Irrigation Maintenance

Now is a great time to do irrigation system maintenance. Things to check for include bad valves, timer settings, timer backup batteries, leaking lines, broken or plugged emitters, damaged or plugged sprinkler heads (especially if you overseeded the lawn) and broken pressure regulators on drip lines. Our half-inch drip lines are ten years old and one has been splitting seams. My mission yesterday was to replace that entire line. However, upon opening the control valve boxes I discovered that the valve feeding the drip line to the trees had gone bad. We hadn't noticed but I'm sure the trees were feeling starved for water. There was also a bad pressure regulator on the line feeding our grapes which was responsible for flooding the irrigation valve box.

Instead of laying new drip line, I re-built the valve and backflow assembly on the two damaged lines. This is the third time the smaller, cheaper pressure regulators have failed, so I spent the extra money for a larger, better quality regulator (I have three of these that have gone ten years with no issues). Done! Now I know plants are getting water when the timer says so. Next weekend we'll do the line replacement.

Onions

The box stores have onion sets for sale. For $2 you can plant 60 onions, so for our family $4 means we'll have fresh onions for another year without purchasing any more from the store.

These are different than the ones sold in the spring. These are like very small onions, while the ones sold in spring look more like tiny leeks.

Planting Garlic

 The easy way to plant garlic. These two bunches will be enough for backyard BBQ marinades all next summer. Separate the bunches into individual cloves, dig a trench about 3-4 inches deep somewhere that already gets regular water (in this case the roses). Place each clove pointy end up about six inches apart and cover with soil.

If we don't use them all some will grow again next year.

September is for Winter Gardens

September is the time to plant winter and spring garden vegetables. Things that will do fine through our mild winters include:

onions
garlic
peas
beets
carrots
broccoli
cauliflower

Planting these now will get them up and growing before "winter" sets in. Then in the spring they will "spring" into bloom and ripen before it gets hot in May.

Onions and Garlic

It's time to plant onions and garlic. The onions we raised from seed last year are still in the ground (those we haven't eaten) and are starting to grow again. Seed is easy to start on a wet paper towel. Place an empty egg carton upside down, put a damp paper towel or napkin inside, and sprinkle seeds on it and close. Within a few days the seeds will sprout and you can set them in potting soil. When they are 2-3 inches tall you can set them outside about 6 inches apart. The winters here are not cold enough to hurt them and you will soon have an always-fresh supply of onions. For the less adventurous, wait until the home improvement stores have onion sets in stock and set those out in the yard.

For easy, fresh garlic, pick up one or two bulk garlic at the grocery store and break them into individual cloves. Plant these about six inches apart pointy side up somewhere in the yard that gets water regularly and you will have fresh garlic all summer next year. Like onions, our light frosts won't bother garlic.

Seed Order

Today we ordered seed for fall and next spring. Most of the time the seed packets or seedlings available in local big box stores are just fine. I like to try new plants and learn about different varieties, so usually place an on-line order. For example, Guatemalan Blue squash, two types of garlic from Germany - one is hot and the other is sweet, Bulgarian Carrot - a hot orange pepper, a yellow paste type tomato, a 7-inch long paste tomato (both the same shape as Romas), and I had to stop myself.

Every year we like to try something new to see how we like it and how well it grows here in Arizona.

Time to plant fall gardens is about a month away, so now is the time to plan and prepare.

See you next season

Current activities include mulching the garden, turning off the water, and waiting for cooler weather. Taking a break from the garden blog until fall. When it's time to start seedlings we'll start posting again.

Season Ending

We gave the tomato patch two weeks to do what it could in the 108 degree Phoenix weather to ripen the last of the crop. This heat makes the flowers close before they can be pollinated so no new fruit has been setting for several weeks. We picked 61 pounds of tomatoes and then proceeded to run the vines through the chipper machine. There was an area where root knot nematodes were evident - thick roots are an indicator. We'll let the sun heat and dry the soil to get rid of them, and conserve water until it's time to plant in the fall.

The pepper plants are a beautiful green, and we get a few to cook with dinner or eat fresh. The only other producing plant at this point is the strawberry popcorn, which needs a couple of weeks before the cobs will be fully colored and mature. This is the two-inch cob with pointy dark burgundy colored corn people buy for Halloween decorations. Well, it also happens to be a wonderful popcorn!

The onions and garlic are fine, and mostly buried in grass clippings from the lawn to protect them from the heat. Any time we need a fresh one we just dig down and pull it up. If we don't use them all this summer they will grow again in the fall and divide into multiple cloves. If you leave at least one garlic to grow for two years, you can harvest all but one of the divided cloves and leave the last to grow and divide again the next year - never needing to replant. We use garlic from the store, although there are varieties I am itching to try. Buy a bunch from the supermarket, break apart the cloves and plant them about six inches apart somewhere near a watered plant (under a vine, in between roses,...). That's all the effort it takes to have your own fresh garlic year round.

Tomatoes

We are on the downward slope of this year's tomato harvest. Weekly harvest weights have been 125#, 140#, and 90#. There are about 100 quart jars of tomatos in the pantry, plus about 20 pints of pizza sauce, and another 32 of salsa. That should hold us for a year, give or take visits from college students...

The rest of the garden is enduring summer heat. The indian popcorn is showing tassles, zucchini are drying up, bell peppers are doing great, Hubbard squash look to be ripe, and there are some lima beans setting. We still have carrots but they are starting to get tough and spouting big tops to make seed.

We had a minor infestation of squash bugs show up on the Hubbard so had to break out an insecticide spray for the first time. Also noticed a couple of tomato horn worms this past weekend, but we've rarely had to do anything about them as the summer heat puts an end to the tomato patch before they really become a problem.

Last of all the grapes are all turning color and will soon be ready for harvest. We had an unfortunate experience this year with skeletonizers. They at first seemed to be under control from the systemic pesticide we typically use, but after three weeks of not paying attention we found several vines severely damaged and had to remove about 50% of the grape clusters, hoping they will still have the energy to sweeten the remaining crop. No leaves, no solar energy conversion into sugar. If that doesn't teach you to be diligent and monitor things once a week I don't know what will.

All in all a great garden so far this year that will meet our needs. Oh, and the onions and garlic are fantastic, and the kiwi are getting larger and starting to climb the trellis we made for them. Can't wait to have our own fresh kiwi!

Tomatoes are in season

Picked 124 pounds of tomatoes today, which we then processed into 35 quarts of bottled juice. We shred the tomatoes through a salsa screen, which leaves the tomato pulp in larger pieces but still removes most of the skin and cores. It's nice to see the pantry filling up again after last year's poor harvest. We were down to about a dozen jars of tomato juice from 2009 and 2010.

Busy Gardening

Sorry for the long pause between posts. The garden has kept us busy. The past two weeks we picked enough tomatoes to bottle a few jars, and this past weekend we made salsa with tomatoes, onions, garlic, and cilantro all from the garden. Our peppers are not doing well so we had to buy those.

Tomato tally thus far is about 75 pounds. We are also getting golden zucchini about twice a week, and green beans once a week. Tonight we bottled a few pints of green beans and are looking forward to more - they are so good fresh from the garden steamed with a bit of salt and butter.

We have also been busy with the Apricot tree. Picked about 60 pounds from the one tree and made lots of jam and fruit leather. Pictures are on the way.

May is here



First golden zucchini




First tomatoes of the season



May marks the season of full production in our garden. Last weekend we picked the first handfuls of tomatoes, and notes that the apricots are turning from green to yellow. We also enjoyed a couple of golden zucchini - a welcome addition to the dinner table after the first batch of plants failed to thrive. The popcorn we planted where the peas and broccoli were has also sprouted so we'll hopefully have some corn this summer.

Photos of the garden from early April to the end of April show a huge change has taken place, from a few scattered plants to a sea of different shades of green. This is the time when it is fun and rewarding to see all of the different plants doing their thing - different colors of green and different stages of producing fruit. We even enjoyed shredded beef chimichangas seasoned with fresh garlic, onion, sage, rosemary, and cilantro. So rewarding to have all of that fresh in the backyard.



Beginning of April





End of April





Current Garden Events

There has been a bit of activity recently. We harvested and removed the last of the peas, broccoli, and beets. In the resulting void, we planted a special variety of popcorn most people use as Halloween decoration. The tiny dark red cobs of corn that are sharply pointed. It's a favorite treat of ours and easy to grow (if the birds will leave the germinating seeds alone). A few current events in the photo collage:

Top left: Onions. Set these out when they were about the size of individual blades of grass.

Top center: Garlic. Can't tell from a photo this far away, but onions and garlic are easy to tell apart, plus there's always the smell test. Bruise a leaf and you'll know which it is.

Top right: Kiwi. A new experiment this year. We'll see how they do. Looks like they are suffering a bit from iron chlorosis which is caused by pH chemically locking up iron in the soil. This causes leaves to turn yellowish and in severe cases white which is quickly followed by death of the plant. An iron spray should take care of this.

Bottom right: Frontenac grapes that have just set in the last few days. These can reach over 26% sugar when ripe - you can almost pour the juice directly on pancakes instead of syrup.

Bottom center: Onions under a bench. These got a little tall and started coming up through the seat. Between the two patches of onions shown here, we won't need to buy any at the store for the next year.

Bottom left: Wonderful Pomegranate blossom. These are now in full bloom. We have been spraying for fungus every two weeks for the past couple of months trying to ward off a fungal infection we had trouble with last year. Once the fruit is set these just need water until November.

Center: Current view into the center of the garden. The bare spot is where peas, broccoli, and beets were removed last week and (hopefully) red popcorn will soon be growing.

Watering Systems

Drip irrigation is the way to go for the garden, trees, and other landscape plants. Aside from an occasional plugged emitter, it is essentially maintenance free and the automatic timer doesn't forget or go on vacation. We did have a problem recently with plants along our back fence, which faces south. It is always hotter there due to reflected heat. First we doubled the drip lines, and it was still dry. Then we added a soaker hose and that seemed to really help. A couple years later several grape vines died and after searching for a cause I finally dug a hole found the soil barely moist. The soaker hose wasn't soaking any longer, and so we added more drip emitters. We have two rows of grapes in the back, one next to the wall, and another about eight feet away next to the garden. The grapes next to the garden always do better because they get more water and don't have to fight the heat... big surprise. So the point here is that you should check the watering system at least every six months, and if plants are in an area that gets lots of sun or reflected heat, they will need more emitters or should be on a separate timer so they get water longer or more often.

Grapes

For those who keep grape vines, many interesting things are taking place at this time. Depending on the variety, they are blooming or getting ready to. You might have seen a pesky dark blue moth flying around which is indicative of a problem about to begin. These moths lay eggs on the leaves that left to their own devices can defoliate the entire vine. There are simple remedies available. Pick off the leaves that have eggs on them (requires lots of attention). Spray with BT worm killer. This is a bacterium that infects the gut of the worms. There are also systemic controls (key ingredient "imidacloprid") which means one treatment about this time of year takes care of it. We use the latter.


Black Monukka grape - much larger cluster than below.

 Black Monukka is an old variety from the middle east. It doesn't mind our heat and we've never had issues with pests or disease of any kind. Most grapes are fine with heat but you have to be aware of the acidity levels of the fruit as heat will tend to remove this characteristic, leaving you with a flat sugary juice (we don't make wine). They are vigorous, and will grow 20 feet or so in a season, and require cane pruning. If you want to cover an entire block wall, this is the ticket. If you want to harvest juice though, you might consider other varieties as the skins of these grapes is quite astringent/bitter and that flavor comes through in the juice. Beautiful burgundy red juice and they are nearly seedless.


Valiant grape in bloom

 Valiant grapes make a wonderful dark blue juice. The clusters are small and compact, and we have had less trouble keeping pests (like the western grapeleaf skeletonizer - a blue moth) under control. These have limited growth so they won't take over the entire yard, they bear a lot of fruit, and are early so you will harvest in July most years. It's actually a very cold-hardy variety, but we've found that it does well here because you can harvest before the worst of the summer heat sets in. Valiants require cordon pruning to spurs of three buds each. This is our favorite variety thus far, of those we have tried.


This year we are experimenting with two new grape varieties - Steuben and Baco Noir. Both are vigorous, high in acid, and have large grapes. We want them to cover the back wall of the yard, and are hoping the heat of summer takes down the acid levels enough to make a nice juice. When grapes ripen, what is actually happening is acid levels are falling off while sugar levels are rising. You want to harvest at the right time to get the best flavor - too early = tart juice, too late = pure sugar with little flavor, just right = sweet juice with wonderful flavor.

For those interested in grapes as a backyard adventure, we have much information to share. We have grown the following varieties:

Black Monukka (no pest issues but skins have bitter flavor)
Valiant (very sweet, dark blue juice, few pest issues, mild iron deficiency)
Frontenac (mildew issues, very sweet pink/magenta juice)
Concord Seedless (removed when we discovered they will not ripen evenly in hot weather)
Thompson Seedless (pure sugar flavor, birds love these and they are best eaten fresh)
Christmas (supposed to be like Concord for hot weather, but ours never ripened properly)
New York Muscat (on third year of this experiment, may be too warm for them to color or have any flavor)
Sunbelt (could not tolerate our soil pH and suffered severe iron deficiency)
Flame Seedless (issues with mildew and skeletonizers, we removed these in favor of Valiant and Frontenac)

Beet Harvest

We pulled all the beets last Friday and pickled them. This is an old family recipe of vinegar, sugar, allspice and cinnamon. Very easy to do and we tallied 31 jars of beets at the end of the day. One of the best harvests in many years.

Beets are ready

It was a perfect morning today. For those who were up early there was a wonderful fresh breeze as the sun came up. It was cool but not cold, with gentle gusts reminiscent of springtime in other parts of the country that have four seasons. This week we'll be pickling beets. They have been mostly forgotten while peas, carrots and broccoli were the focus of attention. The beets are quite large and ready to harvest. Tomato plants have grown so they cover the ground which is good because it prevents reflected heat off the soil.

Tomatos, carrots, broccoli and peas.

Beets are ready to harvest.

March planting report

The birds won the battle of the corn. We have not one plant growing. Instead, we planted lima beans (see photo) and more squash, both of which are up and growing now. The lima beans are an heirloom variety that can grow up to eight feet tall, so we'll need to round up some bamboo cuttings for them to climb. I am looking forward to the hubbard squash as this is the first time we have tried it. In past years we have grown butternut or acorn squash.

Fortunately, corn is a hot weather crop, so we can try it again later in the season. I may do that where the peas, carrots, and beets are currently. These will all soon be harvested, leaving an empty spot where we could try something heat tolerant like beans or corn. We have especially enjoyed growing various flint corn varieties, even dark red popcorn. These seem to do better in our hot weather than sweet corn.

Fruit and Nut Trees

I've added a link to fruit and nut tree information. So if you are thinking of an apple, peach, pear, apricot, or similar tree there is information readily available. Bear in mind that Maricopa County typically gets 450 chill hours in winter, so fruit tree varieties requiring over 500 chill hours are likely to only bear fruit in colder years. This was discouraging at first, as we wanted to grow Golden Delicious apples and that simply can't be done in our warm climate. There are other apple varieties that can be grown here though, and we have really enjoyed the apricots and almonds.

Grapes Break Dormancy

Here's a photo collage from today. We have several types of grapes along the block walls of the yard, which provide beautiful green color all summer long. In the winter they go dormant and drop their leaves, and are just now breaking dormancy. These photos are (starting clockwise from top left): Frontenac, Thompson Seedless, Black Monukka, and Christmas.

After growing Christmas for several years, finally, today, it occurs to me why it has that name. No other variety we have grown has so much white fuzz, or such dark pink edges on buds and new leaves. So, of course, it must be named Christmas for the green and red and white!

Each of these varieties produce very different grapes:

Frontenac - seeded, red/burgundy color, very high sugar content, excellent pink juice.
Thompson Seedless - seedless (obviously), light green color, eat fresh.
Black Monukka - semi-seedless with astringent skin, dark purple/red, beautiful red juice.
Christmas - large grape, similar to Concord. Apparently does not ripen in our hot climate, although the seller claimed it "is Concord for hot climates." Concord will not ripen in our climate.

Let that be a lesson. We've spent five years nurturing this Christmas vine only to learn that not once has it ripened, or colored. We even bagged the clusters to keep the birds away and left them until they had no acidity, just pure flat sugar flavor, and they never colored. Heat affects a grapes ability to color as it ripens, and apparently this variety in this spot in our yard will never ripen properly. Too bad, since it is such a pretty leaf and much less susceptible to grapeleaf skeletonizer (must be the fuzz).

March Planting

For those who haven't planted yet - it is not too late! The following can be planted from seed in March:

Squash, (summer or winter)         Carrots            Beets (first half of March)            Corn
Cucumbers                                 Watermelon     Cantaloupe                                    Beans

Thanks to the birds, who have eaten the corn we planted twice already, we planted soy beans, bush green beans, and some golden zucchini yesterday. Note that our experience with zucchini is that the green variety (such as Black Beauty) is more productive than the golden variety. It's nice to have both colors on a dinner plate though so if there is room we plant both.

We'll probably give the corn another try once the peas and broccoli are done, since the cat and the dog are too domesticated (or fat) to scare off the birds.

Almond popcorn...

An Almond tree in full bloom. Notice that some flowers have pink centers, and others are white...

Popcorn is coming...

We like to sing the popcorn popping song at our house. It is nearly that season of the year and we caught an early blossom on the Apricot tree today:

Aside from eating apricots fresh off the tree, we also make them into jam, fruit leather, and even dry them cut into halves. At first I thought we'd never like eating them dried, but we missed them when they were gone.

Here's a run-down of fruiting trees in our yard:

Apricot - Blenheim Royal
Apricot - Gold Kist
Grapefruit - Rio Red
Almond - Nonpariel
Almond - All-in-one
Lemon - Lisbon
Pomegranate - Wonderful
Tangelo - ??
Pecan - Western Schley
Tangerine - Algerian

There's a lot to be aware of when selecting a fruit tree in our climate. We've killed more apple trees and raspberries than I care to recall. The grapefruit tree, on the other hand, has required nothing but water and an occasional dose of fertilizer and we just picked our second wheelbarrow full of grapefruit. Be aware of chill hour and pollination requirements for the variety you select. Just because it's for sale at the nursery doesn't mean it will do well here. Know what you want before visiting the nursery and you'll make much better choices. Maricopa County gets about 450 chill hours so anything needing more than that might not fruit in a warm year. Be aware of cross-pollination requirements, meaning you need two different but compatible varieties of the tree in order to get a good crop. (This information is available in cooperative extension publication AZ 1269 Fruit and Nut varieties for the Low Desert)

Perfume

I've had a request to somehow save the smell of Almond blossoms and make it into perfume. The Almond trees are completely covered with blossoms, and have a wonderful scent when you walk by.

Blooming

A photo collage of current garden events. First almond blossoms catching the late afternoon sun, snap peas are now four feet tall and still growing, broccoli is ready to eat, and the Kiwi have awakened from winter sleep.

The apricot tree is also just starting to bloom, and we found one large spear of asparagus. Sunday dinner will include peas, broccoli, asparagus, beet greens, and carrots - all fresh from the garden.

Roses

If you have roses, they should have been pruned by now. With our warm winters, they never really go completely dormant. We typically prune in late December and currently have about two inches of new growth on the canes. They will bloom heavily by Easter.

A quick rose pruning lesson: Trim out all growth smaller than a pencil. Trim out all crossing growth - you want a vase shape that allows light to reach the middle of the plant. Depending on the strength of the plant, you can leave from 3 to 6 canes. Prune each of these to no more than two feet in height. If you have a choice between a newer cane and an old one, cut off the old one. Final cuts on the remaining canes should be just above an outward facing bud so that new growth is encouraged in the vase shape.

Early Harvest

The snap peas are over three feet tall, and just starting to mature. A few of the carrots are big enough to harvest. Very nice additions to Sunday dinner.

We planted more onion sets last week. These are cheap to purchase - a bundle of about 100 for $3-4. We've found you can set them nearly anywhere there is regular water; near bushes, trees, or flower beds (yes - we have grown onions and garlic right along with our flowers by the front door). Leave them till the tops dry up and cover them with mulch or grass clippings to keep them cool. You can pull them as-needed and they will stay fresh for months right there in the dirt.

Set out the last of our peppers yesterday - California Wonder and Anaheim. I've been told these rarely cross-pollinate but if I were saving seeds for next year I'd separate them to be on the safe side.

Birds have decided to break off some of the tomatoes that were six inches tall, which reminds me of a gardening rule: Always plant more than you think you will need. There are always plants that die, get disease, or get pulled up by curious birds. Extra produce is an open invitation to share with a neighbor. The alternative - going without because you don't have enough - is much worse than sharing so if you have room plant extra.

Earlier is nearly always better in our climate, so that plants have time to grow and set fruit before the summer heat arrives.

Planting

We set out most of our tomato plants last week and they have been fine with this early warm weather. I think the odds of a late freeze are pretty minimal so we are putting out everything we have into the garden today (more tomatoes, peppers, and zucchini).

Early Girl tomatoes arrived in the big box stores last weekened and were cheap in the 4-packs. They were marked at $1.68 but rang up at just over a dollar. I'm sure the nurseries will be crowded today with the warm breezy weather. A perfect day to spend time in the yard.

Grape vines have been pruned, and the buds are starting to swell.

Harvested our first batch of peas yesterday - so sweet and crisp!

Citrus Information and Vegetable Planting Calendar

Check out the PDF publications available at the University of  Arizona Cooperative Extension website link. If you are trying to decide what's wrong with your citrus tree, search for "citrus" on their site or on the web look for "Low Desert Citrus Varieties AZ 1001" to get a listing of varieties of citrus that do well in our Valley and their characteristics.

There's also a vegetable planting calendar for Maricopa County. Search for "vegetable" to find it (Vegetable Planting Calendar for Maricopa County AZ 1005).

There is also information on how much to water lawn, citrus trees, and how to design a drip irrigation system. It isn't the friendliest search site, as I can find some of the publications more easily on the web, but it's there if you look through the results along with a dozen other articles that may catch your interest. Very informative and tuned specifically to our area.

Tomatoes

Since 2007, we've planted tomatoes every year between February 9 and February 15. In 2006 we planted them January 28 because it was a warm winter.

Time to Plant

JANUARY – Time to Plant

Transplant:

Artichokes, Asparagus, Broccoli, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Chard, Lettuce

Seeds:

Beets, Carrots, Leek, Green Onions, Peas, Potatoes, Radishes, Spinach, Turnips

FEBRUARY – Time to Plant

Transplant:

Artichokes, Asparagus, Chard, Lettuce, Peppers, Tomatoes

Seeds:

Basil, Beets, Carrots, Corn, Cucumbers, Melons, Green Onion, Peas, Potatoes, Radishes, Spinach, Squash, Turnips

Garden Calendar - January

January
This is the time to ready the soil, decide what you are going to plant, and check the irrigation system if you have one.

Soil preparation: I usually till in a couple inches of steer manure and the compost pile from last season. We keep most of the kitchen waste (old salad, onions, potato peels and the like) in a corner of the garden.

Planning: I made a map of the planting area on a spreadsheet and keep that from year to year so I can remember where things were last season. (Okay, so I actually mapped the entire back and both side yards down to the square foot...) This helps to rotate crops like tomatoes or peppers that shouldn't be planted in the same spot year after year because soil diseases/pest can accumulate (nematodes). It also helps to make notes of what did well where, and what didn't. For example, we had artichokes for several years in the back. When they died, I planted more in the front near a block wall (front yard has southern exposure) and they fried in the summer sun for two years. Now I know to put them somewhere besides a heat sink. Ditto with the backyard wall. Everything within five feet struggles because of the reflected heat.



Above all, pick things you would like to eat. Peas, carrots, zucchini, beans,... something you like and preferably something that's more expensive at the stores and relatively easy to grow. My carrots are sweeter than store-bought, but probably not worth it financially. So decide what you are looking for on the dinner table. Zucchini and tomatoes are no-brainers. Easy to grow and expensive to buy at the store.

I use a drip system on a timer. This takes care of vacations and forgetfulness. Check it about every six months for plugged emitters. During the growing season check it monthly, or even weekly to make sure the plants are getting enough water. In hot June, we water the garden about every three days (yes, it's cheaper on water than growing a lawn).



Garden Map



What's growing in January

Right now the garden is growing: onions, garlic, broccoli, carrots, beets. These are hardy enough that our light frosts won't damage them and were planted in August/September. The peas are a couple of feet tall and the recent warm spell has them blooming. We'll be eating fresh peas before the end of the month.

Beets, Peas, and Broccoli

There are tomatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, artichokes, bell peppers, Anaheim peppers, and jalapeno peppers growing in seedling trays under a flourescent light in the tool shed. These will all be set out in early February assuming we don't have colder weather. In past years we've been safe setting tomatoes out in late January (and these were our best harvests) but there is a risk of an extra cold night frosting them.



Tomato Seedlings

 I'm a bit over-enthusiastic about gardening, so don't feel badly if you purchase flats of plants from the local big box store every spring. There was a year that we had lots of rain in January and February which propagated mildew, which killed all the nursery seedlings. That year was a lesson in self-reliance. We didn't have enough tomatoes for the garden and I decided it was time to learn to grow our own. This has become another facet of my gardening hobby and I can plant 50 tomatoes for a few dollars instead of paying $$ for each plant.

Backyard gardening in Metro Phoenix

I've kept a backyard garden in Phoenix for the past 20 years. Friend and neighbors know this and ask a lot of questions which I am happy to answer, although maybe with more enthusiasm and detail than they were looking for... So here is the solution: A gardening blog. I won't promise daily updates, weekly is more realistic.