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Friday, May 12, 2017

Backyard Gardening



Thought I would show you my gardening efforts in my back yard. My back yard has come a looonng way! Yes it is possible to grow a large variety of things in Phoenix, the trick is to forget everything you think you know about growing and re-learn the desert way. I bought books, looked up things online, and still didn't get anywhere. After a few years of trying with little to show for it, I found a group on Facebook called Organic Desert Gardeners of Maricopa County. If you live in zone 9 I highly recommend joining!


I read every post every comment in the group and began to learn a lot! Now in  my second year with new knowledge I am beginning to actually grow some things! I am limited though because of health issues and there just isn't much money in the budget for gardening supplies. The trick is to set up your garden beds right, plant the right varieties at the right times, then it all is so much easier. 


In planting areas we use compost heavily and mix into our clay. We add sand if we think it needs it for drainage. I fertilize with an all purpose organic fertilizer, fish emulsion, and Epsom salts. We also use alfalfa horse or rabbit pellets (horse feed not poop) in areas that need heavy nitrogen like the asparagus. I mulch now with compost because the other mulches I used, straw...pine needles... allow pest to hide. I will eventually remove the other mulches and only use compost mulch. 



Yes I compost! So important for your garden. My method is a lazy one, or rather an easy no fuss one. I have a shaded area that receives water from my watering system where I toss all plant and veggie scraps. I added worms as I didn't have any in the dirt here. The worms make the compost and once a year we spread it around where needed. This also added worms to my growing areas, a welcome addition. I also buy bagged compost and we use a no dig/no till method of growing. Not much work at all.


Figs

We use soaker hoses and drip lines for watering. They are attached to battery operated timers. A watering system here is so important! Every summer I would just quit watering by hand and let it all die. It was too hot to bother. Then when I started growing veggies, one hot July day I completely forgot to water and lost about half of everything in that small bed because of it. Of course that was before I knew how to add lots of compost ;) Besides, who wants to be tied to a watering schedule? We have found that the battery operated timers will run for a couple of years before needing batteries changed out. Of course, the occasional hand watering never hurts here in the dry desert either. A good washing down to knock off pest is good too. 



Here's a look at where we started and where we are. The pic is of some little birds eating dill seeds from plants in my horse trough but you can see an empty swimming pool in the back. And a fence lined with oleanders. When we moved here 10 years ago, we had a lot of concrete and a swimming pool for a small backyard. The only dirt to be found was in beds along the north and west fence, and they had oleanders growing in them. Oleanders are messy, and poisonous. They should be handled while wearing gloves only. They were also very old, about 12 feet tall, and had a well established root system in our clay/rock hillside. Though they offered privacy from the view of homes behind us that sit higher than we do, they were a very poor choice around a pool requiring almost daily clean up. They also provided good nesting for scorpions around the shaded concealed bases.

I wanted the oleanders gone asap, but we found that removing them would tear up the fence so they had to stay for time being. And the pool, I think we used it 3 times the first year. The third year it needed some work and we were tired of the maintenance and cost of up keep so we drained it. Should we fill it in? We decided to give it a year to see if we changed our minds.The thought of filling it in seemed so wrong, but we had a back yard area that was dangerous for the kids to be in; poisonous plants, hot concrete and an empty pool. 

The grandkids kids really needed to be able to get outside and play but there were no funds to fill in that pool. The kids started praying the pool would be filled with free dirt! And I really need to write that story because that is what eventually happened. So Papa decided if the kids were going to pray free dirt into the pool for a play area he should get it ready by jack hammering and disconnecting water and elec lines etc. We decided to leave the cool decking around the area.



Here are the kids playing on the free dirt in the pool! They loved it just like it was and were sad when they found out we would be leveling it. Notice the nearly dead oleanders in the back. I refused to water them since I hated them so much.  



Here's a pic now, 4 years after the free dirt. The back fence fell down during a storm and hooray all the oleanders there were removed for the new fence! We used pea gravel for the covering over the filled in pool and is a nice base for the kids play area. No, I didn't want grass to water and maintain! A shade structure was put up, we started collecting play things, also free. Papa built me a 4 x 8 foot raised bed. A lot in a small space but oh so wonderful! We enjoy it very much.

We still need to remove oleanders on south side (to the left in the pic) and replace that fence section, maybe next year. The oleanders over there are not so big. 



This is the new fence put in last summer that replaced the fence behind the kids on the dirt pile in previous picture. I have planted okra over by tomatoes twice and something keeps eating them as they come up so I guess we will not have okra this year.



My raised bed, I packed a lot in there! Peas are about done as its too hot and so is cilantro. Squash is doing good. The potato is a volunteer from composting.



See the little new potatoes pushing up through the dirt already? I see four.




This bed is struggling. It's the only growing area I had before new fence and pool were filled in. I think the tree is getting too big and it doesn't get enough sun. Also I think I should fertilize more as the tree probably is sucking up a lot of nutrients. Notice the 2x4 holding up the fence section. Yup, need a need fence soon. 



We have so much concrete .... which is hot, that I asked Papa to jack hammer up a section at the end of the driveway for an asparagus bed. It will be shaded in the morning and get afternoon sun which I know is a no no here, (you want it the other way around, morning sun, afternoon shade) but I am hoping it will forgive me and do well. This was just put in this last January and is growing. 



A close up of one of the horse troughs. Well there you have it. I'm thinking of planting grapes when the old fence is replaced. Next time, I will show you my front yard, I grow veggies there too.

I link at these parties.




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37 comments:

  1. Wow your gardening efforts have certainly paid off ; everything looks fantastic! I don't plant anything until the end of May...lately our Mays have been quite hot, as if summer was starting too early but this one ...well we have had some frosts so to be safe we usually wait around here.

    after a few years when the grands got older I started to use their turtle sandbox for my composter to their dismay :

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    1. Haha! I need a composter,one of those things on the to do list. My system is working well though so I'm not in a hurry.

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  2. What a great garden! I am trying my 2nd year of gardening here in North Country! I am not much of a gardener but I really want it to go good this summer. We have to wait a bit longer before planting esp this year. We had snow on Monday! I am thinking of converting one of my rooms into a greenhouse so I can do it all year round. I'm not sure yet I am going to do the research for that first.

    I found your blog through the Sweet Saturday! I'm new to blogging! Wanted to stop by and say HI!

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    1. A spare room with sky lights would be ice wouldn't it? By May here it's starting to get too hot for most things to grow well. With gardening there is so much to learn, and things change form year to year too. I love the journey of it though.

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  3. My, my what a wonderful garden. Aren't the birds the sweetest, kids too.

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  4. I see your grandbabies were having a good time. Love your gardening and what you did with the pool you were no longer using. EVERYONE should grow something, even if it's in a pot or some sort of container. I love my veggies :) Thank you Connie for linking up at the #BloggingGrandmothersLinkParty. I shared this post.

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  5. You've done an amazing job on your garden! Very inspirational!!
    Thanks for sharing this at: #BloggingGrandmothersLinkParty.

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  6. Hello fellow gardener. I found your blog at the Blogging Grandmothers Linky Party. I love gardening, and it looks like I'm going to find inspiration here. Your little birds look like American Goldfinch. I love them, they feast on my Sunflower plants. Nice meeting you.

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    1. I thought the were finches too but someone told me no.....I forget now what they are but native to the southwest. They are cuties!

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  7. Beautiful garden. Thanks for linking up at #BloggingGrandmothersLinkParty.

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  8. Looks like you put in tons of effort! Wish I could grow figs up where I live. Found your post at Tuesdays with a Twist, thanks for sharing.

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    1. I've seen fig trees in pots that get moved inside in the winter ;)

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  9. This is the first year we aren't in a huge drought after 5 years. I'm excited for a small herb garden. Thanks for sharing at the Inspiration Spotlight party.

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    1. I have always wanted a space dedicated to just herbs. But I seem to be more of a cottage gardener, a little of this here, some of that over there.

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  10. Great information! I love gardening!!
    Thank you for sharing at #BloggingGrandmothersLinkParty

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  11. Your plants look so healthy and productive. Your garden looks like an energizing place to be. Thank you for linking up at #BloggingGrandmothersLinkParty. I'm sharing your post on social media.

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  12. I love your garden and I love your story. The children prayed this garden into existence which I am sure makes this garden even more special. How sweet. Thank you for linking up at the #BloggingGrandmothersLinkParty. I shared this post.

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  13. I have a small garden area, four raised beds on a cedar log float (next to my floating cabin). Consequently, I do a lot of gardening in containers on the cabin deck. I enjoyed visiting your garden. - Margy

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    1. I checked out your blog. Wow what an interesting life style! And what a way to garden, where there's a will, there's a way! Thanks for stopping by.

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  14. We lived in the Mojave desert in California for many years, so I can relate to so much of what you said. Everyone's grass is on a watering system, or we wouldn't have had grass. And the oleanders; they were everywhere! You've done a wonderful job at being a successful gardener in your environment! Thank you for sharing at the #BloggingGrandmothersLinkParty!

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  15. Thanks for visiting my blog. I'm a city girl that moved to the backcountry also trying to get back to things my grandmother did. - Margy

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    1. You have had a huge learning curve! Looks like you are handing it well.

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  16. I wish I had your green thumb but alas I'm not a gardener. Thank you for sharing with us at #blogginggrandmotherslinkparty. I've shared.

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  17. Your garden looks fantastic! I love that horseshoe bench.
    :) gwingal

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    1. Thanks! A friend made the bench for me back when I had horses. I still love it.

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  18. Your garden really is doing wonderful! We had a frost the other night. I had to cover my tomatoes, but was glad I hadn't planted all of my tender veggies. Thanks for sharing with SYC.
    hugs,
    Jann

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  19. I love everything about your garden! You'll be featured at the To Grandma's House We go link party that opens tomorrow morning, thanks for sharing with us!

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  20. I enjoyed touring your backyard. You've done a lot to it and packed a lot into it, and still have space for the grandkids to play, love it! I agree with using straw or pine needle mulch - I'd be afraid of scorpions or snakes hiding in it. I'm featuring your post on this week's Simple Homestead blog hop, congratulations!

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  21. I am amazed at the "zone 9" plants you are able to grow so well - artichokes, figs....wow! And I have never seen a more awe inspiring story of determination to complete a dream of a yard - the plantings that "will never grow," the free dirt prayed in by the kids, and the demise of the oleanders! You are one remarkable lady and I am so glad you are back blogging!

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Gosh I love to read your comments! Thanks for leaving one :)