Looking good and producing tons

Now that the rains are here, and the deadly month of July is gone, the plants are doing great! Enough production to keep up with without feeling overwhelmed. Well, except for the serrano peppers, and I think folks are tired of me asking if they want the excess. I was gone for work a little over a week, and before I left to traverse the state I made up a fried green tomato sandwich with boiled squash from the garden. One helluva a culinary send off. A few shots of random things on my trip.

Didn't get to taste, but will the next time I am there.

Still searching for awesome signs.

Sunset Crater

Wupatki, a powerful place.

Leaving Sedona

Grand Canyon

Had to hit up Tovar before leaving my week at the canyon.

 A black crim tomato was ripe for the eating this weekend, and oh my heavens, it was AH-mazing.

When one buys from the local farmers and also grows their own food, it is really hard to set out to travel. The veggie options were slim, and what little veggies I could find were not grown locally. Boy, am I spoiled when it comes to great tasting local foods. It is hard to beat fresh cherry tomatoes off the vine.

Cherry tomatoes ripening.

Hall of tomatoes

 I learned a lesson this year of planting too early for some things, so I am going another round. What can hurt tossing a few more seeds around in empty, lonely spaces? Right before my trip I moved the tomato from the tire and planted calendula. It has already sprouted and will definitely an additional amount of color to the already killer tire flowers. I also tossed a patty pas squash and an eating pumpkin, both sprouting too. Today I added butternut squash. If all produce, this will be one killer fall. Just in case the later seeds do well, I planted additional basils, cinnamon and genovese, along with echinacea, shallot,  and fern leaf dill. I am hoping the free rain of the monsoons will boost the growing.

Tires con flowers

Squash or pumpkin?

Sneaky radish and un-thinned leeks.

Kale coming back strong after a pesky pest.

Lemon balm, rosemary, and lavender.

Jalapeno, squash, and tomato. 

Fungus amongus.

Pulled all the paste toms due to bottom rot. Very sad day.

Another addition to the compound is 1-year old Banjo. About a year and a half ago I had to put down my Stoke dog, and ever since I have been feeling a large dog hole. I saw Banjo at the farmer's market with Border Animal Rescue, heard her story and decided to foster her to see if she would get along with the other two. She fits in perfect, and they all three love each other most of the time.

Banjo.

A blog fulla nuggets

As I log in and take a look at my blog entries I am greeting by so very many with the orange 'draft' beside them. Entries promised to be published, then life takes a hold and they are created, yet only seen by me. Since this has been the practice as of late, today will be a blog fulla nuggets.

Life is going by pretty fast these days, but not too fast to snap a few photos. Its the words that accompany...

Sunset on the way to Riggs Flat Lake, Mt. Graham, Az

Jim, me, and Arlo

 The garden has had some rock stars and some not so rock stars. This year has been tough, but now that we are out of that damn month we call June, I think things are headed for an upswing. The tomatoes are rocking out and producing like no other. I had the first squash of the year this past week, and it was AH-mazing. The potatoes bit the dust, but the carrots are rocking out.  Trade off?

Mmm, Black crim

Blackberry climbing

The only surviving Harlequin marigold

The mystery plant flowers, waiting for the fruit to identify

Johhny Cash flower pot a bloomin'

Tried to go camping last night, but turned into a day trip, an adventurous one at that. Headed up the Chiricahuas by way of Portal, but the campsites open were lower than the elevation I live. Makes for a warm time, so back to the safety of the Mule Mountains for slumber. 

Tree pose, Barfoot, Chiricahua Mountains

Rounding the storm

My tarantula friend found at work

Huzzah for Crops that Make Yummy Drinks

The Peacevine cherry tomatoes are serious rock stars right now. They have found their way into many dishes and still have plenty to spare for the next creation. There are 4 of these guys, and they really deserve an A+ for their reproductive acts. I picked a ton today and still there are double amounts that are green or pinkish yellow, ready to be picked in a day or two.

I have been nursing a thrown out back, and chiropractic and homeopathy advice has gotten me through. What better of a healing power to partake in than to drink a bit of veggies accompanied by a lil vodka. Yes, a Maria de mierda made of local ingredients. I used many of the cherry tomatoes from the vine as well as things I picked up from the Farmer's Market. I started out using The Chubby Vegetarian's recipe since it holds goodness in each item used, but I did not have everything on hand, so I used what I had available to me this time of year.

I do not have Roma tomatoes yet, so I picked up 3 large tomatoes from the Co-op and substituted the cherry toms for the remainder. Yumm! Also, I did not have a cucumber, so I added beets and a mixture of radish I had left over from lunch. I upped the garlic to two, but will probably add more next time since I love it so very much. I also added sweet onion I bought from my garlic guy, ridiculous flavor and hope to never not put onion in. I used one drop of liquid smoke, might double that next time as well. What I would like to add to a future batch is a bit of grated horseradish and will wait to crack fresh pepper in the drink instead of the mix, while squeezing fresh lime.

Vitamins abound!

And if you can wait about 15-30 minutes for the tastes to kick it together, I suggest the extra time. It was crazy better on the second drink once all the veggies became pals. Add the juice, the vodka, then the grate horseradish, cracked pepper, lime,  and sit back and enjoy the yummy to the tummy drink.

Frieda dog and I are doing just that. I have my Ruta on hand to kill the back pain, icing the hurt area, and drinking the yummy libation while watching the B.R.A.T.S. run down the gulch. They switched from July 4th to Pride weekend, so the entertainment is a few weeks early. Each and every piece is outstanding, and I constantly think of cars I could possibly build, but have yet to settle on an idea to craft. To top it off, an early monsoon is threatening the area. The breeze feels amazing and the heat has been whisked away. It is a gorgeous day to sit on the porch, not one that comes along too often in June.

Keeping an eye on things

 Heather Green, from Heather Green Studios, and her students created this for B.R.A.T.S., cool, huh?

Folks from Shady Dell, cool place to stay

The Mouse Trap

Joseph and Co. before leading the lingerie parade for Pride

C Sharp

Hanging in Goar Park

And one little nugget thrown in is the Bougainvillea. I have not had much luck in the past for this beaut to flower, but persistence pays off and the rewards reaped. It is flowering, which hasn't happened in a long time...It is a nice addition to the loveliness of the front porch.

I wish I would have gained the skills of growing this from my Grandmother like I did of my Skip-Bo skills

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.

Well Rested

At the current time I am sitting on the porch after a little planting and watering of the garden, birds are in their nests chirping, and a cold glass of sangria is in arms reach. This is the first batch of the season, a double batch at that. That is what three day weekends are for. Especially when it occurs a few days after the return from vacation.

I decided to drive back to Texas for a visit instead of fly. I wanted to see which I preferred, the verdict is still out. The occasion? My grandmother's 98th birthday. Yes, 98 and one Skip-bo playing individual. No more wondering where I get my skills. Spent a few days with the family, sister and nephew, and a couple of homies around Dallas.

Two weeks off were pretty glorious despite the stomach bug that ripped through my family and friends, landing on me. It is just not right to have those kinds of bodily functions when not in the comforts of your own home. Thanks Team Kate for sacrificing your bano.

I cut the trip a tad short so I could get back and rest from the stomach purging and made it back in one day. Many hours, but definitely good to know it is a do-able journey. I returned to a fire that had the potential to cross into the park, but those professionals at what they do firefighters kept it at bay.

I had a fantastic waterer during my absence, and the garden looks great! Lost a couple of cucumbers from the CRAZY insane winds we are having in tiny town. But the tomatoes are rocking out and have multiple fruits to boot. Many will be turning red pretty soon.  I can't wait for the arsenal to produce. And I can almost taste the yummy squash that will produce from the flower open so wide. Looking at the veggies that have gone in the stock pile I noticed the stock will be of different tastes soon. No more winter ends of beets but those of fresh onions will flavor the pot.

My camera broke during an urban hike on my trip (bummer, right?), but here are a few photos before the sad moment...

Oak Cliff

You can buy a friend a drink, they have 30 days to claim

Little C having a cup of milk while I drink coffee

Abuelo gave C a harmonica

This sign reminds me of James McMurtry

Good genes

Heading east in the evening

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