Any gardeners?

[AZZenny]

Dyn-o-mite -- Nowadays I hire a couple guys I know to do the really tough work I can no longer do myself. Or you could consider getting someone with a Bobcat to bust up the caliche -- I know a couple guys who have them up this way.

When I was young and didn't have a bad back or bad hip or shoulder, lo those 25 years ago, I actually double-dug the whole damn huge garden (about 55 feet x 35 ft) by myself, for the most part. Excavated (in sections) to the caliche level, filled them with water and a bunch of gypsum and sulphur and vinegar and let it soak through, refilled with water again, let it soak and then dry out for a day or so, and went down another 8-12 inches and broke it into small chunks. Mixed in a half-ton of medium-fine pine bark with that, then refilled the soil with a couple dozen cubic yards of topsoil-compost-sand mixed in, to make 10" raised beds. Maybe twice in the last 25 years I've taken the time to dig down as far as I could to penetrate any newly forming hardpan, but never have developed that kind of cement-like base again.

I have friends in town who built a 2 foot-deep raised bed -- edged like a redwood bench you can sit on --all around the edge of their back yard about 6-7 feet wide, and filled it with topsoil and compost. Worked great for them.

 

[Jersey Girl]

I just don't have anywhere to plant a tree. All my veggies are grown in containers on the patio.

I should buy a house with a big yard so I could have all kinds of trees and a nice, big garden like Zenny's. I would love that.

I haven't had much success with patio gardening. I sure do miss my house in Jersey when I had tons of plants, veggies and flowers. My grandfather was a dairy farmer and it's in the blood!

The good news is I will be moving in about a month to a place that has a place to plant. I am so excited and am already planning, lol. Question. The planting area is on the western side of the place. Can I still plant there? And what is this mesh we are talking about? Can I make that myself?

Also, Zenny, I want to know more about your grapes. Do you have them climbing a fixture? Where did you purchase them? I just bought some red grapes on clearance at Lowes (figured I'd give them a try for 99 cents). Any planting suggestions?

One more thing ... anyone have any experience in putting in a retaining wall? I want to raise my growing area and add some height to the patio area.

Thanks, guys!

 

[DemsMyBoys]

Quick report: My plumeria has leaves! Whoop-Dee-Doo!

Now if it blooms.....

 

[AZZenny]

Congrats, Jerseygirl -- whenever I think about moving closer to town, I get the willies at being garden-limited.

My experience is that hardware-store bare-root fruits and veggies usually have been under prolonged, heavy stress in bulk transport, so they start with two strikes against them. (Boxed trees at a reputable place like Whitfill's that specializes in trees are good quality, though, usually.)

I suggested Peaceful Valley (see up above), because I have been very pleased by the quality of their plants and shipping times. Willis, a Georgia nursery, also were prepared to ship a month or so earlier than more northern places, which is important -- there's not much point in planting fruit trees or other perennials after mid-to-late March most years.

There are some grapes that do better out here than others, JG -- Flame grapes do very well, but I've heard that thompson green seedless and concords not so much. Most red wine grapes should be OK, esp the varieties that grow in the southern mediterranean climates. If you want to know if a fruit tree will do OK here, the kufflecreek.com fellow I mentioned above is extremely knowledgable - not only about apples.

I have 4x4 posts set in the ground about 8 feet apart, with plastic-coated wire cord stretched between them at two levels -- around 24" and 48" high -- and train the grape vines along them. I have also seen grapes in Israel grown across ramadas that were maybe 6 feet tall -- the roof cross-bars were spaced far enough apart that underneath was light shade, not dense, and the grape bunches hung down. That would take a few years to accomplish, I assume.

Western exposure -- that could get pretty rough in summer but a little shade should help a lot. Several ways to accomplish that -- grow really tall plants on the western edge (sunflowers, climbing limas, etc.) or shade cloth over top.

If anyone wants some native american (Hopi, Zuni) or heirloom lima bean seeds, let me know. I have all kinds in abundance.

My new effort is caper plants. They should do very well here, once established, and are very cool-looking desert plants -- but they are supposed to be a real bear to germinate or propagate, and very slow the first couple years.

 

[AZZenny]

SLUGS!! I have mega-slugs eating my baby potatoes (trying to grow them in deep straw) and they are not the least bit interested in the little dishes of beer in which to drown. Anyone have any organicky-type suggestions?

 

[DemsMyBoys]

I used to go out early in the morning with a 4 foot stick and smush them. Icky but it worked.

 

[Louis]

SLUGS!! I have mega-slugs eating my baby potatoes (trying to grow them in deep straw) and they are not the least bit interested in the little dishes of beer in which to drown. Anyone have any organicky-type suggestions?

http://www.pesticide.org/slugs.html

Apparently copper sheets could do the trick.

 

[schutd]

Today, the rooftop raised beds were introduced to their new friends, shishito peppers, pasilla chilies, three different kinds of heirloom tomatoes, one cherry tomato, and the house met their new roommates, bush basil, english thyme, chives, lavender, and a potful of daisies. Lets see if i can keep em alive.

 

[BACH]

If you enjoy great food then fresh herbs are a must! Nothing beats having fresh basil, rosemary, tarragon etc. in the garden.

 

[DutchmanAZ]

We picked our first ripe tomotoes last week with a steady supply since (2 - 3 daily).
Darned good too!

 

[Jersey Girl]

Moved into the new place. The sun only hits my garden from about 11 a.m. til 3 p.m. Still, the AZ sun is killing my plants. Must get some shading tomorrow.

 

[RugbyMuffin]

SLUGS!! I have mega-slugs eating my baby potatoes (trying to grow them in deep straw) and they are not the least bit interested in the little dishes of beer in which to drown. Anyone have any organicky-type suggestions?

Frickin' Hobbits. j/k.

My wife, also a hobbit, has an "organicky-type" solution because we have the slug problem as well. If I forget to get back to this thread please PM me and remind me to get the name of what she is using.

Supposidly it has been a pretty good solution for her.

Sidenote: I thought you could only grow catii in AZ.

 

[AZZenny]

I have been dealing with the little bastids by going out early, pulling back the straw covering the potatoes (not the best way to grow them in AZ, it turns out) and scraping up the slimy creatures, then tossing them in the desert. Yuck. It has made a big difference in the vigor of the plants, which are now about to get crisped anyhow.

Still harvesting yellow wax and green beans -- old fashioned Gold Rush still does best for wax beans out here, and I'm not impressed with the vigor or productivity of the new green bean 'Jade.' Nice flavor, but nothing special. Still harvesting chard, and got about 30 small but sweet ears of corn just before the heat cranked up. Chiles have begun coming in, tomatoes starting to ripen (I was late on them) and melons finally getting serious now that it's hot enough. I have a light shade cloth over the beans and tomatoes. I'll begin planting 4-5 types of Limas in the next week or two.

AND I managed to taste about a dozen plump blueberries off my new plants -- really good flavor, and so far the plants seem to be growing pretty decently. Black raspberries have been struggling a bit to get established, but I think 3 or 4 of the plants will make it. (Note: next time Fall planting only.) Starwberries were not terribly productive -- also probably need Fall planting -- but Zinfandel grape and all three apple trees are thriving. And my tiny frail caper plants really started to settle in and grow with vigor once it got hot.

 

[AZZenny]

BTW - I've discovered that using myccorhizial (?) fungus powder on new transplants is exceptionally beneficial. It's a dry powder you sprinkle on the roots, and it helps the plant develop sort of capillary-like superfine feeder roots much more efficiently. It's deficient in most urban-suburban soil but is abundant in woodlands and long-established rural orchards and stuff.

The apple tree nursery strongly suggested it, but I didn't bother -- then I got some with the blueberry plants, and decided to also apply some of it to the already-planted trees. I poked narrow holes down to the root level (since only planted 2 months earlier, soil was still fairly workable) and then sort of 'blowgunned' the powder three or four places around each tree and then immediately watered it in.

OK, I was astonished -- two of the trees were established and had shown some modest new growth, but the third was looking pretty uncommitted -- within 7 to 10 days of introducing the powder, there was a huge flush of robust new growth and bigger, healthy leaves on all three trees!

So I dusted some potted dwarf figs I was transplanting out into the yard very late, thinking no way they'd make it, but there was hardly any transplant shock, and they started growing and setting new fruit within a couple weeks. So I worked a little bit in to my tomato plants... they took off. Then some very fussy newly-rooted bougainvillea cuttings... they came back from the brink. Then I had two dying black raspberries I moved to sunnier spots, and dusted one and not the other. The fungus-dusted one is now putting up happy little green shoots, and the other one died.

I'm totally sold on this stuff, and it seems you can use a fraction the amount they suggest and get good results, so it goes a long ways. It doesn't work on seeds, it has to come in contact with roots, and you can't really just water it in.

 

[schutd]

The early progress on my first ever planting has me making expansion plans for my roof. Modest attemp this year, but the heirlooms are doing well, the beefsteaks and hanging in, and squash I inherited is exploding and the shishitos and pasilla are doing great.

Started designing my rain catcher, and am planning a couple more raised beds for next season. Learning about composting as we speak... Fun!

 

[Linderbee]

Awesome! I did not get a garden going this year, but it's in my plans for hopefully this fall/winter.

 

[HeavyB3]

My tomatillos are growing nicely.

 

[AZZenny]

Linder, it's probably best to get started with a cooler-weather garden anyhow around here -- As soon as you can, start the process of preparing your plot so you can work in any soil amendments a month or two in advance and let it all mellow.

 

[Linderbee]

Linder, it's probably best to get started with a cooler-weather garden anyhow around here -- As soon as you can, start the process of preparing your plot so you can work in any soil amendments a month or two in advance and let it all mellow.

Good idea, Zenny. I may just have to start doing that as a stress reliever. (work sucks).

 

[Jersey Girl]

Good idea, Zenny. I may just have to start doing that as a stress reliever. (work sucks).

Ditto that. Gardening is an awesome stress reliever, though not at 3 p.m in 110 degree heat (been there, done that, won't be doing it again, lol).

 

[Linderbee]

Ditto that. Gardening is an awesome stress reliever, though not at 3 p.m in 110 degree heat (been there, done that, won't be doing it again, lol).

Yeah, I thought about that after I typed it. Maybe some late, late evening stress relieving. Not getting home earlier than that usually, anyway.

 

[HeavyB3]

I had a dream that my puppy ate my tomatillo plants and i beat the holy living s out of her for it. Haha

 

[Mulli]

I had a dream that my puppy ate my tomatillo plants and i beat the holy living s out of her for it. Haha

 

[nathan]

A deer ate all my cucumber plants and tried out some of the tomato plants. It didn't touch the tomatillos.

 

[schutd]

Squash blossoms ready to be picked. Shishitos are ready for the grill. Pasillas are trying hard. Probably about 70 tomatoes on my plants. Actually was able to pick the first yellow currant tomato yesterday. Found it ripe and hiding in the center of the plant. I couldnt wait. Sweet like candy. Heirloom tomatoes are outrageous. And even more tasty when youve grown them yourself.