If you just plant one thing.....

Hello, Friends! It's a little late but it's time for my bi-annual garden plug. I pray you all have something growing. I have blogged several times why you should all be gardeners but if you came late to the game, here's a little recap:

Having produce on hand in case our food supply changed

Knowing where your food comes from

Increased health benefits from fresh picked produce

Becoming educated in gardening in case you HAD to garden

Being self-reliant

The list could go on, but please, please plant something. IF you only plant one thing, one easy to grow, simple thing; let me give you an idea:

KALE

Kale is as simple as it gets to grow. You can buy seed or plants but it takes very little effort to grow it. You can plant it in a pot if that's all you have. It will give you a good supply with one even plant. I would go for a good set of two at least. Kale doesn't get as much attention as spinach and broccoli in the health news but in actuality, it is even more of a rock star. It is also so very versatile! Let me give you the 411:

Kale is HUGE in the antioxidant department. It contains a whopping 684% of the daily recommended amount of vitamin K. Vitamin K is responsible for increasing your antioxidant activity. It will help kick cancer in it's face and help the body get rid of all sorts of toxic elements. Kale also contains huge amounts of A and C which are also big on the antioxidant scale. It contains Quercetin which is a natural anti-inflammatory. This is great for healing gut issues along with other inflammatory ailments. Kale is also great for lowering cholesterol. The cholesterol lowering properties are increased when lightly steamed. This powerhouse green is loaded with calcium also and a chemical to boost DNA cellular repair. Who wouldn't want this growing in their back yard?

What to do with it? I put it in smoothies, in soups, in salads. I added it to our frittata last night. It has a very mild flavor akin to spinach. You can also puree it and freeze it in ice cube trays to use in smoothies later. Kale plants will provide for you up until the hottest part of summer when it bolts. I keep chard growing all year, which has great antioxidant properties as well. I just pulled out a 3 year old bush of chard a month ago. 

Don't over cook your veggies! Keep the nutrients in by eating them fresh or lights steamed or stir fried. They taste much better that way anyways!

To keep your garden healthy and productive, start a compost bin! I am always amazed at how those scraps of left over food and yard waste turn into dark, rich soil. The only amendments I add to my soil are mulch and manure. My plants are healthy and productive. I don't get all fancy with fertilizers. When I have tried that, I suffered plant atrophy. I am a "keep it simple" gardener. 

See that nice compost I just turned in? Oh my garden is happy. The best part is that it is free! You can put all produce and yard scraps, rice, egg shells, noodles and breads in the compost. Don't add anything with fat or meats of any kind. Compost shouldn't smell bad. Mine has lots of cockroaches in it. Pretty disgusting but they don't carry over into the garden and pretty much stay put. I add some DE in the compost now and then to get rid of them but they are harmless. 

Happy gardening my friends! I got my garden in late this year due to our fall break vacation but I have faith that the plants will flourish and provide! I truly love being outside playing in the dirt. I love to see life come from my hard work and I love that I can feed my family food that I know is free from pesticides. 

Good luck and get to work!

Day 12 and some gardening.

Day 12 was lovely. I played in the dirt a little. Not as much as I wanted because it is too hot to plant everything that I wanted. However, I do have some wonderful things growing:

Spinach. I am so happy you are back.

Little carrot seedlings popping up. This field is my multi-colors. Purple, red, orange and yellow. 

 Spicy little radishes. They popped up in only 3 days. 

I planted some romaine under my cucumber trellis and they came up great. Problem is, it became hotter again and these baby romaines are bolting. Chicken food. 

Still more cantaloupe. Several of them. I need to pull them up but how can I? They are so sweet and delicious. 

I have lots more growing and this month marks my goal of picking something every day for a year. It has worked. Never a day without something ready to be picked. Here's to another year. 

This year the bugs have been out of control at my house. Lots of ants, lots of crickets, lots of roaches and lots of garden bugs. A few years back, if you remember, I had my home sprayed by a pest control company and one day, they sprayed my garden and baby stroller. It was a tragedy. I cried all day. I cut off all ties with pest control at that point and have not had one since. Now, I am paying the price. My sister in law told me about a company our naturopath recommended called Lady Bug Pest Control. They use natural products like Eucalyptus oils and DE. I called them up and they went to work. I still won't let them near the chickens or garden but there are dead roach bodies as evidence of it's power. Thank you. I still don't like pest control, though.

Anyhow, on to me and what I eat.

It really is getting easy. Many of you email me that you can't do it. That you are totally addicted to sugar and baked goods. Believe me. You can do it. You can change your taste buds. Take it one day at a time. Start small. Just limit at first then cut it off. If I can, anyone can. I promise.

Breakfast: Fried egg, berries and GF toast

Lunch: Leftover sweet potato salad and hummus with some Mary's gone Crackers sticks. They are totally GF and organic and made with various types of seeds. I used the curry kind. It made a great dipping stick and was a welcomed crunchy snack. 

Dinner: I was still craving my pasta that I didn't get the other night at the restaurant. I have lots of basil in the garden so I made a quick, fresh dish.

I found the Brown Rice pasta in an organic version. I just love this pasta. It tastes just like the wheat noodles. 

Saute some garlic, zucchini and diced tomatoes in olive oil until barely tender. Add chopped basil and saute just until wilted. The tomatoes should get a bit saucy. I used about 5 tomatoes and one zucchini with about 3 cloves minced garlic and 1/2 cup basil. I added a little more olive oil to make it all stick. Season in up with some sea salt and pepper.

Toss in hot noodles and serve with some ribbon sliced fresh spinach. 

I made some GF Focaccia with tomatoes and basil on top and it went in the trash. It tasted like pizza gum. I hate tapioca starch. Why did I try it? 

My arm was itching the night before. I ate a little too much fruit at the party Sunday. I am pretty sure that activated the yeast which caused the itching. My theory. I am laying off a bit. A little a day is fine. 

A Few Gardening Mysteries Solved.

My friend, Julie, Hatching Bunnies Farm, read my post and sent me an email with some great info about what went wrong this year. I had to share it with you so you won't feel so bad about your crops. I know it makes me feel a little better. Read on.

Just read your blog, let me  try and solve a few mysteries for you :)
Tomatoes-didn't do well for anybody this year because our heat was high early.  The pollen is killed between 90-95 degrees depending on the variety.  It hit 100 in late April-so there wasn't much time to set fruit.  Last year was better because the triple digits didn't hit until early June.  As temps go down in the next few weeks, we should see some fruit forming once again.  Also, southern Arizona was hit hard with russet mites.  They can't be seen by the naked eye, but cause browning of the leaves on the tomatoes from the ground up.  I didn't figure out what they were until too late.  A couple of dustings of sulfur (which is great for tomatoes-all natural) would have taken care of them.  I will be treating mine next year as a preventative measure.  

The squash bugs were terrible as well this year.  I have contacted an entymologist at Arbico (organic company in Tucson) and was given some good tips for next year.  I have also found a squash bug and powdery mildew resistant heirloom squash for next year that should help.  Here's what she said:

As for your problems with squash bugs, these critters are best controlled using 
physical methods.  If you place small boards or squares of cardboard near the 
base of your squash plants, the squash bugs will congregate there at night.  Go 
out early the next morning, lift up the boards and sweep the bugs into a bucket 
of soapy water.  If you have outbreaks of the nymphs on your plants, you can 
spray them directly with insecticidal soap or neem oil--or  pyrethrin as a last 
resort. (Avoiding the blooms, of course).


My daughter came up with a homemade aphid killer that worked well this year.  Check my blog hatchingbunniesfarm.blogspot.com for that recipe.

Hopefully this fall's weather and bugs will be kinder to us. :)

Summer Garden Recap

This summer's garden was interesting. My plants either thrived and produced amazingly or they didn't . There really wasn't much in between. There is still much growing right now and many have gotten their second wind after the aphid infestation. The chard has been around for almost a year now which gives us great greens for smoothies. 

The Good: 

Cucumbers! I planted these in February against all the rules and I had cucumbers from April to July. They were never bitter even with the high heat. And....I went out today and the Armenian's that suffered the aphid attack have come back and look what I found:

More cucumbers! There are many babies growing and so I have a dilemma on my hands; let them grow and sacrifice some room for the fall garden or pull them and plant broccoli. Hard decision. 

Zucchini. Tons of zucchini. I also planted these early and had zucchini from April to July. I should have planted again in June so I would still have some but the beetles came in July and decided they wanted in on the treats. Ugh. I may plant another one now. We will see.

Melons. 

Amazingly sweet. I had about 5 then the aphids hit. I cut them back and they are now growing everywhere and I just picked a couple the other day. I have a good handful more almost ready. I hope they hurry soon. I will need to pull them out. I wish I had room to do a whole melon garden. Someday. 

Peppers and Chilis.

I have many different varieties growing and they have  all flourished this season. I have loved them in omelets, fajitas, fritatas, stir frys and about every thing else. I had onions until this past month and I am sure missing them now. Time to plant more.

I am not quite sure what these peppers are above but they are so cute. They are mini but go from yellow to orange then to red. I pick them at all various stages of color for a great variety. They are sweet and crisp. 

I picked this a couple weeks ago. The last of my carrots. They were under a tomatillo plant and I have been picking carrots for a year. They were always super sweet. I am sad to see them go. I planted the acorn squash early and have a few sitting in my pantry. The aphids ate the plants but not before I was able to get about 6 of them. I planted some butternut squash as well but they are going everywhere! I think I may pull them up for my fall garden. They will still take a while to get big so I am not sure I want to wait.

Take a peak. See how cute. Hurry. Grow.

The not so good: 

Tomatoes! Ugh. I have talked to many people and no one has had tomato success this year. I don't know why this year. I had about two plants out of 15 produce. They are starting to bud again so we will see if I can get anymore. I hope.

Tomatillos. Huge plants. only a handful of tomatillos. I made a couple batches of tomatillo salsa and stir fried some up in some fajitas but sure wish I had more. 

Green Beans. I planted three varieties and the plants looked great. They flowered but I only picked a handful for one bowl of soup. Not sure why these didn't work as well. I had great hopes of freezing lots for future use. Darn.

I have planted some sweet potatoes that should be ready by November if all goes well. The vines are huge:

Is there anything under those vines? I hope. I am not sure it is worth growing potatoes in a small garden but we will see. My other potatoes didn't do so well.

It is time to start planting in a couple weeks. I will have a list soon for pre-orders from The Hatching Bunnies farm for those wanting organic Heirlooms. She will have it all. I hope you are getting your plots ready. I am ready for the fall produce.

My mouth is watering for these:

Soon. November will be here before we know it. 

Hope you had some success this summer. Gardening is a an experiment. Even the best have flops. You just dust off your gardening gloves and start over again.

Garden Wars: A surrender to Aphids

Remember this photo just posted a week or two ago? Well, here you go today:

Those darn aphids won. At least in the middle section with my Armenian cucumbers. I left town and with no one to wage battle, the war has ended. Fortunately, the aphids did not like my peppers and green beans. They also ate up some squash plants in my other garden. It was almost time for those to give up the ghost anyways but I always take it so personal, like they should just grow forever. So sad. Soon it will be time to plant again and in a way I am relieved, I leave town again and now I don't have to worry about them. They can just die. I would still like to come home to some plants, however. I still need to be able to pick something everyday for a year so the war is still on for the rest of the garden. 

I did get to pick a lovely melon today.

The color was amazing. Food grown the right way is so much more vibrant and the flavors match the color. I have enjoyed these melons and am sad that I don't have too many of them. It was savored and appreciated. Now, I won't have anymore fruits growing until the oranges are ready in November. Peaches, blackberries, plums and melons all done. So sad. If I had to rely on what I grew, it would be a long wait for something sweet and juicy. I can't wait until my apple tree is mature enough, then, the summer apples would be on in the next few weeks. The other sad news beside my cucumbers dying is that my beautiful peach tree has also died. The broken branches from the overload of peaches has killed it off. Sad. Sad.  We will plant two more in the fall but it will be  a few years before the peaches will grow. Ugh. It is a never ending battle. We have learned the need for a good prune. Unfortunately, too late.


I will be happy with what is still growing. I picked a good variety of peppers and chili's for our fajitas along with tomatillo's, zuchinni and onions sauteed up together. I never really knew what to do with tomatillos except for green salsa but they are great just cut up and sauteed or grilled as well with the other veggies. They add a little tang to the meal. 


I hope you all had a wonderful 4th of July. How in the world did we end up with 70-80 degree weather for July? I actually felt a little chilly outside tonight. It was as cool as a Halloween night and the moon matched to boot! Beautiful! Too bad it won't last. 

Garden Wars

It's me vs. them right now. Aphids. It is inevitable that they come to attack. You have to be ready. You need to be armed and you need to be diligent. I get them when the plants are getting towards the end of production but I want to milk every last fruit I can. Right now the aphids are plentiful. I turned my back for a couple days and bam! The leaves are covered. So, every morning, I spray them down with a hose then treat the underside with a little soapy water solution. If I stay on it, I can win the war. I have to admit, when it gets blasted hot in AZ, I sometimes feel like letting the aphids win. But, too much time and money has been put into that garden and I will push forward. If I want to keep with my goal of picking a basket full every day for a year, I can't let them get the best of me! 


The garden has been pretty successful this year with a few set backs. The tomatoes:

The plants contracted an infection this year. I had to pull many but am nursing the ones I have. Not too many this year but enough for a little salsa and bruschetta. 

The new garden has been pretty happy. The Armenians have climbed all over the tops making it a little challenging to access the garden but it looks pretty.

The cantaloupes are liking their trellis. I could make some funny joke how my melons are so big I have to sling them back with pantyhose, but some might get offended, so I won't. But, they are cute and they are getting big and I do need to sling them back with pantyhose. A few more weeks.....

All 20 of my plums are starting to ripen. Some years I get overloaded, some years only a few. They are big and sweet and I will cherish everyone of them. I think I have been eating them all myself. My little treat when I work in the garden. Sorry, kids. You have to be a little earlier to the draw.

One thing that isn't small in numbers is zucchini. We still eat one about everyday. If it isn't on a plate somehow, it is in our smoothies. I grilled up some super duper steak and veggie tacos. I grilled the zucchini with some Mexican lime olive oil and some house seasoning (salt, garlic and pepper mix) along with some onions and peppers. I grilled the steak with a cumin and house seasoning rub with some lime oil as well. I chopped all that up, sauteed it in a little more oil and more seasonings to taste including some smoked chipotle seasoning and wow! Scrumptious! I could eat that for breakfast this morning. I would be fine with just the roasted veggies.


Here's that house seasoning in case you forgot:

1 cup sea salt

1/4 cup black pepper

1/4 cup garlic powder

I use it for everything! So simple yet so perfect.

I hope your gardens are flourishing. Don't let the bugs get the best of you. Fight them with all  you got. Even if it is just spraying them down with the hose before the sun gets up, that will kick them down plenty. Make sure you get the underside. It takes time and patience but if you have done the work to put in the garden, don't give up! It is getting hot which means the garden will slow down a bit so their is relief in site. 

Happy summer.  

Planting Potatoes

Under my soon-to-be cantaloupe trellis, I have a patch of dirt ready for some planting. The ground is rich and fertile and really a perfect setting for some potatoes. I will pick them young so they don't need to grow too long. Potatoes take awhile. The best thing is that you have what you need to plant just sitting in the pantry!


You know those shriveled little potatoes with roots sticking out? Yep. Those are your seeds. Cut them into about 1 inch chunks with at least one eye (root) on each cube. I do this at night and let them sit out overnight to dry out a bit. 


In the morning, I dig a little 4-6 inch trench and space them about 5 inches apart. Cover them and keep them well watered.


A green little bush will emerge and the potatoes will grow underneath in clusters. As the potatoes start to get above ground, cover them in mulch, hay or more dirt. Keep doing this until the green tops start to shrivel and die. Then you know they are ready. 


So easy. You can use any kind of potato you want. I used some creamy gold potatoes that I had from the Backyard Farmer. I want to do some sweet potatoes as well but I might do those in some burlap sacks on the side of the garden.....just for fun. Everything is growing amazingly well. I give the credit to good mulch, my fertilizer from the Backyard Farmer and fish/sea weed fertilizer. The tomato plants are so full of tomatoes that I could probably live off one plant alone! 


In case you didn't catch this film I posted on facebook, watch it now! It is long but so inspiring about gardening. I can't wait to totally farm this way. I am on my way. I dug up more mulch that very day to cover my garden beds. Watch it here:
http://backtoedenfilm.com/

Sorry for the iPhone quality picture but I had to snap this. I had picked several long stalks of celery for our soup and had the tops left on the counter. When I came in to the kitchen, I saw Tate going to town on the tops of them. This was the 4th one. When he saw me, he thought he was in trouble! This is a testament to anyone that kids will eat veggies if you teach them. This is the child, with Autism, who had to be force fed for the first few years of life. I had to put food in his mouth and force it closed. Autism causes all sorts of textural and sensory issues. I wasn't going to allow that to be a crutch for him. He was going to eat normally come Hell or high water. We went through both but he came out of it strong and better for it. I have a friend who son has Autism and she brings him a corn dog to school every day , for years, since that is all he will eat. They can be taught. Same with every child out there. Make them eat their veggies! They will learn and they will learn to like them. Celery tops. Really. They were even bitter. He loved them.

As a side note, you know when the lettuce and celery get bitter when it gets warm? Well, soak them in water and some white vinegar and they taste great again! My celery is huge and still yummy! I am still cutting lettuce daily as well. 

Have a great one!

Growing up.

To get the most out of your garden space, grow whatever you can vertically. I use tomato cages to grow my cucumbers, peas, pole beans, berry bushes and cantaloupe vertically. It also keeps the fruits off the ground and helps them to be nice and straight. I saw this picture on Pinterest today and am having my other half whip this up this weekend. 

I am using it to grow my cantaloupes vertically and then am planting some New Zealand Spinach underneath it benefiting from the shade. This way, you get double the space in your garden and it looks pretty also. We even have all the supplies on hand! He was so happy to have another project to do for me (:! 


If any of you are still needing some plants for your garden, shoot me an email. I can still get you some from Hatching Bunny Farms. I picked up a few more today. Heirloom, organic and beautiful. 

The New Garden. Chicken Proof.

I have such a wonderful soul mate. I asked, and he delivered. He already built me a big garden on the side of the house but I just had to have more. You know how us women are. I had this stretch between two trees that is just perfect for more plants. Since he just loves to serve me, he made this beautiful, chicken proof, garden yielding 16 X 4.5 feet of precious growing potential. I just love it. It is much prettier than the non-edible plants that filled the space. I can't wait to plant the whole thing. Almost time. Besides the labor, the cost was cheap. Here's the details in case you want to copy it:


The logs come from Home Depot in the gardening section. They come in a redwood color. I am sure Lowe's carries the same thing. I think they were around $3 a piece. They are flat on two sides so you can stack them. They come in 8 feet lengths. Stacking 3 high, you get 14 "'s . Perfect for a grow box. He drilled holes in the ends and skewered them with re bar. He then pounded the re bar into the ground a few feet. It is steady as can be. No nailing needed. 


The dirt came from Pioneer Landscaping. They have a few valley locations. It is about $30 per cubic yard. We only needed about 2 1/4 cubic yards. Cost extra if they deliver. We bought the sandy loam mixture for gardens. We used free teenage labor to unload it. 


The chicken proof cages are made from 1" X 2" boards and chicken wire. 


I did the beautiful stain work. I didn't stain the insides or bottoms of the cages so that it won't contaminate the soil. The stain is a sealer to help protect the wood from the rain and sun.


My large garden is doing beautifully. In fact, the best ever. Last year was horrible. I decided to get all fancy in the fertilizer department. I have always been a minimalist with the fertilizer. It has always worked for me. I started adding all sorts of things like bone meal, fish emulsion, epsom salt, etc. Totally overdid it. Not a good result. This year, I went back to simple with a few additions.


Cow manure is the bomb along with good mulch. I added lots and lots of mulch and manure this year. The soil is beautiful. All I do now is add the Blue Bonnet fertilizer that I get from The Backyard Farmer once a month. In addition, I spray the plants with a Fish emulsion, Seaweed/kelp mixture every two weeks. I bought a gallon of it from Summer Winds nursery in mesa. The gallon contains both emulsion and kelp together. It is organic and you just mix about 1 T. in a 32 oz. spray bottle, shake and spray when the sun isn't directly on the plants. It feeds the plants directly giving them a power boost. Be careful not to spray directly on the blossoms so they don't dry out. A little mist is fine. Drench the rest of the plant. One spray bottle did all my plants. I didn't do the leafy greens that are ready to harvest. I don't want a fishy taste to my smoothies! Other than that, I just water a good soaking every other day. They are all smiling and happy. My new garden isn't quite as good yet since the soil isn't as rich as my 10 year old garden. We will get there. 


I just came in from playing in the dirt. Honestly, it is my favorite thing to do. Here is part of today's harvest:

Celery, peas, spinach, radishes, collards and Kale. A salad and smoothies are on tap. My peas are going hog wild right now.

We ate some up in a delicious coconut Korma the other night. I always hated peas until I grew them. 26 out of 27 of my preschoolers beg to go pick peas. They love them. They are so very sweet and so fun to snap and eat. Their parents can't believe they actually eat them. There is a big difference between store bought and home grown. 


I am going to miss these plants when it gets too hot. I love the spinach the most so I am very happy to have found a summer variety of spinach. It will actually produce all year! I bought some heirloom New Zealand Spinach seeds from Sweet Corn Nursery (see my sidebar). I am hoping that they are growing when my current spinach plant bolts. Fingers crossed. 


My celery is amazing right now. Thanks to my friend, Terri, she told me that if you just cut the stocks off leaving 3 inches above soil, they will keep growing. Sure enough they are. In the summer, they will get bitter but you can still make soup with them. I am going to see how long I can keep them going. Most people tell me that their celery is always bitter. I keep mine in a shadier location with lots of water. As with cucumbers, if they are bitter, you need more water. 


I am so happy to hear of all you new gardeners out there! I think people are really catching on that we need to grow food ourselves. Spread the word. Send me a picture of your garden and I will do a post showing what others are doing. A sort of show and tell episode!


Many ask what to plant. Here is what I have going on this crop:


Green Bush Beans
Yellow Bush Beans
Lemon Cucumbers
Armenian Cucumbers
Burpless Cucumbers
Yellow Crookneck Squash
Yellow Straight neck Squash
Zucchini 
Some other weird squash
Cantaloupe
5 Varieties of chili peppers
8 varieties of tomatoes, about 15 plants
4 varieties of bell peppers, about 10 plants
peas
Chard
Carrots (too late to start now)
Celery
Tomatillos
New Zealand Spinach
Sage, Basil, Mint and Cilantro
Onions
Radishes
Potatoes


My fruit trees/bushes are:


Blackberries
Boysenberries
Peaches
Plums 
oranges
Tangerines
Lemons
Apples


Let's hope for a good crop this year! 


Did I inspire anyone to start? That was my point. Oh, and to brag a little. I am so proud. A special thanks to the love of my life for making all my dreams come true! (We just celebrated 20 years, I think I will keep him a little longer.)




If you don't have a garden and still want good, home grown produce, try out The Backyard Farmer! All local. Super delicious. They now have homemade bread in addition to farm eggs, local, raw honey, local olive oil, fertilizers, chicken feed and bedding, organic meats, and more and more. They deliver right to you for free! Can't beat it. It is like a present on my doorstep each Wednesday. I even got a present from them today. Thanks, guys! They also tolerate my many, many emails for advice from plants to chickens. I love having such knowledgeable sources!

It's Planting time!

     It's that time of year again where I put out the plug for home gardening. It is warm enough here in AZ now to get the soil ready and begin the planting. If you have paid attention at all to what is going on with Monsanto and the seeds they are producing, you understand why it is so important that we grow plants ourselves. Monsanto is in it for the money. Completely. They are taking our seeds and corrupting them with pesticides so that all the seeds now become toxic. They are slowly buying out seed companies right and left and soon will be the only company out there. They are shutting down family farms with law suits and corruption. The head of Monsanto was appointed to the FDA by our own Obama. What a perfect marriage for Monsanto. 


     I don't know about you, but this doesn't sit well with me. I want safe food. It is bad enough that our water has junk in it, but I want to start with good, healthy seeds left as God made them. You need to buy heirloom plants. You can use seeds from heirloom plants to grow new plants. It just takes a little dedication. There may be a time that the only way we are safe is if we grow it ourselves. That time seems eerily close. 


     If you only have a small space, get a small planter. Grow one thing if you have to. If I had to pick one thing, I would grow collards or kale. It grows easily and abundantly and is such an amazing food for our bodies. We pick leaves daily for our smoothies. If that is all you had for your greens, you would be blessed. 


     I am adding another 56 square feet of garden tomorrow. I have a large garden on the west side of my house that doesn't get enough sun. I never thought about building a raised planter along my North fence line but the sun is perfect. I can hardly wait to have it up and running. My pepper plants are going to be so happy there! If all you have is an area that gets little sun, you can still grow some leafy greens. Mine do very well in my shady spots. The broccoli does not! Watch your yard for a day to see where your sun is. You want at least 6 hours per day. You can buy pots and stick them in various sunny locations if you have to. I am to the point now where I care more about what I can produce on my land then what the landscape looks like. It can be pretty if it is taken care of. I would much rather have a plant giving me food than a bush giving me flowers. 


     I had a great meeting with some wonderful women last night. They are all trying so hard to change their lives and help their children. There wasn't one of us in the group that was without struggles. We all had children that require extra help through nutrition. Our food matters so much. It costs extra to be healthy. However, you will always save in the long run. My kids haven't been to the Dr. for illness for at least 7 years, no lie. Food is the best medicine. 


Grow something. It does the body good.


Click on my "gardening" label to the right to get more gardening tips.

Arizona Gardners

This spring break, if nothing else happens, I will be pulling out the last of my cabbage and other leftover veggies to get ready for the mouthwatering summer garden. I am a little behind but still plenty of time to yield my favorite crops. If you also are ready for planting, here are a few things you can plant in Arizona this time of year:


Cantaloupe
Corn
Cucumbers
Eggplant
Okra
Onions
Spring Peas
Peppers
Chili
Potato
Radish
Squash
Tomatoes
Tomatillos
Watermelons
Green Beans

Everyone should try a garden. Especially tomatoes. There is nothing like the garden tomatoes. It is simple. You don't need much room. Your body will thank you. If you need more gardening info, check out my new "gardening" label at the end for all my past gardening posts. I am relabeling everything so it will be easier to find past post's.

And, if you are like me, you may have some leftover cabbage in the garden. Here is a coleslaw recipe that I like just plain and simple. There is sugar so my sugar free mama's may have to wait. If you want to go for the jazzier version of slaw, try my peanut slaw here.

Simple Slaw

1/2 C. Mayo (To make a healthy, homemade mayo, try Kara's here.)

1/3 sugar or sucanat whirled in blender
1/4 C. buttermilk
1/4 C. milk
2 1/2 T. lemon juice
1 1/2 T. white vinegar
1/2 t. salt
1/8 t. pepper
8 cups finely chopped cabbage
1/4 C. shredded carrot
2 T. minced onion

Chop cabbage finely or shred. Combine mayo, sugar, milk, buttermilk, lemon juice, vinegar, salt and pepper in a large bowl and beat until smooth.

Add cabbage, carrots and onion. Mix well. Cover and refrigerate for an hour or two before serving.

**Top Secret recipes.com

It's garden time again!!!

I really can't believe it is time to garden again. I still have plants

that are producing but I must rip them out and start anew. I do love the fall garden, I love to be able to pick fresh lettuce daily for sandwiches and salads and spinach for smoothies. If you missed the summer garden; get ready, you have a few weeks. You need to be getting your soil ready. It is perfect to plant when the temperature cools down to around 100 , "cool down" and "100 degrees" really shouldn't be in the same sentence. Anyways, you want to prep the soil and give it a week to rest so get to work.

I am hoping to get the old plants ripped out this weekend and have it tilled and ready by the next. What to plant?

Here are my favorites:

Broccoli

Cabbage

Lettuce, all varieties

Spinach

Cauliflower

Green Beans

Onions

Carrots

Eggplant

I am sure I am leaving something out. What is your favorites? Lettuce is real easy to grow so if you are a beginner, start there. You can easily do this in a big planter if you don't have a garden yet. If you like the baby spring mix that you can get at the store, that is a great thing to plant at home. I just throw the seeds into the furrow in the garden or in a big planter; a good variety mix. I don't space them or bury them - just toss. Then, I water and wait patiently. They will grow like a big clump but all you do is snip the tops when you want some lettuce, leaving the plant in the ground. This gives you your baby greens and lets the plant keep reproducing for you all winter long. I leave some romaine and head lettuce growing for the whole plant but I love the baby greens. You can do this with spinach also. It's a great way to maximize your gardening space. I am going to do my best to stagger my broccoli this year so we don't have 16 heads all at once.

So, if you missed spring, you have another chance - take it! It is well worth it.