You say tom-a-to, I say tom-AH-to

“It’s difficult to think anything but pleasant thoughts while eating a homegrown tomato. “ Lewis Grizzard

I love to garden. There is a giddiness when picking that very first tomato. I take pictures of it and then carry it around the house for show and tell for the rest of my family. They think I’ve lost my mind but they humor me with oohs and ahhs.

In Phoenix, our gardening seasons are so strange compared to my childhood in Connecticut. Right now, the heat has pushed most of the herbs past their prime. The dill is tall and has gone to seed. Basil is still abundant and may last through the early summer. We will continue to pick tomatoes until the blistering summer heat withers the plants.

But the mornings are still glorious~~ and there is no better way to start the day than coffee in hand and strolling out to the garden.

I’ve had great success with smaller tomatoes~~from brilliant red cherry tomatoes to the yellow grape varieties. We just pluck these off the vine and gobble them up!

The Roma tomatoes are almost ready to harvest ~~ the warmer days should accelerate their ripening.

Wishing you a day of something fresh and healthy~~whether from your own garden or a local farmer or farmer’s market.

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Spring is in the Air!

With the coming of spring, I am calm again.

Gustav Mahler

This weekend, I made a cup of my favorite coffee and enjoyed a stroll around the property. You can definitely feel a difference in the air~~spring has sprung!

Our pool has become a love pond for a female and two male ducks. Last week she had 3 suitors, but now the final two seem to be competing for her attention. Lots of quacking and flapping of wings from the males as the female seems rather bored!

It’s also the time of year where the air is heady with the fragrance of orange blossoms (and grapefruit, lemon and all citrus) from our orchard. What an intoxicating smell!

The Lady Banks roses which we planted years ago to hide an original chain link fence, has since turned into a thick, lush wall of green. The pale yellow roses are just starting to bloom and soon will be a long blanket of yellow.

The scented geranium has lovely delicate purple flowers that stands out amid the fragrant leaves.

The grapevine is just beginning to show some foliage. I will need to keep an eye out for those creepy bugs that destroyed all the leaves last year (see my post here about the Western Grape Skeletonizer).

Lavender does very well in our Phoenix climate.

We have a few succulents in our planting beds and the Cape Aloe, which is native to South Africa, produces the most gorgeous orange-red spikes in the spring which attract hummingbirds.

The fruit trees are blooming-especially the apricots!

The peaches have already bloomed and are producing fruit!

We’ve had a strange hollyhock year. Typically this is what you see growing in our yard in early spring, the seedlings sprouting from the earth.

But last year, my chiropractor, Dr. Diane, gave me some hollyhock seeds and I scattered them in various locations around the yard. These plants have taken off and grown throughout the winter months. They are huge and I feel a bit like Jack in the Beanstalk as these are over 8 feet tall. Here is one plant that has taken over the well tower window.

They have such beautiful brilliant clusters of showy flowers.

The property is full of new spring colors. The nasturtium adds a bit of bright yellow and various shades of green to the garden.

My father’s memorial garden (Pop Pop’s favorite spot) is showing fullness and growth with all the rain we received this winter.

And of course, here’s my trusty companion, Cooper, who follows me wherever I go!

For those of you who are hunkering down in the big snow storm, I hope you enjoyed a bit of spring at Bella Terra!

A Bit of Sunshine

Typically, we enjoy sunny, sweater weather during the winter in Phoenix. I can’t recall a winter season being so gloomy and rainy~~don’t get me wrong, we love and need the rain, but it’s rare having several days of heavy, gray, overcast skies. The weather for the next 5 days will continue this pattern so I thought I’d share some sunshine pictures of the yard I took last week. Unlike other parts of the United States, winter is our “green time”. Some of the trees have lost their leaves, but for the most part, our landscape is colorful this time of year.

The orchard is abundant with citrus. The tangerine tree is so heavy with fruit this year and each piece is delicious.

We have lemons and grapefruits and a wide variety of oranges.

The previous owners planted a kumquat tree to celebrate a wedding anniversary. Now we get the benefit of this sweet/tart little fruit. A few years ago I made kumquat marmalade. It was a complete hassle trying to get all the numerous seeds out. I’m not sure I’ll admit it was worth the effort, but I’m certainly willing to try again! Or if anyone has a good recipe involving kumquats, let me know.

The garden is filled with lettuces, endive, cauliflower and broccoli. Tomatoes are still green but hopefully we will be picking those once the weather warms up.

Next to the vegetable garden is the flower garden and a perfect place to sit in the late afternoons.

My husband built this obelisk for me. It’s painted a French blue and has its place in the garden. Look at that cobalt sky!!!

The geraniums (which we brought down from the mountains a few months ago), are loving the cooler, damp weather.

And of course, here’s Cooper. He’s my constant companion following me around the yard on this gorgeous day.

Wherever you are, I am sending some sunshine to brighten your day!

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What happened to my grapevine??

Every fall I wait for the grapevines by the garden to change into brilliant fall colors. Years ago, I planted two small grapes on either side of the gate to the garden. Over time, they have grown up over the rebar arch and have made a lovely shaded entrance.

grapevines

During the summer, the vines are thick with grapes. Last summer, I thought I would be all Martha Stewart-y and cut the grapes and do something lovely with them. I’m sure the wind was blowing through my hair as I sort of skipped to the garden :). As I was poised to cut a large cluster of grapes, a swarm of bees flew out into my face, and stung me on the nose. If you’ve ever been stung on the nose before, it’s quite the experience. I started uncontrollably sneezing, my eyes were watering so much that I could hardly see to stumble away and get into the house. My nose got rather large and I looked like Jimmy Durante for a few days. The children thought it was funny. So much for my Martha Stewart moment. So, the grapes now stay on the vine.

grapecloseup

Last week I went out to the garden and was completely shocked because the grape vine looked completely dead!

grapevinedead

Upon closer inspection, I found hundreds of black and yellow caterpillars. They had eaten all the green parts of the leaves and left the veins only.

caterpillars

Reluctantly, I hand picked off the bugs and filled a big plastic cup with the little boogers. They are called the Western Grape Skeletonizer and the caterpillars line up and feed in groups, creating a net-like appearance. Gross. These are the larvae to the adult moth, which is blue-black and about 1/2″ long. The adults produce masses of yellow eggs in early May. I must remember to look for these next spring and destroy any I see.

So, no fall colors from the grapevines this year 🙁 Thankfully I have a picture from the previous year…

grapevinefall

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Raising Chickens

Raising chickens does not take a great deal of maintenance. Providing a shelter, food and room to range is about all that they need. One of our original reasons we have chickens is to manage the bug population here on our property. Since Bella Terra was in a deteriorated and overgrown state for many decades, the bugs moved in and stayed. Chickens and guinea hens do a natural job of pest control. To see read more about our home restoration process, click here.

Hen House Design

Initially our chickens and guinea hens would freely ambled around the yard. And then we got a dog…who liked licking the chickens in places I don’t want to mention. And he would chase the chickens, surely thinking they were his new toys. Coupled with birds of prey and coyotes, it was evident that we needed to secure our birds. So I designed our hen house, which sits between the garden and barn.

The interior of the hen house is a mirror image of itself. This symmetrical layout is to have the ability to utilize both sides independently-for an injured chicken, or baby chicks. There is definitely a pecking order, so it’s difficult to safely put chickens of different sizes and ages together.

Each side of the hen house has access to the nesting boxes where we gather eggs daily. The blue rolling tubs contain the chicken scratch and feed.

Fun themed handles add a bit of whimsy to the building.

At dusk, the chickens march their way inside the hen house, where they roost for the night. If we sense any predators finding their way into the screened-in area, we can secure the door for additional protection. Currently the 9′ x 12′ hen house can easily accommodate 25 – 30 chickens.

Outside Run

There is an outside run in the back so the chickens can free range safely. Here is where the food and water is located. The ground is dirt which allows the chickens to bury themselves during the heat of the day. Also these dust baths are a natural way the chickens get rid of any body bugs.

Today, we have 14 chickens (and one duck) and a variety of breeds-brown, white and blue/green egg layers.

Treats

Since our sweet chickens provide us with the best tasting, fresh eggs, we, in turn give them treats and high quality food.

Being located right next to my vegetable garden, often the chickens get Swiss chard and other greens. During the hot summer months, frozen corn, peas, squash and chilled watermelon are favorite snacks.

We also feed them black soldier fly larvae by Grubblies. These treats provide protein and calcium and the chickens LOVE them! And they are made in the USA and can be found here.

Bedding

I am experimenting with a mixture of dried flowers and herbs to add to the nesting boxes. Inspired by Lisa from Fresh Eggs Daily, this mixture is instrumental in keeping the hen house bug free. And who wouldn’t love laying eggs on rose petals?

To line the bedding boxes and flooring, we alternate between straw, hay and alfalfa. The straw is changed out weekly or as needed.

And by the way, we only have our chickens for the eggs, not meat.

Egg Laying

During the year, the chickens lay the most eggs in the Spring and Fall. The hot summers slow down the process. In the winter, a hen needs 14 hours of daylight in order to lay an egg daily. We do have a light to illuminate the hen house during the winter months.

Do all chickens lay eggs? The answer is no. Only hens (females) lay eggs and they do not need a rooster (male) to do so. When a rooster is introduced into the flock, then you can get baby chicks from a fertilized egg laid by the hen. Certain types of chickens lay more or less eggs than others.

If you are considering raising your own chickens, check with your local government to make sure you are allowed to do so. Here in Phoenix, you can have hens, but no roosters are allowed within the City limits.

Baby chicks can be sourced locally or online. Our latest batch of chicks are from McMurray Hatchery. Through this website you can choose different attributes like the type of chicken, egg color, and age. Seems a bit strange to get a box of live baby chickens in the mail, but that is how it is done.

I cannot say enough about fresh eggs. They taste better. Unlike the eggs you buy commercially, we retain the protective coating on the outside of the eggs and wash them prior to use. Ours are always fresh and delicious.

To read more about chickens, here is a post of frequently asked questions.

Happy Wednesday, my sweet friends! Tomorrow my son arrives home and I cannot wait. There is something about having the family together that just feels right.

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