Sick o sick

Been sick for a week now...I may have to break down next year getting a flu shot!

And they have left...

The frost took the plants but we got the peppers picked before Mother nature took them.

It has arrived!

Broccoli mmm good! Will be picking 2 heads today. had purple cauliflower for dinner last nite nice taste, when steaming it does change the water to a light purplish blue wonder if they used to use that for dying years ago? Next batch i steam will try dying some yarn with it.

Good work day at the garden...

Pulled up the peppers all like 30 plants..lol and found earthworms in piles and herds!

Pulled up green beans they bit it just when they had started putting our beans. Left the tomatoes they got bit by the frost but still feel ok. Trimmed down the eggplants and tucked them in for the long winter rest with the hopes they come back in the spring.

Pulled up the morning glories, ok they were beautiful but i may regret this one the seed pods bust open before i pulled them...i didn't save any seeds probably should have but there is like 2000 seeds left in the ground. Redid both the signs moved one grape still need to move the remaining dirt and then will move that grape. Found the 2 gopher holes but no peanut butter at the garden so will have to go back. Rich Uyen Karen and Scott stopped by was nice to visit even with Rich. Tyler spent 3 hours - Scotts son- moving walkway material- YEAH!!! - and he plans on putting in another 10 or 15 hours more doing it...more YEAH!!!

Well need to review garden design and decide what or if planting anything and where for the spring and immediatley for the pepper area that is now empty..except for all the worms.

Tyler had a great time throwing the ball for Maggie maybe just maybe this will help with her "children fears" and he wore her out.

This morning planted tomatoe and pepper seeds- first round- doing another planting after we get back from California the beginning of January.

Done for the day exhausted- off to the shower!

The end of the Journey....

Well today is my last class turned in my class project last week i hope i get a good grade! I would love to have this backyard, we were supposed to do only a "garden" but to me the garden is your yard :) at least if you don't have a Ms Maggie who gets mad when you leave and pulls up plants...why oh why...she even knows she shouldn't have done it and yet....she still does....vengeance

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Garden Update~

Well i may have stopped posting for a while but the garden didn't stop growing! Was a busy month in November-went to see Mom & Dad & sis, plus Thanksgiving. Hard to believe it is Dec 8th and in 22 more days the year will be over! Roll into 2014...

Ok lets try this again....

I didn't post for a month and there you have it nothing is the same urgh... but i got back to my original blog i think..lol

Garden Patch....

                      Finally planted only have the third plot left to do!

Items planted:

Golden beets

parsley

peas

dwarf blue kale

lil finger carrots

lavewa spinach

easter egg radishes

Bordeaux spinach

blooming spinach

dragon carrots

strawberry spinach

garlic

elephant garlic

carrots

yellow beans

nasturtiums

rutabaga

red detroit beets

turnips

red onions

waldman dark green lettuce

red tip lettuce

r & G buttercrunch

garnet rose

freckle romaine

green ice

chef gourmet spicy mix

mesclun /green mix

scarlet carrots

crystal white onions marigolds

already in plot:

spring green onions

basil

sage

fairytale eggplant

purple eggplant

morning glories

Lets hope all the seeds come up!

 

left some space in this garden.......
4 tomatoe plants in the raised bed-morgage lifter/roma/
red onions
peas
radishes
celery
mustard
marigolds
cheddar cauliflower
purple cauliflower
white cauliflower
red cabbage
golden beets
heirloom beets
romanesco
broccoli
garlic
lavender
sage


now onto the third plot.... will be planting fava beans this weekend plus a few herbs but waiting until i get back home to plant the other raised bed as well as carrots inbetween the rows in the other garden.

Roselle Hibiscus- Manor gardens

Beautiful and you can eat the tender leaves in a salad and make jam with the flowers or tea! Loving the spot we moved it to in Manor Gardens- hope Margo ventures into making tea from it.

Manor garden fall planted until i get back to plant more at the end of the month then we had a water main pipe blow! Yikes water everywhere hopefully we can get someone to repair it quickly!

Mud Bog for Maggie May-

Before the "cool down" to the high 80's she finally realized hanging out under the
fruit trees was better than sitting in the sun watching me plant seeds!

          Once home and showered her lady like manners came back...lol!

More fingers attempting to disappear...

Well stitches came off finger today i ended up getting an allergic reaction to something possible the adhesives let's hope it is not infected! Little red bumps all over my finger.
Then tonight i decided to slice my right pinky with the food processor blade, at least this was a sharp blade no pain lots of blood...clean cut should hopefully heal once i get it to stop bleeding! At this rate by next year i would have gotten every finger in one shape or another! Yikes staying away from sharp instruments!

Bathroom floor

Didn't take very many pictures on the last trip to the cabin in California. Here is the bathroom "non floor" new 2x4 braces put in so it is more stable, Robert

is doing a great job! Though costly if we had someone do it it would be really costly! All new plumbing too!

back to gardening...the dangerous hobby

This was the price to pay when irrigating without leather gloves on and using knives. Well maybe one of these days i will learn..hoys! The tetanus shot hurt the worst as the needle going into the hand to numb the hand versus the stitches. Though today as i am typing and doing things it is rearing it head saying here i am see what you did! Six stitches...good thing i had my sweat towel and electrical tape on hand to keep it intact until the ER room. This will slow down my planting and gardening for a day or two.

Almost October...

How the time flys, it has been over 2 weeks since i have posted anything! Between school and gardens my time is pretty much taken and then throw in a trip to California in between.
Went on the Lake Arrowhead Home tour last weekend. As i have no pictures to post that kind of tells you what we got from the tour. I was hoping to get some ideas which we did get one or two but nothing very exciting. The house on the Lake was nice only due to the boat ride which i loved forgotten how much i miss the water and being on it. One of these days until then fountains and makeshift ponds will have to soothe me. The other 3 houses were a nice mix of different designs and type of living nothing to share.

Evening in the "compost heap" at The Garden Patch

What a great turnout last nite! More chatting was done versus working but it was wonderful to see everyone at the garden, fall must be around the bend! Uyen and Rich were there she "retired"  or should I state the truth "quit" her job! Should be seeing both of them back at the garden. We had an awesome lightening show later in the evening from the surrounding monsoons.

Heat stroke....

One would think i would get better adapted the more and more i am outside but not happening. Worked on Mesa Community Garden at the college, Washington and Sydney P this week. Today i just beat from the heat. Tonight is open house at Garden Patch but no work for me , in fact i don't think i will plant until the last week of the month or the temperature & humidity breaks.

Homemade Doggy Biscuits....

Ok, no i never made homemade dog biscuits for any other dog i owned but there have been so many dog food scares and those biscuits are not cheap and ok Maggie is fuzzy. She has a hard time with the harder biscuits due to the long tongue of hers! She saw the dog shaped biscuit cutter coming out of the oven.... Mom must be making my biscuits.

Ok they are my biscuits and the timer has gone off- open the door mom they are done! I kid you not!What a smart gal she is.

Rain...

What a novelty rain 3 mornings in a row...mmm if only i had the garden in oh well later this week the dirt is way to wet now. One extreme to another. So off to get compost bins after i watch a movie "Dirt". Homework done...need to make cookies for class tomorrow and a salad....

                    My assistant you watch the movie i will write the paper!

Work Out Day- Hands on Greater Phoenix

Well even with all the frustration of the irrigation not being done..therefore not able to plant a lot was accomplished at Sydney P. Below is the before and after shots..now to get to our garden....

Just a side note it POURED all morning! But the volunteers stuck to it and kept on working i think that was the muddiest garden redo in a long time especially for Phoenix where it never rain- even had thunder and lightening

110 is back...

so are we, back in AZ. Tired...back to school and homework volunteer hours...garden projects oh my...piles of laundry and dishes! Need a nap had to turn the air down to 82..couldn't do the 84 today....

Bad news/Good news i got a 90 on my paper / homework for class but ...would have gotten a hundred if i had remembered in 3 questions...gloves...gloves and more gloves! Thought we were getting a test in soil today but no she tested us for flowers soil is next week..will see how we do on that one. Tests have never been my "highlite" hoping i get better as i go!

Great news we got another gardener! Yeah! and we are up to 90 likes...started with 32 when i took over facebook in March...but the best is the picture Michelle's daughter got of our mascot! and we finally got a city sign recognizing the garden....such milestones in one week!

Trees amongst us

There's a squirrel in the tree's somewhere. Maggie saw her first squirrel yesterday tried jumping as high as she could but was no match for him.

Bathroom destruction

Who would have thought so much could come out of a room so small. Hiked up and down the stairs for 5 hours putting all the "debri" in the garage i can hardly walk my calves are so SORE!

Lookout gal

Watch dog on duty. What a beautiful morning had light rain showers just enough to smell the pines.

Zipping on by...

Another busy week so glad i have my new phone to keep me organized

Monday-Conference call with Hands on Greater phoenix & then Shade tree prepping for the folders at the Valley Permiculture
Tuesday- Master gardener class
Wednesday-First day of school @ MCC then Composting class that evening
Thursday- phx Urban garden, Manor Garden and then city council meeting
Friday- Crown! and that was all for the day I always get wiped out from the numbing gel and then the shot never the work...just the drugs. Quickest 656.00 every spent but a cracked tooth what can you do i don't have that many left.

And now that brings us to Friday evening doing bills and credit card balances while poor Robert is pluggin away at work. He has been there now for 14 hours this Starbucks will be the death of him if he keeps up this pace. I hope resolution comes soon for his sake.

I am hoping to get some pictures posted and more work in the gardens maybe just maybe summer is starting to stop this exhausting heat. All this week it has been 113 high and 90 low...except today and thunderstorms are coming- keep our fingers crossed. I almost forgot i got a massive crack on my poor little new bug :( Monday i will be getting a new windshield with only 4700 miles on the car...i will need to stay FAR away from all vehicles, though living in Arizona no matter how small or big you are every summer here comes the rocks! The kid also got stung by a bee on his ear...he called all hyper wanting to know if he was allergic as his Dad was. Apparently he made it thru without having to go the emergency room, though stated he was in lots of pain. Bee stings to me are like mosquito bites...they don't bite me very often maybe 2x and all the gardens i am in though i don't mess with them and they don't mess with me. I just let them buzz all around me. Well off to bed early morning volunteer at the Volunteer Garden party at 2nd st and Glendale 7am!

What a beautiful morning with clouds such a rare treat...

Phoenix Urban Farm @ Indian Steele Park

See the one sitting ..that's me pulling Bermuda Grass- more volunteer hours for the Master Gardener Class!

Vegan struggles....

Thought i would attempt a Peach pie well it doesn't look bad. Of course Robert is eating it but ....i can't seem to get it down to where i can eat any vegan deserts. Well ok i can eat the ones at Pomegranate Cafe anyday....i really wanted a piece of pie. Kind of tee's me off especially since the flour was 4.79 a bag...

  Will have to make an apple pie with "normal" stuff this week. Might even entertain the thought of getting some Sonoran white flour from Hayden Mills which is an ancient grain flour less gluten....

Cat in the hat....

Cat in the box.....

Propagation Class at Coop Extension with Carol Studdard

Great teacher...she is the same teacher who i am taking the organic farming at Mesa Community College which starts this week. Wonderful talker and  hands on presentation with lots of different varieties of plants.

have we moved into hell....

The heat is on 113 during the day ...90 at night now for 3 straight days expected to continue into next week. Humidity is here as well, winds...no rain. Keep our fingers crossed.

Finished painting the sign for Washington Manor-made a few changes plus did blackboard paint on the backside. Now all i need it the eyelets/chain and hang it up!

The Garden Patch...

will be in the Rave this fall thanks to Esmie! I do need to get those flyers passed out before the end of this month!

Quiet times...but has

been a busy week trying to get in my volunteer hours for my Master Garden. Wedesday am went to a class on Beneficial Insects, what a wonderful and educational class. Brought home a praying mantis waiting to be born, now i just can't decide if i should leave him under the glass bell or put him outside, per Deborah North who taught the class they are several in there but usually only one survives.

For now it is under the glass bell with my wood mushroom & frog...what a cool cocoon it has a "zipper" on the front of it.

Then Wednesday nite went to a class on Ancient grains that have disappeared from the US as well as the southwest and they are trying to bring them back. What a tie into the Master Garden class the wheat farmers have shortened the wheat from 4-5 ft to 1-1.5ft to accommodate easier handling and picking. The grains from past had less gluten in them but the shorter versions have more. One would think this might explain why more and more people have become gluten sensitive, the root structure as well would change...amazing.

Then Thursday morning off to Washington Manor to teach a class on "What to do in your garden in August" I grew a pot of cover crops which Margo found fascinating. We decided to plant one section this coming spring to see if it improves the next crop we plant. Now there was only 2 people at the class, how am i going to get more interest from others? I could bring food that always works but only temporary. All I can do is keep coming and keep pushing forward.

Escalante Community Garden

On Saturday volunteered to work at Escalante gardens in Tempe. A true community garden package. Dave started it with the help of Tempe assistance from the community center which helps homeless and seniors. Dave himself used to be homeless prior to becoming involved in the garden, which has been his job for the last 2 years. They have involved the school next to them, he has garden classes every Tuesday and Wednesday for 3rd and 4th grade kids. Saturdays is harvest day in order to get produce you must work 2 to 3 hours during the week volunteering, breakfast is served every Saturday.

This shows how far a garden can go with the proper backing behind it. Not only is it thriving but the circle is complete from homeless to employed to learning and teaching.

Always looking for different things and ideas- stones around watering spigot and a hand made adobe raised bed.

                        True dedication towards helping the community!