Garlic Update

All of the garlic is up - except the nodules from the elephant garlic. We planted a few cloves from last year to be certain we end up with some of this variety, but are still hopeful the little nodes will come to life. Given that they had such a rock-hard shell I'm not surprised they would take longer to start growing, but will feel better to see some signs of life. The store-bought variety sprouted quickest of all and is 2-3 inches tall already.

Fall and Winter Flowers

We have an open house coming up in January, and preparations are already underway. After consulting the Flower and Bedding Guide mentioned in an earlier post, we decided to plant pansies, petunias, and snapdragons. So far all are doing well, especially the petunias we found last weekend which have rich variegated colors (last year we planted the deep purple velvet ones). The snapdragons didn't like the last week of 100-degree weather, but are doing better now that it is cooler. We have only found bright yellow so far, but have an eye out for other colors, especially lilac blue since that is one of the wedding colors.

Last year we planted snapdragons and petunias, and they grew and flowered all winter long. By spring they were very large and beautiful and then the heat came and that was that. So we learned that it is possible to have wonderful flowers all winter here in the low desert of Arizona. In the collage above, Vinca flowers are on the left in white, red, and pink. These will freeze and die, but if kept next to the house on a southern exposure can survive some winters and grow quite large. They will also re-seed and grow again the next season. On the right are the petunias, which will suffice for the lilac blue wedding color as I can't locate anything else this time of year. They will grow in a large circle about 2-3 feet in diameter by spring, and last longer in the heat than snapdragons.

Protecting Seedlings

We've watched our fair share of sprouting corn and zucchini plants disappear from one day to the next thanks to neighborhood birds. I'm not sure they even eat them, because there next to the hole where the corn used to be growing we often find a mangled bit of sprouted corn. This year we had better luck with the corn, but we did put out bird scare tape and that has helped somewhat in past years.

After watching five or six healthy zucchini plants open their first leaves and disappear the next day, I decided it was time to win the battle. We've never had fresh zucchini from the fall garden and this year we want success. So I used PVC fittings, an old tube of liquid nails, and some half-inch electrical conduit to make a frame one foot tall and five feet by four feet across. Zip ties held some bird screen material over this frame and we placed it over the area where additional zucchini and broccoli have been planted. No more birds. Plus, it's light and easy to lift out of the way for a bit of weeding.

We might find a way to use this as a cold frame by covering it with plastic. We'll see. One of my "wish list" projects is to grow tomatoes and other more tender vegetables through the winter here in Arizona so that we can have a really early jump on warm spring weather.

If the frame does it's job and I decide to make more, I'll make them slightly larger/smaller so they will nest when in storage. Garden stuff does take up a lot of room.

Fall Planting

This is the fall planting season for winter hardy vegetables. Now is the time to be planting peas, carrots, broccoli, beets, and other vegetables that don't mind a light frost so you can have an early harvest next spring.

We also noted snapdragons are now arriving in stores, although it's a bit hot to be setting these out right now, very soon it won't be. These and a few other flower varieties will grow and bloom all winter long until the heat of May and June arrive.

Back to the garden - we set out three tomato plants in a warm, sunny location yesterday. We also put in a sage plant. We have had sage live 2-3 years and one plant produces far more than a typical family could use. We dry the leaves in a dehydrator and store them in pint or half pint canning jars.

Continuing the theme of growing things in the fall, we tried zucchini as they should mature with the tomatoes before cold weather arrives. If we can keep the birds from pulling sprouting zucchini plants out of the ground life will be good.

Garlic Planting

We still have a large bin of garlic we harvested and dried in June, as well as some hanging in the backyard shed which has been fine in spite of the high summer temperatures. Yesterday we took three of the larger clusters of garlic, broke them into individual cloves and planted them about 2 inches underneath the soil.

We are excited to see what happens with the nodules that grow on elephant garlic. Research indicates these will grow into single large cloves the first year, and split into elephant garlic clusters the second season. We have enjoyed this variety as it is more of a cross flavor of onion with garlic overtones. A mild flavor overall. In the garden we now have the elephant garlic nodes, German extra hardy, Georgian fire, and some of the store bought variety we planted and harvested last season. Plenty for making sauces next summer. The German and Georgian varieties did not grow as large as regular garlic, but was in the ground nearly a month later. This season we planted them as early as possible to encourage better results.

I will say again, that we have thoroughly enjoyed having our own fresh garlic and onions. It takes so little effort to grow, and provides a supply of fresh seasoning for dinner any time you need it. Also, the fresh garlic is much tastier and aromatic when fresh than after it has been dried for storage.

Site Update

We added a link to the Flower and Bedding Plant Guide, plus a couple of gadgets.

Tilling

Today was tilling day. Free labor day, but this year it was all me and no help from friends or family. I tilled in 20 bags of steer manure and since we had a nice rain a couple of days ago the soil was soft enough that it wasn't too much work to get the tiller as deep as it would go.

I've also been studying the University of Arizona Cooperative Extension Flower and Bedding Plant Guide for the Low Desert. This deserves some serious thinking time, and looks to be a wonderful resource for someone planning an update to their yard or moving into a new house.