Around the Garden

pots of flowers

I have put some pots of flowers in mom's front entry, snapdragons, calendula, petunias

Her climbing red rose is blooming.

red rose

lettuce & red mustard in the hoop house

The red leaved mustard is bolting, but the mixed lettuces are still doing OK.

about 40 potted tomatoes

a 'few' more tomatoes

the junk pile

I have been working on the junk pile out back. On the other side of the rock wall to the right is a garden area that I made a long time ago. It's been abandoned a few years now due to javilina issues.

back garden

I' hauling pallets to fence it off from the pigs. Then at least some of the tomatoes will go here.

Spring is Coming!

Granny Smith apple blossom

Oh dear, it's been forever since I made a post here! Well here are some pictures from my house about the middle of March. Since Mom sleeps late most mornings I go over to my place and work for awhile.

Cecile Brunner

I have the climbing sport, the branches are about 7-8 ft

I adore my Cecile Brunner rose. The dainty pink buds are very fragrant. I have the climbing sport and it has grown huge, with branches 7-8 feet tall. The original plant was introduced in 1881 according to this article.

Creekside garden

The garlic and snap peas were doing well.

Garden Tour

Front yard path

Things are really moving along here so I thought I would give you a bit of an update.

Here's the front yard path, oreganos in the pots, sweet peas on the arch, the red farther down are oriental poppies. The tall tree, right mid ground is the apple in the driveway bed. The tree on the left in the back ground is a self sown elderberry which is blooming. Remember you can click on any picture to see it bigger.

Bonanza Dwarf peaches

The little Bonanza peach tree has a good fruit set.

Salad Bowl Lettuce

The patch of Salad Bowl lettuce in the shady front yard bed is about big enough to start picking.

Granada, the $2 rose

The Granada rose that I got for $2 last fall has some buds showing. It is dwarfed by the bearded iris and green onion going to seed.

pink rose

This big pink rose grows at the end of the path in the first picture. I don't remember it's name, I'll have to check my garden book. It has some fragrance, but not that much.

potato bed

Here's the potato bed out front that I planted in March. I gave the bed a good soaking yesterday and mulched it with some straw. I'll have to buy another bale this week to finish up.

potted potatoes

Out back on the patio the potted potatoes are doing well.

Currant Tomato

I potted up a Currant tomato into this planter and gave the very last plant to my sister when she came to visit yesterday. Do you recognize what the support is?

Princepe Borghese, green tomatoes

Also on the patio the other tomatoes are growing like crazy, the little Princepes are loaded with green fruit.

Potted Peppers

I moved the pepper plants on up to one gallon pots yesterday.

Back yard garden

Here's an over view of the back yard garden. You can see the greenhouse on the left. On the fence left of the gate is the Fuji apple I planted this year. On the right side is a Grimes Golden planted in 2009. The beds down the left side from front to back, Red Pontiac potatoes, three sisters, lettuce and turnips, then bolting lettuce. On the right, bolting lettuce, tomatoes, onion and parsnip, brassicas. Going across most of the back are the Mammoth Melting peas and behind them, the bean trellis.

Red Pontiac potatoes planted in January

 

 

Three sisters, the beans aren't up yet

Bolting parsnips

tomato bed 8 Amish Paste

Broccolis

bolting lettuce, chard, red amaranth

Mammoth Melting Peas

Greenhouse, cantaloupe, nasturtiums, chard

strawberries

Epazote and purple petunia

This Epazote and purple petunia volunteered in a pot of lettuce.

The red mustard is flowering

beans and cantaloupe in the coldframe

Purple bean flowers

Red root pigweed, a wild amaranth

With the warmer weather comes a new edible weed, red root pigweed, a type of amaranth. The small leaves are good in salad and when they are bigger, as cooked greens. In good soil with extra water it will go to 6-8 feet.

Lamb's Quarters

Lambs Quarters is another edible weed, used the same as the pigweed. Where it grows in drier poorer soil its a bit tough so I cut those for the rabbits.

HOW TO PLANT A ROSE BUSH

Granada, a hybrid tea rose

With the more moderate weather and a nice rain the other evening the garden is coming along nicely. I had to go to the valley the other day and stopped at my favorite nursery, Shady Way in Apache Junction. They always have a nice selection of herbs so I picked up a couple of mint plants and some lavender. I had also stopped at K-Mart and picked up a Granada rose from the clearance table for only $2. It wasn't in bad shape and was described as having a 'strong spicy scent'. I love rose that have a strong scent and won't buy any that don't have one. I mean after all what's the point of planting a rose if it doesn't smell heavenly? I also picked up a couple of plants at the Boyce Thompson Arboretum near Superior at the members plant sale. I'll show you some of these as I get them planted out.

In the meantime here's how to plant a potted rose bush. The day before planting, water the soil in the pot well, so that it will hold together when you knock the plant out of the pot.

When choosing a site for roses, remember that in general they like to have full sun. However, if you live in the desert they will appreciate some late afternoon shade so that they aren't fried by the full strength of desert sunlight. I chose to plant the Granada in a bed in the front yard. It will get full sun in the morning and through mid-day and light shade in the afternoon during the summer.

Now dig a nice big hole, several inches deeper and wider than the pot. I know it's hard to tell in this picture, but the top of that shovel is about 3 inches deeper than the soil surface.

Add some compost to the hole, enough so the when you set the pot in the hole the base of the rosebush will be at ground level.

Take the bush out of it's pot and set it in the hole. Fill around it with more compost and then back fill with soil. If the soil is very dry, fill the hole with water and let it drain before back filling. Then water it again.

The soil in this particular spot is not in too bad a shape. If I were planting in an area where I hadn't been working the soil in the past I would have dug a much bigger hole and used a lot more compost. I think it is better to plant things in ground that you have previously worked and added compost and manure to in the past than to dig a hole in virgin territory. It makes it a lot easier for the plant roots to get out into the soil.

I know this is not the way a lot of 'experts' tell you how to do it, but this way works for me; After planting I pruned off a few broken and weak branches. I'll keep you updated on the rose's progress when it starts growing and putting out new growth.  I'll also be adding some more compost or some rabbit manure over the top of the soil as a mulch. If, when it starts putting out new growth it seems to have problems I'll add a little organic fertilizer mix to the top of the soil and water it in.