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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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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Planting Vegetables and Herbs

My vegetable garden is comprised of 5 raised beds made from concrete blocks and edged with brick. I like raised beds because it’s easier on the back and you can control the condition of the soil. The PVC pipes are hooped over the beds to allow for bird netting or shade cloth to protect the plants. My garden is adjacent to the hen house where abundant crops can be fed to willing chickens.

When vegetable planting in the fall, I generally use a combination of plants and seeds. For example, I have never grown strawberries from seeds. Some of my herbs are perennial so they regenerate themselves year after year. I still haven’t figured out the right number of plants to produce the right amount of vegetables for my family. One year, I stopped counting after picking the 85th eggplant. You can only donate so many eggplants before your friends stop taking your phone calls. Another year, as an experiment for the children, we left the zucchini on the vine to grow and grow-one ending up with a final weight of 8 lbs. Big photo op.

Growing food is a bit hit and miss-all your good intentions can change based on the weather, critters, soil conditions and water. But the joy of picking something you have started is very rewarding….and it tastes so much better than store-bought produce.

Two weeks earlier, I amended my soil with our own compost made from recycled kitchen and yard waste. I do this to let the soil settle in. Composting adds a natural alternative to chemical fertilizers. It’s free, easy to make and good for the environment. Here is more information on composting.

I purchased the plants at Whitfill Nursery and was pleased to see a very large selection of non-GMO (non-genetically modified) plants. Here’s the list of vegetables I planted last weekend: Tomatoes- Roma, Sweet 100s, Early Girl; brussels sprouts, spinach, romaine lettuce, Boston lettuce, arugula, strawberries (Eversweet), radicchio. Herbs: garlic chives, Italian basil, cilantro, and dill. I already have an abundance of rosemary, marjoram and mint.

My kale, bell peppers and a few heirloom tomato plants survived the summer. We are a bit “kaled-out” so the chickens get to enjoy the balance.

Here is my planting bible, Vegetable Planting Guide for the Valley of the Sun. I have used it year after year and it’s the best summary of what vegetables to plant during the year. As well, here is the Herb Planting Guide for the Valley of the Sun. Hope you find these charts helpful!

Happy planting,

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Fall Planting

It was the perfect morning to go to my favorite nursery to select flowers for the planters and vegetables for the garden. We love to go to Whitfill Nursery, not only because it is close to our home, but it is family-owned and has operated in Phoenix for over six decades. It’s a delightful place to be this time of year. Once you enter their property you feel transformed to another place that inspires you with all things Fall!

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witchintruck Whitfill just received a shipment of new items this morning so it was busy with like-minded souls wanting to finally plant after our long, hot summer.

They had a gorgeous selection of geraniums in reds and corals and numerous selections of annuals and perennials in a variety of colors.

petunias

Our front planter,which has an eastern exposure, is in desperate need of color. In front of the raised planter, we have a row of Purple Heart plants (Setcreasea) which helped determine our color scheme of pink, lavender, crimson and white. We selected plants of varying heights to create interest and depth.

allflowers

For the back row, we picked Lavender Laceleaf (full sun to light shade) which will grow up to 3 feet.

Two different color snapdragons, Sonnet Carmine and Liberty Classic Crimson will go in front of the lavender. Both have a growing height of 18″to 24″.

snapdragons

The front two rows will be an assortment of petunias in a deep purple, white, bright pink and dark fuscia. Allysum in white and lavender will edge the borders.

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If you would like to know what flowers to plant now or over the course of a year, I always reference the Bedding Planting Guide for the Valley of the Sun. I don’t recall where I got this, but I use it every year and have made numerous copies for friends. Here it is: beddingplantingguide.

Happy Planting! Tomorrow I hope to start my vegetable garden!!

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