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.
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.
