Garden Update

The plants we set out a couple of weeks ago have all done well. Every last one of them is healthy and growing except for one bush bean that had germinated but wasn't out of the soil in its cell yet. It never came up and I can only assume it rotted in the ground, or there was a reason it was so far behind all the other seeds. The pepper plants have lots of buds forming, and the tomatoes are blooming. We are so excited for a bountiful garden!

Today we started a few more seeds. Watermelon, pole beans, and Sahuaro chili peppers. These will be the last we have room for, especially if the peppers grow. If I can find a suitable space we'll also plant a few more peas and carrots, although both of these would be more experimental because right when they mature is when we get 100-degree weather that kills them or at least makes them tough. We have had trouble in the past germinating peppers and once ever resorted to the sprinkling seeds on a damp napkin in an egg carton trick. Once they sprout we transfer them to cell trays with potting soil using tweezers or chopsticks. We didn't go to that measure this year, and its getting a bit late to try.

We have daily photos of the seedlings coming. Stay tuned...

Rain in the Forecast

Given the rain forecast for this weekend, along with temperatures about ten degrees cooler, we put out all the seedlings that were growing in the shed. In the past timing like this has made for an easy transition from the shed to the garden without overstressing the plants. So we now have Guatemalan blue squash, Armenian cucumbers, and acorn squash growing. Additionally, we set out the Ukraine black romas, emmy, blonde cherry, and black cherry tomatoes. These are all varieties I am looking forward to trying. Sometimes its a total flop to spend the time growing something to try (like the Hubbard squash we didn't like). You never know till you try it and this year seems to be a great one for the garden so I am hopeful we will enjoy all the varieties we have planted.

Peas

This has been a record year for peas. The plants we started last fall are now over six feet tall. Yes, those are pea blossoms just over my head and shoulders. We use sections of wire fence to keep them from falling over.

Dormancy

It has been so warm. The almond tree is in full bloom and the apricot tree started blooming a couple of days ago. The new blackberry plants are slowly breaking dormancy, and we noticed today that there are small leaves coming out on the pomegranates. Some of the grape vines never went completely dormant and now have open buds. That's a first in 11 years at this location. Now the question is will this exceptionally warm winter season turn into a short spring with record summer heat.

Seedling update

The birds have not bothered any of the seedlings, and all are doing well. The beans are stretching out their leaves as are the zucchini. The tomatoes are getting thicker and stronger and they are blooming. This should be a great year.

Grapes

The grapes were pruned today. They are growing because of the warm weather this year. Some have open buds already. Last year was not a good one for our vines. We had several suddenly die. If this year proves no better we'll probably encourage other things to grow - like the Rosborough blackberries we planted a few weeks ago. If we can't have grapes, blackberries would be a good substitute. I can imagine the fresh smoothies and jam already....

Plant your seedlings

This week we have been setting out seedlings. As an experiment, we started zucchini, peas, and bush beans in trays under a grow light about two weeks ago. When the beans and zucchini had spread their first two leaves they had roots to the bottom of the cells and transplanted just fine. We had set the trays out in full sun for five days so they didn't seem to notice being transplanted into the garden.

The tomatoes we purchased were also kept out in full sun and have transplanted without incident. Now all we need to do is weed, water, and wait.

Citrus season

The grapefruit is ripe and I pick a bag full every week to take to work. Two fruit a day for breakfast from now until April when we will harvest whatever is left and bottle the juice. Citrus is one of the great advantages to Arizona gardening. The trees are evergreen, require very little care, and produce large amounts of fruit. Water deeply and fertilize four times a year and you'll be successful. No pruning required except to keep them from leaning over the fence. Compare fresh citrus juice to the frozen stuff from the store and you might have a hard time enjoying anything but fresh from the garden ever again.

We moved a 10-year old Tangelo tree last year from the side yard to better spot where it gets more sun. This was a feat, taking four people to get it out of the hole and then slide it across the yard and roll into the new hole. We trimmed the top severely so the roots would have less to support and prayed over it, watered it nearly every day all summer, and are so excited that it made it through the first hot summer and even ripened a few fruit that escaped the pruning. We are hoping this year it grows new branches and solidifies it's presence in the yard (my wife's favorite citrus). If you are going to plant a tree, it might as well be something that will produce fruit.

The perfect season

This has been the perfect season for a winter garden. Twice a week the zucchini are ready to be picked, and broccoli is every other day with secondary growth starting  to mature on the ones we first picked. Tomatoes have been less speedy to ripen, probably because they like warmer weather to really get their metabolism going. We do have several ripe early girl tomatoes, but discovered that they are rock hard compared to summer season fruit - something we never anticipated. Flavor is strongly acidic and not as sweet but they are nearly as hard as a ripe apple. Still, a wonderful addition to dinner.