Strawberries in the Desert

When Amber Rose, my granddaughter, asked me if we could grow strawberries last Fall I reluctantly purchased some small sad looking plants from a local nursery. Growing strawberries in the desert just didn't sound like a good idea to me. I planted them in a large fiberglass whisky barrel (Home Depot), which I've learned lasts much longer than one made of wood in Tucson's hot and dry climate.

So here we are in March enjoying delicious strawberries. What a kick! To protect the fruit from birds it is necessary to lay a piece of rabbit wire over the top of the barrel. I now have 5 barrels and two thick porcelin sinks in addition to my two 4' X 8' raised beds and find them excellent containers for growing beans, cucumbers, peas and tomatoes.
It has been a very mild winter and spring is already poised to turn to summer. This season I have put in snap peas, yellow squash, zucchini, cucumbers, egg plant and two varieties of cherry tomatoes (large beefsteak tomatoes are tough to grow in Tucson). When my niece from Sweden, Sarah, visited in January she introduced us to a wonderful concoction called ratatouille, which uses copious amounts of zucchini, eggplant and tomato. It can be eaten cold, hot, in spaghetti sauce, on toast - the list is endless. It also lasts well in the fridge and can be frozen. My hope is we can successfully grow enough of these vegetables to keep an ongoing supply of ratatouille in our fridge throughout the summer.

December Bounty in the Desert

December brought mild weather in the Tucson region in 2008. A nice surprise for gardeners who normally turn their thoughts to other pursuits during the colder weather. We continued to enjoy tomatoes, pole beans, lettuce, spinach, carrots, peppers and the beginnings of the strawberry crop into the new year. My peas, however, never took off. I will try a different variety this Spring.

I pretty much stopped gardening activities in January, enjoying my smaller water bills and having extra time on my hands. And that is when it happened. One morning I took a peek to see how my strawberry plants were doing. They were fine, but one of my raised beds had been totally stripped of all vegetation - except the green onions. Since I have critter proofed the garden area I am suspecting it is a ground squirrel (or pack rat) that has made its home in this area for years. It took it this long to figure out how to climb into the bed. I will be constructing "cages" made from chicken wire and wood before Spring comes.
On a completely different note my grand daughters moved to Missouri a couple of weeks ago. They are living in a rural area not far from Springfield. So, this blog will also be geared towards them so they don't miss anything. It's likely, however, that they will want a garden in Missouri and be able to share their experiences of planting in fertile soil. Wouldn't that be cool.

Man VS Bird VS Tomato

Unbelievable. This morning I watched as an unidentifiable bird hopped down UNDER by bird netting and then hopped up INTO my tomatoes. His two friends watched with great interest as he committed this despicable act while waiting for their turn. I spent the next 15 minutes shoring up my netting to provide maximum protection without endangering the lizards that patrol my garden for insects.

We having been picking tomatoes for a week now. Last weekend the girls helped with the harvest, which quickly turned into an Easter egg hunt-like activity. Fortunately they don't taste like chocolate eggs and plenty were left over to eat and give to family. Amber finished painting her garden bench (a "custom" green purchased at ACE) and created a trap for critters using chicken wire, tomato hoops, rope, sand, and tomato bait. Quite a contraption but no success to date. Allie spent most of the morning "water" painting a step stool. All went well until Allie unintentionally sprayed water on Amber's freshly painted bench (and me) which resulted in emotional dialogue between the two and a heartfelt "I'll never do it again" apology from Allie.

This past week I've planted more radishes, lettuce and spinach and have added broccoli and chives. Heidi's cuttings of lemon sage (great tea leaves) and chives are doing well and her cuttings of hearts and flowers (a succulent ground cover) have taken root. Chu planted hearts and flowers in our unprotected desert garden off the patio, but a troop of javelina came through a couple of nights ago and devoured ALL of them.

The weather is getting cooler and the shade covers have come off the strawberrys and peas. It is supposed to get up into the nineties again by the end of this week, but I suspect that won't last long. Absolutely gorgeous weather for gardening and hiking!

Yellow Tomato Leaves, Another Rattler and Peter's 65th

Since posting a week ago my cherry tomato crop is looking to be 300 plus if I can manage to control the various pests and diseases that challenge these plants. Butterflies are laying eggs, leaves are turning yellow and birds are getting interested. Knowing these are common problems with solutions keep me from throwing in the towel. I marvel when I think about our colonial ancestors who had to solve these problems to survive. Albertsons was not an option.

Since both Chu and I love snow peas, I have planted two whisky barrels in addition to 4 squares in one of my raised beds to reduce the risk of losing some. In my excitement I planted the first crop too early (mid-August) and they have struggled. They may still make it, but look ragged from fighting the consistent 100 degree heat we have been having. The ones planted in the barrels (and shaded) look much happier. My greater concern are the yellow leaves on four of my six tomato plants planted in the raised bed. The fruit looks healthy, but the yellow is excessive. The depth of my two raised beds average 8-10 inches. These 4 plants were planted in an area with only 6 inches of Mel's' mix and 12 inches apart. According to Mel, the depth and spacing should be OK but I'm suspecting due to our desert heat they would do better in at least 10 inches. The two tomato plants planted in the deeper whisky barrel hardly have any yellow leaves at all. Next year I will rotate my peas to the 6 inch area since they are more shallow rooted. Click on these photos to see the tomatoes AND the yellow leaves.

My pole beans are amazing climbers. Without any help from me their tendrils easily grasped the nylon trellis with a death-like grip. Does Jack and the Bean Stalk come to mind?
We are now starting to harvest spinach, radishes and banana peppers. The bell peppers are beginning to take shape and hopefully we can have a crop of these before it gets too cool.

For family members, I've included a photo taken at Peter's (my brother-in-law) 65th birthday brunch. Peter is VERY happy since he now qualifies for Medicare. Peter's wife, Kay, put on a great spread for this occasion and invited all related persons living in Tucson. Even at 65, only the naive will take him on in ping pong (Amber Rose). Chu and I also hiked a trail near Gates Pass this past week. The hike was great and made even more exciting by running into ANOTHER large diamond back rattle snake. I thank God he put rattles on these guys as I would have surly stepped on it had I not been warned!

First Fruits and a Visit to Glenn Cottage

Yesterday Chu and I visited our friend Heidi who defied Tucson's desert environment by planting a "back east" garden. It is beautiful. You won't see salvias, ruellas or daleas in her garden, but you will see hearts and flowers ground cover, holly hocks and morning glory. She waters by hand and her water bill averages around $60 month during the summer. That's less than half of what I pay for my desert landscape on drip irrigation. Much of it is grown in the shade of pine trees. Pam, her next door neighbor, is also an avid gardener. Check out the grape vine that shades her garden in her small patio. Pam grows many
vegetables and has a large watermelon patch that threatens to take over a lot she bought across the street that she is planning to build her house on. Both the grapes and watermelon were delicious.

Heidi has just completed building a chicken coop in her back yard. Unfortunately I became immersed in its construction and forgot to get a photo, but you can see several of her website photos by clicking on http://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=8389. Besides providing her with eggs, the two chickens she has just ordered from one of our feed stores will keep her garden free of unwanted insects and other pests that attack her plants and vegetables. I continue to learn about the seemingly endless possibilities that exist for Tucson gardeners. Be sure to click on the above photos to see the planting details.

We harvested our first yellow banana peppers this week from one of our 6 new pepper plants. Peppers are a summer growing vegetable, but our warm fall weather extends their growing season here. My tomato plants are also doing well and if the two Harris hawks that live in our Eucalyptus tree keep the birds away we are looking at a large harvest soon.

Hobbits in the Garden

Last weekend was a sleep over for our grand daughters. Amber Rose, age 8, and Alison, age 3, love to "garden" and knowing this I had prepared for their industry. We tend to sometimes overwhelm anyone who will listen to us warble on about our grand daughters, so abandon this post now if you grow faint on this subject.

Amber has gardened with me since she could walk and has become quite handy to have around. Alison, on the other hand, can be like a Sherman tank mowing down a crowded village.

Chu suggested I provide a diversion, like a sand box, for Alison to play with out in our new vegetable garden area. So, after purchasing marigolds and a strawberry plant for Amber's raised garden corner, I also picked up a small inexpensive plastic swimming pool and filled it with sand. It was a hit and kept Alison busy for hours and hours.

After planting carrots, strawberries, marigolds, spinach, lettuce, bush beans and rosemary Amber decided my make shift garden work bench was too high and wanted to make her own. Like her mother, Margaret, she LOVES tools. She has also made it quite clear she would like me to look into getting her a small wheelbarrow if she is to be effective in helping me. I told her I didn't think they came in kid sizes but she was quick to point I could find one at Target in the toy section.

The girls found a small Gecko lizard in the garage to play with. While showing them how safe it was to handle it Chu spotted a large diamond back rattle snake slithering along just outside our chain link fence. An education for all and a wake up call for me to make sure it doesn't decide to take up residence in our nice cool garden spot. Click on the above photo to enlarge for a closer view.

"Holy" Peas, Grasshopper Invasion and the Santa Cruz Farmer's Market

The above photo shows what can happen in short order when pests invade your garden. I captured some insects that have been hanging around my snow peas and took them down to the Pima County Extension Gardens yesterday to get the low down.

According to the Master Gardeners on duty they are all grasshoppers and there is nothing you can do about them. I did learn that the damage done to the snow pea leaves is more likely Caterpillar munchings. I've been pulling these wee pests off of my pepper plants (see the peppers grow!) by hand for the past 2 weeks, and apparently they have migrated to the peas. Their recommendation, BT spray, which is an organic way of killing the buggers while keeping me green. While I was there I visited their demonstration desert vegetable garden and was relieved to see their pepper and tomato plants have holes in them too. Just something you have to live with I guess.

Chu and I visited the Santa Cruz Farmer's Market in the afternoon. This small market is now located near the School for the Deaf and Blind on Speedway near Grande. VERY busy and parking was hard to find. The new location has only been open for a couple of months and is growing rapidly. The Community Food Bank takes in consignments which they sell through their booth and allow single vendors to hawk their wares as well. We picked up some tomatoes and miniature
egg plant and ate them for dinner. Mmmmm good!