February Groundwork

The month of February offers an opportunity to expand our home gardens and prepare for spring, (yes, these cold nights will pass). George Brookbank, one of my favorite desert gardening experts refers to February as the in-between month," It's the end of winter, but not quite spring." Do we continue to plant winter vegetables that will use our garden space or get a jump-start on summer planting? If you have enough space, you have the best of both worlds. If not, February is a great time to add a new garden box, or a halved wine barrel. Save your black plastic pots from your local nursery and use them for your new transplants until space opens up in your garden. At Love Apple Farm in California they use 15 gallon pots to plant their fingerling potatoes. This year my neighbor is planting his tomato and pepper seedlings in a bag of potting mix, and will move them to his garden when the soil warms up in a few weeks. Look around, you can grow your own food almost anywhere!

February Checklist

• This is your last chance to sow cool-season vegetables before warm weather arrives. Plant carrots, beets, bok choy, green onions, leaf lettuce, peas, radishes, spinach, turnips and potatoes.
• Begin to plant warm season vegetables. Beginning mid-February plant transplants of tomatoes, peppers and artichokes. The average "last-frost" date is around the middle of March. Be prepared to cover new transplants when a freeze is expected.
• After mid-February, sow seeds of sweet corn, melons, cucumbers, summer squash, and sunflowers.
• Prune roses and fruit trees.
• Plant bare-root fruit trees and roses by mid-month.
• Fertilize roses and established citrus trees.
• Improve soil by adding 4 to 6 inches of a combination of compost, mulch and well-aged manure. You could also add some organic amendments including, bone meal, blood meal, alfalfa meal, and rock phosphate.
• Pull spring weeds while soil is moist and roots are shallow.
• Harvest citrus and winter vegetables.
• Start an herb garden. Plant parsley, cilantro, oregano, chive, marjoram, rosemary, tarragon, thyme and mints.

Make Way For Ducklings!

Your never know what's going on in your neighbors backyard. But, I have to say that I wasn't surprised when David, neighbor and fellow urban farmer decided to take on a new venture. Yes, down the street at Care-A-Lot Farm, there's lots of quacking going on. Take a look at these adorable little ducklings. 



It looks like they're deciding who's boss.



  Ramon, enjoying the ducklings.

I asked David to let us in on the why and the wherefore of duck raising. He was kind enough to be candid and honest about his experience thus far. I have to say that David has had years of experience working on organic farms and raising animals for meat, eggs and pleasure. All of the animals at his farm are treated with lots of care and respet,  just like the name implies. If you are interested in taking a closer look at his ducks, Care-A-Lot Farm will be one of the featured farms at the Spring Edible Garden Tour in April or early May

 Here's what David had to say, " So, why ducks? Why not? Back in November, we decided to venture into the art of duck rearing, mostly because I like variety but, also because they supposedly can lay the same number of eggs as a chicken. As an added benefit, ducks are much better at eating insects (primarily flies) and grasses. We placed our order for twelve ducks (3 males, 9 females), and one December day, they arrived (13 of them) via mail. After some research, we picked the best top three laying varieties. Peking, Indian Runner and Khaki Campbell ducklings. The ducks are growing very fast. You feed them the same food that you would a chick/chicken and within three weeks, they no longer need protection from the elements. Ducks LOVE water. I thought it was an overstatement when people told me, but given the choice between breathing and swimming, I am convinced they would swim. At six weeks, we integrated them with my chickens, there were no issues. I was worried that the ducks would be at the bottom of the totem pole and perhaps starve, but I was wrong. They can eat ten times faster than the chickens ... so now I must be careful that they don't eat all of the food. My ducks should start laying eggs at about six months, similar to chickens. They stick together and go EVERYWHERE together. I didn't think ducks were supposed to be loud, but if they don't get their food in the morning, they QUACK and QUACK! Luckily, food shuts them up. It's too early to say whether or not I am glad I got ducks. They are definitely adorable and add dimension to the farm. Will they lay the same number of eggs as a chicken? Can I convince the public that duck eggs are just as tasty as chicken eggs? Will my neighbors complain? Well, I guess I will have to wait and see ... "

  

A few weeks later. . . my how they've grown!



DUCK EGGS. Coming to a neighborhood near you!





 More on raising ducks
here.

Born in Arabia, Bred in Arcadia

One of the first groves ever planted in the Arcadia area was the Black Sphinx date palm in or around 1917. The pups were brought from Arabia and planted just South of Lafayette between 46th and 47th Place. The grove still stands today with 400+ trees. In 1954 the area was subdivided and houses were carefully built amongst the trees to minimize tree removal. Neighbors who live here liken the area to a rain-forest canopy.
Several years ago, with guidance from a long-time “datilero”, Harry Polk, I started harvesting the dates from the trees in my yard as well as those of my next-door neighbors. If you would like stop by my house at 4641 E. Calle Redonda (602-840-0622), I have dates available for $7 per 1-pound box.
The plump moist fruit, almost jet black in color, has a delicate flavor and creamy texture. They are delicious right out of the box, or stuffed with blue cheese, goat cheese, chocolates or nuts; they are also wonderful in salads or as a glaze for chicken.
One of my favorite recipes is for Moroccan Chicken and Date Tangine from Food.comhttp://www.food.com/recipe/moroccan-chicken-and-date-tagine-44107



Pollination Time



Bagging Time



Delicious Black Sphinx Dates





January is here and it's not a time for slackers. It's time to prepare for Spring! January is the month to prune, plant, and dig holes. This is the time to think about expanding your garden. But, don't think too long. The dormant bare-root trees need to be planted before the roots dry out and the warm sun stimulates the buds to leaf out.

Here's the list for the month

• Plant deciduous fruit trees. If you are planting bare-root trees, get them in the ground as soon as possible. Don't let the roots dry out. Take the tree out of the bag and set it in a barrel of water with a little vitamin B. Let it soak overnight. Have your holes pre-dug and soil mixture ready. Here is a list of fruit and nut trees for the low desert. Many nurseries have potted fruit trees available. You can plant these any time in the next few weeks.
• Start taste testing citrus fruits for sweetness. Navel, sweet oranges, mandarins and tangelos are close to harvest time.
• Continue to sow seeds or transplants of cool-season vegetables for a continuous supply of salad greens and root vegetables until warm weather arrives.
• Time to plant bare-root roses. Find a location where roses have filtered afternoon shade. Valley nurseries have hundreds of roses available. Rose societies will be offering how-to clinics for pruning and planting. Take advantage of the expert knowledge of the valley rosarians. Check out the Maricopa County Extension's rose publication for more information.
• Prune established roses to encourage optimum blooming in April. Cut all canes back to approximately one half. Cut canes back to an outward facing bud. Remove dead canes. Remove old or weak canes. Strip off all leaves and dispose of them. Seal all cuts with Elmer's glue to seal new cuts. Don't be afraid. Practice makes perfect.
• Sow seeds of tomatoes, peppers eggplants and basil indoors in time to transplant in the garden in late February to early March.
• Continue to watch for freezing temperatures and protect frost-tender plants. The last average frost date is around February 15th.
• Watch for gray aphids on tender new growth and hose off regularly with a forceful spray of water. Also, looper-worms like to eat cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower. Check under leaves and near the base and pick off worms.
• This is a great time to add color and texture to your garden. Plant cool weather annuals between your vegetables. Calendulas, johnny-jump-ups, pansy, petunias, snapdragons and stocks will continue to bloom until spring. Cool-season herbs include, dill, parsley, cilantro and thyme.
• Prune deciduous fruit trees by the end of January or before flowering starts.
• If you are an adventurous gardener, plant asparagus now.

Have a great new year, and enjoy spring gardening in the desert!

December Groundwork

Sorry to be so late, we have been busy with the our garden tour and we just had to take a few days off. Here we are again, almost at years end, except for a few frosty nights and some frost bitten tomatoes, the December weather has been perfect. Here's a quick run down of the schedule for this months garden activities.

• Have frost cloth ready in case of a predicted freeze for frost sensitive plants. Use frost cloth or old sheets (we double our layers and keep our fingers crossed!) to cover tomatoes and peppers. If possible, cover all the way to the ground to keep warmth in. Wait until the later part of February to trim any affected frost damage.Winter vegetables will usually survive the frosts. Watch your local weather reports. The last frost date is usually March 15th.
• Citrus trees begin to ripen, be ready to harvest sweet, juicy, lemons, oranges and grapefruit.
• Continue to sow or transplant cool weather vegetables. Root crops, lettuces and members of the cabbage family can be planted until early spring. Favorite salad ingredients can continue to produce until the temperatures heat up in late spring.
• Examine your crops for pests, look under leaves and around the base of the plant for looper-worms, especially on your cole crops. Hand pick if possible. If the little green caterpillars get out of hand, most nurseries recommend B.T. as an organic control. If birds are a problem, place netting over garden area.
• Local nurseries will begin to stock bare-root plants (roses and fruit trees) at the end of December. Plan and prepare a nice sunny location for planting next month.  Pre-dig your hole and add a little mulch, compost and gypsum or sand. Fill the hole with water to soften the soil in preparation for the new tree roots. Research your southwest desert varieties. Choose varieties that require no more than 250 chilling hours.
• If you like tomatoes and peppers, try some heirloom varieties from seed this year. Plant seeds to produce your own transplants for spring planting. Sow seeds indoors around the end of the month. Choose varieties that will do well in our desert climate. (nativeseeds.org). Transplants should be ready to plant outside from mid-Feb to mid-March.
• Feed vegetables a good, well balanced fertilizer every couple of weeks. Don't over fertilize herbs if they look healthy and green.
• Start collecting fall leaves for composting. We usually mow ours up and catch them in a bag. They are small and ready to go in the compost pile. Don't forget to ask your neighbor for their leaves, they keep well in bags for many months. Layer leaves with the summer's bagged lawn clippings, and other organic material for fast decomposition. Spray with a little water and let it rot!
• Prepare beds for spring planting. If you have a new area that you'll be planting, layer 4 or 5 inches of manure and let it rest for awhile. In a few weeks, you can add compost and amendments and work that in. Don't work the soil when it's wet.
• Deadhead spent flowers. Roses, especially will give you beautiful blooms this month. Prepare for pruning next month when you will be striping all leaves and blooms off the canes.
• Gather seed catalogs, choose and order seeds for spring sowing.

That's it, it's time to take a break and enjoy time with friends and family.  Have a great holiday season, we'll get back together in the new year!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Mild November days remind us to slow down and relish in the fact that we have survived the summer onc e again. Here in the low desert of Phoenix we have two growing seasons.This cool season weather is the perfect time to sow peas, root crops, leafy greens and a long list of cabbage family crops. Plant cool-season herbs and edible flowers, experiment with new tastes and textures in your Autumn dishes. One of my favorite herbs is dill. I love the delicate, feathery-like leaves or fronds. It reminds me of a fairy land, especially when the flower heads form into little yellow umbrellas and turn into seeds! Dill is easy to grow from seeds. Sow them in full sun and well-drained soil. Plant in the back of the garden bed. They can grow up to 3 feet tall. Cut fresh as needed. Fronds, flower heads and seeds are all edible. After you have had your fill, dry for later use. Spread fronds out on a paper towel and air dry, or microwave for 3 minutes. Remove thick stems and crumble. Store in an airtight container. When seedheads form, let them dry and remove seeds. Add to fish dishes, dips, soups and salads. Leave a few seedheads to dry in your garden for self-seeding.

November Checklist ~

• Adjust watering schedule as weather cools. Water deeply so moisture will reach the root system, but less frequently as the season changes.



• Inspect vegetables closely for insects, pests and diseases.Keep an eye out for little green caterpillars or Cabbage Loopers. This is also the time of year for aphids. Rub out or pinch out at first sign of the ash colored cluster. Also try using a soapy spray by mixing 1 tbsp. each of Dawn dish soap and vegetable oil with 1 gallon water. Spray in early morning or evening. Make sure you spray the underside of leaves. With early detection, you're more likely to manage or prevent any major damage to plants.
  



• Dead-head spent blooms and harvest veggies to stimulate continued growth.
  



• Continue to sow cool-weather annuals and biennials every 2 to 4 weeks through the fall for a continuous crop of vegetables through next spring.




• Thin seedlings as they grow to prevent crowding, this gives your young plants plenty of room to grow. Use scissors to cut seedlings at ground level. Wash and toss these sprouts into your salad.




• Be prepared for early winter frost. Average first frost date takes place around the end of November to the first week of December. We usually have 7 to 10 nights of below freezing temperatures a year. Check out the National Weather Service for more up to date information. Cover frost sensitive plants with a sheet, light blanket or frost cloth (not plastic) all the way to the ground. Frost-tender veggies include; Tomatoes, bell peppers, and eggplants. Paper bags or boxes are great for low lying plants. Floating row covers are another option. If a hard freeze is forcast, try using outdoor Christmas lights under cover for extra warmth. Coldest temperatures are just before sunrise.
  



• Fall brings cool weather and an abundance of free organic matter. As trees begin to drop leaves, bag and save for compost pile, mulching or adding to layered garden beds. Mow over leaves a couple of times for a ready-to-use mulch. You can never have too many bags of leaves!

EGGPLANT GRATIN - Barefoot Contessa

The Barefoot Contessa never lets me down. I have all of her cookbooks and her recipes are great. Even cutting back on the rich ingredients I have had great luck with her recipes. I found this recipe in her Barefoot in Paris book. It is excellent. And I think it would be great served with grilled chicken.

But pretty much anything hidden below the conncoction of ricotta cheese, parmesan, and marinara sauce, all toasty and bubbly on top, would taste good.

Ingredients
Good olive oil, for frying (this always cracks me up--"good olive oil")
3/4 pound eggplant, unpeeled, sliced 1/2-inch thick
1/4 cup ricotta cheese
1 extra-large egg
1/4 cup half-and-half
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup good bottled marinara sauce

Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Heat about 1/8-inch of olive oil in a very large frying pan over medium heat. When the oil is almost smoking, add several slices of eggplant and cook, turning once, until they are evenly browned on both sides and cooked through, about 5 minutes. Be careful, it splatters! Transfer the cooked eggplant slices to paper towels to drain. Add more oil, heat, and add more eggplant until all the slices are cooked.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix together the ricotta, egg, half-and-half, 1/4 cup of the Parmesan, 1/8 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper.

In each of 2 individual gratin dishes, place a layer of eggplant slices, then sprinkle with Parmesan, salt and pepper and spoon 1/2 of the marinara sauce. Next, add a second layer of eggplant, more salt and pepper, half the ricotta mixture, and finally 1 tablespoon of grated Parmesan on top.

Place the gratins on a baking sheet and bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until the custard sets and the top is browned. Serve warm.

Note: I cooked the eggplant in a very seasoned pan and did not need to use much olive oil. I also substituted regular milk for the half and half. And I made one gratin not two.

September Groundwork

If there is a season for everything, then why in this season of planting have I not yet felt the inclination to plant! Oh yes, it's still 110 degrees outside! That aside, my September to-do list is quite similar to my August to-do list, so what you didn't do last month you should plan to do now. Late September is the beginning of the fall sowing season and as temperatures in our low desert begin to drop it is the prime time to plant. If you are still too meek to venture out and sow your seeds, you may also wait for the nursery transplants to arrive later this month.

September To-Do List

• Organic matter is used up as it feeds organisms and is changed into humus. Refresh garden beds and boxes with 4 to 6 inches of a combination of compost, well-aged manure or organic matter. Turn into soil to a depth of 12 to 14 inches. Use a spading fork rather than a shovel, it breaks up clumps and aerates the soil.

• Sow seeds for snap beans, beets, bok choy, cucumbers, green onion, kale, leaf lettuce radish and turnips (see planting calender for complete list).
  
• Save bags of grass clippings, leaves from fall foliage, shredded newspaper and spent summer annuals for use in your compost bins. Stop by your neighborhood coffee shop and ask for their coffee grounds.
  
• Trim back tomato and pepper plants that made it through the summer to encourage another crop.


• If you did not fertilize citrus in August, feed with the final application of nitrogen for the year.


• Lightly trim roses as soon as new growth begins to about one-third. Work in alfalfa meal, blood meal or fish emulsion for added nitrogen. For phosphorus add bone meal, or rock phosphate. Water to a depth of two feet.
  
• Set out strawberry plants. A garden just isn't complete without a strawberry patch. Strawberries grow well in lower desert regions of Arizona. If you want a good crop of strawberries later in the year, September is the best time to plant. This ensures that the plant has time to become well-established with a strong root system by January. This is when the strawberry plants flower and set fruit. For a nice strawberry patch you will need an area about 4ft x 4ft, plant about 4 inches apart, giving plenty of room for runners to fill in the bed. Use lots of organic compost and make sure the drainage is good. Sprinkle a little bone meal over soil monthly and water in. Set your plants in the ground at the same level they were growing in the nursery container. Raised beds are perfect for a strawberry patch. Choose a location that receives at least six to eight hours of sun. In case of a frost this winter, cover with clear plastic for a greenhouse effect. In the summer keep shaded from the direct sun. Layer straw under the strawberries to keep soil moist and to discourage slugs and pill bugs from munching on your ripe berries. Mulch to maintain consistent soil moisture. Varieties that are well-adapted to our low desert climate are, Chandler, Sequoia, Tioga, Shasta and Camarosa. Strawberries are easy to grow and always provide a pleasant surprise when you find your first red berry at the peak of ripeness!