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Steamboat Springs — There's good news and bad news about growing vegetables in the Yampa Valley.

The good news is the valley has the most predictable weather pattern of any location in Colorado, so gardeners can easily and accurately plan when to plant their crops, according to the Colorado State University Cooperative Extension Office.

The bad news is the valley has one of the shortest vegetable-growing seasons in Colorado, so gardeners have to plan planting and harvesting days meticulously in order to avoid frosts.

The average duration of the growing season -- the time from the last frost to the first frost -- is 59 days from June 15 to Aug. 18 for Steamboat, 84 days from June 10 to Sept. 14 for Hayden, and 49 days from June 20 to Aug. 10 for Oak Creek.

And gardeners can't plant just anything. Typically, cool-season crops grow best in Routt County. Cool-season vegetables include lettuce and spinach, both of which were big cash crops in the mid-20th century for farmers in South Routt. Other cool-season crops include radishes, turnips, potatoes, peas, carrots, cabbage, onions, alfalfa, and herbs such as dill, parsley and cilantro. Warm-season crops, such as corn, tomatoes, beans, zucchini, and cucumbers, are a bit more of a challenge, unless they are grown under lights indoors or in a greenhouse.

Windmere Landscape and Garden Center sells all types of vegetable seeds and seedlings, including many warm-season crops. Tomatoes are actually the company's best-selling seedling, Kristen Pryce of Windmere said.

Pryce said most customers begin to grow their crops indoors to avoid the last frost and move the plants outdoors when they are safe from the cold.

Warm-season crops generally need more than 60 frost-free days, so growing them is easier in Hayden, and a bit of a gamble in Steamboat. South Routt residents should stick to cool-season crops.

To help ensure success for gardeners who want to brave the short growing season, the CSU Extension Office offers plant nutrient evaluations, soil and water testing. Quality water and nutrient-packed soil are necessary for success.

Gardeners can come by the office and pick up a probe to take back to their gardens. After the gardener fills the probe with about a foot of soil, returns it to the extension office and pays $18, agents can test the soil for pH, water conductivity, organic matter, phosphorus, potassium, zinc, iron, copper, and manganese. They will also estimate soil texture and lime content.

"Having a soil test can increase the chance of growing success," said Jennifer Duncan, agricultural administration assistant at the CSU Extension Office.

For a slightly higher fee, more thorough soil tests can be performed.

Also, for a $42 fee, the extension office can perform a water analysis, testing for content of many of the same chemicals as a soil test plus dissolved solids.