Gardening Journal - Post your gardening updates here

Taking a look at the tepary beans this Friday morning.

Some of the varieties that have done very well out in the southwest are Moctezumas, Pinacate (the single most drought tolerant and prolific cultivar being able to produce beans off of one good monsoon rain), and, of course, Sonoran whites native to our Sonoran desert region in New Mexico, West Texas, and Northern Mexico. There are more varieties of teparies, but these are three you might want to consider for a 3 sisters setup.

I'm going to try a New Mexico cultivar this year that is a cross between our native Amaranth and Mediterranean Red. This produces much more grain while maintaining the drought tolerance of southwest American Amaranth. Amaranth is a native desert grain solution in a situation where wheat has become untenable.

We'll just have to make our own bread. You might call it desert bread. Besides, Hopi Amaranth flat bread isn't exactly a new idea.

https://imgur.com/a/VXcGEfa

We'll certainly be grazing in pastures grand this year. It's time to expand the field and rethink everything.

Spring is in 9 days.

Isaiah 30

23Then shall he give the rain of thy seed, that thou shalt sow the ground withal; and bread of the increase of the earth, and it shall be plump and plenteous: in that day shall thy cow graze in pastures grand 24Thine ox likewise and the young ass that ears the ground shall eat clean provender, which hath been winnowed with shovel and fan. 25And there shall come on every high mountain, and upon every high hill, rivers and streams of waters in the day of a great slaughter, when all the towers shall fall. Moreover the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days, in the day that the LORD bindeth up the breach of his people, and healeth the stroke of their wound.

https://imgur.com/a/tazFReO

Nitrogen and Phosphorus shipments have been sanctioned by the Russian and Chinese governments to NATO nations.

Fortunately, we require none of them, nor do we need expensive commercial fertilizers like MiracleGro. All we need is a clear yellow substance that our bodies manufacture daily and is high in nitrogen and minerals.

In a sprayer, we set it to 8oz per gallon mix which is going to give you a 1/16th liquid fertilizer mix. That's just about what you want as recommendations for urine mixture are anywhere from 1/10th part to 1/20th part. With a 1/16th mix, you're never going to get your fertilizer too hot to burn up your plants.

https://imgur.com/a/Lq0BM9c

Last Edited by The_Gardener on 03/11/2022 08:10 PM

People today think they need store bought yeast in their prepper stock.

Actually, you don't. Any grain (including Amaranth) will develop yeast culture if left standing long enough.

Simply prepare the dough a few days before and it will have already risen by the time you go to bake it.

In any survival situation, daily bread is going to be the staple. In the desert southwest, that daily bread flour is most likely going to come from Mesquite pods and wild desert Amaranth. Even these will naturally develop yeast if made into a dough, kept moist, and left sitting covered with a towel.





Last Edited by The_Gardener on 03/11/2022 09:31 PM

Attached a little 2gph sprayer onto each of the ollas for light surface watering when filling or topping off the ollas.

The interior sprayers that fill the ollas are 7gph, so you should have enough pressure for 2gph sprayers on top for some quick surface spray while filling.

At the beginning of the season, this is going to ensure that our seedlings get germinated. Later in the season, we can twist those sprayers shut to where they just have a slight drip.

https://imgur.com/a/LlPKOF5

Sprayers are working better than expected.

Getting a light and even coverage and it's taking right at 10 minutes a day to top off the ollas. That's just enough time to give the area a light watering, which is exactly what we want for germination.

Some arugula looks like it's sprouting. Spring has sprung.

We have 50 days till May 6. That's just nearly perfect timing as it takes arugula 45 days to mature.

I need this arugula finished up by May 6.

https://imgur.com/a/IDzzYIC

Last Edited by The_Gardener on 03/16/2022 06:39 PM

3-20-22

Just crossed vernal point about an hour ago. Thus we are at equinox. Tomorrow marks the first full day of spring.

Azafran spice is in germination. If you live in the southwest, Azafran will probably be a spice you'll want in the garden. It has medicinal properties and is one of the very few truly semi-xeric spices that can grow with hardly any effort. Azafran is built for this climate. It wants to grow.

3-20-22 Azafran germinating

https://imgur.com/a/PJIh3Tw

Equinox at 3:33 UTC. Crossed vernal point here right at 9:33 this morning. Germination should be on the upswing from now on through end of the season.

4-2-22 Last day of lunar winter before observed new moon tonight. Mandrakes are going in the ground.

https://imgur.com/a/SAVq0xL

We still have 3-1/2 feet of snow, it's gonna be a minute!

lol ya I've got a bit of snow scattered about too. But 40*s today and higher tomorrow. I've gotten 24 Tom's under lights inside that are about 8"s. A lot of other stuff that will soon outgrow my indoor setup. So the greenhouse gets opened and spring is here! As you can surmise I love transplanting starters into the ground.

Think I'll bring my smoke and coffee and test the bench out.
Someday I'll take a few pics and share my paradise. Thousands of plants = a lifetime of work but well worth it.

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm Mother Nature.

Buckle up.....

You guys up in northern agriculture zones won't really get kicked off till May Day. You have a good month yet before your spring planting.

I can get away with getting my Solanaceae in (Datura, Mandrake, Tomatoes) because I'm on the edge of the desert southwest. It's already in the mid-70sF here.

Post your photo updates when you get them.

It's going to be a growing season this year and a lot of folks who haven't gardened before will soon be starting with inflation and food shortages as they are.

My crystal ball says beans are trending in the very near future. :-)

Later in the season, we'll want to make that tomato powder and chili powder for long term storage prep of soups and sauces, but I say go low tech and just do it old school style and let the Sun dry it.

4-2-22

The Asclepius is starting to sprout. Having some Asclepius is recommended for attracting butterflies to the garden, but it's also one of the more potent medicinal plants. Dr Scudder had the best Asclepius tincture recipe in 1870 and he goes into some detail about its many uses.

https://imgur.com/a/BvMm45s

I'm calling 1st of Nisan/Eastermoneth at 19:41. 17 minutes after sunset first crescent silver was observed.

Lunar spring begins.

https://imgur.com/a/4gDhTjN

Last Edited by The_Gardener on 04/02/2022 09:47 PM

4-3-22

If you're putting in a little Mandrake patch, here is a situation where ollas in combination with misters/sprayers make an effective watering solution.

I can't think of any solanaceae that like standing water including tomatoes. Mandrakes like a semi-dry, Mediterranean mist type of watering. Think in terms of mountain dew instead of heavy soaking. 10 minutes to top off the ollas is plenty to give the mandrakes (or even Datura) a light misting. And they do like rocky soil. So don't be afraid to add a bag of pebbles to the soil. With Mandrakes, less watering is more. They don't like having their feet wet. Desert Datura likes it even less. As they are in the same family, you might want to plant them close to each other.

I have 4 spaced about 2 feet apart. They will go dormant in the summer but will come back in the autumn. Mandrakes like it cool and dry.

https://imgur.com/a/Uwv5P7r

Last Edited by The_Gardener on 04/03/2022 02:24 PM

4-3-22

Borage (Starflower) starting to spring.

Borage is medicinal, but it's also a great plant to attract pollinators. We want a bunch of bees and butterflies around to help with pollination, and Borage is a great attractor. It also requires little water, so it's semi-xeric once established.

https://imgur.com/a/khFtgON

Last Edited by The_Gardener on 04/03/2022 02:25 PM

i use my own urine to feed my plants as well...its been great.
there is no smell btw when you use it fresh within 2 hours.

i meant twenty four hours...ive ust lost my number four on the keyboard.'its been wonky for a couple of weeks now.

Yeah, I just pee in it and then spray it everywhere.

It's sanitary when it's fresh.

They did the same in the 1800s with watering cans.

Last Edited by The_Gardener on 04/03/2022 02:44 PM

Not exactly a subject on which you want to wax eloquent at the Sunday dinner table after church, but it is one of the staples of gardening.

David the Good did an experiment with urine and miraclegro to see which was better. What was the difference? Not much.

ive started strawberries this year...got some in the ground and some in pots just to see how they both work.

so far the ones in the ground are looking MUCH bigger than the ones in the pots.

Nice.

Post some pics updates when you can. :-)

4-5-22

Mandrakes go dormant really easily. They like to express when temperatures are 40-60F mostly. They will hang in there through the 70sF, but go dormant soon after.

The autumn mandrakes are already dormant, which they should be. For our European/English mandrakes, we'll try to keep them expressing at least mostly through April. We can use some plant shade mesh to help shade them so that root can get a good grounding before late spring dormancy.

You also want to set your sprayers so they don't quite hit the leaves but just hit next to the side of the plant. Mandrakes loathe having their leaves soaked. They like mist and dew, but not soaking.

That's why they like the early autumn rains of Israel. Those rains are more like cold mist instead of the harder later spring rains.

https://imgur.com/a/HR8Y9CM

Last Edited by The_Gardener on 04/05/2022 11:16 AM

Gardening in poor quality soil...

https://imgur.com/tTXZAug

That's definitely one way to do it.

Personally, I'm mainly on a quest to use the worst soil I can and see what wants to grow in it naturally out here at the edge of the desert.

That's why I don't really do seedling starters. I just direct sow. Semi-grains like Amaranth and Alfalfa do great in this environment even in near dry farming conditions.

However, for those not quite so neurotic, a top soil amendment like this makes sense and can cut costs.

The soil is there. You just have to arrange it.

Last Edited by The_Gardener on 04/08/2022 01:42 PM

4-16-22

White Horehound starting to emerge.

Horehound really is one of the best all around medicinal herbs.

It can also be used as a mint substitute in cooking since it is in the mint family.

I grow it out here at the edge of the desert because it has been naturalized as practically a xeric herb.

I have nothing but good to report of Horehound. It's not a finicky plant and readily grows in the poorest soil. Makes an excellent tincture or infusion for colds and flu. Perhaps the most underrated herb in the apothecary.

https://imgur.com/a/JhiprKr

Last Edited by The_Gardener on 04/16/2022 12:22 PM

4-16-22

I see people all the time who end up wasting hundreds of dollars on garden soil amendments.

Why would anyone in their right mind do that?

9 times out of 10, your community landfill will have a specific section where soil and sand are dumped fresh from road or construction sites


It's free for the taking. The city waste management wants you to take it.

No, we're going to learn to garden literally dirt cheap. If you have planters, or boxes, just check your local landfill and save some serious $$$.

Anything you need to do with soil you can mix yourself with black top, sand, gravel, and local mulch. Think cheap.

https://imgur.com/a/mlVWbGm

Last Edited by The_Gardener on 04/16/2022 01:31 PM

4-16-22

Datura (Thorn Apple) is coming right along. Not surprising as it is native to the area. Its water needs are minimal as it is native to the Sonoran desert. This unfinicky desert cousin of the mandrake might not seem like a wart you would want around. It is indeed high in Atropine just like Atropa Belladonna and Atropa Mandragora. It is sometimes called Atropa Datura. It has high value medicinal use and was one of the 30 tinctures Dr Scudder always carried in his travel case in the 1800s at the height of the medicinal eclectic practice.

However, Datura has another use. If you want to make your neighbors envious and steal every last hummingbird and butterfly in the area, just plant Datura. Hummingbirds absolutely love it and will buzz around your garden all summer long. You won't have any problem getting that winter squash and those pumpkins pollinated because you'll have all kinds of bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds around already.

They say Datura is extremely Saturnine. I say it's also extremely Lunar and nurturing because Datura makes everything abuzz in the herbal patch. It brings the desert to life with big, bold beautiful moon flowers.

Datura is the very central staple of the moon garden.

https://imgur.com/a/0CoaLVZ

Last Edited by The_Gardener on 04/16/2022 02:46 PM