AZ Gardeners

[Chickerdoodle13]

Awesome! Thank you! I love herbs so I'm looking forward to that. I also downloaded a sheet showing what plants to plant and when.

 

[meetthebubus]

I was growing watermelon, canteloupe, zucchini in a raised bed it was going great until the Prairie dogs discovered it, they were little enough to get through the chicken wire up top too. This is a giant raised bed I'm talking 3 feet or so up

I grew garlic in a plastic tub it was late in the year but most critters stay away from garlic so I got to harvest mini garlic 2 weeks ago

I currently have veggies in a starter tray and I hear if you shade them they could still make it, they are starting to sprout after 1 week from seed.

I also have potatoes in a tub, so far so good!

Only sad thing is my desert pine not looking good.

Tip: you can put heavily garlic (ed) water on a plant that a deer or rabbit is eating it worked to keep a rabbit off my Mexican palm

 

[igorsMistress]

Sorry the critters got your melons and squash. I'm fighting to keep birds off my grapes. It's a battle I'm loosing it's not even the chickens, it's the wild birds. They're sparrows and finches so not worth eating

 

[meetthebubus]

i'm going to try hardware wire over top of bed, maybe that will work for your grapes?
i hate the expense of the fencing but those tiny slots won't let much of anything in so maybe it will be worth it? crossing fingers

 

[cactusrota]

My brother has some rows of grapes that he values quite a bit because he make wine every year, and he drapes bird netting over them as soon as the fruit is about half grown. For the most part it keeps most wild critters off, including squirrels, with the exception of chickens that have learned to jump up and eat from underneath... ;p

 

[igorsMistress]

i'm going to try hardware wire over top of bed, maybe that will work for your grapes?
i hate the expense of the fencing but those tiny slots won't let much of anything in so maybe it will be worth it? crossing fingers

I was going to say I think I need bird netting but @cactusrota said it first. I can drape this over and attach to keep the birds out while there are grapes on the plants but they get anything near the surface.

 

[DesertChic]

One thing you might want to think about is installing gutters that drain into rain barrels. I put them up first thing - the collecting barrels are 205 gallons and the storage tanks are 1,350 gallons. I got a good pump and transfer the water from the collecting barrels into the storage tanks when full. It doesn't take much rain, maybe like 1/4" and the collecting barrels will start to overflow. I usually have my storage tanks completely full after just 2-3 small rains. I then hook the pump up to my storage tank and pump into the redneck irrigation system I made which is just pvc laid out in my garden with a spigot for each row and a battery operated timer. I'll turn the pump on which pressurizes the pvc and the irrigation timers operate normally like they do when hooked up to the well/house water. I can operate this way for many months up till around July when I run out of rain water and then I'll go back on house/well water. It's not long though before the rains come again and the tanks are full. Even though I don't pay for well water I'm glad I fixed things up this way to conserve the well water as much as I can. Also the crops really take off on the rain water because it's a neutral pH - something they really need. The well water is around 7.6-7.8 but the rain is around 5.8-6.0.

What do you use for your water storage tanks? IBC? Galvanized metal cisterns? Inquiring minds want to know.

 

[DesertChic]

Any suggestions for herbs that could survive outdoors during the summer? I'm renting this year but would like to get some flower boxes and I'm dreaming up ideas of things to plant.

As someone born with a black thumb who continues to struggle to turn it green, I can confidently say that Rosemary and Basil grow well here with minimal maintenance. When I transplant a young Rosemary plant, I deep water 1-2 times per week until it really takes root. Then I only water when the needles look thin instead of plump and ignore it otherwise. Basil, with the exception of Thai Basil, grows very easily from seed and blooms like crazy if you don't prune of the blossoms regularly.

 

[DesertChic]

So far this year I haven't had much time to devote to gardening and only recently got back into it again. My husband helped me plant two Wonderful Pomegranate trees which are doing surprisingly well and will hopefully provide some much needed shade for my chickens, and fruit for us.

I just planted two pixie grape plants for my husband, who still fantasizes about making his own wine. I still have three more Rosemary bushes to transplant, primarily for pest control. Beyond that I've seeded Persian cucumbers, zucchini, and more Swiss chard, all of which have now sprouted, and three Moringa trees, one of which has sprouted and the other two I'm watching with rapt devotion. I also transplanted multiple tomato plants of unknown variety that were gifted to me. Two of them took to the transplant and are growing well. I allowed one of my red Romaine lettuce plants to go to seed so it can "plant" itself. Last year I somehow wound up with lettuce growing a full acre away from where I let it go to seed. Given how hot it's been, I'm thinking of seeding Egyptian spinach, and I might get an early start on the Romanian cucumbers.

The aquaponics system we set up provides us with a regular supply of Tilapia, but I've been disappointed in plant growth. I have three red bell pepper plants that have grown huge and fruit regularly, but the peppers are always small...too small. The Swiss chard has done fairly well, but not great. We're thinking of building a greenhouse and moving the entire setup in there.

So far I'm still better at growing protein than produce. My dozen or so earthworms have turned into thousands in my raised beds and I can now remove small handfuls of worm-filled compost out of those beds to add to the earth I'm conditioning and planting it. Oh...and I'm DOWN to 92 chickens (soon to be 90), so I'm good at growing those too.

 

[igorsMistress]

I bought 3 Japanese Privets to grow into small trees. These will give shade in the chicken run as well as privacy against google maps.

Also in the process of clearing out half a flower bed to move some succulents at the end of summer. Going to dig out the top few inches of soil and replace with some cactus mix. Its terrible soil.

Purchased a xeriscape mix of grasses and flowers and an eco mix with grass seed in it. Also got some microclover for cover crops in winter to keep weeds down.

Have located a local grower for a golden Dorsett apple tree in fall, already have anna in the yard but it needs a friend.

Between the two apple trees I am going to bury a few old xmas trees, their needles too, and start a hugelkultur mound for future blueberries, artichokes, and other stuff for a guild.