El Nino is coming

Another storm is due tonight or tomorrow!
We need the rain. I'm finally getting over this sore throat; had it for eight days. We had high winds yesterday.
The trees in the front yard are now naked.

November Temperatures

November
Sun
1
OBSERVED
Hi
80°F
Lo
32°F
Precip (in)
0in.

Mon
2
OBSERVED
Hi
84°F
Lo
36°F
Precip (in)
0in.

Tue
3
OBSERVED
Hi
85°F
Lo
37°F
Precip (in)
0in.

Wed
4
OBSERVED
Hi
84°F
Lo
37°F
Precip (in)
0in.

Thu
5
OBSERVED
Hi
84°F
Lo
43°F
Precip (in)
0in.

Fri
6
OBSERVED
Hi
83°F
Lo
40°F
Precip (in)
0in.

Sat
7
OBSERVED
Hi
80°F
Lo
49°F
Precip (in)
0in.
-- row 2 --

8
OBSERVED
Hi
76°F
Lo
45°F
Precip (in)
0in. -- row 2 --

9
OBSERVED

Hi
79°F
Lo
43°F
Precip (in)
0in. -- row 2 --
10
OBSERVED

Hi
82°F
Lo
44°F
Precip (in)
0in. -- row 2 --
11
OBSERVED

Hi
79°F
Lo
43°F
Precip (in)
0in. -- row 2 --
12
OBSERVED

Hi
79°F
Lo
50°F
Precip (in)
0in. -- row 2 --
13
OBSERVED

Hi
69°F
Lo
57°F
Precip (in)
0in. -- row 2 --
14
OBSERVED

Hi
66°F
Lo
44°F
Precip (in)
0in.
-- row 2 --
15
OBSERVED

Hi
65°F
Lo
34°F
Precip (in)
0in. -- row 2 --
16
OBSERVED

Hi
68°F
Lo
24°F
Precip (in)
0in. -- row 2 --
17

OBSERVED

Hi
70°F
Lo
25°F
Precip (in)
0in. -- row 2 --
18
OBSERVED

Hi
73°F
Lo
30°F
Precip (in)
0in. -- row 2 --
19
OBSERVED

Hi
69°F
Lo
39°F
Precip (in)
0in. -- row 2 --
20
OBSERVED

Hi
71°F
Lo
31°F
Precip (in)
0in. -- row 2 --
21
OBSERVED

Hi
74°F
Lo
33°F
Precip (in)
0in.
-- row 2 --
22
OBSERVED

Hi
71°F
Lo
32°F
Precip (in)
0in. -- row 2 --

23
OBSERVED
Hi
72°F
Lo
33°F
Precip (in)
0in. -- row 2 --

24
OBSERVED
Hi
69°F
Lo
30°F
Precip (in)
0in. -- row 2 --

25
OBSERVED
Hi
69°F
Lo
29°F
Precip (in)
0in. -- row 2 --

26
OBSERVED
Hi
68°F
Lo
47°F
Precip (in)
0in. -- row 2 --

27
OBSERVED
Hi
72°F
Lo
32°F
0" precip


28
OBSERVED
Hi
64°F
Lo
47°F
Precip (in)
0in.

29
OBSERVED
Hi
59°F
Lo
41°F
Precip (in)
0.45in. -- row 2 --

30
OBSERVED
Hi
48°F
Lo
40°F
Precip (in)
0.01in.

Our first winter storm?

There's a winter storm watch now in effect from Sunday evening through Monday afternoon above 5000'. We live at 4860' and we've had cold and dark grey clouds all day.

The fever and sore throat I had yesterday afternoon subsided in the evening and I slept OK last night, but today I felt tired and didn't get much other than a paper written. I was in no mood to garden, although I pulled the remaining dead corn from the plot and tossed it all in our last home trash pick-up. Since we recycle so much of our trash it takes us a month to fill one 95-gallon bin, yet it costs us the same $67.75 every three months whether we use the service once a month or twice a week. From now on we will drop off our trash at the town's transfer station.

Birds are getting ready for winter. For the past three days they have been fattening up on the seeds I have been laying out for them again, which they all seem to appreciate. One big platter of piled seed is gone by the afternoon, indicative of the cold yet to come.

I hope these storms bring some rain with us. I don't mind the cold, as we are in late fall now, but I want to see more rain fall on our lands to drench the soil. It's depressing to look at naked trees, even more depressing to look at sick and thirsty naked trees. The peaks may get two to four inches of snow. I hope they do!

Colors

Our trees are finally showing some yellow, especially along the northern edges of the trees. Trees in town are even fuller in fall colors. Our crepe myrtle is reddened. Our two mulberry trees, are regrowing leaves!

October Temps

We're back to warm temps!


October
Next Month

Sun


Mon


Tue


Wed


Thu
1
OBSERVED

Hi
89°F
Lo
61°F
Precip (in)
0in.
Fri
2
OBSERVED

Hi
87°F
Lo
53°F
Precip (in)
0in.
Sat
3
OBSERVED

Hi
70°F
Lo
52°F
Precip (in)
0.33in.
-- row 2 --
4

OBSERVED

Hi
83°F
Lo
60°F
Precip (in)
0in. -- row 2 --
5
OBSERVED

Hi
81°F
Lo
62°F
Precip (in)
0in. -- row 2 --
6
OBSERVED

Hi
84°F
Lo
61°F
Precip (in)
0in. -- row 2 --
7
OBSERVED

Hi
82°F
Lo
61°F
Precip (in)
0in. -- row 2 --
8
OBSERVED

Hi
72°F
Lo
52°F
Precip (in)
0in. -- row 2 --
9
OBSERVED

Hi
77°F
Lo
42°F
Precip (in)
0in. -- row 2 --
10
OBSERVED

Hi
80°F
Lo
43°F
Precip (in)
0in.
-- row 2 --
11

OBSERVED

Hi
79°F
Lo
56°F
Precip (in)
0in. -- row 2 --
12
OBSERVED

Hi
84°F
Lo
51°F
Precip (in)
0in. -- row 2 --
13
OBSERVED

Hi
84°F
Lo
60°F
Precip (in)
0in. -- row 2 --
14
OBSERVED

Hi
86°F
Lo
50°F
Precip (in)
0in. -- row 2 --
15
OBSERVED

Hi
88°F
Lo
51°F
Precip (in)
0in. -- row 2 --
16
OBSERVED

Hi
90°F
Lo
53°F
Precip (in)
0in. -- row 2 --
17
OBSERVED

Hi
91°F
Lo
59°F
Precip (in)
0in.
-- row 2 --
18

OBSERVED

Hi
88°F
Lo
61°F
Precip (in)
0.05in. -- row 2 --
19
OBSERVED

Hi
85°F
Lo
61°F
Precip (in)
0.07in. -- row 2 --
20
OBSERVED

Hi
78°F
Lo
52°F
Precip (in)
0in. -- row 2 --
21
OBSERVED

Hi
72°F
Lo
38°F
Precip (in)
0in. -- row 2 --
22
OBSERVED

Hi
78°F
Lo
42°F
Precip (in)
0in. -- row 2 --
23
OBSERVED

Hi
78°F
Lo
43°F
Precip (in)
0in. -- row 2 --
24
OBSERVED

Hi
82°F
Lo
37°F
Precip (in)
0in.
-- row 2 --
25

OBSERVED

Hi
81°F
Lo
46°F
Precip (in)
0in. -- row 2 --
26
OBSERVED

Hi
74°F
Lo
42°F
Precip (in)
0in. -- row 2 --
27
OBSERVED

Hi
81°F
Lo
41°F
Precip (in)
0in. -- row 2 --
28
OBSERVED

Hi
61°F
Lo
32°F
Precip (in)
0in. -- row 2 --
29
OBSERVED

Hi
54°F
Lo
25°F
Precip (in)
0in. -- row 2 --

30
OBSERVED
Hi
61°F
Lo
24°F
Precip (in)
0in. -- row 2
--
31
OBSERVED
Hi
75°F
Lo
31°F
Precip (in)
0in.

NOVEMBER
Sun
1
OBSERVED
Hi
80°F
Lo
32°F
Precip (in)
0in.

Mon
2
OBSERVED
Hi
84°F
Lo
36°F
Precip (in

Strange weather

Our two-day freeze has moved on to points further Northeast. We are back to day-time temps of 70s.

So, that made me assess the garden. The tomato plants that were sickly to begin with died, and I pulled them out. But a few are still hanging on. I brought three plants outside for the freeze; they are back outside on the southside of the home. One of them needs a bigger pot to expand its roots and I'll do that after I wash all the pillbugs from the soil. I enjoy having a tomato plant in my office. Am I the only one who likes the smell of tomato plants?

The high winds blew off most of the large leaves from the Paulownia tree, even though most were still green. Strawberries survived, as well as some peppers. Anything that still is alive will overwinter in the home for four months.

Our frontyard trees are still basically green. They won't show autumn foliage for three more weeks.

One of my mulberry trees shed its leaves but it's now growing new leaves at the tips. The younger tree still has its leaves.

As for the citrus, they too are growing new leaves. They, too will go inside soon.

The front yard still has quite a bit of color in it. I haven't been watering it much, but nothing's died from the frost.

Our first freeze warning

This seems too early in the seaon, but yes, it's cold out! It's hovering right at 32F.

I brought in all my succulents two days ago. Last night after class I brought in a few more citrus but left the bigger pots outside. I hope they are OK. It didn't dip into the 20s so I took a risk.

I have two tomato plants I brought inside, the only two plants that were productive at all. The ones with infected fruit I left to freeze. Too many tomatoes from most plants would go from green to rotten.
...FREEZE WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 9 AM MST THIS MORNING......FREEZE WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 1 AM TO 9 AM MST FRIDAY...THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TUCSON HAS ISSUED A FREEZEWARNING...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 1 AM TO 9 AM MST FRIDAY. AFREEZE WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 9 AM MST THIS MORNING.CLEAR SKIES...LIGHT WINDS AND A VERY DRY AIR MASS WILL LEAD TOWIDESPREAD FREEZING CONDITIONS THIS MORNING. MOST LOCALES ACROSSSANTA CRUZ...COCHISE AND GRAHAM COUNTIES WILL CONTINUE TO FALLINTO THE 20S. EASTERN PORTIONS OF PINAL COUNTY WILL FALL BELOWFREEZING AS WELL. PORTIONS OF THE TUCSON METRO AREA ARE EXPECTEDTO EXPERIENCE NEAR FREEZING TEMPERATURES...PARTICULARLY NEARWASHES AND FOOTHILL LOCATIONS.THIS COLD AIRMASS WILL PERSIST FOR YET ANOTHER MORNING...WITH WIDESPREADFREEZING OR NEAR FREEZING TEMPERATURES EXPECTED FRIDAY.PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...A FREEZE WARNING MEANS SUB-FREEZING TEMPERATURES ARE EXPECTED.THESE TEMPERATURES WILL KILL SENSITIVE CROPS AND VEGETATION.COVER THEM...IF POSSIBLE...WITH CLOTH SHEETS OR BLANKETS TOPROTECT THEM FROM FREEZING.

Winter storm coming soon!

Big drop in temperatures expected for Tucson area
By Brian J. Pedersen
Arizona Daily Star
Tucson, Arizona Published: 10.26.2009

The National Weather Service is projecting a high of 59 degrees at Tucson International Airport for Wednesday, which would be a record low maximum temperature for the day.

The current record “high” low, of 61, was set in 1996.

If Wednesday goes as planned it would be 40 degrees cooler than it was on Oct. 17, when it hit 99 to tie that day’s all-time high.

Thursday’s high at the airport is expected to be 61, a degree warmer than the record “high” low of 60 set in 1961.

Overnight lows of 38 for Thursday morning and 35 on Friday are also a byproduct of the pending storm, which is rolling down from the Pacific Northwest and could bring some showers late Tuesday and early Wednesday, meteorologist Jeff Davis said.

“This storm is going further south than we normally see at this time of year,” Davis said.

http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/hourlyupdate/314850.php

Better cover my strawberries!

Fall colors

Our two trees are still very green but that may change this week as rains from Hurricane Rick reach us from Baja California. We have had neither cool overnights nor the rain to get the autumn colors going in the valley, while in the mountains the peaks are yellow, orange and red.

Right now the orange honeysuckle are blooming. The turpentine shrub is in yellow bloom. Even the purple Mexican sage is finally showing its colors.

Thu
1
OBSERVED

Hi
89°F
Lo
61°F
Precip (in)
0in.
Fri
2
OBSERVED

Hi
87°F
Lo
53°F
Precip (in)
0in.
Sat
3
OBSERVED

Hi
70°F
Lo
52°F
Precip (in)
0.33in.
-- row 2 --
4

OBSERVED

Hi
83°F
Lo
60°F
Precip (in)
0in. -- row 2 --
5
OBSERVED

Hi
81°F
Lo
62°F
Precip (in)
0in. -- row 2 --
6
OBSERVED

Hi
84°F
Lo
61°F
Precip (in)
0in. -- row 2 --
7
OBSERVED

Hi
82°F
Lo
61°F
Precip (in)
0in. -- row 2 --
8
OBSERVED

Hi
72°F
Lo
52°F
Precip (in)
0in. -- row 2 --
9
OBSERVED

Hi
77°F
Lo
42°F
Precip (in)
0in. -- row 2 --
10
OBSERVED

Hi
80°F
Lo
43°F
Precip (in)
0in.
-- row 2 --
11

OBSERVED

Hi
79°F
Lo
56°F
Precip (in)
0in. -- row 2 --
12
OBSERVED

Hi
84°F
Lo
51°F
Precip (in)
0in. -- row 2 --
13
OBSERVED

Hi
84°F
Lo
60°F
Precip (in)
0in. -- row 2 --
14
OBSERVED

Hi
86°F
Lo
50°F
Precip (in)
0in. -- row 2 --
15
OBSERVED

Hi
88°F
Lo
51°F
Precip (in)
0in. -- row 2 --
16
OBSERVED

Hi
90°F
Lo
53°F
Precip (in)
0in. -- row 2 --
17
OBSERVED

Hi
91°F
Lo
59°F
Precip (in)
0in.
-- row 2 --
18

Hi
-
Lo
63°F
Precip
30 %

-- row 2 --
19
Hi
84°F
Lo
62°F
Precip
20 %

-- row 2 --
20
Hi
81°F
Lo
52°F
Precip
10 %

-- row 2 --
21
Hi
79°F
Lo
51°F
Precip
0 %

-- row 2 --
22
Hi
81°F
Lo
53°F
Precip
0 %

-- row 2 --
23
Hi
79°F
Lo
53°F
Precip
0 %

-- row 2 --
24
Hi
82°F
Lo
54°F
Precip
0 %

-- row 2 --
25

Hi
80°F
Lo
53°F
Precip
0 %

-- row 2 --
26
Hi
79°F
Lo
53°F
Precip
0 %

-- row 2 --
27
Hi
77°F
Lo
51°F
Precip
0 %

-- row 2 --
28
AVERAGES
Hi
75°F
Lo
46°F
RECORDS
Hi
86°F
Lo
36°F
-- row 2 --
29
AVERAGES
Hi
75°F
Lo
45°F
RECORDS
Hi
86°F
Lo
30°F
-- row 2 --
30
AVERAGES
Hi
75°F
Lo
45°F
RECORDS
Hi
86°F
Lo
31°F
-- row 2 --
31
AVERAGES
Hi
74°F
Lo
45°F
RECORDS
Hi
82°F
Lo
33°F

monsoon leaves with a whimper

Monsoon leaves with a whimper
Thu, 10/01/2009 - 00:55

Changing leaves signal the beginning of autumn and the end of the monsoon. (Ed Honda•Herald/Review)
By Bill Hess
Herald/Review

SIERRA VISTA — This year’s monsoon was the 11th driest in the 114 years records have been kept, a National Weather Service meteorologist said.

With 4.63 inches of rain in Sierra Vista saw from June 15, the start of the monsoon, through Tuesday, it is an indicator that almost all of Cochise County is below average in precipitation, Ken Drozd said Wednesday.
Generally, the summer rains bring about 8.5 inches of precipitation to the Sierra Vista area, which accounts for more than half of the average yearly rainfall, the meteorologist said.

http://beta.svherald.com/content/news/2009/10/01/monsoon-leaves-whimper

August - September temperatures

A cold front is due mid-week to bring more seasonable weather.


August

Sat
1
OBSERVED
Hi
101°F
Lo
70°F
Precip (in)
0in.
-- row 2 --
2
OBSERVED

Hi
97°F
Lo
72°F
Precip (in)
0.01in. -- row 2 --
3
OBSERVED

Hi
100°F
Lo
68°F
Precip (in)
0in. -- row 2 --
4
OBSERVED

Hi
101°F
Lo
69°F
Precip (in)
0.01in. -- row 2 --
5
OBSERVED

Hi
99°F
Lo
71°F
Precip (in)
0in. -- row 2 --
6

OBSERVED

Hi
97°F
Lo
74°F
Precip (in)
0in. -- row 2 --
7
OBSERVED

Hi
98°F
Lo
68°F
Precip (in)
0in. -- row 2 --
8
OBSERVED

Hi
95°F
Lo
67°F
Precip (in)
0in.
-- row 2 --
9
OBSERVED

Hi
95°F
Lo
63°F
Precip (in)
0in. -- row 2 --
10
OBSERVED

Hi
94°F
Lo
68°F
Precip (in)
0in. -- row 2 --
11
OBSERVED

Hi
96°F
Lo
71°F
Precip (in)
0in. -- row 2 --
12
OBSERVED

Hi
94°F
Lo
68°F
Precip (in)
0.28in. -- row 2 --
13

OBSERVED

Hi
83°F
Lo
66°F
Precip (in)
1.16in. -- row 2 --
14
OBSERVED

Hi
89°F
Lo
66°F
Precip (in)
0in. -- row 2 --
15
OBSERVED

Hi
94°F
Lo
67°F
Precip (in)
0in.
-- row 2 --
16
OBSERVED

Hi
95°F
Lo
67°F
Precip (in)
0in. -- row 2 --
17
OBSERVED

Hi
97°F
Lo
65°F
Precip (in)
0in. -- row 2 --
18
OBSERVED

Hi
98°F
Lo
68°F
Precip (in)
0in. -- row 2 --
19
OBSERVED

Hi
97°F
Lo
68°F
Precip (in)
0in. -- row 2 --
20

OBSERVED

Hi
99°F
Lo
68°F
Precip (in)
0in. -- row 2 --
21
OBSERVED

Hi
96°F
Lo
68°F
Precip (in)
0.10in. -- row 2 --
22
OBSERVED

Hi
86°F
Lo
69°F
Precip (in)
0.08in.
-- row 2 --
23
OBSERVED

Hi
89°F
Lo
64°F
Precip (in)
0.26in. -- row 2 --
24
OBSERVED

Hi
88°F
Lo
65°F
Precip (in)
0.01in. -- row 2 --
25
OBSERVED

Hi
88°F
Lo
66°F
Precip (in)
0in. -- row 2 --
26
OBSERVED

Hi
95°F
Lo
65°F
Precip (in)
0in. -- row 2 --
27

OBSERVED

Hi
95°F
Lo
63°F
Precip (in)
0in. -- row 2 --
28
OBSERVED

Hi
96°F
Lo
67°F
Precip (in)
0in. -- row 2 --
29
OBSERVED

Hi
95°F
Lo
63°F
Precip (in)
0in.
-- row 2 --
30
OBSERVED

Hi
95°F
Lo
64°F
Precip (in)
0in. -- row 2 --

31
OBSERVED
Hi
95°F
Lo
64°F
Precip (in)
0in.


September
Next Month

Sun


Mon


Tue
1
OBSERVED

Hi
93°F
Lo
69°F
Precip (in)
0in.
Wed
2
OBSERVED

Hi
91°F
Lo
68°F
Precip (in)
0in.
Thu
3
OBSERVED

Hi
95°F
Lo
63°F
Precip (in)
0in.
Fri
4

OBSERVED

Hi
90°F
Lo
62°F
Precip (in)
0in.
Sat
5
OBSERVED

Hi
86°F
Lo
64°F
Precip (in)
0in.
-- row 2 --
6
OBSERVED

Hi
90°F
Lo
60°F
Precip (in)
0in. -- row 2 --
7
OBSERVED

Hi
88°F
Lo
62°F
Precip (in)
0in. -- row 2 --
8
OBSERVED

Hi
87°F
Lo
67°F
Precip (in)
0in. -- row 2 --
9
OBSERVED

Hi
91°F
Lo
61°F
Precip (in)
0in. -- row 2 --
10
OBSERVED

Hi
92°F
Lo
63°F
Precip (in)
0in. -- row 2 --
11
OBSERVED

Hi
90°F
Lo
64°F
Precip (in)
0in. -- row 2 --
12

OBSERVED

Hi
83°F
Lo
59°F
Precip (in)
0in.
-- row 2 --
13
OBSERVED

Hi
88°F
Lo
59°F
Precip (in)
0in. -- row 2 --
14
OBSERVED

Hi
90°F
Lo
59°F
Precip (in)
0in. -- row 2 --
15
OBSERVED

Hi
90°F
Lo
64°F
Precip (in)
0in. -- row 2 --
16
OBSERVED

Hi
90°F
Lo
60°F
Precip (in)
0in. -- row 2 --
17
OBSERVED

Hi
89°F
Lo
58°F
Precip (in)
0in. -- row 2 --
18

OBSERVED

Hi
87°F
Lo
61°F
Precip (in)
0in. -- row 2 --
19
OBSERVED

Hi
88°F
Lo
57°F
Precip (in)
0.08in.
-- row 2 --
20
OBSERVED

Hi
89°F
Lo
56°F
Precip (in)
0in. -- row 2 --
21
OBSERVED

Hi
92°F
Lo
59°F
Precip (in)
0in. -- row 2 --
22
OBSERVED

Hi
85°F
Lo
57°F
Precip (in)
0in. -- row 2 --
23
OBSERVED

Hi
83°F
Lo
62°F
Precip (in)
0in. -- row 2 --
24
OBSERVED

Hi
88°F
Lo
52°F
Precip (in)
0in. -- row 2 --
25
OBSERVED

Hi
90°F
Lo
57°F
Precip (in)
0in. -- row 2 --
26

OBSERVED

Hi
93°F
Lo
53°F
Precip (in)
0in.

27
OBSERVED
Hi
94°F
Lo
55°F
Precip (in)
0in. -- row 2 --

Today
Hi
95°F
Lo
64°F
Precip
0 %

-- row 2 --
29
Hi
93°F
Lo
63°F
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Our rain average this month has been 0.08 inches. The average is 1.28"
FORECAST: Updated Sep 28 07:11 a.m. MT

Hydroponics Workshop

Today I attended a free hydroponics workshop in town.

The main instructor was Jeffrey Ofstedahl from the Center for Academic Success, a public charter school in town. He teaches middle-school students science. He kept us all in awe with his enthusiasm.

Jim and Gary from the master Gardeners were also there. I also met a retired colonel who owns 1000 acres of ranchland right on the border. I chatted with him a bit. "Before the border was built we had about 1000 illegals a week. Now it's down to around 300" he said. He feeds his cows only grasses, nothing artificial is added to their diet. During the break he called his ranch to check on a cow that was due to drop her calf today. (She was still pregnant)

I picked up a lot of knowledge today from this workshop. Lunch was provided as well, although it was just a sandwich buffet with fake cheese and bologna; "school lunch food"

We even were given free seeds, and then were encouraged to take more as there were still many packets for the taking. I grabbed some turnips for Kevin and planted spinach when I got home.

The workshop was made possible through a $2,000 environmental education grant to the Nimon S. Hopkins Conservation Education Center from Southwest Wings that provided funding for the materials. Kelly Savage, a spirited woman I recognized from last year's Southwest Wings festival, was the co-instructor today.

My poor garden just looks so dead and dry this season. Kevin doesn't seem to water it daily like he used to. My strawberries are dying and I don't know why; they were still multiplying like crazy two weeks ago! I am still ahead of the game but all these dying plants in the garden look so sickly. We are still getting hot temperatures so we have at least another month of growing weather. http://www.svherald.com/articles/2009/09/27/news/doc4abf24c4c11bd434122976.txt

Northern Arizona's first night of frost this season

Freeze warning for higher elevations in Ariz.

Sept. 22, 2009 07:01 AMAssociated Press

The first day of fall feels more like the first day of winter for some in the mountain West, with light snow in Colorado and freeze warnings for higher elevations in Arizona, New Mexico, Wyoming, Nevada and Utah.
A winter storm watch has been issued Tuesday for Boulder, Colo., and surrounding areas in the Rocky Mountain foothills.

Light snow was reported Monday in Vail and other mountain towns, and more was expected Tuesday. At least 3 inches of snow fell in parts of the foothills west of Denver.

Temperatures in Denver dipped into to the upper 30s overnight, and low 30s in Flagstaff, Ariz.

The cold weather and snow have prompted Colorado's Loveland ski area to turn on its snowmaking machines earlier than planned.
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2009/09/22/20090922AzFreeze22-ON.html

The end of the gardening season

Even though we haven't had any frost yet, the vegetables look pretty dead. The tomatoes and peppers are wilting. The strawberries from last year are already drying up. Only this year's growth is healthy.

Beans are drying up before they can grow pods, same with the peas. I'm not sure what is going on. The only thing we were able to successfully grow this year were the peppers.

The jujube tree in the front yard already lost all its leaves. The quince is still holding strong. The apricots look tired and so does the plum and peach tree. Even the grass is turning yellow. The grass only looked lush green for a week in late July when I returned from my roadtrip.

The small acacias are all growing new leaves and should be fine for another month.

The only thing that is doing well are the root vegetables. Even the potatoes seem to be in hibernation.

It's a Texas Mountain Laurel!

The little sapling is a Texas Mountain Laurel. Two, in fact. And now there's a third sapling growing in the same area that may have to be transplanted. That seed must have been in the soil since last year as I don't remember planting any of those this year. They are not easy to grow, and the spot they are in is a stubborn spot for plants; a small rosebush five years ago died and the spot's been empty since.

The little horned toad that I keep seeing in the front yard had babies. I saw one little baby hop along the perimeter fence yesterday afternoon. I hope the little guy makes it into adulthood.

My tomatoes continue to rot on the vine. Green peppers are ripening, strawberries keep growing new runners and the garden's keeping me busy, but I must say that this year's harvest seems puny compared to last year.

My quine tree's leaves are starting to turn yellow, but so far that's the first sign of autumn approaching. The lantanas are still in bright bloom and spreading nicely. I should have at least one more month of color in the front yard.

I hope we get that rain tomorrow as forecasted. The oleander along the eastern fence are starting to show drought stress.

There's a sapling growing in my front yard!

And, unfortunately, I don't remember what I planted there.

I actually have two saplings coming up in the front yard, in different locations. It's either a mimosa or a palo verde.

I really like my front yard this year. Although I am saddened by the loss of my feathery Lindheineri, I will plant them anew next spring in a different location, some place more isolated so that their graceful stems can flow more freely in the wind.

Agaves, Yuccas and Red Birds of Paradise

My front yard is slowly turning into a drought-tolerant garden. I now have over 13 agaves growing there, most of them year-old offshots of parent plants. Five years ago I had five agaves.

The African daisies are slowly dying off. As perenials they have lived their normal lifespan of four to five years. A few newer plants are still thriving and most likely will go to seed, but I am no longer wishing for more new growth. I feel about African daisies as I do about the coreopsis: they are prettier in someone else's yard.

The garden is clearly in transition, just as I wanted. I don't want petunias or zinnias growing, plants that need more water than the lavender, salvias, lantana, verbena, orange honeysuckle, penstemons and Red and Yellow Birds of Paradise. What is growing there now are all offspring, or young seedlings from fresh seed, most of them strays. I have done little to the front yard this year as far as planting new bushes. (The exception was yesterday's transplanting of agave offshoots) and the natural look seems more attractive, more normal in this high desert. I have the showiest front yard in the street. The red, yellow and orange lantana are getting large enough to demand attention. The black swallowtail butterflies love those flowers.

The desert willow seedling that found a home near the four-year-old mesquite tree is now six inches tall. By the end of the year it will be a foot tall; next year it will be three feet tall. There are also various seedlings from the blue and yellow palo verde showing themselves throughout the gravel. In another five years the front yard will be canopied in various feathery shade shrubs and trees, just as I like it to be.

My one concern is my older yucca. It has brown spots on its older leaves. I've cut off the fungal spots and am keeping an eye out on it for the next year. The yuccca is now about three feet tall and four years old, planted in the spring of 2005 when I was conducting all kinds of experiments in the front yard.

It looks like Hurricane Jimena is going to bring rain this way by the weekend. I hope so, as the Bermuda grass is drying up again.

As for the vegetables, it's been a dismal harvest. Only the green peppers seem to have done well. Tomatoes, squash, carrots are rotting or growing mold before they are ready to be picked. This fall I'm going to do a thorough fertilization and organic treatment of the beds.

Potato aphids

I discovered several stalks of these pesky red bugs on one of my potato plants. I cut the entire stalk down from where the aphids were. The cut stalk went to the garbage dump, and the aphids came to life in the blazing sun. Hahaha those guys had been in the comfortable shade and now they are going to die in the heat like the rest of this garden.

There's a Cat4 hurricane off the Baja California coast. Hopefully in another week we can get some rain off of that one.

Monsoonal rebloom

My yellow palo verde has regrown its leaves. The orange honeysuckle is now in bright orange bloom as well as the Texas sage. Two days of intermittent rain was all it took. Even my potato bush is finally blooming its purple blossoms.

Our Bermuda grass is lush green across the yard.

I volunteered at the county extension office again yesterday for 3.5 hours. It was steady work, from knowing why an apple tree's leaves are curling upward to black spots on cherry leaves or how to determine a ripe watermelon. I probably won't be volunteering as much now that school's back in session.

While I was at the office an elderly woman came by to donate her young fruitless mulberry tree. "I'm sure someone will want to take it home" said Joyce, the UA office manager, and that "someone" was me. Now I have TWO potted mulberries in my front yard. The new one has two cutoff branches. The elderly woman told me she uprooted it because it was growing under a rose bush and her husband had twice cut its branches back. These trees are fast growers and make excellent shade trees, but does our yard have room for one more tree?

The stray willow tree popping up on the west side of the house will be competing with the larger mesquite tree nearby in another five years. If anything, we won't be lacking shade on the southwestern side of the house!

I stopped at KMart after my volunteer shift and bought a bunch of plastic containers for 75% off. Garden stores in town are discounting all their garden ware; something that didn't happen until Labor Day weekend.

The puncture vine is still growing rather profusely in the back yard. Just when I think I've pulled an entire patch of that stuff, new yellow flowers pop up elsewhere. It's a never ending chore!

Today I planted two more small strawberry transplants. That's fine with me because I also picked up four more long planters ideal for the strawberries, from KMart. We are going to be feasting on those luscious fruits next summer. (Well, at least I will be).

Our first decent monsoonal rain

Rain fell hard, as forecasted, late yesterday afternoon. Once the rain started just before sun set, it lingered for hours afterwards. That is why by 7am I was out pulling weeds, then bought three large Thompson seedless vines. Kevin dug the holes, I watered the hole. Tomorrow the grapes will get planted. They are going between two photonias against our northern wall.

More rain is forecasted today and Sunday, but sofar the skies have been clear.

The yellow palo verde is growing new leaves now that it's gotten more rain. I scattered a bunch of palo verde seeds along the eastern perimeter. Just like with my Red Birds of Paradise, if one seed out of 50 germinates, I will be happy.

I'm not planting anything new in the front yard unless it's a stray or from seed.

One of my Engleman prickly pears has Phyllosticta pad spot, which I treated with Neem. I scraped as much of the black "stuff" off. I hope I can save the plant.

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Finally, some rain!

Forecasters were saying rain would return Wednesday. It came early this afternoon instead, just after leaving my shift at the county extension office where I volunteered for four hours (a total of ten hours this year so far).

It rained hard and intensely, but by the time I got home the rain had stopped, leaving small flooded pools around in the back yard. The water barrels were full, too. Although this wasn't enough rain, it's enough to keep the shrubs from going into drought stress. We won't need to spend our own water for a few days.

Hopefully we'll get rain for another month.

Neem II

I finally decided to spray down all the pepper and tomato plants with Neem II, an organic insecticide/fungicide that contains true Neem oil from the Neem tree seeds for prevention as well as pyrethrin to help kill live bugs. I'm tired of seeing my pepper and tomato plants with growing holes in the leaves.

I'm also going to apply insecticide in the soil next spring to control grasshoppers and grubs.

Potatoes and Tomatoes

I just dug up a large handfull of Yukon Golds. It's not as much as I thought I'd get, but perhaps we didn't allow the plants to "pile up" with soil during their growth spurts. There's still time this year to grow more, and that's just what I did with some cut potato skins Kevin had kept aside for planting. In two more months we'll get another harvest. WE still have eight other plants piling up and they should be ready in another month.

The four tomato plants that I planted last week, the two German Queens, one Mr, Stripey and one Beefsteak are all doing much better, thanks to the coffee grounds I placed around the plants. (Their dull light green color when I bought them were an indicator the plants needed nitrogen.)

My Quinalts are multiplying!

My strawberries this year have been very prolific. I ate a cup of berries with my Special K and then helped plant at least six more runners that will be bearing fruit next summer. At the rate the plants have been reproducing, we are going to have four times the plants we started with. I am going to need more planters at this rate!

Strawberries are my favorite fruit. And I am going to focus on the fruits from now on, as the area we picked in the garden for the strawberries apparently is ideal: morning sun and afternoon shade.

Kevin has more turnips and beets coming up. I also planted four spinach plants around the cabbage.

Unfortunately, we still haven't had any decent rains in two weeks. We got a nice overnight drizzle which was nice and kept the grass a little greener this morning. Storm clouds that teased us late this afternoon proved to be just that: a tease.

___


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Seedlings coming up

The echinacea that I planted over a week ago are now sprouting in the front yard. Kevin's turnips and beets in the back yard are also coming up. But otherwise it was a dry and hot weekend, so hot and dry that even the weeds are drying up. This has been such a dry July and August has been dry so far as well.

At 6:30am it's 74F with 56% humidity.

Prickly pear juice

I have a huge prickly pear cactus in my front yard that is encroaching on the public street. I know I need to trim it back three feet this year before someone gets hurts. Since this giant cactus is on my property, I can legally harvest the fruit of this prickly pear without a permit. Otherwise all cactus and succulents are protected under Arizona's Native Plant law, which forbids the harvesting of any cactus or succulent on public lands without a permit. Cactus and succulents on private property can be harvested for its fruit without a permit.

I was waiting for this year's fruit to ripen first, before removing any of the pads. Fruits tend to mature in late July, early August and there were enough dark purple fruit this morning to harvest my first two-gallon bucket of the fruit.

There are plenty of good recipes on-line to follow for prickly pear jellies. I wanted the juice instead, as it's known to be full of anti-oxidants and vitamin C.

I scrubbed the fruit in cold water, using a new scouring pad to remove the small glochids off the skin, those nearly invisible little spines on the fruit that easily get dislodged in skin and clothing.

Then I soaked the fruit for 30 minutes, and then peeled the skins off each fruit one-by one. The skins were about 1/3-inch thick, often half the fruit's size, and once the skin was removed, revealed small pulps of thick seed masses encased in magenta pulp. By the time all the fruit were skinned, there was very little of the fruit there. The fruit reminded me of a pomegranate: more seeds than flesh!

I dumped all the skinned fruit into my blender and pressed the "liquify" button. Within a few minutes I had a tasty mass of pulpy juice, leaving the heavy seeds, another 1/3 of the fruit, to through out in the front yard. By the time I was done I had two 12-ounce glasses of fruit juice, which I sweetened with a tablespoon of sugar and a dash of lemon juice.

The juice tasted like cranberry laced with water mellon.

In two weeks the rest of the fruit will be harvestable and once again I'll make some juice. Or maybe I'll try my luck at making some jellies? I now have found a tasty and easy recipe for the prickly pear in my front yard. It's no longer a nuisance weed, but a plant that brings me tasty tart juice.

July temps

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Blooms

Despite the hot and dry weather lately, with the monsoon taking an extended week or two off, blooms are popping up in the garden.

My tecoma stans are showing its first yellow bells. My crape myrtle is growing red buds. And the bottlebrush shrub once again is in red bloom. Only my Mexican sage is bloomless and below its normal growth rate. Perhaps it is not getting enough sun?

The treatment on the cactus bugs yesterday morning seems to have worked. I checked on the beavertail cactus several times yesterday and after applying the fly-mosquito repellent saw only two more bugs on any pads for the rest of the day.

I also noted a few more red and yellow Mexican birds of Paradise popping up around the property. I am going to let them all grow in place. In ten years the front yard will be a shady area where both of us are going to sit and watch time go by. Several of the agave are also growing pups. With each passing year I'm spending less and less on plants for the landscape because enough plants are reproducing on their own. That's how I like it to be.

Bugs

The monsoon's taken a bit of a break this week. It was over 100F again yesterday and even I was suffering with the dogs.

But this lack of rain also is keeping the bugs away, sort of. This morning, however, I noticed that my beaver cactus was infected with the cactus bug Chelinidea vittiger aequoris. Most of the pads are already showing lighter circular spots on the cactus joints (pads), something I noted before I went on my road trip but never saw any bugs or insects on them. I sprayed the cactus down with my garden hose set on jetspray, the bugs returned, and then applied a fly/mosquito repellent containing Permethrin on the infected pads. That seems to have slowed down the wet bugs but I know that's not the best defense. I may have to remove the severely-infected pads to prevent the disease that's causing the discoloration from spreading. What a shame, as the cactus showed phenomenal growth this year whereas the other cactus still has its two pads from last year without new growth this year.

http://entomology.ifas.ufl.edu/creatures/beneficial/c_v_aequoris01.htm

I also transplanted my Iraqi acacia into a larger pot, removed the stray Texas mountain laurel (reluctantly, but otherwise the additional root growth would have sacrificed one of the plants).

The monsoon has taken a break this year. Things are starting to wilt in the garden without additional water. It's already 82F at 8am with 45%. We may get a sprinkle...

County Extension office

Yesterday morning I stopped by the county extension office to volunteer for two hours as a Master Gardener. It felt so good to be back, and Joyce, the manager there, was also happy.

"It's so good for you to stop by!" said Joyce. I really like the people who work in that office, and I also really like learning more about gardening. I would love to take horticultural classes at the county college but they are only offered to the prison inmates out in Douglas.

There are only two full-time volunteers there Tuesdays and Wednesdays. I will try to put in one day a week there, preferably Mondays, to help with the backlog. People were leaving messages a week ago that no one got to! Other callers were hard to get back to, wouldn't answer, or the phone numbers didn't work.

I answered a question about tree suckers and health of Navajo Globe willows before my old mentor, Jim, came in for his 1pm shift.

Cleaning up the back yard

Kevin started cleaning the patio at 7am, two hours ago. "Gotta do it while it's still cool" he said. He's still working back there. I seldom see him so diligently.

I will start on planting more Bermuda grass seeds where the boards have for months killed off the weedy growth underneath. There are still too many bald spots in the yard that should have filled in with new grass growth.

The orange honeysuckle that I transplanted two days ago seems to have taken; it's not showing any wilt. The seedless mulberry tree, however, may have suffered from taproot damage when I moved the pot and noticed that six inches of tap root had snaked through the drainage hole on the bottom and grown into the soil. I had to move that pot because it's too close to the house and that tree could potentially grow into a large tree.

I also transplanted four strawberry offshots from two mother plants. At this rate next year's yield will double. I still have berries growing on the Quinalts.

The lime tree in the front, in its small black five-gallon pot, got added soil to its pot. That should help the little guy grow a little better.

Harvest

Kevin uprooted all his mature turnips and beets: an entire five-gallon bucket full of the treats! He planted new seeds in its place. Turnips and beets are best left in the soil until ready to eat, at least for a month or so after pulling.

I planted new Alysseum seeds where the Lindheimeri grew for four years.

More and more weeds are getting pulled, now that more of them are flowering and easier to pull in the moist soil. More rain is due today, which means more weeding tomorrow. Fun.

It's time I transplant my Iraqi Acacia into a larger pot; it's starting to grow out of its five-gallon confinement.

I threw a bunch of yellow palo verde along our eastern fence. If one out of 20 sprouts, I'll be happy. Our eastern boundary tends to get neglected.

Echinacea

I pulled out the dead pineapple sage plants from last year and planted echinacea seeds there. They should hopefully sprout in about three weeks. Those plants are such robust and pretty flowers.

It looks like half of my beloved sinewy plants died this year, so I pulled out the dead plants. They had lived four years, standard for perennials.

I used up all the harvested water to water the garden beds, as they were infested with mosquito larvae. Dug up five Russet potatoes (enough for one meal!).

Pulled a 30-gallon bin full of weeds this morning. There were so many weeds growing south of the shed!

Also planted a regrowth from the orange honeysuckle that had rerooted a second plant I didn't see when I inadvertently pulled out what I thought was one long, dead stalk.

Planted five more bean stalks from seed from dead plants.

Set two Quinalt strawberry plants so that they can grow into their own plants. I may have to get more planters for the strawberries. They are doing so greatly where they are growing now under the Palownia trees.

More rains are forecasted for later today. It's currently 86F at 34% humidity.

El Nino?

http://www.svherald.com/articles/2009/07/23/news/doc4a680d04da311711223310.txt
We finally had some decent rains yesterday afternoon!

Weather patterns raise possibility of El Niño
By Derek JordanHerald/Review

Published: Thursday, July 23, 2009 3:19 AM MST

SIERRA VISTA — Showers such as Wednesday’s estimated maximum of 2 inches of rainfall will be less likely as the week progresses, a meteorologist said. But unusual weather could be in store for some time.The chances of significant precipitation will fall to 20 percent by the weekend, compared with the estimated 50 percent chance Wednesday, said Steven Reedy of the National Weather Service.

“This monsoon has been a little weird. We’re starting to see now what we were expecting in late June, early July,” he said. “In June, we were far more active than what we’d anticipated.”

Chatter around the National Weather Service office has raised a possibility: “The onset of El Niño is being looked at as a possibility of explaining the weather,” he said.

Warming surface waters of the Pacific have been singled out as the cause of past major weather events.The National Weather Service has measured surface water temperatures to be “about, on average, 1 to 2 degrees above normal,” Reedy said. That rise would be enough to cause the changes we’re seeing, he said.If El Niño does turn out to be in effect, we may have a wet winter.

“If this is a result of the El Niño, it may stifle some of the remaining precipitation for the rest of the monsoon, but it may help out in the winter,” he said.

Two months later...

I got back from my two-month road trip yesterday morning, fearing for a disastrous garden. But this time I was pleasantly surprised: Kevin had taking over the responsibility of watering the garden quite well!

There were a few casualties, though. The more northern Fuji Apple tree died, as well as my Turkey fig tree. There weren't as many tomatoes as I had hoped, although we do have a few large Beef Eaters ready for picking. All the apricots had been eaten by the birds but there were blueberries and strawberries ready!

And I'm amazed at how many BIG peppers we got this year, bigger than last year. Perhaps they need deep pots after all, as all the large fruit are in five-gallon pots. We will definitely overwinter those potted plants for next year!

Weeds weren't so bad, either. I only had to pull out one Russian thistle (tumbleweed) and a few young desert brooms. The rest are small weeds that I can pull a little every day unless they go to flower. My attention will be to pull out the Johnson Love grass growing everywhere. That stuff is as persistent as a Muslim insurgent.

We hadn't had the rain like we did last year. The Burmuda grass grew in nicely but there are still patchy areas that need special attention. I will focus on that this week, so that grass can grow there before the season ends.

Kevin harvested some of the Russet potatoes. Some were grape size, which I told him where best left in the soil for regrowth. It looks like some of the plants are ready for harvesting.

"Those potato plants were so beautiful when they were in bloom" said Kevin. I'm sorry I missed that.

My Quinalt strawberries are doing very, very well. Some have already multiplied, which means next year the older plants will bear fruit. Those plants do like shade and deep soil.

"I really like those turnips and beets!" said Kevin. Those are his favorite. But next to the turnips is a naked area, eaten away by large grubs that the thrashers (birds) had been digging after. They left their burying holes quite visibly in the open. What I don't want is another infestation of beetles in August like last year.

Corn is ready for harvest. So are some beans.

As for the front yard, things are looking good. The Jujube tree has fruit and it indeed does taste like dates. Perhaps I'll plant the Jujube where the fig tree once grew.

Some of the heliopsis have died (yeah!) and I already pulled out the dead ones. I'm not sure what I want to plant in their place instead; I haven't spent a lot of money on new plants for the front yard this year, knowing I was going to be gone this summer. I do like sage and lavender, though.

The mulberry tree is growing nicely in the pot on the southside. I may transplant that tree next spring somewhere in the garden. The mesquite tree is looking great and so is the smaller yellow palo verde, an offshoot of its mother plant that now is bearing seed pods.

The blue palo verde, ever the rebel tree in the front yard, FINALLY realized it needs to grow UP rather than out like a shrub. That tree may just be the front yard's center piece in a few years.

The Argentinian saguaro under the larger tree is about three feet tall now. Its sibling under the other tree hasn't grown as fast.

Where's the rain?

Soon the monsoon? Summer rains fall behind the average
By Dana ColeHerald/Review
Published: Tuesday, July 21, 2009 11:34 AM MST
SIERRA VISTA — The area monsoon period has been a little stingy this year.The summer rains, which run from June 15 through Sept. 30, average 8.53 inches for that four-month period, said Jeff Davis, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Tucson.“Sierra Vista has had 1 inch of rain from June 15 through July 19,” the meteorologist said, “but the normal for that time frame is 1.93. So we’re off by 0.93 inches as of July 19.”

http://www.svherald.com/articles/2009/07/21/news/doc4a656ee22ce82432727275.txt

June temps

June
Next Month

Sun


Mon
1
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51°F
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66°F
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63°F
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Sun, 7 June
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8
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63°F
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14
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63°F
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21
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72°F
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66°F
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67°F
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Hi
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72°F
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23
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74°

May temps

May

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87°F
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49°F
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86°F
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55°F
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11
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52°F
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12
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0.11in. -- row 2 --
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54°F
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30
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91°F
Lo
61°F
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0in.

31
OBSERVED
Hi
90°F
Lo
49°F
Precip (in)
0in.

Kevin's taking over the garden chores

while I go on a two-month roadtrip with Sadie. He's really gotten passionate about growing edibles. We are going to have potatoes, beets, carrots, peppers and tomatoes out of our ears this August!

The honeysuckle is no longer in bloom and neither is the bottlebrush. But the blue palo verde is finally growing a few yellow blooms and some leaves. FINALLY! After four years in the soil the little stump of a tree is finally showing a will to grow up.

Green peppers

Seeds that I planted early last month in the front containers are now sprouting. At this rate we are going to get swamped with peppers of all varieties.

The heat is wilting the plants, though. We are having dry heat in the upper 90s.

Kevin, though, has really gotten into his vegetable garden. What a change over last year.

Strawberries!

I picked a handful of strawberries tonight.

More Yukon potatoes are coming up.

Kevin planted more tomatoes and peppers today. I have now let him do all the planting since I'm not going to be around this summer to harvest anything.

The Heliopsis in the front yard are now breaking out in yellow bloom. They are such prolific re-seeders. Some of the flowers have sprouted in areas I didn't think they would do well in. The Cleveland sage is also doing well.

I planted an agave on Sunday in the front yard, replacing the yellow broom that had died. This agave had five outsets growing from the main root ball which I also planted in another pot. I may soon have too many agave growing in the yard!

Fri
1

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49°F
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0in.
Sat
2
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55°F
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-- row 2 --
3
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52°F
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0in. -- row 2 --
4
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51°F
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April temperatures

I planted eight potato seeds yesterday, four peppers today and it looks like a bunch of beets, carrots and corn are coming up. It's going to heat up starting Sunday, with nightime lows approaching 60F.


April

Wed
1
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39°F
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Thu
2
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75°F
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41°F
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Fri
3
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76°F
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46°F
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Sat
4
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70°F
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47°F
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-- row 2 --

5
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71°F
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33°F
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6
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76°F
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54°F
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7
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16
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30
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89°F
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46°F
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0in.

Strawberries!

I took two of last year's offspring and planted them in the old ammo box where a few days ago two younger strawberry plants somehow dried up. While doing so, I noticed that last year's plants have produced a few red fruit. YAY! That means I'll have enough fruit for tomorrow's cereal!


Kevin was busy the rest of the day clearing out the garden beds, planting more beets and turnips in straight rows and spreading steer manure. I can leave next month and know the gardens won't dry up. He's turned into a real farmer with little instruction on my part.

Kevin wants more potato plants, I want more strawberry plants. Can we find a middle ground? The Quinalt strawberries seem quite happy in foot-deep, crowded pots. Another thing we want to do is plant more green peppers. We use four a week; that would mean another 50 plants to satisfy our needs. Do we have the space for another row of potted plants? The peppers that were potted last year and which overwintered in the house thrived and grew new fruit faster than this year's plants.

Things are really growing now.

The Palo Verde now sports yellow blossoms. The mesquite has catkins. The Cleveland sage has one purple flower. The purple sage is really getting taller and bloomier.

The honeysuckle is in bloom.

Kevin stayed home today while I hiked with some friends. He planted beets and turnips and harvested the old ones. He planted Contender beans and some tomato seeds.

The temperatures are slowly getting warmer again. That is good, for at least the tomatoes will start growing.

Planted more blue sage

I threw a pack of Meadow sage (Salvia nemorous) seeds in the front yard where last year the pineapple sage grew.

Looks like there's another sumac tree growing on our west side, near the palm tree.

My pride and joy still are the mesquite and palo verde in the front yard. Both are growing into prime specimens.

Red sage continues to grow as well. The flowersa re attracting a few hummingbirds. Cutter bees swarm into these shrubs in the morning.

We had a mild overnight free Tuesday night over Wednesday morning which killed some of the tomato plants. The big boy hybrid lost all its leaves but the stem is still alive. The only tomato that wasn't affected is the determinate Roma tomato. Some of the green beans froze, too.

The big hit lately are potatoes. With some care we may get a nice crop later this year as long as the plants remain in the shade of the palownia. The oldest box of potato plants is just too crowded, but it's too late to weed out the weaker plants. I also planted four strawberries in two old ammo boxes. Three of them looked frost-bitten but there is still life in the stems.

My pepper plants from last year are now growing new fruit! They are growing them faster than this year's new crop of sweet peppers.

More wind!

Boy, this is getting old. My quince tree was knocked over again when I got home. I let it on the ground, knowing it will get knocked over again as long as these winds howl.

Cochise County to see high winds on Wednesday afternoon, weather service says
Published/Last Modified on Wednesday, Apr 15, 2009 - 11:05:33 am MST

SIERRA VISTA — Cochise County is under a high wind warning starting at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service.

The warning is scheduled to be in effect until 8 p.m.Winds between 30 and 40 mph and gusts of more than 58 mph are forecast for portions of Cochise County, the weather service said. Cochise County also is under a red flag warning, which is in effect when strong winds combine with low humidity levels to produce an increased fire danger.

Blowing dust is possible this afternoon and evening, the weather service said.For more on the weather, go online to http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/twc/.

My Peach Tree

I planted my peach tree last spring to replace another peach tree that had died in the same location. This peach tree survived 18 months of neglect while I was in Iraq. It survived getting rain water that came down from the roof and was protected by the northwall of the house.

It did well last summer but somehow the main leader died over winter. I now have several foot-long shooters coming off the root ball and one such branch is now bearing two small immature peaches!

I cut down the dead leader which seems to have made the runners go stronger. I will leave this peach "bush" as is for a few years and then prune off the weaker branches. It's going to be a weird-looking tree but it wants to live and so I'll let it.

The fruitless mulberry tree that I transplanted from the front yard, growing in a not-so-ideal location under a pre-existing tree (which I will remove next summer as it's slowly dying). This little tree has already grown a foot this spring and now stands nearly three feet tall. This tree may be the one to replace the tree it grew under last year. As a mature tree it will provide excellent shade for birds and other plants.

I enjoy seeing my garden go into transition. But like any living garden, the dynamics change from year to year. In 20 years the front yard will mostly be a shady area, a place to relax and enjoy the mountain view from the Adirondack chairs.

Bees and Butterflies

Wow, let some rain fall and all blooms break out!

I did my daily walk around the garden to look for weeds and pests and what I mostly saw were bees in my fireplant (perhaps the same ones that just a week ago were finishing up the rosemary bush?), black swallowtails on my bottlebrush bush, a flycatcher in my photinia shrubs with what looked like nesting material in its beek and a dusgustingly large four-inch brown pupae of the tomato hornworm in one of the plant boxes I was cleaning out.

I planted some green pepper seeds, seeds that I collected last June. I also pulled out three dead pepper plants from last year's crop. I am still working on broadcasting seeds in that new gardenbed; what will grow will grow. I'd like to have more pepper plants this year as we seem to eat a lot of peppers. What we need are consistently warm nighttime temperatures to get all the seeds growing at once. I only have four tomato plants (out of ten planted two weeks ago) still growing.

Planting corn

About 30 kernels of corn that had sat in some water from yesterday's rain were planted today. I don't know if they will all germinate, but it doesn't hurt to try.

It was noticably cooler today, a mere 38F at 7am.

My ocotillo has three red blooms coming up, although most stalks are still barren. Other ocotillos in the neighborhood are already in full leaves.

We didn't get much rain yesterday. Nonetheless, I didn't do any watering today. I'll save the water for later this week when 80Fs will return.

My farmer husband

Kevin, bless his heart, is not a gardener. All the garden work is strictly my responsibility. Granted, there are times his manly strength is welcome, like when he built the raised garden beds last summer or helped dig deep holes for some grape vine plants.

Kevin avoids anything that flowers, but when it comes to growing foods, he is right there in the garden with me.

"I only grow things I can eat!" he told me last year, adding that "I am a farmer, not a gardener."

So it was no real surprise when I talked to him last week about successful potato propagation: cut a tuber with eyes into one-inch cubes. Let these cubes dry out overnight, then plant in rich soil. Voila! New shoots will soon surface. The tubers will be harvestable once the plant dries out. Dig up the tubers, then save one tuber for the next crop and the cycle repeats itself.

Here in Arizona the trick with potatoes is to provide them partial shade during the day as potatoes do prefer cooler weather. Heat makes the plant dry up prematurely, or before big tubers can develop.

I have a box in the backyard with potato plants. I have what looks like eight plants growing from what was one cut potato a month ago. A used glass shower door leaning against the box keeps Sadie from digging in the dirt, or Vinnie from pooping in the soil. (I'll remove the glass when the plants get big enough). For really big tubers a 30-gallon tin garbage pail can be used as the bucket, with air holes drilled in the sides.

A few days ago I saw two more potatoes drying on the kitchen windowsill. Apparently Kevin wants to grow more taters! Which means I should get a few more boxes ready and place them strategically in the back yard near the pawlownia that will provide plenty of shade for the taters, blueberry bushes and strawberries.

Kevin has made it clear: he wants a continuous crop of potatoes, tomatoes, peppers and beets, all vegetables he buys the most often. Toms and Peps are hard to grow here year-round unless they are in a greenhouse (hint hint hint) but I did ok with the tats and strawberries as long as they were covered up with mulch during the coldest months. The pot of green peppers from last year survived the winter inside and is now flowering outside! Although some of the stalks are dead, the majority of the plants did live. They aren't as lush as this year's peppers but as long as they produce new edible crops, why bother with aesthetics?

Kevin has made so much progress helping me in the vegetable garden. Now that he's seen success and eaten beets and squash from his own garden, he helps out and listens to me when I show him how to do things right. I'm sure he will do just fine on his own this summer when I am away. He's even promised me he'll water my citrus trees in the front yard.

My nectarine trees are full of fruit this year. I am so delighted!!! Although I lost a few young fruit from the winds recently (more winds are due later today), the fruit growing this year is the best potential crop yet. The trees are approximately seven or eight years old (planted in the summer of 2005 when they were approx two years old). Most fruit trees take 4-5 years to even begin growing fruit, so these guys are a little late in maturing, but better late than never.

I have a nice amount of Contender beans coming up now, and even more snow peas. But the tomatoes are still stubborn and I blame that on the wide fluctuations of nighttime temperatures. Tomatoes are hard to grow when it gets below 55F at night; they need continuous warm soil to thrive.

One thing I would really enjoy is having a small strawberry patch. I have a location in the backyard in mind: the northwest corner of our house! The Quinalt variety has been very prolific and should bare fruit later this summer. Strawberries, potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, beans, peas, beets, spinach and cabbage seem to be our best bets. I'm hesitant to try corn again this year, but Kevin is anxious.

I have a wild mint planting growing on our north side. Too bad it's growing right by the sewage hole!