Celebrating the season

Friends, food, and fun.

Night Watch

They check on seeds planted in one of the Food Bank plots.

Tea Making

Like this.

Results

Happy face.  Baba  ghanoush in the making.

Corona

Great things are happening at Corona del Sol High School.  A few of our members have embraced Corona Grows, the amazing garden at Corona.

Pickling

On and off we have discussed pickling, and those of us who have done it share a little about the process.   We just did a more thorough presentation and learned about the fermentation method vs the boiling method.

All the pictures above show the fermentation method.

Ginger shows us the boiling method. 

A little bit of learning

Jamaica is kind of a mystery plant to us, so we grew one.

 Ginger is harvesting the flower buds.

Plans are made to make tea on this brisk cool morning.

And so, a little bit of learning took place.

Glee

 Can you see the happiness in her face?

Yep, harvesting does that to you.

Hollyhocks

Hollyhocks do grow in places other than cottage gardens.

And it seems they come back year after year and seen in this picture.  This spot has had the beautiful hollyhock growing for several years now.

Perfect for hummingbirds.

Native plants

The native plant plot is full of the goodness below.  

This plot is also known as the educational plot and much learning is going on. Jicama, And something similar is name which I don't remember.  See, there is learning going on.

It's Fall

 It is Fall at the garden.  The people wear coats in the chili mornings.  Plans are made for planting and advice is given about many things, things only found in a garden.

\Sweetness.

Douglas

The task of setting up a school garden is challenging, but it can be accomplished with the help of people like Douglas who promptly respond to call for help.

Here is adjusts the tubing that will supply water to Aprende's plots.

Building Community

As Fall approaches and gardeners scramble to get ready for it, FIGG invites Aprende NJHS students to help out. 

Eleanor and Kathy rejoice.  These two are avid gardeners here at at home.

Alan, is a master at mentoring youth.  Here they prepare a food bank plot.

Another team working on a food bank plot.

The Children's Plot is carefully tended by Aprende's NJHS members.

Pam, the ever present supervisor, guides the youth.

This is a very fulfilling experience for everyone.  The students that volunteer for this day of work obviously enjoy it, and the gardeners appreciate the help, especially those that manage the food bank plots.

Green thumbs all around.

Students gardening

The UA Cooperative Extension has released a series of educational videos on YouTube explaining the fundamentals of gardening in the low deserts. 

Find more information here.

Pesto

The basil plants are fully grown, possibly even past the ideal time to harvest and make pesto.  But that did not stop this gardener from making some.

Recipes can be found all over the Internet.  Here's one.

Melons

This melon and a few of its brother are doing very well in the garden this August.

The lucky gardener will have enough for the rest of the summer.

Peyton's Gourd

Peyton has been away for the summer while her little brother undergoes important medical treatment.

This week we noticed what looks like a gourd growing in her plot.  But maybe it is something else.  We haven't decided.

End of Summer

It might be wishful thinking that end of summer thing, but the garden will soon be turned in preparation for Fall planting

For now, it looks like this.

Bees

Just weeks ago in Elmwood, Canada, local beekeeper Dave Schuit lost 600 hives, or a total of 37 million bees. Another Canadian farmer lost eight of his 10 hives.

The bees started dying in droves just after corn in the area was planted, an alarming red flag since corn seeds are often treated with neonicotinoid pesticides, which are known to kill insects by attacking their nervous systems.  Read more.

Homemade weed killer

Homemade Weed Killer

1 gallon of white vinegar
1/2 cup salt
Liquid dish soap (any brand)

Empty spray bottle. Put salt in the empty spray bottle and fill it the rest of the way up with white vinegar. Add a squirt of liquid dish soap. This solution works best if you use it on a hot day. Spray it on the weeds in the morning, and as it heats up it will do its work.

Sun scald in the low desert

PLANTS MOST SUSCEPTIBLE: Wide variety of sun sensitive plants including citrus, mimosa, mulberry, etc.

SYMPTOMS:

The bark on the South or West sides of the trunk becomes discolored and may split or crack exposing the wood beneath to disease and insect predators.


CAUSE:

• Newly planted trees may lack sufficient canopy to shade the bark
• Pruning in the Spring or Summer which exposes previously shaded trunk area to intense sunlight.
• 
  
MANAGEMENT:
Prevention

• Avoid pruning sun sensitive trees during the spring or summer. If pruning is necessary, try not to open up areas of shaded bark.
• Protect exposed areas by painting with a white, water-based paint, shading with a cloth or paper wrapping.
• 
  
Treatment
• Shade the effected area
• Monitor for bacterial or fungal infection and apply fungicide or 10% bleach solution if necessary

Pretty in July

Take a look at what grows in the garden in July.

In the heat of the summer

In the heat of the summer you can still find the gardeners tinkering around and repairing things.

 

Stay cool/

Grapes

If you want to learn how prune grapevines click here.

Name the vegetable

 

 

What is this?

 

Mosaic Stepping Stones

 

 

Thinking ahead and in preparation for the next garden sale, we are busy making stepping stones and decorating pots.

 

It is a lot of fun and the results are amazing.  See Kurt's coy above.