Frostbit Garden and Starting Seeds

Frostbit tomato plants

Despite my efforts during the cold snap, most of my vegetable plants died of frostbite. A sad thing indeed.

The plants in the aquaponics grow bed survived, but there's little growth. When we built the aquaponics system, we placed the bed in a partially shaded area for two reasons. The fish barrel needs to be in full shade so the fish survive the summer heat. They don't mind the cold - goldfish can leave beneath ice- but they don't like those high temperatures.


Aquaponics bed

The bed is in partial shade because, again, the summer heat is so brutal. However, the area is getting too little sunlight in these winter months, and the cool weather greens are not growing as quickly as they should. So we'll be doing some changes to the system within the next few weeks and try to find the optimum location for the grow bed and the fish.

The beds in the soil garden out back are pretty well emptied, so I've started my seeds, and hope I'll have seedlings by mid-to-late February. Then, I'll have to start thinking of protecting the tender plants from the heat in June and July, as everything comes to harvest.

While most of the country plants in early spring, in March or even as late as April, we in Phoenix need to plant in January and February. By June or July, veggies like tomatoes and cucumbers are curling up their leaves and calling it quits. It's just that hot. So we set our seeds outside in January, while everyone else shovels snow.

Starting seeds

I've started seeds for a variety of plants: okra, snap peas, beets, sweet peppers, jalapeno peppers, Anaheim peppers, and red hot cherry peppers. I've also planted yellow squash, zucchini squash, yellow pear tomatoes and beefsteak tomatoes, and cucumbers.

Before I put the seedlings into their beds, though, I'll test the pH of the soil, as well as nutrient content. Before I do that I'll add some new compost and top soil. We'll video the testing and share that with you.

Strawberry plant on 1/23/13

Meanwhile, my tomatoes are ripening in the box and in the bowl. I'll roast those up and use them on pizza.

The strawberry plant in the Kratky can is still with us, and though the one stem is a little weak, we're seeing some new growth. So far, so good.

Saving the Tomatoes

Draping the garden against the cold

In Phoenix, Arizona, the growing season is nearly year round; people plant tomatoes in September and October because we have such mild winters. Sometimes, though, even the valley of the sun experiences near freezing temperatures and we have to cover up the plants, from ornamentals to small shrubs to the vegetable garden out back.

Our back garden looks a bit like a refugee camp for wandering veggies. Drive through the neighborhood and you see old sheets and blankets draped over hedges. But if it saves the plants, then drape we shall.

Ripening tomatoes in a box

One problem I'm having though, because of this cold snap, is the green tomatoes won't ripen. It's simply too cold. So I'm going to try and ripen them off the vine (though tomato plants are not actually vines). According to B. Rosie Lerner, writing for Purdue Yard and Garden News, the optimum temperature range for tomatoes to ripen on the vine is 68 to 77 degrees, not usually a problem here in Phoenix in the usually warm and mild winter months.

This year, though, it's cold. So I've taken the large green tomatoes off the plants and I'm going to try and ripen them in the house.

There's no dearth of suggested methods for ripening tomatoes off the vine. I can place them in an open paper bag with a banana. The ethylene gas from the banana hastens ripening.

Ripening tomatoes in a bowl

I can put them in a crate cushioned on straw or crumbled newspaper, and set the crate in a warm, unlit place. Sunlight isn't an essential element, so say some, when ripening tomatoes in this fashion.

Others say to put the green tomatoes on a window sill, and let the sun do its job.

I don't have any bananas at the moment, nor do I have a crate. But I do have a light bulb box and a bowl. So I'll put a few tomatoes in the box and set then out of the light, and some in a bowl in indirect sunlight.

Then we'll see what happens next.

The strawberry plant is still alive

In the meantime, the Kratky in a Can experiment is doing well; the strawberry plant is still alive. I bring it in at night during this cold weather, and set it out again in the early morning.

But cold weather notwithstanding, it's time to get ready for spring. I'm going to start seeds for greens and tomatoes and summer squash, but that's all for another post.  

Welcome to just az gardens

Gardening is as much an art form as it is a science. It is a hobby and a means of survival. You can grow fruit and vegetables, herbs, flowers, shrubs and trees. You can grow plants in soil, as we do in our own vegetable garden, or you can use hydroponic methods, in which the plants are nourished with nutrient rich water - no soil required.

And then there is aquaponics, the system based on a symbiotic relationship between fish and plants, in which fish water is used to nourish plants installed in a grow bed. You can learn more about aquaponics in our video series on YouTube.

For us, gardening isn't just about growing plants. It's about finding different ways to grow them. At just az hydroponics, we focus on soilless methods of growing plants. We believe it's important to understand and utilize these methods because in places like the southwest desert, soil gardening is a challenge.

But we also have a backyard garden, because I like the feel of soil in my hands, and the way gardening in soil creates a connection to the earth itself. My backyard garden is akin to a meditation room, except my journey to inner piece includes calluses and cuts and bug bites.

The video in this first post of just az gardens is our experiment with the Kratky method of hydroponics. You can read more about this method on the justaz.com website. Over the next few weeks or so, we'll track the progress of the experiment and post the results in this blog.

Next week, we're going to look at what to plant in January in your soil garden in Phoenix, and preparing for a container garden on the front porch.