Saving Seeds

 This is Kale seed. Last year the healthiest plants were let to bolt in the hot weather at seasons end. When they had grown a healthy seed the seed heads were plucked to dry. They have dried well over the long hot summer. Now at falls planting they are all well ready. Now in the other climates this is done in springs end into their summer. We have the seeds here in late spring. Getting ready begins with keeping eye on the healthiest of each of your crop.

 Tossed last week these are already germinated into a promise of good harvest a few weeks out. Love Kale, so good for using in those dishes that call for greens that won't just wilt out.

 The process of shelling seed is one that the day was spent on. Many others had already been accomplished. Alas I was behind on this duty.

 This is seed of a orchid tree. One that was a volunteer on my side yard. It is so pretty now. Perhaps I could do a seed swap with some of you if your interested.

 This is the snapdragon the husk is really hard and the seeds tiny. Even if you go for a walk all you need to do is collect a few seed heads, just ask them first.

 Now some seed is so tiny. Oh the variety of shapes and sizes amaze and amuse me.

Remember to save seed and trade seed. Keeping those old heirloom varieties going.

Preparing flower seed inventory

Welcome to my morning office

Planting by the moon cycles dictates this week be spent preparing the Annual beds.

Keeping good order of our seed is important.

Next year at the time of using my saved seeds life will be easy for me. 

Saved seed does not have the luxury of seed packages with all the data on them needful to replant in a beneficial way. On the inventory sheet is the information needed for success. NO need to do all the research again. It is all there.

When What Where Why

color

location

soil needs

 days to germination

spacing

thinning

height at thinning

full grown height

Companion planting if applicable.

Seed packets. Notes on heirloom or hybrid type

Each page is set in alphabetical order. Click to enlarge.

sweet peas up the trellis

These are just beginning only 2 weeks in. Bachelor buttons, Shasta daisy, forget-me-nots, sweet peas and lupines. There are also columbines. This is my blue/white bed. Now some nasturtiums vines that had reseeded are also joining them. They are a fire palate so they may get pulled.

Lupines. Remember to chill seeds of lupines for 7 days before planting

The ferns are loving the cooler days. Well under 100 here has been a treat.

My seeds now sorted into annuals, perennials and biennials.

I study some types on line and then add the printed information to the data page.

This is the week to plow and cultivate.

The iris have been removed and will go in after the the full moon. All bulbs, perennials, biannual and root crops will go in then. All flowering annuals, and ground crops with outside seed will go in between the 7th-14th. Ground crops with inside seed between the 14th and the 22 of October. The soils will be attained from the side yard once screened of rock. This bed will need to be dug with pick ax then screened as well. All semi shade will go toward the house the South of the bed. Taller iris to the left full sun. The flax to the background with annuals the shortest coming toward the foreground. The trailing flax will flow over edge. Now mind you that the hole is hoped to be filled up once this is broken up for drainage and root development.
Some parts will be left poorer soil for those flowers that prefer it. One side will be rich soil and so on.

Seets to sprouts!

click image to enlarge them

A garden tour gave me great hope yesterday the plants were still alive
The celery made it through transplant and the heat of the day.

This morning the beets gave ruby hope to crops in the harvest of all this hard labor...
Planted 7 days...after soaking the seeds in water overnight

Yesterday the turnips were also part of the cure.
Indeed life goes on.
Planted 7 days before germination.

Under umbrellas the radish wished me good day yesterday and show growth in even this one day, planted 7 days ago

Joyfully the pan squash have survived under the sheet my MILove gave us.
I used it to give the shade that kept life in the 107* temperatures.

The radish delineate the parsnip row, but it will be weeks perhaps before the parsnips begin their assent to the heavens and the decent to the depths of long healthy root.

It is a joy and a encouragement to see life come to
BEE BLISS to me.
It has been a long way way too long hot summer.
This summer began with a goal for a garden extension.
The goal in progress is come to success!
I have kept my vision.

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.

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.