website (and field ID books!) of Teton Valley’s wildflowers. 

Kat grows vegetables, herbs and berries—both wild and domesticated—along with native wildflowers, fruit trees and a few annuals.  You can Click on any photo below to launch a slideshow starting at that point.  And if you’d like to chat with Kat about high-mountain gardening, you can email or message her via her Contact Page.