In the greenhouse

A beautiful pink strawberry blossom. As soon as I get another 6 pack of these I'll be planting the strawberry jar. Until then it's hanging out in the open greenhouse.

Cute Crafty Seed Packets

Look at what I found on my desk today when I came to work!
My coworker Tracy had promised me some seeds but I never thought I'd get them in such  adorable little envelopes. She crafted these from leftover scrapbook paper. What a fun idea!

I love it when a plan comes together!

Desert Garden Carrot Harvest

A long time ago Ben found on old dresser dumped in the parking lot of his office. He hauled it home and we turned it into a raised bed for carrors and radishes. It is filled with a mixture of potting soil, compost and sand and we've been very happy with the results.

This month we are harvesting a mixture of baby carrots, including chantenays, oxhearts, Paris Market, and Dragons- the beautiful crimson colored carrot. Nothing goes to waste from this raised bed- the hens love eating the carrot tops.

Leanna’s Refrigerator Dill Pickles

Leanna’s Refrigerator Dill Pickles

Ingredients

6 to 8 pounds cucumbers, scrubbed and sliced into ¼” thick rounds
10 fresh dill sprigs
2 tbsp dill seeds
1 large onion, thinly sliced
6 garlic cloves, sliced into thirds
1 quart water
3 cups white vinegar
1 cup Bragg’s Apple Cider Vinegar
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup canning/pickling salt

Directions

In a large pot, combine the vinegar, water, sugar and salt. Bring to a boil; cook and stir just until salt is dissolved. Place a sprig of dill in the bottom of each sterilized canning jar.

Pack layers of cucumber and onions tightly into the jars, leaving ½ head space. Place garlic pieces and dill sprigs into the jars and sprinkle with dill seed.

Pour liquid mixture into jars to cover the cucumbers. Move the cucumbers around with a knife to release any air bubbles. Make sure the liquid covers the cucumbers, onions and dill completely.

Cover tightly and refrigerate for 48 hours. Store in the refrigerator for up to 2 months.

Growing potatoes in the desert?

I accidentally pulled these up while weeding. It looks like the experimental potato bed is coming along nicely. Now if we can just get them thru the summer months. . . (fingers crossed)

Lucy and Piccata in the chicken tractor

After 18 months of looking at the chicken tractor in our yard we finaly got around to putting the chicken wire on it. The tractor is fabulous and Picatta and Speckle love it. Lucy and Molly were not impressed. The next step is to put the tractor in our smaller raised bed garden so the hens can clear out the weeds and turn the soil.

One project completed, 23,674,992 to go!

January 2012 Garden Update

Yes, I am a slacker blogger! Sorry!

The garden did fabulous this winter. We changed a few things that we have done in the past and learned some things about the new microclimate in our yard.

First off, we decided to keep the screen porch mostly free of plants this winter. It's usually cramped with salad greens, herbs, aloe vera and what ever else we are trying to save from the frost. This winter we only kept the parsley on the porch and that was mainly for easy access while cooking.

We knew we had to go bigger this year with our garden of salad greens so DH added a 2x8 bed that we made into a mini greenhouse. using tomato cages topped with chicken wire, we built what DH affectionately called his "ghetto greenhouse." It was covered with a large plastic paint tarp from Ace Hardware. During the bone chilling (for us desert dwellers anyway) and very wet 3 week winter (LOL!)- the garden stayed warm and the greens thrived. We had several varieties of lettuce, swiss chard and broccoli.

The Ghetto Green House

Inside the Ghetto Green House

We also used the paint tarps to keep out potted herbs out of the frost. We pushed out outdoor tables together and tented them with the plastic tarps. A few bricks held the plastic down in the wind. All the potted plants stayed under the tables during the cold snap.

Last year my neighbors on either side of me replaced the old wooden fencing with new brick walls. Since then the frost warnings have meant nothing to us. When the low temp is supposed to be in the mid 40's - I have a birdbath full of ice. We've had to be extra careful this winter to make sure everything was protected.

We try and reuse and repurpose what we can. I saved some plastic containters from the trash at work. They are fairly large clear containers that caterers use to bring ice to the office during parties/meetings. They are very durable and as soon as I saw them I thought they would make terrific hot caps. We tried them out on some containers I found on clearence at Kmart (Main and Lindsey in Mesa, I love that place!). We are growing brocolli raab and so far - so good. DH and I both see lots of recipes in cookbooks that use brocolli raab but we couldn't even find it in stores. I've since learned that Sprouts carries it ($2.99 per lb -not!).

Brocolli raab with our repurposed hot cap!

The front garden was awesome on it's trial run and we will certainly be keeping it up. I was running around like crazy picking peppers and tomatoes before the frost and all for no reason at all. Although the lantana was killed last year by the frost - it did not touch anything it the front garden this winter. In fact- I still have flowers on the tomatoes. I'm going to let the current plants stay, just to see how they produce for a second season. Trial and error!

Peppers and tomatoes picked before the first frost. We let them ripen indoors. We had a few problems with hungry little birds when we let the peppers ripen on the vine so either way they would have been harvested early. They tasted great!

112 Degrees in the Shade

Ugh! It is going to get up to 112 degrees today and I am outside tending to the chickens and the solar oven. God Bless the person who invented the portable mister system that Ace Hardware sold me, I think I would be passed out right now without it.

The good news is that despite this unbearable heat, the chickens and the gardens are doing quite well.

Our youngest hens are now 25 weeks old and they are all laying several eggs a week in various hues. We had a over 5 dozen eggs in July. Considering the hot days, that's not too shabby. We had enough eggs that we were able to share them with friends and our (oh so understanding!) neighbors. Not once have they complained about the "hen party" in the backyard when things get a bit noisy.

Lucy soaking her feet. Or is it Molly?

Lots of eggs!
Our front garden has really worked out beautifully. Over the winter we lost the Lantana to a bad frost so we tore it out and replaced the flowers with a vegetable garden. This turned out to be a fabulous idea. The area is shaded until the afternoon and the plants are doing much better that the backyard veggie garden.

In the front garden we have several Better Boy and Early Girl tomatoes which are still producing. The Sweet 100 tomatoes were very tiny but make perfect chicken snacks. We have a single zucchini plant which, as anyone who has grown zucchini can tell you, yields more than enough zucchini for 2 people.

The backyard gardens contain some heirloom tomatoes, cucumbers, and melons. Not much to say here as we have more crabgrass than garden at this point. On a lark I threw in some seeds from and Armenian cucumber that I purchased at Lee Lee's. I completely forgot about them until the big monsoon in July uncovered this. . .

I have no idea how long it had been growning under the grass and weeds but boy was it delicious. From now on I am only planting these babies.

More good news - the bell pepper curse is finally broken. My inability to grow peppers is legendary in my family and it's quite funny since I can manage to grow just about anything else. This season I finally was able to grow 2 red bell peppers in the front garden. Believe me, they are nothing to brag about and certainly wouldn't win any prizes at the county fair. Heck, they were barely big enough to add to a single dinner salad. Still, just the fact that I was able to keep the pepper plants alive and harvest a vegetable that could be clearly identified as a pepper - that is HUGE for me and I owe it all to chicken poo water.

Yes, I said chicken poo water. It smells and looks just as disgusting as it sounds but the plants love it. You see, it is so hot here in the east valley that chickens find it very difficult to cool off. Heat related deaths of backyard hens are quite common here. Thanks to the folks at Valley Permaculture Alliance and the people on the Arizona board over at BackyardChickens.com I have learned about different ideas to make life more comfortable for my girls. One way is to provide the hens with a shallow pan of water to wade in and cool off. They love it! HuzBen refers to the pans (actually cat litter pans) as the Hen Spas.

Now about the part where the "poo" comes in. Chickens are not unlike small children and won't get out of the pool to do their "business." By the end of the day the pan of water is less foot bath and substantially more chicken toilet. But - when life gives you lemons. . . or in this case, chicken poo water. . . use it to your advantage. It's free liquid fertilizer and it's fabulous. (But OMG - the smell, yuck!)

Time to go and get the bread out of the solar oven - see you soon!

I was trying to get a nice photo of our cherry tomatoes for an entry on the front garden. Then Danica showed up. Our little leggy supermodel.

Grilled Zucchini

Today's harvest from the garden, sitting in my new grilling basket from Sur La Table at Casa Paloma in Chandler.

Ben will be grilling our first zucchini of the season today. Lucky for us, we still have some oranges to use for the zuccini marinade this afternoon. These (behind the zuccini in the photo) are Arizona Sweets from the neighbor's tree. They keep for weeks as long as you put them in a cool spot.

To make Ben's grilled zuccini- First, slice the zucchini lengthwise into 1/2 to 3/4 inch planks or rounds. Squeeze some OJ on the slices and let them sit for about a half hour to absorb the flavor. Right before grilling, spray the squash with a litle mist of EVOO and sprinkle them with garlic salt. Toss the slices on a very hot grill until grill marks appear, flip and cook for a few seconds on the other side.

Check out the varegated purple sage we grow in the herb garden. It almost looks too pretty to chop up and use in a recipe.

A Good Week

Today's yield - tomatoes, oregano, lavender and eggs

The weather has been fabulous for the last week and a half - mostly in the 80's. This has made the hens very happy and the older girls are laying again. Even little Camilla gave us an egg yesterday, her first since late March.

The Early Girl and Better Boy tomatoes in the front garden are yielding about 2-3 tomatoes a day for us. The pepper plants are growing well and setting flowers, but that's it. Not a pepper in sight. There is one large zucchini that Ben will probably pick next weekend. He loves to marinate them briefly in fresh orange juice and sprinkle them with garlic salt before throwing them on the grill.

The cooler weather has stopped the herbs from bolting and going to seed but we were not so lucky with the lettuce. Lucky for us the chickens don't mind bitter end of season lettuce.

The newest additions to the flock are now 15 weeks old. They are still several weeks away from laying eggs but they are showing interest in the nesting boxes so that's a good sign.



Lucy, Molly, Piccata and Speckle



Speckle - our Delaware Hen

First Tomato of the Summer

Our first red and ripe tomato of the season. On the vine yesterday, on my plate today.

April Garden Update

This year we decided to expand our veggie garden to the front yard. The big frost killed nearly everything so instead of cutting back we decided to rip out and replant. This year we have over 20 tomato plants, a mix of hybrids and heirloom varieties. I'm trying squash again since we had such a big crop last year. I even planted celery this year so it will be fun to see how that works out.
We have our big lettuce crop and tons of herbs for cooking too. As usual the plants that grow the biggest and the fastest are the weeds!

This is one of the tomatoes in the front of the house where the lantana had been for about 5 years. The lanata looked awful after the big frost and we decided it was time for it to go. Due to the lack of hours in direct sunshine- the lantana never bloomed much so it was just a big ugly bush. No great loss when we ripped it out. Like my neighbor proved last year, the tomatoes seem to like the front yard. We did minimal soil amending yet these tomatoes are doing much better than the plants in the main beds in the back yard. They get less direct sunlight here so maybe that's helping. There are peppers a few feet away and they seem to be growing very well too - a shock because I've always had a black thumb when it comes to growing any sort of pepper. I am the only gardener in Arizona who manages to kill off all my peppers every year. Most folks I know have the same bell or hot pepper plants for 3-5 years. I'm crossing my fingers for the red bells I planted last month.


In the main raised bed we have our lettuce, at least until it bolts or we eat it all. This year I threw in some mixed seed packets. We ended up with some beautiful red speckled lettuce and a very hearty long green leaf lettuce that must be some sort of romaine. It is super crunchy and great on sandwiches.

The herbs are really taking off after the recent rain. This is one of the pots of oregano. We added more oregano and parsley this year since we never seem to have enough. I finished the long overdue task of dividing the chives. I will never put that chore off again. The chives were so compacted that I ended up breaking them apart with a screwdriver. Most ended up in the garbage but the healthiest bulbs are now doing well in a bigger container. The sage is also beyond it's usefullness after 5-6 years so I planted some purple and some varigated sage. The older plants are now flowering so I hope to be able to harvest some seeds. I still have to decide where to plant the spearmmint and peppermint I purchased. We have a new wall of the southside if the yard so I want to see how plants do in that area before I commit. So far everything is growing well but that may change in the summer heat.

These are the last of the winter/spring desert wildflowers in the front yard. I was lucky enough to be home before the storms hit this weekend and I was able to gather seeds this year. I'd like to have flowers in the back yard next year so I plant them in the fall.

Our Very Own Backyard Chickens

We thought about it for years and this weekend we finally took the plunge and got our very own chickens. We are now the proud owners of two Black Minorcas and a cute little Blue Old English Game Bantam. The girls started work right away and we had 2 eggs in the first 24 hours. Nice!

When I say we thought about it for years I am not exaggerating. I first learned about keeping backyard chickens like most city folks did, in an issue of Martha Stewart Living. At that time I was single and living in an apartment so all I could do was look at the fabulous photos of the beautiful hens and their multicolored eggs.

Fast forward to 2009 when I discovered the Valley Permaculture Alliance (then the Phoenix Permaculture Guild). I was looking for info on veggie gardens in the desert but I was thrilled to find a group of people chatting about raising hens all over the valley. That's when we figured out that it was "do-able."

We finally got serious about chickens after participating in the first Tour De Coops where we met people just like us and saw how they incorporated chickens in their suburban neighborhoods. We stopped looking at chickens as pets that lay eggs and started considering the benefits they would bring to our gardens and compost pile. Oh, and they eat kitchen scraps and bugs? Bonus!

Our next step was to take the "Raising Chickens In Your Backyard" class taught by Rachel Bess with Valley Permaculture Alliance. Rachel's class is better than any book you can read. Most books are general but Rachel has been raising chickens for years in the Valley so she understands the needs of a desert chicken. She's also honest and says that having your own chickens is hard work and it isn't for everyone. Her class waaaaaaay under priced at $10.

In Rachel's class we also learned that you could purchase custom coops from people advertising on Craig's List. Bingo! We found Kyle, who not only builds custom coops, but he delivers too! He asked us about our needs and made suggestions about things we might like. He was fabulous! Three days after speaking to him on the phone he pulled into our driveway with our new coop. (see below for you can find Kyle's Craig's List ad "Chicken Coop for the Valley" or call him at 480-363-5775)

That brings us to this weekend when hubby bought me a trio of hens for my birthday. We are already planning a coop addition with Kyle. and we hope to add an Ameraucana to the flock soon.

Solar Oven Eggs and Cheese

Solar Oven Eggs and Cheese

Today was windy but sunny. Too windy to work in the garden but a perfect day to get out the SOS Sport Solar Oven and make breakfast. I set the oven out to preheat and I added a brick. The brick is painted with black bbq grill paint and actually serves 3 purposes in the oven. It elevates the dish for more even cooking, and holds heat so the oven stays hotter if a cloud passes in front on the sun. The bonus is that it also keeps the oven from blowing off the table on windy days.

I used the same ingredients I use to make an omelette on the stovetop (1 whole egg, 2 egg whites, 1 oz grated cheese, 1 tsp non fat milk). Cheese is a must. I am trying to lose weight and live heart healthy so I try and keep cheese to a minimum. Trader Joe's carries interesting but inexpensive cheese and I picked up Cotswald Double Glouchester this week. It has a great flavor that goes well with eggs and I love the chives added in.

I mixed everything together and poured the mix into an old First Class cabin casserole dish that I found at the US Airways Company Store for about 50 cents. Buttering the dish makes for easy cleanup. The eggs and cheese took about 30 minutes in the preheated oven. I topped the dish with more fresh chives out of the herb garden. Breakfast for one without turning on the stove - gotta love it.

Put 'em Up

HuzBen spotted 'Put 'em Up' at the Phoenix Library and picked it up for me. I am so glad he did. The book is a guide to canning, dehrydrating, pickling, and freezing. There are some fabulous tips newbies but the book contains recipes that take you beyond the boring basics that have been around since grandma was canning her garden vegetables. I'll be ordering my own copy the next time we need something from Amazon.

Food storage options and recipes for fruits, veggies, and herbs are all covered, as well as ideas for garlic and onions. The chapter on citrus would be of interest to those of us in the east valley since it's so abundant here. I can't wait to try the recipes for Radish Relish and Asian Pickled Radishes since my radish patch is huge this winter.

Speaking of canning - did you know you can order canning jars and supplies via Ace Hardware's website and have them shipped to your local Ace? I looked everywhere for 4 oz canning jars and came up empty. (Please don't tell me about WaMart - I will not spend my money there) I found what I needed on Ace's website. You can also stop by your local Ace and they can order it for you (doing this keeps a higher percentage of money in your local area). There is no shipping charge and your items are ready for pick up in 2-3 days.

The Farm Stand at Agritopia

With all the craziness surrounding the holidays, I forgot to pick up lettuce for our salad. There isn't much in the garden right now thanks to the rabbit that moved in under our shed. I am still nursing a damaged knee so there was no way I was going to fight my way around the grocery store to grab lettuce.

I was checking out Twitter today when I saw a Tweet about The Farm Stand at Agritopia selling spring mix for $1.50. Problem solved - the self serve stand is open 24/7 on Ray and Higley in Gilbert right next to Joe's Farm Grill and The Coffee Shop. I picked up the bag of salad mix, 2 lemons ($1.00), and medjool dates ($6.00). Fresh, local, and reasonably priced - love it!

October: Unprocessed - Friday Farmer's Market

Since we're trying to eat local and organic when possible, on Fridays I love going downtown shopping at the Downtown Mesa Farmers Market This isn't one of the larger farmer's markets in the valley but it has everything I need. Naturally there are vegetable vendors and most sell other items as well. Herbs can be purchased fresh, dried or in pots ready to plant. You'll find cheese, bread, pasta and pasta sauce, and lately Dr. Hummus has been selling and giving samples of what I think is the best tasting hummus ever. (Oh, his pita chips are excellent too!) There's also tie-dye t-shirts and craft items. Today one of the ladies was selling lovely tote bags that she made.

As you can see above the heirloom tomatoes were fabulous today. I'll be saving the seeds to start over the winter for my spring crop. They did very well for us this year. I also bought some organic cucumbers and fresh corn.

I'll be making more mayo (aioli) this week so I actually went to the farmer's market today for some eggs. If you like fresh eggs this is the place to get them. They go quickly so get there early. Crack them open and you'll see how different they are from anything you can get in the store. The yolks are a deep yellow compared to the eggs I an used to seeing. Curious about where the eggs come from? One of the vendors has a photo album, so you can see the hens along with their hen house and their grazing area. You won't find that at Fry's.

Lemon Verbena From The Herb Garden

So much for bringing the outdoor inside. The verbena wilted and looked terrible within five minutes of taking this photo. I'll be drying it instead of enjoying it in the livingroom. It smells wonderful!