Disclaimer
Thin Air Harvest is general regional guidance. Frost dates are station history, not a forecast, and labels outrank these pages.
Thin Air Harvest is an educational site about gardening in the high, semi-arid West. It is not extension, not a soil laboratory, not a medical or veterinary authority, and not a law office.
Frost and freeze dates on the calendars are statistics published for named weather stations. A median last spring 32°F date means that, in the period the table covers, half of the years were earlier and half were later at that instrument. It is not a prediction for next spring, and it is not a measurement from your garden. Cold air settles into draws. A south wall runs warmer. An official airport station is often different from a backyard two miles away and 200 feet lower. Plant tender crops with a cover ready, or wait for the later date the table actually prints.
Hardiness zones from the USDA map describe average annual extreme cold. They do not describe the length of the frost-free season, summer night temperature, hail, wind, or soil pH. A plant can be “zone hardy” and still fail here.
Soil advice is general. Iron chlorosis, compaction, and salinity look similar from a distance and are not the same problem. Spend the lab fee on a soil test before you add sulfur, gypsum, or a chelated iron product. Amendment rates belong to the lab report and the product label.
Pesticide, herbicide, and fungicide decisions belong to the current label and to your extension service. This site does not publish application rates. A recommendation that names a chemical without a rate is incomplete on purpose. Wildlife fencing reduces browsing. It does not eliminate it, and repellents wash off.
Fruit-crop comments describe typical regional failure modes, especially midwinter warm spells followed by severe cold, and spring freezes during bloom. They are not a promise that a named apple will crop in your valley. Nursery stock varies with rootstock, which many labels omit. Ask for the rootstock name.
Water use is constrained by weather, by the delivery system you have, and by law. The notes on Colorado rain barrels summarize published statute and extension guidance for residential rooftop collection. They are not a water right. Rules in Utah, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, and New Mexico are different. Confirm them with the state water agency before you build a cistern that is larger than a couple of barrels.
Food grown in a home garden can still make people sick if it is washed or stored badly, or if the soil was contaminated. Nothing here is a food-safety plan.
If you need a diagnosis, contact your county extension office. If you need a number corrected, contact contact@thinairharvest.com and cite the source. The terms of use limit liability for how the pages are used.