Mountain Gardening with Christel & Anyll Markevich
Spring 2021
Planting Guide
A printable guide for gardening in the high desert of the Colorado Rockies.
Mountain Gardening
Words: Christel and Anyll Markevich
Growing edibles in this high alpine terrain may seem like an uphill loosing battle with the environment and wild life.
A group of neighbors have been gardening up here for years testing high altitude gardening techniques and researching traditional gardening in other cultures. After much experimentation and hard work, we are so grateful they share the culminating knowledge from years of gardening in the rocky mountains.
Adaptation
Along with neighbors, we put together a garden that is very well adapted to the mountains. It is relatively easy to build. The investment in time and money for the construction really pays off as you get an easily maintainable garden in terms of weeding and watering. You don’t have to share your harvest with the local animals or defend your garden from their attacks. It offers an easy setting to apply regenerative agriculture principals. As it is more productive than a regular garden, it reduces the surface of land you have to dedicate to your garden.
Function
1. The cement blocks create heat mass to extend the growing season.
2. The hardware cloth under the garden prevents local animals from digging under the garden. Be sure the hardware cloth is in contact with the galvanized sheet.
3. The galvanized sheet cylinder prevents local animals from climbing into the garden.
If you want to improve on these basics:
- you can add another galvanized sheet cylinder around the previous one to insert corrugated plastic sheets between the two galvanized sheet cylinders. The corrugated plastic sheets will extend the season, protect the garden from wind, hail, sun, and tall herbivores.
- when you fill your garden with dirt and manure, don’t forget to add branches and stumps that will decay and feed mycelium.
- the dimensions provided allow you to reach your vegetables growing in the middle of the garden without having to step on the soil. But you can definitely modify these dimensions.
Construction
The cement circle is 2 feet tall with a diameter between 60 inches and 72 inches. The hardware cloth under the garden is a square of 7 feet on each side.
We made mistakes in the process of conceiving this garden. We learned from these mistakes and made the necessary adjustments. If you decide to build one of these gardens we are looking forward to hear about how you kept on improving our design.
For any questions or comments, you can send an email to Christel at christelmarkevich@gmail.com
About the Markeviches: Our family is passionate about restoration of ecosystems, sustainability, and health.
