South Western United States Fall Flowers at 1200 ft.

This was the site I built last year before it was planted.


In the garden in-spite of the limp.

Oh so sweet to feel sun upon my back. It has been a very long stint without soil under my nails. It is a delight to see moist soil ready and waiting. All the hard work in the flower bed out front paid off this fall. Having had a total knee transplant two months ago hard work is out of the equation at present. Know that a rake was my simple tool. Preparation on the earth was ease this morning and the seeds are all-but jumping into 'safe harbor' to flourish in the coming rains.
The hard work of creating/setting the site in the very beginning of gardening is what makes an estate a gardeners delight. Especially when the land has had a rest the elements have melded into each other. It now becomes the turn of the gardener to be more relaxed of task.
Oh the simple joy of tossing seed on well prepaired ground.
The flowers of spring are now ready to 'fall' into the earth to begin life a-new.

Plant above ground inside seed until     10/11/11

Plant per-annuals annuals and bulbs 10/1/11 thru  10/19/11

Does my heart such good to come home to garden

Garden morning amending the earth

Many people ask me how to start their gardens.

Who needs a gym?!

Last year this was the process that began my garden extension

I recessed the main beds and transferring it to the raised bed stamping out the clumps...a water bath was used to try to soften the soil.

The North bed was salted with the amendments once the level was reached.
The compost added it will just take a bit of effort to keep breaking it up so it can get seeded.

It is looking much better.
The cucumber will get trained up the trellis and so they can be watched out the kitchen window.

Now with great interpretation I began the rigorous task of shifting the South extension bed into the center extension and to a pile out of the way.
The gecko population was awesome and the bellies were fat on all the lizards by the end of the time. The crickets and such were good feed for them all. I just love lots of lizards in my garden.

Use whatever motivation you can get!

water softened the earth as I gave it a gentle spray.

Now I considered a few more scoops of stone out of here but found myself compelled to set that South bed.

As I looked out on the yard with eyes of vision and hope it helped me not to feel too over loaded with duty.

So began I the task.
It was a challenge but I think I must be pretty stubborn
:)

The earth is being salted with these things so far.
click to image enlarge

By then I thought my elbows are going to fall off.

My husband had a brain storm and told me the way to reset the block to make it a finished edge. So I turned all of the ones that I could and got a bit to sore of the joint to do much more of it.

After water and chopping at the beds it is improving
I have only two more weeks here to get these seeds in the earth

Arizona fall garden

My moon phase was a little off but I went with it due to the lateness of the season.
This was a long hot summer here.
I lost 4 weeks.

I was able to get a full truck bed load of compost at a farm for 20$
If you can find horse rather than cow manure you do well...
It is a much better balanced nitrogen without so much salt in it.
That right bed is the root bed dug down 12 inched and screened, no rock, no clod just
"let my roots spread out"
sorta finery

So we began this first cool morn of the fall.
A Wednesday.
This is what I began with.
Soup to mix as it were the soils and compost, amendments of 10-10-10- and peat moss for the root bed. Carrots and the like want a good 50% of it if you can swing it. They just love peat moss. Get the good stuff see the last post.

This is all that was left after the beds had the added levels and the raised beds of the extension were filled. This will be used to hill up the leek as it grows ever so slowly 120 crop.
The South extension bed is a High Nitrogen bed so the thick load of composted manure/straw and grass was the perfect thing some of the clod is in it too. It is hoped that the moisture with the watering of it will break them down.

All the former straw mulch raked out and the compost was added in its stead and dug in a bit.
The cucumber to be replanted soon.
Some of the pan squash is beginning to bloom.

A thick layer of the compost added all around the giant pumpkin and the other winter squash.

Not just one corn cob in the mix was found.
Good to see real life in this compost.
Everything but the cob rotted down.
All of this stirred and mixed very well.
This a LOW nitrogen bed the amendments were light see old post...the 10-10-10- and the other things were already melted into the mix from days and watering before.

Now the raised beds full must be turned and prepared with the final mix as per the needs of those things yet to plant.

The bails of straw that were the garden wall last season will this year don the tomato plants.
This will cover the tank and also raise them higher for me to harvest.
Much easier on my back.
Using a spade and a hand rake the center was dug out a bit.
Then compost and peat moss was tapped into the hollow.
Watering it and feeding the soil will come after to have them ready come the spring.

By setting up a work table my life was made easier.
It was nice to be with the dogs and the birds, they especially thought so.

A nice glass of soy milk and coffee a huge glass of ice water and all the books, charts and seeds set me up for success.

Enjoying my coffee the almanac was pursued and the plans began to be set into motion.
What to plant, when and where.
It all came together but then the temperature was tipping up toward 90* and I had to stop.
All the seeds that had to be soaked were brought in with my dishes and it was time to cool off.

Today began I with the seeds at the ready.
Day 2

The seeds that were soaked were
Carrot
Parsnip
Pea
Beans

The inoculate is on try to set with the bean and pea seeds.
It is a black granular thing.


So this morning with seeds soaked I set out to task.

Peas were an the agenda
I am going to be bold and do this over.
This time the soil got a load of good compost and the whole thing dug in real well.
Then the inoculate peppered over the top of it and dug in.
Fine tilled it all with the rotary wheel on the hand held pole.

All the lumps gone and the dirt soft and well broken down...

Two trenches of seed stagger two inches apart

center is bare 1/2 cover

Between the rows pea poles I made from the tree our front when I trimmed it.
We just removed the leaves and sun dried the wood.

Tip
Put water in the carrot seed and swirl it will pour out down the row controlled...


This the roots
back trench for Leek
Then mixed Parsnip and radish every 4 inches down the row.
Carrots for cooking
Carrots for the children to munch
Radish between carrot rows for salads

There is a little 1x3 at path edge on the left for some salad greens.
The left south corner yet to throw the pick and screen the soil.
Lots of rocks there.
I hope to tend to it after the south bed gets planted.
It will hopefully get cooler by then.

All the stones now removed from my path those bare foot days are ahead with the straw underfoot a soft step to the earth.

Pan summer squash bloom teased me this morning.

A waxed china marker was used to mark the wooden stakes...

The beets and dill will go here the next in the morning.

Celery needs to get in too.

Outdoor Wedenesday

Built for me was a screened frame. It can be used several ways. This on a bit heavy just due to the wood we had at hand to use. (use what you have).
Some of these are put on a frame that has rocking legs...
The trick is to break up the earth the day you dig or turn it. Once it dries out you have a bit more of an issue. That was learned this year the hard way:)

Making a rock free tilth for root vegetable bed

Using a pick first I picked down 12 inches. This is for the carrots. One day the yams may also be grown here as well as potatoes. The soil clods then broken up a bit I used the hand held part of my hoe tool (the long handle is removable) to scrape the dirt back and forth. By hand removing any and all stones. This bed is purposely being made for my root veggies.
Using the spade shovel I dug out the picked loose soil and clods tossed them to the right. Working in the hollow created I then screened the dirt. Once all stone and the small soil partials were removed I chopped a bit against the frame to get any other easily broken down clods to soil.

All of the clods were either down to tilth or removed.
Once the soil was screened it was shoveled over to the left and just kept rising there as I worked in a hollow moving from left to right and then piling all the huge clods left and the good earth right.
All for happy carrots and root crops.
.I then added two buckets moss, 2 buckets vermiculite and two of horse manure/mulch mix.
Made a good ol' soup of it and filled in the hole.
Leveling it off as I went.

This to use in building up the raised beds in the extension.
I did not want to bring in outside dirt.
We have scorpions in the desert...I have been very blessed not to have them.
The left over clods to the wheel barrow to toss into the raised bed. This is fine for the raised beds are for those brocades that are fruiting above ground. This a good root hold is fine and the clods will break down over time.

Once the heat got me and the time was to stop

Now a glass of ice water later I am cooled and the row has a good 2-3 feet more done on it. I have three more days of the lunar cycle to just tend to soil.
Thank God the temps have come down a little . I was able to work until 10:30 today.

The research to amend the earth per the needs of my root crop is still to be rehashed
... for I forgot What I learned
:(

Planting center bed main garden

Good morning
So this day begins with planting a trellis to grow the winter squash vertically.
After watching several U Tube video's This sounds like a great way to go.
The trellis still needs a little repair but it is in. It will yet need to be secured and made to be a little more sound for the squash will become very heavy.
The trellis was a gift from my husbands folks...

Study! now the summer squash do not need to have the seeds soaked overnight
However the winter do, as do the peas and beans.

Center bed has a long list of seeds going in.

Beginning far north center bed.
the sunflowers went in yesterday...
Then

Squash Winter Vegetable Spaghetti cucurbita maxima HEIRLOOM
90 days due....
Some sprouted Aug 13

The other side of the trellis will be
Butternut a gift from the earth last year unknown variety

The hill is
Pumpkin big Max Cucurbita maxima
120 day due.....
Sprouted Aug 13

Down center three rows 12 inches apart
Corn Sweet (se) Bodacious Lea Mays var rugosa (hybird)
75 days Due....
A few sprouted Aug 13

Outer edge along both long sides
Cosmo Bright Lights Blend Cosmos Sulphureus
HEIRLOOM
Three foot tall butterflies

Outer edge to the right (e)
Bean Pole Blue Lake Phaseolus vulgaris
60 days due....
Some more to transplant soaked and inoculated in kitchen widow sill still growing Aug 16

Front of bed on pea poles
Pea Shelling Progress #9 Pisum sativum HEIRLOOM
58 day due 2nd wk of Oct.
Not planted yet still growing in inoculate at window sill to be transplanted
Aug 16th

Under the peas
Turnip Purple Top White Globe Brassisa rapa HEIRLOOM
50 day due last wk of Sept.
Not planted yet

Undecided due to space
carrot and radish


chopped the clods and mixed int the mulch/manure

mixed in compost too

Gardeners gold!
This is a good yield happily
It was a bit too neglected during the bad heat...

so rich!

Here I amended again with my mixture (see yesterdays post) NO NITROGEN this is a low nitro bed.

Using the window This image shoes the corn row ending.

The cosmos will keep the corn safe and add pollinators
*BEE BLISS*

Going on three hours of labor and the heat is too much for me.

Peas, squash and beans
seeds to soak overnight.
Tomorrow is another day in the garden this one is heading inside.