Darrin Parmenter
Position: La Plata County Extension Office

Hand-pollinating can increase your vegetable yield

Editor’s note: Get Growing, written by the La Plata County Extension Office’s Master Gardener Program, appears during the growing season. It features timely tips and suggestions for your...

Share the harvest in this bumper-crop year for fruit trees

Editor’s note: Get Growing, written by the La Plata County Extension Office’s Master Gardener Program, appears during the growing season. It features timely tips and suggestions for your...

After a fire, assess possible damage to food, medications

Skies are turning gray and thunder is here. We are happy the rains will finish off the 416 Fire and hopefully make a dent in this unprecedented drought. People have returned to t...

Remember that we are a community – be kind to each other

It would be pretty easy to write another article about the drought. As someone who deals with plants on a daily basis, I have seen the effects of this drought on trees, shrubs, lawns, weeds,...

When trees are rich with fruit, thinning can improve the harvest

Editor’s note: Get Growing, written by the La Plata County Extension Office’s Master Gardener Program, appears during the growing season. It features timely tips and suggestions for your...

Is your juniper tree looking rusty? Blame it on this fungus

Editor’s note: Get Growing, written by the La Plata County Extension Office’s Master Gardener Program, appears during the growing season. It features timely tips and suggestions for your...

La Plata County Extension Office can house livestock affected by 416 Fire

The La Plata County Fairgrounds is an evacuation site for residents with livestock animals that have been affected by the 416 Fire. Our facilities are also equipped to house horse...

Don’t let fear of carbohydrates cut into vegetable consumption

It is the season for corn, fresh vegetables and wonderful fruits. When I hear someone say, “Corn isn’t a vegetable! It’s all starch, I don’t eat it” or “I don’t eat anything white – it’s bad...

Relentless winds can parch plants, pull moisture from soil

I am sick of this wind, and I don’t even have hair. It’s not uncommon to have blustery days in April, but as we enter June, I always thought they would start to die down. But not this year –...

Incidents of racial bias are common and must be stopped

Recently, Colorado State University has been in the news for an unfortunate incident that occurred on the Fort Collins campus. On April 30, two Native American prospective teen st...

Nutrient-dense asparagus can be prepared in many ways

Oh yes, spring is my favorite season. Calves, lambs, fawns appearing across the fields and, best of all, the asparagus! It starts appearing mid-April and ends in June. As one of the few pere...

Dry year creates challenging conditions for farmers, ranchers in Southwest Colorado

I write this as the rain is finally coming down in the valley, wet snow in the high country. In Durango, moisture in two of the last five days has been a rarity, albeit welcome. ...