June: Survival Mode

Spring came and went quickly and as we are in our first days of June it is back to the one month survival mode of the year. I have found if plants can hold on through this horrid month I will be greatly rewarded with their bounty. So far, so good...Although the temperatures are high the plant are adjusting to the heat much better than past years. A couple of flowers have bit it, but the edible plants are champs. I know each year at the end of the month I curse the heat and state, "nevermore!", but here I am again this year, planting outside before the month of June. And if I lose many of the plants this year I will curse once more. Such a vicious cycle.

Mystery- moo plant that I believe is a squash variety of sorts is looking strong, but little by little weakening. Oh so sad. Each and every year I plant squash varietals and they rock out like no other and then suddenly die. Usually I am able to harvest a few fruits before this, but this year seems quite rapid without a fruit in sight. I would take it much easier if I knew the issues, and if I would just gts it (google that sh*t), I might know before someone tells me. I believe last year was a fungus of sorts but this and previous years little squiggles appear and then the leaf withers to nothingness. The upside to this is the patty pan squash seems to be doing well with no visual harm, so maybe it is this type. Only time will tell.

a beast of a plant

first it looks like this...

...then does this...

 The other plants hanging around the squashes are amazing. I have not really grown onion before and bought a bunch this winter from the feed store and planted them the bookcase. A few are really big right now and I pulled one for my morning bagel. WOWZERS!!! These blessed onions are the bestest I have ever seen (or tasted, for that matter!) The flavors that come from something freshly picked from the garden is just magnificent. My taste buds could not be happier. And I thank my lucky stars it is summer again so this can happen daily.

garden row: squashes, rosemary, garlic, and onion

This sweet tiny town of mine is just the bees knees but at times lack all the true goodness that is out there. Our local hardware store does try but their scarcity of flowers allowed me to only semi spruce the compound up until I can find a much thicker assortment of colors and kinds. But I was able to score a few flowers to add to the ol' tire garden and once they are all kicking they will really be gorgeous this summer.

garden love <3

 An addition of three tomatoes, 2 cherokee purple and 1 black cherry, have made it to buckets. My seedlings just didn't do so swell this year while growing up in the nursery of the bathroom. Those last couple of freezes were too much for them, so only a few remain. I doubt I have as many tomato plants as last year, but the season is young, and those fresh toms are where its at. They are also going to make a go of the back in lieu of the front porch. No solid reasons as to the switch but possibly laziness to be closer to a water hose instead of 10 trips with a canister. I just don't have time for that craziness.

three tom spot

 Let us all cross our fingers and wait out the heat that is in front of the plants. Then there will be monsoons, there always seems to be a silver lining.

Tricking the Thrasher

This three day weekend welcomed warmer weather than most days have offered this winter. Not only am I getting my brain sane with these rising temps, but I am also doing a few things in the garden in preparation for when the frost scare is over. I hope it ends soon, for sanity's sake.

Chard did so well in the planter last year and I plan on using the same space again. When I planted the first time the plants were quite big when transplanted, so I didn't have much to worry about. The chard and kale I have ready to transplant are still pretty small. I don't think they will survive planting with the curve billed thrasher hanging around. This particular bird really mows down plants, clips them right off with its long curved bill. And one really enjoys hanging in the same area as the chard/kale area.

I found a simple method of building a structure to use bird netting to keep the little bugger out. A bit of flexible piping, I used 4 feet for both sides, and a non-flexible pvc pipe to run across. I slipped the flexible pvc over rebar to make an upside down U shape.

 

I drilled holes in the appropriate places to fit the firm piece of pvc to provide stability and used zip ties to keep them together. I draped and pinned the bird netting over the structure.

 

With the pins holding down along the sides, the hanging out thrasher will have a tough time getting in to mow down my greens. Now all I need is for this super long winter to cease and spring to bloom so I can transfer the kale and chard to their permanent home. And then I will eat it. Lots of it.

 Another happening in the garden is the garlic. I bought up quite a bit of garlic from Joe at the market and tossed some in the bookcase planter around November to forgot about them. They did what they are made to do and popped up green sprouts, close to 10 in all. I hope they work out this year, so far they are off to a good start!

Spring is close, I can feel it. And it feels good.

The Garden of August

I fully believe the rains of July and August are the reward of suffering through the crazy month of June. It is a bitter sweet reward, we have received lots of rain, and the rain brings bugs. There is a little pest that will probably be the end of the tomatoes. They are still cranking out fruits, but it is only time until they are overtaken. I thought it was just my luck, but come to find out bugs have taken most tomatoes on the hill. The poor plants look so sad, wilting in displeasure, I can't even take a photo of them in this state.

A recent rainbow over B mountain follows a rain.

I can't hate on the rains too much, because the other plants are really happy. The lettuce bed didn't do so swell this year in the heat and many things either went to seed really early, or they didn't pop up at all. A whole section of New Zealand spinach and one rogue green onion came up and is tasting pretty yummy. It topped a homemade pizza a couple of weeks ago, mmm.

Its better to show up late than never at all.

And speaking of plants doing their own thing; bundling sage. I couldn't get a plant to sprout last year, and was a little upset. I really wanted to grow my own. Well this year, all over the place, I have found plants. And in the oddest of places too. One coming out of the bricks of the planter, one by the compost, one under the huge prickly pear, and many more just random. I dried some and bundled it to give it a try. Not quite ready to burn, but soon.

"I do what I want!"

Having a dog that likes to hide their findings, and having little places available to dig, the box that is now carrots was once full of cabbage. I saved one sickly looking plant months ago, and saved I did! This healthy looking plant will soon be roasted on my plate, and I can't wait! And of course the jalapeno and serrano peppers are killing it and producing more than I can eat. I am still looking for people to share with. The blackberry I bought at the Douglas Farmer's Market is climbing so high. I can't wait to pluck a berry off the vine.

A head to be.

So fresh and yummy tasting.

Climbing to the sky.

While I had thoughts of grandeur early on, and easily disappointed at the beginning, I look at the garden now and am grateful for the bounty I have received. The variety is still there, just not as varietal as I was dreaming of.  But its not too bad for gardening in the desert on a hill.

Success vs. Failure

To garden in June, argh. I do not know how I forgot how trying it is to garden in June in the upper desert. Although I have had quite the successes, the failures are daunting and a buzz kill to say the least. My rockin' out cucumbers attracted aphids, and I hate the plant attacking creatures. In a few short days the beautiful flowering plants have been close to demolished. I whipped up a little concoction of Ecover, oil, and water to see if I can suffocate those little bastards and have a few pickles this year. Only time will tell, and I am wanting to do a little pickling, so I am hoping this works. Another failure I haven't been able to remedy yet is a bit of soggy bottom on my paste tomatoes. All the others are superstars while this particular kind is being a failure. I will keep plugging away at them, but my hopes for their production is being greatly minimized as the minutes pass. Oh did I have thoughts of grandeur on the multiple things that can be done. Paste, sun-dried tomatoes, salsa, well, about everything. Maybe I will find a fix to this problem.

Cucumber plants under attack

I did learn an important lesson with this heat, so not all is lost. I thought the thing to do was start many seeds early, so this year I did. Come to find out only a handful of things will do well through this heated month. Tomatoes, peppers, squash, and flowers will probably be it in the future. Next year I will try everything else a little later to tie in with the cooler days of monsoon season.

Thinking back on things there have been many successes along with the failures. The sweet taste of a cherry tomato right off the vine is a daily occurrence. There are so many, and it is hard to walk by without grabbing them to eat. I love being able to incorporate homegrown tomatoes with dinner, if they even make it into the house. They are yummy good for snacking. All the other varieties are flowering: Zebra, Cherokee purple, Honeydrop, Black crim, and Tomatillo. There will be tomatoes a plenty very soon.

Ready to ripen

Peacevine cherry

 I was a bit bummed that some key seeds ordered did not come up in the nursery (possibly planted to early, lesson learned). I gave them a second try and viola! They came up. Pretty stoked about this so far. I didn't have anything in the middle section of the bookcase. With it being prime real estate in the gardening business, it is now home to Leeks, Radish, and Shallots.

Leek, radish, shallot popping up

One particular section of the tire tower is just going nuts. I have a sneaking suspicion they really liked the bat guano I used to burst the flower power. Gotta love that NPK. Another section's flower buds have been snacked upon by the Curved-bill thrasher, and the other section is coming along and should have the first Harlequin marigold blooming soon.

A lil burst of beauty when you enter the gate

Squash is quietly growing daily. I think this thing will have a fruit on it soon, and I am ready. The pic below is about a week and a half old and this thing is getting huge. I think I found a good place for it to grow this year.

A bit of nature has kept the place looking great without me tending to it. A House sparrow built and nest and is raising kiddos on the porch. It is so cool to see the dad singing his heart out as he watches the nest. He seems to stick around and it is fun to watch the dynamic of this little birdie family.

Prickly pear flowers can only mean one thing....tunas in a few short months. And if there are plenty to go around, I might just try another batch of PP wine. I bet that would be good to use for sangria. And the bees pollinating the flowers is an interesting action that captivates me. I do feel like a voyeur when I watch them too long, not sure why.

Waiting for bees...

I headed on over to Douglas for their Mercado and picked up a Blackberry plant. I cannot wait for it to produce! And since I have the urge to pickle I found jalapenos at 3 lbs for $1 and am going to do that this week. The perks of living on the border, yummy food from both sides at reasonable prices.

My trials have given me a little grief the past few weeks, but the benefits I am beginning to reap are outweighing the tribulations. It is just a hard month to garden in the calor of the desert.