Fall preperations for the desert garden

Now the last of the harvest is in...
Time to get ready for the rains are coming.
Fall gardening here in the desert starts soon.
August 15th is the beginning of the most of it and then on September first the greater part of the seeds go in.

Soil turned and broken up
it will be amended with
compost
Diatamatious earth
hummus
Need some peat moss may use straw
general feed.


Study study study
Then Succeed!

Will need yet to read up on cucumbers to see if they might like anything special
same with the squash


Far back is the NW corner
The very first thing to get ready for is the
summer squash
Pickling Cucumber
slicing cucumbers
With them I will plant the nasturtiums for pollination attraction of bees and to keep the bugs off of the cucumber

Center bed is getting ready for the
Sunflower to shade the cucumbers
sweet corn
will have
the pumpkin
growing under them for shade

on south of that is going in the peas
with some radish to grown to seed for added pollination

The center bed is doing very well.
That is where I found that carrot under the melon vine
The melon is going out of there and the earth turned under
amended.

Study
corn
sunflower
pumpkin
see what it might like

Had a friendly lizard come ask what was going on.
He thanked me for stirring up all those spiders and such
The lizards will eat well today.

I am so pleased with this earth.
Folks that is just one good year of tending and look what it has become.

Now this corner 2 feet of it or so is pretty hard pan. No wonder the beans suffered it need a lot of compost.

I am not sure if you can see what I am doing.
This bed will become recessed a bit.
The purpose it that the water will flow into the bed and off of the path.
The water will be used much more efficiently.
This will be a 4x11 bed with a foot of hard pan at the house foundation.
Slinging that pick is a good work out.

I am amending my ways...hahahar

Now can you see it...?
Look with those eyes of the future...
Dug down 2 feet ! YEP! 2 feet!
This part of the addition will be my focus for August.
Set to plant September first.
Now that is a goal.

A beginning...

This metal is good for a magnetic board.
that is the technique for digging out a french raised bed.
It is a 3 foot wide and 12 foot long trench that will be shifted over as it is dug down in foot wide sections that are lifted onto the former dug row and so forth.

Inch by inch
row by row
someone bless these seeds I sow.

Tackle it Tuesday

Welcome friends to Bee Bliss Gardens
well after this encouraging meal...

I told my husband all about the fall garden plans that it is coming upon us to plant in two weeks some of the first crop
We stepped outside donned with our t shirts and work shoes.

Well we stepped out to this!
It was gorgeous!

My darling mowed and edged the extension while I raked the back four foot section of our existing plot to be ready to turn and amend.

He removed the straw bails over to the compost area and then the big pot out of the garden. Poor guy lost a dolly wheel in process that pot was just to much for the tired tire. I pulled the last of the squash and then raked out the bean patch of last season. Here it is July 15th and Aug 1 st that the planting begins. So I sow. Or at least get ready too.

just look at that sky!

Te cube to the right is the grape vine planter it will be mirrored to the north and the trellis will straddle the entry. I though to grow vines of nasturtiom (sp) to flower over the block and obscure it. It also will be a compainion plant.

These are those block we got for FREE!

We set out the layout to see what we had. Some alterations to the left bed...four foot is just too deep. So we gave the south bed another foot and backed the east bed up a foot. I need to kill the grass. You can see that I did this before but after careful consideration realized mowing would be a hassle and a lot of extra labor.

We have a few more block yet to move but the children needed tending and the lightning was coming closer so more another day...

It was also getting dark and out guest chose to go home so we drove her to her mom. It was a nice play date not even on eruption.

New and revised the planting dates for Phoenix is different than most all other places so note the date marks by
Clicking on the image to enlarge.
I will add more detail as I go along.

Next up need to call on some horse dung for the beds and get some top soil for the mix. Then the compost and amendments according to the Nitrogen content desired. Time to make earth :) The elements will be concocted like a good soup.

My seed list will be consulted and the list to shop for will be made up.

Time to get ready for the rains are coming
I was able to fine a detailed mock up of the water tank hook up.