The First Casualties of the Season

A few downpours last week led to some of my peppers and tomatoes developing the dreaded blossom end rot. The showers were unexpected so I didn't have a chance to adjust my drip irrigation.

As the Garden Grows

Things are progressing nicely even as temps are 100+ degrees here in Tucson.

This is my first year growing peppers from seed. I have not had great luck in the past growing ordinary sweet bell peppers so I'm trying some new varieties. From L to R in the front row - Mini Bells, Yummy, Sweet Spot, Flexum and Carmen.

My first pepper grown from seed! It's a Carmen!

Usually this time of year is supposed to be too hot for lady bugs but I have seen little lady bug babies crawling over the plants gobbling up aphids. Perhaps they have stuck around because they like the Zinnias and Cosmos.

Beans glorious beans!

My 4th harvest of green beans this year.
I'm going to saute them with some olive oil, red pepper flakes and maybe some mushrooms. mmmmmmmmmmmm

Patience is a (frustrating) virtue!

Waiting for the Gypsy peppers to turn red......

My Juliet tomatoes are beginning to blush.
They have been the most prolific of all my tomato plants.

Super Sweet 100 tomatoes, this plant is growing like a weed!

I am getting good fruit set on the Hawaiian Tropic tomato plants.

Black Cherry tomatoes have been my latest and least productive plants.



A cluster of Heartland tomatoes - they are also setting plenty of fruit.



Stupice has been true to it's reputation for having the earliest fruit. Can't wait to taste my first homegrown mater of the season!

Braving the New World

Tomato sprouts getting set out in April. A rather late planting date for the desert but I am growing varieties that are supposed to be able to set fruit throughout the summer, even in our scorching heat.




Pepper, cantaloupe, watermelon and basil going into my square foot garden bed. Will 6 inches of compost, vermiculite and peat moss be enough to grow vibrant veggie plants? We'll see..........

Bringing up Babies!

Mater babies to be exact. They started sprouting at the beginning of March.

I Love the Smell of Decomposing Vegetables in the Morning

I drink a fair bit of fresh vegetable juice and I hate to waste the left over pulp. So what's a gal to do? Compost it of course! A large outdoor composter isn't an option for me for a variety of reasons but I am still able to produce beautiful, sweet smelling black gold with my Naturemill electric indoor compost maker.

Here's the breakdown:

The juice - it does a body good.

The pulp - can you feel the potential?

The machine - this is where the magic happens.

The end result - it does a garden good.