March Newsletter

Hey, Gardeners!

First I want to apologize for not getting this out sooner. I could list my 55 excuses why it didn’t make it out on March 1st (or 2nd, or 3rd or… ) , but is suffices for me to say, “I am a Mom, Wife, Friend, Daughter, and Sister first.” Yes, I am barely an excuse for a gardener at this point. J Actually, I did get some of my own garden sown and planted, ripped out 14 giant black garbage bags of weeds, grass and dead growth, trimmed up the koi pond and managed to bring my lawn back from the dead. But, I still haven’t spent enough (not sure there is such a thing) time in the garden.

I mentioned last month that I had some words for you about bugs. Honestly, I could write about bugs until my fingertips were sore. Until I became a gardener, they weren’t all that important to me. I considered them gross and creepy. Now (for the most part) they are my friends! Most bugs in the garden are beneficial. I would say 95%. If you have grubs, white flies, spider mites, aphids, grasshoppers, or anything resembling a caterpillar then you don’t want it. Pretty much everybuggy else is a blessing to your garden. Keep an eye on my blog for photos I have taken of beneficial insects in my own garden. (Much better quality photos than the pics below). For loads of information on beneficial insects, visit this link: http://www.govlink.org/hazwaste/house/yard/problems/goodbugs.cfm

I stole the above photo from http://www.scionline.org/
My recommendation for pest control is self control. At least I say that now. I imagine that this will be the year of the grasshopper and the year of the mosquito with all of the extra rain we have had here in the dessert. So, 6 weeks from now you may get an email from me that screams, “DIE APHIDS, DIE!!!!” But in most years and under normal circumstances, bugs take care of themselves. Even this wet year, I imagine that this will be so. Remember, a good year for mosquito larvae will end up being a good year for lacewing eggs and so forth. But mark my words, it will be the year of the bugs!! The aphids roam in and then the ladybugs and lacewings follow to eat and parasite the aphids. The caterpillars hatch and the assassin bugs attack. The trouble with chemicalizing the garden is two fold: 1. You are applying poison to the foods you will eat or the flowers your children will inevitably pick. And 2. Said poison is indiscriminating. It will kill the aphids, but it will also kill the ladybugs that kill the aphids. It will get rid of the caterpillars, but then it will kill the hoover flies and bumblebees that pollinate your flowers eventually preventing growth and production. Without pollination in the garden, you get nothing, nada, zilch.

Well, it is time for me to get into what to do and plant this month. Hope you all keep gardening. I will send out an email this weekend linking to my new garden blog after I get all of the picture uploaded to it. So far it is just drafts.

Hands dirty,
Trish

October Garden Newsletter

Dear Gardeners,

You’ve waited. You shied from the blast-furnace heat, waiting for this time. Fall planting season has arrived and you can immerge from your summer hiding places; Come out of heat hibernation. If you haven’t already, wash off that trowel, throw those dirty old garden gloves in the next load of laundry, and slip on your work clogs and overalls. Your garden is calling you! Don’t wait to heed it’s call… go now (or at least right after you read this newsletter)!

October Checklist:

1. LESS IS MORE. When the nights have become comfortable and enjoyable again, then it is time to remember to reduce water to your landscape material. Failing to do so, encourages plant disease and infestation and will weaken your flora over time. However, the trick is not to do it too soon, since our days are still climbing into the triple digits. When the days start staying in the 90’s, change your watering system. A good time to do it? Right before the kids leave to go trick-or-treating. Until then, continue to water deeply and infrequently.

2. NO PAIN, NO GAIN. Turn off the water to your summer grass if you intend to plant winter grass. It’s good to let it sit dry for 7-10 days before verticutting and overseeding. This allows your Bermuda to go into dormancy so that it won’t be competing for nutrients and water with your perennial rye (which is not perennial here at all). While turning off the water to the lawn, you can maniacally scream, “Die, Bermuda. DIE!” I think it helps.

3. YOU LOOK GOOD. HAVE YOU LOST WEIGHT? If you are a good little trimmer (and you probably are) then you have waited all through the hot months to prune up your landscape plants, no matter how straggly they’ve become. Removing excess weight growth strengthens your plants. Get out and prune. Your landscape will thank you. It is finally time to de-burden your trees and shrubs with a nice hard trim. How do we know it is time? We know because the nights are becoming comfortable and enjoyable again, and the daytime temps drop into the 90’s. Don’t jump the gun, however, wait until those daytime temps are consistently in the 90’s… a few weeks. Plant that garden first.

4. WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE. If you took my advice last month and cast wildflower seeds, make sure you give them a little water every 5-10 days. You’ll be glad you did, when they offer their thanks in the spring. If you didn’t plant wildflowers last month and would still like to… HURRY UP! Get out there this week, if possible.

5. INSULATION IS A GOOD THING. Mulch all exposed bare soil. It insulates the roots from the heat of the day now, and the cold of the nights later. It encourages microbiotic activity. It improves the soil beneath it. It is a safe fertilizer for our still-hot days. It never causes fertilizer-burn, because it is a gentle lover. It acts as a natural fertilizer. It locks in moisture, reducing water use. It makes your plants say, “Thank you, that’s mulch, mulch better!” As Martha Stewart would say, “It’s a Good Thing.”

6. GO CRAZY, BUT NOT MENTALLY SO. It’s time to go crazy with the planting. If you are putting in a fall garden, head over to your local nursery and pick up seeds. Take a garden buddy. Nobody really needs to plant 1500 seeds of lettuce (roughly how many come in one packet). Split the cost, share the pack. It may not seem helpful with a $2 pack of seeds, but if you are planting 20 different items in your garden, then your seed cost just became $40. Share the love. It’s also time to plant spring flowering bulbs (hooray!!!!), winter grass, trees, shrubs, vines, cool season flowers, strawberries, and kindness. Go crazy!

7. SOONER IS BETTER. When choosing your seeds, choose varieties that develop quickly. For instance at www.ParkSeed.com I found Park's Bush Whopper II Cucumber which matures in 61 days. However, they also carried Cool Breeze Cucumber which matures in 45 days. Choose the variety that matures fastest, that still suits your needs, in this case, Cool Breeze. Use this method when choosing your seeds, and you won’t regret it. Why? Because our growing season is short. We want our plants to mature quickly because ripening won’t occur once the temps fall too far down the thermometer. Remember: We are trying to grow plants that are for summer everywhere else, in our short fall weather. It’s a race against the clock.

8. MAKE A PLAN, AND STICK TO IT. Reiterating what I have said in past newsletters, having a garden plan will save you money, time, frustration, and heartache. Make the plan before you shop, and stick to it.

9. THE WRITER’S MIND NEVER WHITHERS. Again, reiterating, but it’s worthy of saying. Keep a garden journal. Note what varieties you planted and where. Keep a basic calendar, too. If you find that weather changes prevented your tomatoes from reddening this year, then next year you can plant them a week or two earlier, if you kept a journal of when you planted. If you find that Beefsteak Tomatoes took too long to grow this year, and therefore didn’t yield a harvest, then next year you can plant a different variety, if you kept a journal of your experiences. Note: This step is unnecessary for those of you with perfect memories, who never forget anything, who have never been at a loss for someone’s name, never failed to attend an event due to forgetting because you were busy, never forgot to send your child with lunch money or sign their homework, never forgot to get an annual physical, never had to go back to the store for the 1 forgotten item, and who would remember the name of the variety of beets you planted (even though you read it only once when you opened the envelope) nor that you planted it on September 17th, etc. Can you remember details for a year? Then no need to journal. Everyone else: Keep a journal!!!! I use one of those old calendars that my kids made me for Christmas at school. I just write in the little squares in green ink what I planted on that date, and in red ink what I harvested on that date. Easy peasy.

Thus ends the October Newsletter. Keep an eye open for the “Suggestions” portion later. I am tight on time with the kids out of school and don’t want to hold off on publishing this half while you wait.

Hands dirty,
Trish

Feb. 1, 2009 Garden Newsletter

Dear Gardeners~                                                                                                

Do you ever have one of those blessed moments where you think you have a lot of work to do, but find a solution that eliminates most of the effort and provides you with a little lemonade time?  I just had one of those moments.  Oh, yes.  I sat down to begin the process of writing the February newsletter, (and these newsletters take a lot longer than you think) and thought… “I’m gonna look on the blog and read what I wrote for last March to get me in the mood.”  So, I opened http://trishsgarden.blogspot.com, knowing I had started the garden blog last March, to find that I had also posted February newsletters on there.  Let me tell you, I heard choirs of angels.  And so, I am pleased to present to you, my fine gardening friends, Last Year’s Newsletter (I think it deserves capiltalized, don’t you?!).  However… this is not the exact same newsletter from last year. Oh, no!  This is the new and improved newsletter.  I am adding some information that I found it to be lacking, and sprucing it up!  So, without further ado, all the way from Gilbert, Arizona, dressed to kill in it’s gloves, straw hat, and overalls, I give you the complete, the beautiful, the desert-adapted February Garden Newsletter!!!   *crowds cheer, band plays, balloons release, doves fly over, rainbow crosses the sky, heavenly trumpets sound*

It’s February 1^st, and that means that it is time to think about your garden!  If you are a dirt-under-the-nails gardener like me, you have been waiting for this day for a long time!  The last chance for frost in Phoenix is considered to be February 15, so you have about 2 weeks to get your ground in shape for spring planting.

This week’s checklist:

1.                    Prepare your water.  If you have a drip system, run it and check it for leaks, clogged drippers and missing pieces, especially if you have a puppy like mine that thinks that water tastes better chewed out of a drip line.  *2009 update: Blossom no longer chews on the drip line.  Hooray!  Okay, back to work.*  If you don’t have a drip system, determine your means for watering and prepare it.  Drip is an inexpensive and simple installation and I recommend it for anyone who doesn’t want to go outside watering twice a day when the summer’s Blast Furnace heat hits, which will also be the crucial last few weeks before harvest.

2.                   Prepare your soil.  Make sure your fall and winter crops that are finished producing are tilled under.  You do not have to own a tiller.  I don’t have one and have never really had access to one (that worked).  However, I am thinking of renting one (less than $20 at Home Depot) to make my life a little easier.  This would also be a good time to decide the age old question: “To be organic or not to be organic”… that is the question of fertilizer.  I don’t have any criticism one way or the other, I just want you in the garden.  I will say this, though, as an organic gardener, Organic is not the lazy-gardener’s method.  There is more time and work involved.  So if you end up with low production and survival because you were low on time, then you get a round of applause, but nothing to show for it.  So, if Miracle-Gro and insecticides and weed killer will save you enough time to make gardening an option, then please use them!  I would rather you be a gardener than someone who wishes they had time to be a gardener.  ;0)

3.                   Size Matters.  Choose what you are going to grow this season based on how much time and space you have.  You may only have time to grow a few potted plants, but even if you just grow a couple pots of tomatoes and strawberries, you are still a gardener.  Whether you are planting a couple of herbs on your kitchen windowsill or ½ an acre of 40 different vegetables & flowers, the key is to not over extend your ability.  You want your garden to be your joy.  Overplanting causes feelings of failure and disappointment when we can’t keep up with it; I’m speaking from experience!  To plant more in less space, google square-foot gardening.

4.                   Choose your crops.  Are you going to grow lots of cucumbers and pickle enough for a 3 years supply? Or are you gonna plant 3 or 4 of your favorite veggies to enjoy fresh but not “put away” (can) any for the future.  When choosing one variety of tomato or eggplant (or whatever) over another, choose varieties that have shorter maturation.  Seed packets or plantlets available at the nursery will usually say something like “90 days” or “54 days”.  Choose the shortest you can get for the crop you intend to plant.  Why?, because we have short growing seasons.  Believe it or not, a lot of the varieties we grow are the same ones grown in Alaska due to the short growing season.  Only our growing season isn’t being cut off by nippy nights, but rather by blast furnace days. 

5.                   Prune to the Moon.  It’s time to prune back roses, grapes, and fruit trees.  I found some fantastic grape vines growing in a yard in Mesa.  I got permission from the vine’s owner to share those pictures, so look forward to learning how to trim and train your canes in next week’s letter.  Wait until after Feb 15 to prune back winter frost damage on everything else.

That’s it.  Finish your checklist and you will be ready for my email next week recommending different varieties of seeds and plants.  I hope you will all give a little thought to what you would like to plant this season and get ready to get dirty!!

                                                                                                Happy Gardening!                                                                                         

September Newsletter

Dear Gardeners,

Ah, those are words I haven’t written in a while! It’s good to be back. Like the end of a great vacation, it is good to get into the swing of things again! So it is with September.

Yes, we desert gardeners take summer hiatus while the rest of North America gets their hands dirty and their fresh, juicy veggies. As the growing season for others winds down, ours begins! So, throw your garden gloves through the washing machine, rinse off your trowels, unpack your saved seeds from last year, and let’s get gardening!

The fall garden is the most productive time of the year for us desert dwellers. So, you have some work cut out for you. Here is your September checklist:

1. REMOVE THE RIFRAFF. If your yard and garden have been hit with the same summer monsoons that mine has, then you probably have an abundance of vegetation… but not necessarily the kind you want. It’s time to de-weed. When weeding, try to get the root removed completely. If you let them lie, you will be repopulating your lawn and your neighbors’ when they go to seed, send up new runners, or layer themselves to propagate descendants. I don’t put my weeds in my compost, because I don’t want them to come back to haunt me. Bag ‘em and green can ‘em.

2. MOWING AND SOWING. It’s time to decide what you are going to do about a winter lawn. Are you going to plant winter grass? Are you going to let the Bermuda go yellow for the cool months? What ya gonna do? I know there are a few who receive this newsletter who are new to the desert. For you, I will mention that there are two lawn seasons here. Summer and Winter. Two types of grass, two planting times, one full year of greenness. Many choose to take a cool-season vacation from mowing. Personally, I would rather do the opposite and let the grass die in summer and mow when it is nice outside! But at our house, we opt to plant a winter lawn. I love the option of opening Christmas presents on the grass in 70 degrees!! So, decide now if you are going to overseed your lawn for winter, and if so, make arrangements to get started! *more on this under grasses in the Suggestions section*

3. SEEDS AND SWEDES. Okay, so not really Swedes. A lot of bulbs come from Holland… but it rhymed! Do I get credit for that? Either way, it is time to start planting seeds for the veggie, flower, and herb garden as well as thinking ahead for your winter bulbs. Make sure you have fresh seeds packed for this year (it usually says on the back of the packet), and when you buy new seeds, be mindful not to get them hot. This means if you stop at the grocery store on the way home from the garden center, take those babies in with you! And, it doesn’t hurt to store them in the fridge when you get home until you are ready to plant them.

4. GO WILD! It’s time to spread your spring wildflower seeds!

5. MAKE A PLAN & BUDGET WISELY. If you are a plant geek like me, this is the time of year when you have to really have some self-control to prevent yourself from buying every interesting-looking item in the garden center and ordering hundreds of dollars worth of seeds. Not to mention at the end of the month we will be seeing many bulbs available that are too breathtaking for words!! The solution? Don’t decide in the garden center what you are going to buy. Create a garden plan, account how many/what size you need, compose a shopping list, and stick to it. Additionally formulate a budget like you would for anything else. This way if you do find an irresistible plumeria at Home Depot, you can decide what items from your list will have to be scratched in order to remain within budget. Afterall, the kids won’t be as thrilled with Wandering Jew at Christmas as I would be. A true Garden Plan is not a list of things you want to grow, but a map of their placement in your space. Sometimes what we want to grow, is not the same as what we have time, space, and budget to grow.

6. THE WRITER’S MIND NEVER WHITHERS. Journal your experiences this year in the garden to remind you next year what worked and what didn’t so much. It is also great to write down, blog, or otherwise document your garden plantings to remind you later what those little green sprigs are coming out of the ground. It is surprising to me what can be forgotten in just a few short weeks!

7. MORE FUN TO COME. September is busy in the desert. Especially for vegetable and herb growers! But October is even busier because it is time to plant and prune everything else. So, get ready! You have your work cut out for you!

I am excited for the fall garden, and I hope you are, too! Please, if you have any suggestions, tips, or recommendations, send them to me at wishtrish@gmail.com or leave me a comment on the blog. I’d also love to share pictures of your gardens’ success, so send those along, as well!

Hands dirty,
Trish

(Below you will find my monthly itemized suggestions.)