San Luis Valley, Co

You and I are in the same boat. I just moved here this summer to Del Norte, from central NM (not much diff but colder), and it looks like gardening is even more of an olympic event than it was there! I agree with others, and am working on all that this winter, amend the soil, mulch, compost, do all you can. I'm at 8700' and my neighbors up the hill have a pretty kick-ass garden, so it CAN be done. Tho they tell me nearly everything has to start in a greenhouse and absolutely cannot be put out in the garden till June. I'm on solid rock mostly and built some raised beds; will work on a small greenhouse this winter, too. Fortunately, I also have sheep & goats, so they will be helping me amend the soil!

Welcome to the SLV. Tough place to live, but LOTS of great people here, hardy and knowledgeable. There are several places you can start for gardening facts, try the Green Spot in Alamosa first; the owner can lead you further. Look for me at the Alamosa Growers Market next summer; I'm the one with the handspun yarns. Good luck, stay warm! littlesheeps in co

Gregsfxr3, littlesheeps again... just saw that you were around San Luis, one of the areas I was targeting to live before I stumbled on Del Norte. Nice folks there. Yes, wind will be your absolute worst issue... so don't forget windbreaks for the garden! I recently just met a gal down near Costilla Meadows who has dairy goats, so you might look her up if you are wanting some dairy stock; looked like she has Alpines, mostly. She does cheeses etc; they also run a small fishing camp on the river. Lots of artists holed away in that area, too. They put on a very nice studio tour in October, I believe. Again, welcome to the valley. Take care, littlesheeps in co