Free Gazebo A gift of kindness

Saturday afternoon as the heat died down ...
We were called out to the yard to tend for the care of it and the assembly of the gazebo. We were given the gazebo through the free stuff on Craigs List

As the afternoon took mercy on us with a bit of shade I tended the dogie dung and the sweet man who loves me more than the air around us...we some times that is just how it is.:)
Well he began the assembly.
I cleared out the garden extension and put all the bricks over the gate, and the tools away. He then mowed and I tended a few little tasks in the garden plot.

The tarpon is tattered and torn on the corners of the copula.
We decided to remove it
Another day we can get the cover on the rest of the gazebo. I do have my eye on a new trap that is $150. but I am rather hesitant to purchase it just yet.

We called the kids out to assist us in the placement.
It was getting dark fast
We He and I , finished up after the dark of night fell upon us.

We adjusted the placing to be centered on the roof line of the house.
It is just the begining. You'll need to have eyes of the future...greenery and growth.

We will be moving the composts and the straw bails once the garden planting is on.
Still much work to do as far and final touches
I would love to disguise the water tank and the a/c unit.
In time.
I see the gazebo as a out door kitchen of sorts.
Once the harvests come in then the greens and trimming will go into the compost there and I would love a wash tup for the cleaning off of all soils before going inside.
The other use some day...a camping stove set up to can outside.
Perhaps a work bench and a potting table.

The moon was so pretty last night

The wheel barrel is full of another load of transferred clumps from the existing garden for I am still recessing the beds a bit. Those blocks await the next purchase of liner cloth for the bed to the right against the wall. In time. I will be transferring most of the stack there now into the raised bed. The composted earth there rests under a mound of straw. It will be transferred and I trust the brick I will need will come in it's due time.
Then the gate will be a clear view through.
I think it will be beautiful
Imagine with me.

Newspaper pots for seelings

Make a small pot out of newspaper for your seedlings. This is brilliant!
Thanks to Frugal Luxuries by the season for pointing this out.

Small Space Organic Vegetable Gardening
This is an inspiring gardener

Rainwater Harvesting

this post will be added to as the process continues

Drought-Stricken Texas Pushes Conservation

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.

Summer ....time for garden planing for fall

The beans are winding down
116*

Squash are amazingly alive!
unheard of
these the squash that grew by itself
One more on the vine

:)

The arbor is white in the far back ground
His folks gave it to us.
6' tall and 8' span grapes in the fall.
We have the block now
We still need a few more large block for the water tank
for free

Today we were fortunate to find all of this steel fencing for only
$20.

there is enough to do the job
we will just need a gate

this is just what I dreamed of
We looked at this fencing last fall it was at least $50. a section!

Desert heat takes a tole on the garden

Here in this heat the strawberries are wishing to take a cruse...
poor things... It just swelters at 111* dry heat.
Thank God it is not a humid heat for me but the plants dry fast!

Poor little purple beans have played so hard they just done wore them selves out.
That sun is just a torture until way late in the afternoon.
It is around 3:30 here in this image

Those faithful berries!
We harvested three of them a little treat for each of us.

The green beens have not been impressive this year. Nest year I will order an inoculant for they just did not thrive this year.

Pulled a handful of small carrots. These troubadours are still fighting the good fight in this heat!
They are not suppose to do well in the heat?

The guest squash is bearing two large butternut.
I still have a little left of the first one!
Yum!
Harvested last Thursday
That is the cabbage beside it.

Melons seem slow going or perhaps I am just excited to try them.

Summer makes the sad garden thirsty

Girls are pretty thirst too.
We have added a water to the mix so now they have two of them.