Los Angeles move to Colorado Springs (weather, mountains, today)

[TCHP]

To me, crops indicates food production on a scale considerably larger than a family garden. If you are simply meaning a large family garden, then you are probably okay. If this is not the case and you truly are thinking of larger scale production, you will want to make sure your realtor knows this and start searching for an attorney to assist with navigating the minefield of Colorado water laws. The vast majority of household water wells east and south of COS are residential in nature, which means you have limits on usage that would make it impossible to grow crops and raise livestock, assuming, a few animals is more than your previously mentioned dogs. I believe, in order to have a well for such agricultural usage, you have to have a minimum of a 35 acres. There are some exemptions on places that have stock wells already in place and were in place and listed for stock use prior to 1972, however, the water rights alone make these places cost considerably more than $400k, plus, they are going to be far removed from city sewer systems you want to have. Falcon, Peyton, Hanover, and Fountain have quite a few 5 and 10 acre subdivided lots, many on city sewer, but these are too small for that type of well use permit and if you start growing rows and rows of vegetables, it will be obvious you are in violation of water law and you risk the law coming down on you.

A quick check on PPAR shows 27 farm/ranch properties in the Pikes Peak region, to include Pueblo and Walsenberg. Using the minimum acerage for commercial use well permits, average price is about $1.5 million. There are some lower price points at $600-700k, but they usually lack the acerage to get that type of permit, have already tried and failed to get potable water (drilling a well doesn't guarantee good water) , or have some other mitigating issue to drive the price down.

Some easy reading on Colorado water if you want to pursue it;
http://water.state.co.us/DWRIPub/DWR...COWaterLaw.pdf
http://water.state.co.us/DWRIPub/Doc...ermitguide.pdf
Water Colorado Well Rights

[Charlie213]

Can anyone please explain why this article mentions Colorado springs cities have contaminated water.

Drinking water in three Colorado cities contaminated with toxic chemicals above EPA limits – The Denver Post

[Mike from back east]

Originally Posted by Charlie213

Can anyone please explain why this article mentions Colorado springs cities have contaminated water.

Drinking water in three Colorado cities contaminated with toxic chemicals above EPA limits – The Denver Post

Seems the info is right in the story...chemicals used by air fields to put out petroleum fires.

Though proud of my 31-year civilian work with the Navy and Army, I'm not shy to state that Uncle Sam is one rotten slumlord who leaves behind a trail of pollution horrors at old military bases or industrial sites that make various products for the Dept of Defense.

Keep doing your due diligence, there are family vegetable gardens here, it can be done, we've a thread on it that you can find with our search tool.

[StarrySkiesAbove]

Originally Posted by Charlie213

Can anyone please explain why this article mentions Colorado springs cities have contaminated water.

Drinking water in three Colorado cities contaminated with toxic chemicals above EPA limits – The Denver Post

It’s actually not Colorado Springs, the issues with contamination are affecting three towns to the south, Fountain, Widefield and Security.

[Thoreau424]

Originally Posted by Charlie213

I want to try and grow my own crops and have a few animals...

Coming from California, how many months in the year do you envision growing "crops" if you moved here? Do you feel skilled and ready for the dry conditions and different soil and growing conditions? And for animals, what kind of protection would you have for them in the winter months?

[Charlie213]

Originally Posted by Thoreau424

Coming from California, how many months in the year do you envision growing "crops" if you moved here? Do you feel skilled and ready for the dry conditions and different soil and growing conditions? And for animals, what kind of protection would you have for them in the winter months?

I was hoping 8 months of the year for growing crops. I'm a novice at farming. My plan was to have 5 chickens and 1 goat if possible. Do I need special protection for them? Is there bears or wolves I need to worry about? Seems like the only place that might fit my needs is falcon, peyton, or further eas but I'm afraid my wife is pushing towards OCC. Is there somewhere with a little of both worlds?

[bluescreen73]

You're not gonna get an 8 month growing season for most crops here (without human intervention). Last freeze is typically early May and the first freeze is in early/mid October. It can snow anytime between early September and late May (although it's usually mid October through late April).

[otowi]

Definitely not 8 months. Rule of thumb here is not to plant things in the ground until after Mother's Day (with a few exceptions) and we're at the very very end of growing things right now - some things it is already too late. Things don't just grow here like they do in some places - you'll have to put work into your garden and learn what works here and how to care for it. You might want to try one of our community gardens first - since you're looking around OCC Bear Creek Park has some nice ones. You can have your chickens and goat in some places, maybe even a few on the west side - better look into what's allowed in a given area before you buy - no wolves here, but coyotes and foxes yes, mountain lion more likely than bear for going after your livestock. You'll need to do some research and studying on how to take care of them. I wouldn't buy them until you know what it will take here. They will need some protection from elements in winter sometimes.

[TCHP]

Contingent upon what you envision as "crops", it could limit what sites are available to you. Water is the key factor here. If you envision land sufficient to require a small tractor, you won't be in the city and you will need to understand the water usage available to you in whatever area you look at. A large garden in the city on our tiered water rates could easily cost $500+ a month to irrigate on top of regular household usage if you plant it over several thousand square feet of yard space.

4 months is our prime growing season unless you are using greenhouses to extend it. My tomato plants have all but stopped producing about two weeks ago. I bought them already pretty good sized with buds already on them in May. Growing plants from seeds for tomatoes is too tough to do. Squash and pumpkins seem to do really well from seeds. My carrots and lettuce weren't too shabby this year either. One year I actually had lettuce that went to seed over the winter and bloomed around March, but it wasn't a deliberate effort. Herbs do great too, but they also can be started indoors and carried all through winter.

Within COS city limits you can have up to 10 hens anywhere they are not restricted by an HOA. Roosters are more restricted. You can have up to four hoofed animals (horses, cows, goats) if your property is 37,000 sq ft or larger with corrals and enclosures all within required set backs and sanitary capability. Hogs, pigs (except 2 small, pot bellied varieties) and all exotics are illegal. So for the goat you will need a lot of dirt. Finding properties of this size within the city will be tough. There are some here and there, but they will be expensive. I'm thinking there are some in the Bott neighborhood on the west side. Some are more central along Mesa Rd. Rustic Hills estate areas east of Murray Blvd has properties that meet hoofed animal zoning. There are some on the east side around the "mineral" streets in Park Vista Estates. There actually is a small triangle of unincorporated county land within the city sandwiched between Austin Bluffs Parkway and North Carefree. There are some larger lots just north of Stetson Hills and Austin Bluffs. However, I don't think anything that large is currently listed as available within the city.

Bears, mountain lions, coyotes, fox, racoons are all found on the west side. More central areas will have fox and racoons. East will still have mountain lion threats on occasion, but it kind of depends on if you are in any hills or the prairie. Lions typically don't like to range too far away from the hills. My Bro has lions, coyotes, deer, and more in the hills around his place north of Peyton. Mountain lions have been seen in town around the Palmer Park area too. Loosing a chicken or three a year is not uncommon, depending on how good you are at building your coop. Bears usually don't eat other critters. Lions will in a heartbeat. They've been know to take large dogs too. Up outside of Boulder, a lion took a Golden Retriever right out of a family bedroom that left a patio door open over night.

[TCHP]

Its snowing today. Not sure if your on the ground here yet, but with highs of the mid 30s followed by mid 70s later this week, this is a good slice of Colorado's variable weather.