We had strong rains all weekend long, starting Friday afternoon. Our gardens were flooded and some of the vegetables are starting to turn yellow from too much water. The added rains are great for the Bermuda grass I have in the back yard (the lawn is about 1/4 done as I solarize small sections at a time before laying the seed down).
We continue to get beans every day, both Waxbeans and Bush beans. The pole beans just recently started coming out. We have had two ear of corn already although the most has yet to be harvested. Cabbage, lettuce and beets are still coming.
I hope the rains continue as the monsoon has brough life back to the Photinias and Oleanders marking our perimeter. They are finally showing new buds this year. The Oleanders even have red blooms on them.
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Monday, July 7, 2008
Wax beans
Yesterday we ate our first batch of yellow wax beans. Yum! There are more wax and green beans to be harvested and more peas should be ready in another two weeks.
I planted more snow peas that should be harvestable in 55 days. I will continue to plant as much as I can for as long as the weather allows.
I planted more snow peas that should be harvestable in 55 days. I will continue to plant as much as I can for as long as the weather allows.
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Our first harvest
Last night Kevin made a rice medley that contained spinach, sweet peas and two tomatoes from our garden. The sweet snow peas were delicious! I can't wait for more garden nibbles. The Romaine lettuce is ready for harvest. Just the pole beans are still without fruit. The sweet corn is a month away from eating.
Only the cabbage seems to have fallen victim to the cabbage looper.
Monsoonal rains arrived ten days ago. I haven't watered the yards all week and even rolled up the hoses for the season.
Only the cabbage seems to have fallen victim to the cabbage looper.
Monsoonal rains arrived ten days ago. I haven't watered the yards all week and even rolled up the hoses for the season.
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Sadie
The last two Saturdays we've gone into town to check out the Swap Meet. One can find good deals there, from used garden tools like tillers to used clothes, books and guns. The vendors vary with each week. Yesterday there was even one vendor selling used XXX adult videos, and several curious middle-aged men were standing under that tent.
We had seen a new tiller last week for $175 but didn't have the cash on hand. This week we did, but this time the vendor wasn't there. Another couple was selling their tiller for $75, but they didn't bother to wash the dirt off the machine, nor put air in the tires. "It needs a new pull string" said the man, "but I can start it up for you!" We passed.
A little disappointed, we stopped at our favorite feed store to stock up on dog food. We feed our dogs only the best, from Nutro to ProPlan or Eukanuba. It all depends on what's on sale each week.
I looked around the racks of dog food and noticed a three-month old sable German Shepherd Dog puppy that one of the clerks had brought in. She had her litter of pups on sale since early May but at that time was asking $500 a pup, a bit steep for me. But this time she was asking $300.
I showed Kevin the little pup and he almost fell in love right there all over again. I could see it in his eyes, the way he looked at that sable bundle. I talked to the seller some more, asking quesitons about the parentage. She had only one more pup left. She lives on five acres in the country not too far from us, with several horses and five dogs.
The little pup's name was "Chinky," a name I knew I'd immediately change. She didn't look "Chinky" nor would I ever use that name in reference to any one else.
We left the store with the puppy. I held her in my lap as we approached our street.
What to name the puppy? We went over some German names.
"I like Rommel" but that name was better suited for a male puppy. What about Gretchen, Gertrude? Edie?
"Sadie" said Kevin as he turned into our street.
"I like that!"
So Sadie it became.
The clumsy little girl jumped to the ground as we got home and I took her to the back yard where the two unsuspecting dogs were. Sadie yelped in fear at the sight of the approaching dogs, and placed her tail between her legs.
Luckily, there were no fights, just curiousity. Later there were a few attempts by all dogs to initiate play. Sammy growled at Sadie a few times in that Back-off-kid look I've never seen him use before.
Kevin was so excited about the little dog that he tried to call his best friend Tom in Bisbee with the news.
Kevin was in love, taking the little pup everywhere, even to bed later that night where Sadie whined all night long. I kept the light on until she fell asleep. Having her whine was like having a newborn back in the bedroom again.
Today was more of the same between the dogs. Sammy and Sara perhaps were annoyed that the pup was still there today, but they seem less annoyed with her, and when we are in the living room all three dogs are a mere feet away from eachother. When we went on our nightly walk Sadie tried to keep pace with the two big dogs, sometimes getting too close to Sara.
As long as I'm not working fulltime, I will devote some time to training the little pup, perhaps even check on a Schutzhund club in the county. There's one in Elfrida but that's a 90 mile drive one way and tuition for the training will be several thousand dollars, money I'd rather spend on my own education.
But Sadie is now in our lives and will hopefully enliven us for many years. She's already shown a keen intelligence, curiosity and self confidence for her tender years.
"We should have bought her sister too" added Kevin tonight. FOUR DOGS? Has Kevin gone insane?
No doubt talking about having a pure bred German Shepherd Dog these last few years has gotten to Kevin. I'm glad. I think Kevin and Sadie are going to be inseparable soon.
We had seen a new tiller last week for $175 but didn't have the cash on hand. This week we did, but this time the vendor wasn't there. Another couple was selling their tiller for $75, but they didn't bother to wash the dirt off the machine, nor put air in the tires. "It needs a new pull string" said the man, "but I can start it up for you!" We passed.
A little disappointed, we stopped at our favorite feed store to stock up on dog food. We feed our dogs only the best, from Nutro to ProPlan or Eukanuba. It all depends on what's on sale each week.
I looked around the racks of dog food and noticed a three-month old sable German Shepherd Dog puppy that one of the clerks had brought in. She had her litter of pups on sale since early May but at that time was asking $500 a pup, a bit steep for me. But this time she was asking $300.
I showed Kevin the little pup and he almost fell in love right there all over again. I could see it in his eyes, the way he looked at that sable bundle. I talked to the seller some more, asking quesitons about the parentage. She had only one more pup left. She lives on five acres in the country not too far from us, with several horses and five dogs.
The little pup's name was "Chinky," a name I knew I'd immediately change. She didn't look "Chinky" nor would I ever use that name in reference to any one else.
We left the store with the puppy. I held her in my lap as we approached our street.
What to name the puppy? We went over some German names.
"I like Rommel" but that name was better suited for a male puppy. What about Gretchen, Gertrude? Edie?
"Sadie" said Kevin as he turned into our street.
"I like that!"
So Sadie it became.
The clumsy little girl jumped to the ground as we got home and I took her to the back yard where the two unsuspecting dogs were. Sadie yelped in fear at the sight of the approaching dogs, and placed her tail between her legs.
Luckily, there were no fights, just curiousity. Later there were a few attempts by all dogs to initiate play. Sammy growled at Sadie a few times in that Back-off-kid look I've never seen him use before.
Kevin was so excited about the little dog that he tried to call his best friend Tom in Bisbee with the news.
Kevin was in love, taking the little pup everywhere, even to bed later that night where Sadie whined all night long. I kept the light on until she fell asleep. Having her whine was like having a newborn back in the bedroom again.
Today was more of the same between the dogs. Sammy and Sara perhaps were annoyed that the pup was still there today, but they seem less annoyed with her, and when we are in the living room all three dogs are a mere feet away from eachother. When we went on our nightly walk Sadie tried to keep pace with the two big dogs, sometimes getting too close to Sara.
As long as I'm not working fulltime, I will devote some time to training the little pup, perhaps even check on a Schutzhund club in the county. There's one in Elfrida but that's a 90 mile drive one way and tuition for the training will be several thousand dollars, money I'd rather spend on my own education.
But Sadie is now in our lives and will hopefully enliven us for many years. She's already shown a keen intelligence, curiosity and self confidence for her tender years.
"We should have bought her sister too" added Kevin tonight. FOUR DOGS? Has Kevin gone insane?
No doubt talking about having a pure bred German Shepherd Dog these last few years has gotten to Kevin. I'm glad. I think Kevin and Sadie are going to be inseparable soon.
Friday, June 20, 2008
Beans and beets
I didn't realize I hadn't posted in three weeks.
The triple-digit heat is here. Most of my tomatoes are surviving by the shade of the hedges they are near. If they don't stay warm and moist during the heat of the day, the tomatoes wilt. When we were gone a week for a carcamp in Northeastern Arizona, we came back to wilted tomatotes. They all recovered and are fine now, but our sweet peppers dropped their blossoms and won't bear any fruit for a while.
The beets are still doing well, which is amazing as beets are cool-weather plants. The beets are under the shade of an old futon frame I placed over the cabbage/beets/spinach. All three veggies are doing well; nothing has bolted yet.
Another thing that has amazed me is the corn. I planted an old packet dated 11/2006 a week ago and by gawd the corn's sprouting! With lows at night in the low 70s everything is just taking off. We have five stalks of sweet corn (planted 4-28) that are now over 3' tall. The butternut squash is also growing fast.
Only our pole beans are still philosophizing about whether they should grow beans or not. Both the pole and bush beans are vegetatively growing tall, it's just that they haven't borne much fruit.
The triple-digit heat is here. Most of my tomatoes are surviving by the shade of the hedges they are near. If they don't stay warm and moist during the heat of the day, the tomatoes wilt. When we were gone a week for a carcamp in Northeastern Arizona, we came back to wilted tomatotes. They all recovered and are fine now, but our sweet peppers dropped their blossoms and won't bear any fruit for a while.
The beets are still doing well, which is amazing as beets are cool-weather plants. The beets are under the shade of an old futon frame I placed over the cabbage/beets/spinach. All three veggies are doing well; nothing has bolted yet.
Another thing that has amazed me is the corn. I planted an old packet dated 11/2006 a week ago and by gawd the corn's sprouting! With lows at night in the low 70s everything is just taking off. We have five stalks of sweet corn (planted 4-28) that are now over 3' tall. The butternut squash is also growing fast.
Only our pole beans are still philosophizing about whether they should grow beans or not. Both the pole and bush beans are vegetatively growing tall, it's just that they haven't borne much fruit.
Sunday, June 1, 2008
My garden is growing!
We were gone a few days, camping in the Whites, and returned to see the Sunset Coneflowers in bloom. Our Century Plant is also growing a flower stalk...and the rest of the flowers are filling in with their yellows and reds and blues. In another month the front yard will be in complete lush!
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Heatwave
Today was the second day of upper 90-degree weather. My tomatoes are already showing heat stress by wilting. I spent a good hour this morning trying to find materials to shade my raised beds that have sprouting beans. My cool-weather beets, cabbage and lettuce are even more vulnerable now.
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