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.