Apple blossoms

The mesquite also has catkins now.

There may even be some life in the little crepe myrtle afterall.

But now I wish more of the tomatoes would just take off and grow! The cooler weather this week seems to have weakened them all.

Gone for three days and more stuff is blooming

The pint-sized tomatoes all survived 2.5 days of neglect.

The smaller tree has its leaves out.

The mesquite's leaves are sprouting.

African daisies are now in purple bloom as well as the smaller purple dot flowers.

It's very windy on this late afternoon.

_______
http://www.svherald.com/articles/2009/03/22/news/doc49c5e54d79a97914348252.txt

Windy, fire conditions likely in county today
Published: Sunday, March 22, 2009 2:15 AM MST

SIERRA VISTA — Cochise County is under a fire weather watch today, according to the National Weather Service.
The watch comes as a low pressure system moves into Arizona, bringing cooler temperatures and possibly strong, gusty winds, the weather service said.
The fire weather watch was issued on Friday.
The weather service says that low humidities and strong winds are expected and may produce fire weather conditions.
The weather service is forecasting winds of 20 to 30 mph today, with gusts of up to 45 mph beginning late this morning and going through the evening hours.
The minimum relative humidity during that time will be 10 to 15 percent, which, when combined with the strong winds, causes red flag conditions, the weather service said.

Planting more corn

The large 6x14' garden bed is now complete. After 4 cu ft added to the bed's soil yesterday I planted white corn. That will mature in 93 days. I'm sure something else will start growing there from the compost as well, like Husky Cherry red tomatoes and a few butternut squash plants.

It's hitting the upper 80s now. The tomatoes are loving this.

TodayMar 19
Mostly Sunny
84°54°
0%

84°F
FriMar 20
Mostly Cloudy
78°51°
10%

78°F
SatMar 21
Mostly Sunny
77°49°
0%

77°F
SunMar 22
Mostly Sunny / Wind
75°42°
0%

75°F
MonMar 23
Sunny
64°39°
0%

64°F
TueMar 24
Sunny
69°42°
0%

69°F
WedMar 25
Sunny
73°45°
0%

73°F
ThuMar 26
Mostly Sunny
75°47°
0%

75°F
FriMar 27
Sunny
76°48°
0%

76°F
SatMar 28
Sunny
79°46°
0%

79°F

Solarizing the back yard

A few weeks ago I put down a double sheet of clear painter's plastic on part of the back yard that looked especially weedy, with pesky storkbill's growing in great density. The idea behind this was to "burn" the weeds and to re-seed with Bermuda, the dominant grass in the yard. I watered that part of the lawn to create greater humidity underneath the plastic, then held everything down with large rocks to keep the plastic from blowing.

Instead, the grass underneath the plastic grew intensely green and lush! I pulled the plastic aside and saw a nice green patch of Bermuda. Now the green patch stands out from the otherwise still dormant Bermuda grass.

But this gave me another idea: I simply moved the double plastic to another patch of the yard. Hopefully this will green the back yard earlier than monsoonal rains could.

A slight rain fell this afternoon

I was in the garden planting Contender beans and fixing some of the 4x4 beds when two small drizzles fell. It wasn't much but it got the top soil wet enough.

___

Chance of rain continues through Saturday night
Published: Saturday, March 14, 2009 1:54 PM MST

SIERRA VISTA — Cochise County is seeing a gray Saturday, and rainfall and cloud cover are likely into the night.A trace of rain was measured at Libby Army Airfield through 1 p.m. on Saturday.

The National Weather Service said isolated showers and thunderstorms were possible through Saturday night.In Sierra Vista and Bisbee, the chance of rain in the afternoon is 20 percent. The chance of rain Saturday night would then rise to 30 percent, with isolated showers possible between 8 and 11 p.m.

Sunny weather is forecast again on Sunday.

On the Net• National Weather Service’s Tucson office: http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/twc/

My first frost casualties

My yellow palo verde is finally growing new leaves and so is its offspring. The mesquite is still baren.

The one plant that doesn't seem to be alive is my Sweet Broom, or Cytisus spachianus. It should have had some new growth by now as the rest of the front yard is turning lush green.

Two of the three pineapple sages are also dead, as well as two acacias. Sofar, the death toll isn't too bad as I always plant more than needed knowing there is usually a 20% death rate for new growth. I don't plan on replacing the dead plants with the same species.


March
Next Month


Sun
1
Hi
76°F
Lo
40°F
Precip (in)
0in.

Mon
2
Hi
84°F
Lo
44°F
Precip (in)
0in.

Tue
3
Hi
83°F
Lo
52°F
Precip (in)
0in.

Wed
4
Hi
80°F
Lo
54°F
Precip (in)
0in.

Thu
5
Hi
76°F
Lo
53°F
Precip (in)
0in.

Fri
6
Hi
72°F
Lo
54°F
Precip (in)
0in.

Sat
7
Hi
67°F
Lo
43°F
Precip (in)
0in.


8
Hi
68°F
Lo
39°F
Precip (in)
0.16in. -- row 2 --

9
Hi
64°F
Lo
44°F
Precip (in)
0.01in. -- row 2 --

10
Hi
65°F
Lo
41°F
Precip (in)
0in. -- row 2 --

11
Hi
70°F
Lo
42°F
Precip (in) 0in

12
Hi
70°F
Lo
42°F
Precip (in)
0in. -- row 2 --

13
Hi
64°F
Lo
40°F
Precip (in)
0in.

More growth

The Pawlowinia is now in purple bloom but many of the flowers were blown off over the weekend.

Sadie managed to get into a fresh bag of bloodmeal and had the leftovers strewn in the backyard.

Contender green beans are sprouting. So is more corn.

One of the red salvias in the front yard is now in red bloom.

The smaller of the two trees in the front yard has partial bloom on its canopies. The rest of the tree is still looking either dead or dormant. Next year that tree will be cut down and one of my fruit trees will take its place. The bark of the sick tree continues to crack and now the trunk is looking rotted.

I seem to have backyard weeds under control. The wet soil yesterday allowed me to pull what remainin storkbills I had from blooming. The patches of dirt should grow into lush Bermuda grass in a few more months.

I just hope we don't have the beetle infestation we had last year.

RAIN!!!

The "30% chance of rain" became reality overnight. YAY! This is our first rain for the year.

Today: Showers early, then partly cloudy by the afternoon. High 64F. Winds SW at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 40%.
Tonight: Partly cloudy skies. Low 43F. Winds SW at 10 to 20 mph.
Tomorrow: Sunny skies. High 68F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph.
Tomorrow night: Clear skies. Low 42F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph.
Wednesday: Mainly sunny. Highs in the low 70s and lows in the mid 40s.
Thursday: Mostly cloudy. Highs in the low 70s and lows in the mid 40s.
Friday: Mix of sun and clouds. Highs in the low 70s and lows in the mid 40s.

Windy!

It started getting windy yesterday afternoon. Walking the dogs was fun as the sand blew! It continued to howl overnight until sunrise, then it calmed down for a few hours. The wind is now picking up again.

The rain clouds that menaced us most of the day yesterday were mere teasers. We got nothing, but rain fell over northern AZ and northern NM and Colorado, places that are in more of a drought than we are. For now, at least...

The lemon tree in the back yard lost all its leaves from the wind. The Rio Red grapefruit in the front yard lost all its blooms but is now regrowing new shoots, and hopefully new blooms.

I transplanted the Quince and Jujube trees into my Mexican pots. Its roots were already growing out of the plastic one-gallon pot. The quince will go into the soil this summer during the monsoon. Its leaves are coming out nicely now. The jujube's buds are popping out as well.

I also planted six Rutger's tomatoes across the back yard's 4x4s. I accidentally broke a branch off the plum tree with a hose.

Four corn seedlings are growing in the compost pile. Some of the beans are sprouting as well. I tore out two cabbage plants that were badly infested with cabbage beetle eggs.

The mayberry seeding now has its own pot: the old pine box in the front.

Both of the YBoP are budding. The smaller tree in the front yard is now finally budding.

I'm still working on building the new plant section for corn, using recycled soil for the base.

Planted all the dried tomatoes that were in the kitchen. Hopefully we'll have new cherry tomaotes.

The potato plant is finally shooting up new buds...for the third time. Hopefully I can have this plant grow and keep Sadie and Vinnie away.

___

Mar 7 Today
Windy with a mix of clouds and sun. High 68F. Winds W at 25 to 35 mph.
Mar 7 Tonight
Mainly clear skies. Low 42F. Winds SSW at 10 to 15 mph.
Mar 8 Tomorrow
Partly to mostly cloudy and windy. High around 70F. Winds SSW at 15 to 25 mph.
Mar 8 Tomorrow night
A few clouds. Low around 45F. Winds SW at 10 to 20 mph.
Mar 9 Monday
Windy with a mix of sun and clouds. Highs in the upper 60s and lows in the mid 40s.
Mar 10 Tuesday
Mix of sun and clouds. Highs in the low 70s and lows in the low 40s.
Mar 11 Wednesday
More sun than clouds. Highs in the low 70s and lows in the mid 40s.
Mar 12 Thursday
Plenty of sun. Highs in the low 70s and lows in the mid 40s.
Mar 13 Friday
Mix of sun and clouds. Highs in the low 70s and lows in the upper 40s.
Mar 14 Saturday
Mostly sunny. Highs in the mid 70s and lows in the upper 40s.
Mar 15 Sunday
Plenty of sun. Highs in the low 70s and lows in the mid 40s.
Mar 16 Monday
Showers possible. Highs in the low 70s and lows in the mid 40s.

Pruning roses

It was that time of year again: pruning the eastside rosebushes. I hate pruning roses! But the bushes have mildew and nothing I've done has taken care of it. Eventually the bushes must go. I'll let more native plants like lantana grow along the east side of the house. One plant's already pushing its way out.

The western tree up front is now growing leaves. The more eastern kin, however, as usual is still baren.

PArts of my Bermuda grass is also coming back. If it stays this warm through March I'm going to have a green yard again...IF I water it. I doubt that will happen. I found a misting leak in a water pipe earlier today while watering the seedlings.

I do fear a severe drought this year, let along wild fires.

http://www.climas.arizona.edu/forecasts/feb2009figs/01_temp_cond.html

http://www.climas.arizona.edu/forecasts/feb2009figs/03_drought_monitor.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/03/nyregion/03storm.html?ref=nyregion

___

Figure 1. Recent Temperature Conditions (up to 2/18/09) Source: Western Regional Climate Center, High Plains Regional Climate Center
Temperatures since the beginning of the 2009 water year on October 1 have averaged between 35 and 45 degrees Fahrenheit across northeastern Arizona and the northern half of New Mexico (Figure 1a). In the highest elevations, temperatures have been between 25 and 35 degrees F. Southern and much of eastern New Mexico has been between 45 and 55 degrees, while average temperatures across southern and southwestern Arizona have ranged from 50 to 65 degrees. These temperatures generally have been 1 to 3 degrees above average for the water year across both states (Figure 1b). New Mexico has had some areas with temperatures 1 to more than 5 degrees above average near Silver City in the southwest and in the northeast corner of the state. Arizona has a small area with temperatures as much as 3 degrees F colder than average in the west-central counties.
The past 30 days have brought colder-than-average temperatures to western Arizona and warmer-than-average temperatures to eastern New Mexico (Figures 1c–d). Western Arizona has been as much as 4 degrees colder than average, while eastern New Mexico has been 2 to 4 degrees warmer than average. Eastern Arizona and western New Mexico have been about 2 degrees warmer than average. The east-west temperature gradient during the past 30 days is due to the location of a persistent high pressure system over New Mexico that has steered the winter storms around New Mexico and eastern Arizona.
Notes: The water year begins on October 1 and ends on September 30 of the following year. Water year is more commonly used in association with precipitation; water year temperature can be used to measure the temperatures associated with the hydrological activity during the water year.Average refers to the arithmetic mean of annual data from 1971–2000. Departure from average temperature is calculated by subtracting current data from the average. The result can be positive or negative. The continuous color maps (Figures 1a, 1b, 1c) are derived by taking measurements at individual meteorological stations and mathematically interpolating (estimating) values between known data points. The dots in Figure 1d show data values for individual stations. Interpolation procedures can cause aberrant values in data-sparse regions. These are experimental products from the High Plains Regional Climate Center.
More Information:For the most recent versions these and maps of other climate variables, visit:http://www.hprcc.unl.edu/maps/current/ (High Plains Regional Climate Center).
For information on temperature and precipitation trends, visit: http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/trndtext.shtml (NOAA Climate Prediction Center).
For a list of Arizona weather stations, visit: http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/summary/climsmaz.html (Western Regional Climate Center).
For a list of New Mexico weather stations, visit: http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/summary/climsmnm.html (Western Regional Climate Center).
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