Time to Be Outside

It's nearly Halloween, and in other parts of the country, that means cooler days and even cooler nights. The temperatures drop down and before long, there'll be snow on the ground. The residents in these northern and eastern regions are thinking about preparing their gardens and yards for the cold weather, and putting up the garden harvests- canning, freezing, drying and otherwise preserving for the gardenless days ahead.

Here in the Valley of the Sun, we're emerging from the long hot summer. We've planted our veggies and are planting still more. We're seeding our dying Bermuda grass lawns with rye seed, and we'll have green grass in the winter months. We're spending more time outdoors in the warm afternoons, the cool evenings, and the chilly mornings.

One of the things people like to do here in the fall and winter months is spend time around a firepit or outdoor fireplace. While not all of us have well-appointed outdoor living spaces, we may have little bits of space in our backyards where we can sit beneath the moon and gaze into the flames dancing inside our little chimeneas.

We put a lot of work into our gardens, into our veggie gardens, flower gardens and into our landscaping. On these cool nights, when the work is done and the constellations loom high, we should remember why we do this, and step outside, snuggle up together and let the flames lull us into a dream.

Bob and I spend a lot of time working; we both have day jobs and when we're not working, we're working on producing more videos, focused on the DIY lifestyle. I spend my free time writing, and gardening, and writing about gardening.

We're like a million other people, working, working, working. This post is about taking a break. So take a break tonight. Take a break and spend some time watching the flames. Dream a while. It's good for you, and your garden will be all the more beautiful for it.

Making a Tire Garden

One thing about gardens is they are great for experimenting. You can try different plant companion combinations, different soil mixes, different containers and methods.

In the last few months, I've departed from the 'rules' of gardening and engaged in free style planting- planting seeds with no thought to placement, season or symbiotic relationships. I'm also disregarding my drip system and spraying the garden beds with a watering wand, soaking the soil and sometimes the young seedlings.

Okra plants in October

So, in the spirit of rebellion, I shrugged off the cautionary tales of tire gardening and embraced the concept of re-using a usually cast-off product. The studies I've read concern themselves with shredded tires for ground cover, that the heavy metals leech into the soil. Well, once the integrity of the tire is destroyed, as in shredded, then yes, leeching is likely imminent.

But even the Environmental Protection Agency says intact tires are fine for garden containers, so Bob and I set one up. Now, we'll see what happens next.

Free Style Gardening Successes

Zucchini with Flower

As of this writing, I've harvested okra and zucchini, Anaheim peppers and jalapeno peppers, cucumbers, herbs and even a few beans. My free style garden is moving along rather well, and if the fall season brings forth its customary good weather here in the valley of the sun, I should have a good harvest.

The success of a garden is measured by its harvest, and in the last couple of seasons, my success has been limited. But I have more hope for this season, and I think our tire garden will add to that success.

Updating Our Aquaponics and Hydroponics

We're in the process of preparing for the upgrade to our aquaponics system. We'll add a larger fish tank and an extra grow bed, as well as reposition the grow beds. It's a long process, but now that the temperatures no longer rise above the 100 degree mark, we can move along at a quicker pace.

Aquaponics Bed with New Plantings and Waiting for the Upgrade

We're also looking at updating our approach to hydroponics. We have, traditionally, used buckets and plastic containers for our hydroponics systems, but the systems aren't particularly attractive. If you want hydroponics at your front entrance, for example, a big orange bucket won't cut it. So keep a look out for some of our upcoming experiments in updating the look of hydroponics and of course, for our new aquaponics system.

The All New Square Food Gardening Book and the Free Style Method

Flowering Cucumber

Recently I purchased Mel Bartholomew's book, "All New Square Food Gardening. A retired

efficiency expert and engineer, Bartholomew saw row gardening as a waste of space and resources. Practices such as thinning seedlings and irrigating whole tracts of soil that weren't planted bothered him, and he set about finding a new way to grow food, herbs, and flowers.

What is Square Foot Gardening

Square foot gardening is built around the idea of planting a 4 foot by 4 foot box that has been divided into 16 squares, each section being 1 square foot in area. The gardener plants a different 'crop' in each square. How many plants are in any given square depends on how far apart the seeds should be planted.

I can plant one cucumber in one square and 16 radishes in another square. According to Mr. Bartholomew, the system allows for a bounty of veggies in a 4 foot by 4 foot bed because nothing takes up more than one square foot.

The idea is brilliant and no doubt very effective, and I'm anxious to give it a try.  Our author tells me to lay down landscape fabric, position the bed on the fabric, and fill it to a 6 inch depth with his special formula soil mix.

There Might Be Some Problems, Though

Okra from Seed

The special formula? One third vermiculite, one third peat moss, and one third blended organic

compost. Basically, this is a potting mix, not soil, and that might be a problem. Here in Phoenix, even in winter, potting mixes dry out incredibly fast. Vermiculite is no match for our dry air and bright sun.

Mr. Bartholomew also says gardeners can water the garden bed with cups of sun-warmed water. Simply leave a bucket of water near the bed and with a small plastic cup, use the water for the garden, watering each square as needed.

Sun-warmed water here may be too hot for potting mix, and I would likely have to water several times a day. A cup of water does not a deep watering make. I think maybe a more climate appropriate watering system may be necessary.

The Free Style Method

But for right now, I'm far less efficient and organized and otherwise square foot. In my last post, I regaled you with tales of tossing seeds about the garden without any sort of pattern or layout in mind. Many of my seeds are past their prime, and many, of course, failed to germinate. That's okay. Some, though, are doing surprisingly well, in spite of the 110+ temperatures.

Bean Plant on the Rise

I've got okra and burgundy beans sprouting up, and tiny hints of jalapeno plants. I've even got some zucchini that just might make it after all. I imagine this is the type of gardening that would cause Mr. Mel Bartholomew to shake his head and mutter something about a lack of efficiency and wasted space and the soil being less than loamy. I imagine he would predict catastrophic failure for this garden.

His (imagined) prediction may be right. Or not. As we move into September and October, though, gardeners in cooler climes are starting to wind down their summer crops, while here in the Valley of the Sun we'll be planting tomatoes and cucumbers alongside spinach and squash- as soon as the day time temps get below 100 degrees. Ah, the sweet cool of Autumn!

Free Style Gardening in the Summer Months

By the time the temperatures reach 100+ degrees I usually allow the soil beds to rest, covering them with cardboard or some sort of mulch. I water to keep the perennials healthy; the herbs and grape vine do fine over the summer. The soil itself is watered less frequently. The goal is to keep it moist, but not wet, and continue to provide an inviting environment for microbial communities.

Nearly Empty Garden Beds in July

This summer, though, is a little different. I, and numerous other gardeners, didn't have the wildly successful bounty of fruits and veggies to which we have become accustomed. While many in other parts of the country are still waiting to harvest their tomatoes, cucumbers, summer squash and assorted lettuces, we in the desert are done. We harvest in late spring, before the temperatures are too high, and the plants cease to produce. 

But somehow, the cycle got tilted off its axis this year, and other gardeners tell me their tales of woe:

• My squash never even flowered
• My tomatoes took too long to ripen
• My cucumber plants didn't even try this year
• Powdery Mildew is the bane of my existence

You get the idea.  But like most gardeners, I lament the poor season and prepare for the next, confident that the next harvest will be better.  

Pumpkin Seedling in a Pot

But as I was starting to start seeds in pots, I was struck by how many seeds I had, and that many may be 'past their prime'. So I thought, "Why not throw caution to the winds, and throw a bunch of these seeds into the garden and see what happens?"

I walked among the beds, poking holes in the soil and dropping in seeds. I made shallow trenches with a stick and sprinkled in seeds. Some seeds were simply sprinkled on top of the soil and left to the elements.  I didn't even put in garden markers. Just planted seeds.

Storing Seeds

Seeds are particular about their environment. To maintain its ability to germinate over a period of time, a seed must be in a cool, dry environment, one practically void of oxygen. Once moisture and oxygen enter the environment, the seed wants to sprout. But if the seed hasn't been properly stored, it may fail to germinate, even when planted in an environment of near perfect conditions.

For example, if seed has been stored in a shed in which temperatures may drop to freezing and rise to the blistering hell that is Phoenix in the summer, it may no longer be viable. I've kept many of my seeds in air tight containers, the kind used by crafters to separate their beads. But I also have some in packets in a plastic container. Some packets are opened, some are not.

Seeds in Bead Containers

A good way to store seeds is to add a thin layer of rice or powdered milk to a glass jar, place the seed packet in the jar, seal it and put the jar in the fridge. If the seeds aren't in packets, cover the rice or powdered milk with a bit of cheesecloth or tissue, and pile in the seeds. Be sure to mark the jar to note what kind of seeds are inside.

I haven't  done any of this, so I don't know how viable my older seeds are in terms of germination, and if they have the potential to produce. But I can't conceive of throwing away seeds without giving them a chance to grow, to thrive, to bear fruit. So throughout the summer, I'm going to keep adding seeds to pots, and to the soil beds, and to the aquaponics grow bed. 

The few packets that I've purchased within the last few months I'll store in glass jars, and find a place for them in the fridge. It's the practical thing to do.

Free Style Gardening

 

Okra Seedling from Older Seed Packet

Other than that, though, I'm thumbing my nose at the searing summer heat and arid winds, and last season's poor harvests,  and planting seeds without rhyme or reason.  I'm working without a plan, without a net, without a chart downloaded from a Master Gardener website that tells me when to plant, where to plant it and what other plants to plant it with.

It's free style gardening in the summer time. And I have no idea what my gardens will grow.

Planting Strawberries and Thinking About the Future

Bob and I have been busy with garden and landscape stuff. We trimmed the palm tree in our front yard, made a batch of garden pavers, and planted strawberries in a half barrel. We have videos for all three projects, and I've included the video on planting strawberries in this post. Though here in Phoenix, it's not a good time to plant – temperatures are over 100 degrees- this particular strawberry plant and her daughters were in dire need of a home of their own.

I haven't had much luck with strawberries, but I don't like to give up, and, in particular, I want to start growing more fruit. We already have a fabulous orange tree that provides us with an abundance of oranges every year. I have a lemon tree that should start producing in the next year, as well. But I also want green grapes, blueberries, strawberries, and raspberries. I have a grape vine growing now that was planted in February, and it's doing well. I planted a blueberry bush, but the poor thing just didn't make it. I planted too late. But I'll try again next season.

Orange Ripening on the Tree

If the strawberries make it, and the grape vine continues to thrive, I'll have fruit next year. And

because grapes are a long term perennial plant, I'll have grapes for years to come. Yes, oranges, lemons, grapes, strawberries, blueberries and raspberries. This, this would make me a happy woman.

Long Term Gardening Goals

Bowl of Green Grapes

What I want, what my goal is, is to have gardens that provide fruit, veggies, greens and herbs. I want to have enough fruits and veggies to harvest and use fresh, as well as have enough to preserve. Really, is there anything better than strawberry jam on toast on a cold morning? Or a bowl full of berries on a hot summer night? And doesn't any dinner table look better with a bowl of green grapes sitting in the center?

I want the gardens to be established gardens by the time I retire from my day job. I want Bob and I to spend our old age munching fresh foods and preservative-free preserves. I want my kids and their kids to come by for dinner and help me pick the veggies and fruits fresh from the garden.

Really now, could life get any better than that?