Raised Vegetable Bed Protection Update

The wire cages I manufactured to protect my vegetable garden have worked out great!  They are very light and easy to lift off my raised beds.  I can now report with confidence that they are also effective in preventing chipmunks and gophers from ravaging your harvest.  The pvc handles on top are a must for easy removal and replacement.  See my September 2009 posts for more information on these cages and their purpose.

I added a third irrigation tube in the center of the bed to better distribute the water.  Prior to that I was hand watering my new vegetable seedlings to get complete coverage.  All of my raised beds and fiberglass barrels are now on timed irrigation and it has been working beautifully.  We have been enjoying radishes, romaine lettuce and spinach for the past two weeks. I have been picking off the larger leafs for our evening salads which seems to promote speedy growth of the remaining smaller leaves.  I did this last fall and was able to keep ourselves in salad fixings for months.    

Tomatoes are just now starting to ripen. I had 5 plants before the chipmunk invasion but am now down to one.  Still, there are plenty growing and they will liven up our salads for several more weeks.

This is my third attempt to grow snap peas in the desert.  So far, so good, but I am bracing myself for the worst.  I am hoping that consistent watering provided by my make-shift irrigation system (see prior blog posts for construction and layout) will make a difference this time.  My wife loves snap peas so I have to get this right!

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!

Tomato Proof

I know, I know....anyone can SAY they have a tomato, but now I have proof. I can almost feel it exploding into my mouth and the juices running down my chin. I digress.



The bird netting had tangled up another lizard during the night, so I have rolled it up and will only use it as a last measure. If I must choose between the health of the birds and lizards and a undefiled tomato crop, however, I will go with the tomatoes.



My poor snap peas are being chewed to death by a critter. I haven't been able to catch the chomper at it yet, but judging from the size of the damage it must be a decent size. I did catch one of our push up lizards pounce on a large black bug and drag it off to the desert yesterday, but it was too fast for me to identify. I sowed another variety of snap peas in one of the barrels yesterday to make sure we have plenty on hand for the winter.



This weekend our grand daughters will be having a sleep over here and I am looking forward to getting Amber Rose out into the garden. I have two old porcelain sinks filled with Mel's mix ready for her. My guess is she will pick carrots and cilantro.






The photos displayed were taken this morning in my "non-edible" desert garden. The Turks Cap under the mesquite have been blooming consistently since spring! They love the heat and shade. The purple Ruelia has also done well all over Tucson this summer.

eee-gads! Tomatoes!

They are small.....very small. But they are there. The bird netting went up this morning just in case one of the 50 birds that hang out on the electric line above my house want a taste. Danny, a good friend and all-around-fix-it and remodel genius for Chu and I (and several other family members) gave me one of his tomato plants several years ago. I learned then that birds find them quickly. That was the first time I had ever tried to grow a vegetable. It was a dismal failure only providing me with one intact cherry tomato.

The pole bean seeds erupted with a vengeance after an all night soak. Thugs they are after only 5 days. I am totally amazed at how quickly the life process works - a miracle indeed. More seeds are on the way and will be sown in the coming weeks.

My snow peas have grown long enough to crowd out adjacent carrot and spinach seedlings. The string trellis I erected was too high to attach them to so I placed a narrow piece of chicken wire to give them something to grab on to for now. Unbelievable, but you can actually see their slender tendrils try to grip the wire when placed on it. Like the babinski reflex in babies, they only need to touch something and immediately curl.