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bjwam
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Posts: 15
Joined: Tue May 25, 2010 10:06 pm
Location: Albuquerque, NM - Zone 6

First Garden - 2010

Moved into my girlfriends house last summer while in Architecture School. We live in Albuquerque, New Mexico where there are hot dry summers and little rain. The soil in the city is mainly clay, granite and/or sand.

I Decided to remove much of her grass and replace with garden beds. Being the poor student that I am, the garden beds were constructed from railroad ties that were given to me free of charge.

Over the past 6 months I have started a compost pile and have been putting leaves and other organic matter is these beds, turning them over here and there.

I ordered a yard of compost and split it for each bed. I turned what was once a solid slab of clay into what I think is some pretty decent soil.

[img]https://i1039.photobucket.com/albums/a478/bjwam/Garden%202010/IMG_2833.jpg[/img]

Received all my seeds from Gurneys. Started germinating early March.

[img]https://i1039.photobucket.com/albums/a478/bjwam/Garden%202010/IMG_2848.jpg[/img]

Got some starts as well. I wasn't ready to plant until the middle of April because of the late frosts and ridiculous wind this year. Because of this these small plants had to survive indoors.

[img]https://i1039.photobucket.com/albums/a478/bjwam/Garden%202010/IMG_2847.jpg[/img]

Once I finally got most of my plants in the ground they took a while to get used to the intense sunlight here and the strong winds. The month of April was horrible. 20 -40 mph winds 5 days a week!

The first thing to go into the ground was butter crunch.

[img]https://i1039.photobucket.com/albums/a478/bjwam/Garden%202010/IMG_8485.jpg[/img]

Mr stripey and brandywines were pretty stressed out because of the heat and wind and it took them a while to get going. My cucumber plants died :(

[img]https://i1039.photobucket.com/albums/a478/bjwam/Garden%202010/IMG_8512.jpg[/img]

Looking back, I planted to tomato plants too close; I just wanted them to get in the ground. Either way it took a few weeks to see any significant vegetative growth. The lettuce on the other hand was taking off!

[img]https://i1039.photobucket.com/albums/a478/bjwam/Garden%202010/IMG_8532.jpg[/img]

Fast forward into the end of May. The heirlooms finally growing, beans came up, yellow squash is always growing in size. The wind is still pretty bad.

[img]https://i1039.photobucket.com/albums/a478/bjwam/Garden%202010/IMG_8534.jpg[/img]

By this time I was having major issues with small ants eating my squash, sunflowers and bush beans. The didn't touch the tomato plants. Squash not looking so hot with the ants, heat and wind.

[img]https://i1039.photobucket.com/albums/a478/bjwam/Garden%202010/IMG_8540.jpg[/img]

[img]https://i1039.photobucket.com/albums/a478/bjwam/Garden%202010/IMG_8542.jpg[/img]

Ants chewing away at the main stalk.

[img]https://i1039.photobucket.com/albums/a478/bjwam/Garden%202010/IMG_8541.jpg[/img]

Garden as of 06/01/2010 Beans and tomatoes doing better.

[img]https://i1039.photobucket.com/albums/a478/bjwam/Garden%202010/IMG_8543.jpg[/img]

[img]https://i1039.photobucket.com/albums/a478/bjwam/Garden%202010/IMG_8535.jpg[/img]

More pictures to come.
[/img][/list]

pizzarrhea
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Looks good!

DoubleDogFarm
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bjwam,

:D NICE You'll start out with two beds, then four, then eight.....etc........ learn as you grow.

Couple of things,

Creosote in your vegetable beds, bad idea. IMHO. I like the pavers, but the railroad ties would have to go.

Ants are probably not eat your plants. They are mostly hunter gathers. Moving aphids around for honeydew production. The damage on the squash maybe Vine Borers.

You need a better light source for your seedlings, thats why they are a little leggy.

Composts are not all equal, I consider them mostly as soil ammendments, not feritilizers. A soil test kit would tell you what you are lacking.

When you are through with school. You could design high rise apartments, that raise all their own food, recycle waste and water. Maybe aquaponics

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cherishedtiger
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Location: Sacramento, California

It looks great!!! Off to a strong start, and with everything you are learning now just think of how much bigger and better it will be next year with everything you know now. Not to mention all big stuff is out of the way, of course unless next year you want to add more gardens!
Good luck with everything! Here is to a strong rest of the season! :D

hit or miss
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Location: central Kansas

Nice job! Keep us posted on the progress. Looks like your learning fast.

petechapman
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Location: Silsden, Yorkshire, United Kingdom

It was great to see your post....similar experience to myself..creating a kitchen garden patch from scratch in a very short time. I did this for my blog so I can share personal experiences with others.

You are doing lots of things right and have set things up for the future pretty well.

We don't have much of a problem with the sun in the U.K., more of a problem with the frost! But you can buy some screen materials to protect your plants from the high sun....perhaps you could look for something like that.

Watering is also important...providing a good drench around the roots but also a bit of a spray to give the leaves a dusting and fend off the little bugs and things than plague us all.

Good luck with it!

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sassyjvg
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Posts: 40
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Location: St. Louis

I enjoyed seeing your photo first too seeing as I am a first timer with lots to learn myself but looks like you have succeeded past your area's weather conditions which presents the greatest of challenges here in the midwest. Here's a birdseye view of my beginner's results:
[img]https://i883.photobucket.com/albums/ac39/sassyjvg/Gardening%20Majic%20My%20First%20Garden/TheGarden.jpg[/img]

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bjwam
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Posts: 15
Joined: Tue May 25, 2010 10:06 pm
Location: Albuquerque, NM - Zone 6

Thank you everyone for the compliments and advice. I'm posting the grow because I know how helpful this forum can be.

DoubleDogFarm- Creosote in your vegetable beds is bad; I agree. These posts are almost 40 years old and are pretty dried out. Like I said they were free so I just went with it. Next season I am going to replace them with split face block and plant some greens in the block itself. Until then I'm just gonna have to deal with what I have.

I have already performed a soil test and the p.h. levels are fine. The compost was from a good source. More than anything, I was worried about the clay in my yard. The compost has done a great job to break it up. It seems that the lettuce has responded to the water retentiveness of the soil in my beds, whereas the tomatoes took much longer to establish themselves.

I agree with the seedlings, I just put them next to a diffused light source and hoped for the best. Next time ill start in the winter with a metal halide or some CFL's.

For me and in terms of architecture, a garden is an essential component of sustainability. I believe that everyone if possible should have a garden. No excuses.

Anyways, I decided to expand my garden to 4 beds :) Digging much deeper this time, around 30" below the ground. I am going to get a yard of sand and a yard of the same compost I used for the other beds. I think I'll combine these ingredients with some of the clay as well until it appears to have the appropriate amount of drainage, etc.

[img]https://i1039.photobucket.com/albums/a478/bjwam/Garden%202010/IMG_8545.jpg[/img]

Got some wire fencing from a friend free of charge and made a trellis for each tomato plant. They responded well to the cages as they provide structure for growth but also protection from the wind; my plants were getting destroyed and knocked over by the 40mph winds.

[img]https://i1039.photobucket.com/albums/a478/bjwam/Garden%202010/IMG_8552.jpg[/img]

I had the east bed covered with a white mesh. This mesh allows around 80% of light pass through it. It also acts as a great diffuser resolving some of the issues I had with heat. The plants have responded well to it. Especially the squash!

[img]https://i1039.photobucket.com/albums/a478/bjwam/Garden%202010/IMG_8556.jpg[/img]

Tomatoes are doing well and flowers are starting to appear everywhere!

[img]https://i1039.photobucket.com/albums/a478/bjwam/Garden%202010/IMG_8559.jpg[/img]

[img]https://i1039.photobucket.com/albums/a478/bjwam/Garden%202010/IMG_8563.jpg[/img]

I have a drip irrigation system that I had installed last while removing and replacing my sprinkler system for the grass. I have not yet ran any drip lines to the plants. When I do, I will cover them with hay and the whole thing will be automated. In the meantime I have been doing all the watering by hand, which has been nice :)

[img]https://i1039.photobucket.com/albums/a478/bjwam/Garden%202010/IMG_8564.jpg[/img]

[img]https://i1039.photobucket.com/albums/a478/bjwam/Garden%202010/IMG_8570.jpg[/img]

Finally looking healthy! Thank you white mesh!

[img]https://i1039.photobucket.com/albums/a478/bjwam/Garden%202010/IMG_8569.jpg[/img]

First Fruit!

[img]https://i1039.photobucket.com/albums/a478/bjwam/Garden%202010/IMG_8573.jpg[/img]

Does anyone here use fox farm products? Should I add anything to the soil in the upcoming months?

Thanks again for all the comments! More pictures to come. Any suggestions would be great.

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jal_ut
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Beautiful. Thanks for sharing.

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bjwam
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Posts: 15
Joined: Tue May 25, 2010 10:06 pm
Location: Albuquerque, NM - Zone 6

It has been a few weeks since I've made any update to this threat. The wind, although blowing with less frequency still manages to do some damage when it exceeds 40+ mph. Next year I plan to have entirely covered garden beds.

A good friend living only two miles away had his garden destroyed by hail and wind. This erratic weather combined with the 90+ degree days I think is the cause of much of my distress.

My tomato vines are healthy, busy, and green. I use no chemical fertilizers and the soil is amended with compost, other organic matter, and clay. The plants have been blooming for weeks now yet I am still not seeing any tomatoes, just dried up flowers.

[img]https://i1039.photobucket.com/albums/a478/bjwam/IMG_8588.jpg[/img]

[img]https://i1039.photobucket.com/albums/a478/bjwam/IMG_8627.jpg[/img]

I've searched the forums and it seems like the plant is not producing fruit because it is stressed. I can only attribute this then to the hot weather and wind we have here in Albuquerque. The solution is to cover the beds. Currently, I am trying to figure out best how to do this.

[img]https://i1039.photobucket.com/albums/a478/bjwam/IMG_8620.jpg[/img]

[img]https://i1039.photobucket.com/albums/a478/bjwam/IMG_8618.jpg[/img]

The bush beans although looking small are producing more and more pods. I think they're receiving too much sunlight and heat. I've seen them grow here in the shade, growing much larger and greener.

[img]https://i1039.photobucket.com/albums/a478/bjwam/IMG_8582.jpg[/img]

[img]https://i1039.photobucket.com/albums/a478/bjwam/IMG_8611.jpg[/img]

For a while the butter crunch was providing us with loads of lettuce until it started growing vertically. I'm still not sure how to properly harvest butter lettuce.

[img]https://i1039.photobucket.com/albums/a478/bjwam/IMG_8587.jpg[/img]

Summer squash is not looking too bad. Squash seems to grow really well in this climate. My dad's plants are much much larger; he's growing in the sand.

[img]https://i1039.photobucket.com/albums/a478/bjwam/IMG_8616.jpg[/img]

[img]https://i1039.photobucket.com/albums/a478/bjwam/IMG_8615.jpg[/img]

Besides an over abundance of snails and ants the plants are looking quite healthy. I would say that the biggest issue is that I have 10 tomato plants with no tomatoes and it's already July.

[img]https://i1039.photobucket.com/albums/a478/bjwam/IMG_8607.jpg[/img]

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applestar
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Do you have more of that mesh material? Tomatoes can self pollinate so they might mange to set fruit with a little shade and relief from the high temp. They just need to be jostled to release pollen -- bees do this by buzzing at them. The wind blowing the vines around may do the trick. Squash on the other hand, you'll need to provide the pollinators access to the flowers --only overhead shade -- or hand pollinate with a soft watercolor brush.

It sounds like the lettuce bolted. I still pick them in earlier stages while flavor is still mild, cook them in middle stages, then use them as mulch and compost greens except for a few to flower and go to seed. The flowers are excellent beneficial insect attractors. If you let the seeds self-sow, you'll have volunteer lettuce all over the place. Whether you think that is good or bad is up to you. :wink:

For future ref. I pick outer leaves of heading lettuce except for a few I want to grow for full head -- to give away or for parties. Since the point of growing lettuce to me is being able to pick fresh from the garden salad, sandwich fixings, I don't try to harvest more than I can eat within a day or two.

garden5
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WOW, your garden's really come a long way. You've really amended your clay soil well. Compost is like the gardener's answer to almost everything.

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farmerlon
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Location: middle Tennessee

bjwam wrote:...and the whole thing will be automated. In the meantime I have been doing all the watering by hand, which has been nice :)
I agree with that. I enjoy watering the garden by hand, and I think that approach presents another good opportunity to inspect the garden. I think it can be too easy to miss some things that might need your attention, when the watering is handled by an irrigation system.

I'm sure it's not the same in all parts of the country, but, I find that if I keep a healthy layer of mulch in the garden, I don't have to water very often anyway.

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bjwam
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Joined: Tue May 25, 2010 10:06 pm
Location: Albuquerque, NM - Zone 6

Thanks for the compliments! I assumed the lettuce bolted so I just pulled it and threw it in the compost. Does it bolt because of a lack of water?

I'm going to build a frame around the garden beds to hang the mesh. In the meantime I'm trying to finish the other two beds.

Currently, I have excavated 3ft of clay and am on the verge of filling this 8x4x3' void fully with some sand. I will then amend the sand with peat moss, compost, and humus. My dad has incredible garden planting in primarily sandy soil.

What do you guys think?

Lunacy
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Location: Los Angeles

I think you're doing great! As a first time gardener I learn so much from reading the threads others post. Thank you for sharing.

BP
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I'm also gardening for the first time. It's nice to see others like myself trying to figure this all out. Thanks for posting

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bjwam
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Location: Albuquerque, NM - Zone 6

Garden Update 07/12.

Temperatures have been above 90 most of the week. Wind hasn't been bad although it's still much more breezy than it ever has since I've lived here in New Mexico.

I have had one of two of my beds covered with white mesh. Plants are responding well to the cover but now I have all sorts of bugs wrecking havoc on my squash!

Aphides and Spider mites?

[img]https://i1039.photobucket.com/albums/a478/bjwam/IMG_8640.jpg[/img]

They look like white shrimp.

[img]https://i1039.photobucket.com/albums/a478/bjwam/IMG_8641.jpg[/img]

More damage...

[img]https://i1039.photobucket.com/albums/a478/bjwam/IMG_8643.jpg[/img]

[img]https://i1039.photobucket.com/albums/a478/bjwam/IMG_8644.jpg[/img]

[img]https://i1039.photobucket.com/albums/a478/bjwam/IMG_8645.jpg[/img]

A different problem...

[img]https://i1039.photobucket.com/albums/a478/bjwam/IMG_8650.jpg[/img]

I've been using some non evasive sprays that have fish oils and other natural remedies. The spray seems to actually work, but the aphides seems to just move around away from where I've sprayed.

I had no idea that Armadillidiidae otherwise known as roly poly's were so aggressive on growing veggies. In fact, I read somewhere they only eat decomposing food. I guess this is not the case as they are feeding on the squash and doing a lot of damage. I don't know what it is about squash, but they are even chewing on the main stem. It's been destroyed in the past week.

[img]https://i1039.photobucket.com/albums/a478/bjwam/IMG_8648.jpg[/img]

I am also have some issues with a two of my tomato plants. They are both yellowing and wilting. I added tomato food to the bases of my plants a couple of weeks ago. Big mistake, they are totally fert burned. Should have sticked with compost.

Burned plant on left.

[img]https://i1039.photobucket.com/albums/a478/bjwam/IMG_8637.jpg[/img]

[img]https://i1039.photobucket.com/albums/a478/bjwam/IMG_8654.jpg[/img]

Another plant with issues. I have no idea what this is. Maybe a fungus?

[img]https://i1039.photobucket.com/albums/a478/bjwam/IMG_8636.jpg[/img]

So as of now I have very little fruit and what I do have is being eaten by ants, snails, mites, aphides, and roly poly's. I think it's time to put down some hay, maybe that will slow them down.

Well I have been frustrated with so much blossom drop from 10 plants that I was really loosing patience. Today I was watering and I finally found a tomato. In fact, my first tomato ever!

[img]https://i1039.photobucket.com/albums/a478/bjwam/1.jpg[/img]

It's gonna be a hot week. 98 degrees tomorrow with low humidity. Hopefully the sheets will protect the plants from the heat.

More fruit please!

GardenJester
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Posts: 244
Joined: Thu Mar 18, 2010 9:59 pm

I normally don't recommend it... but I think you are justified in nuking your garden with Seven. :P

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applestar
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Location: Zone 6, NJ (3/M)4/E ~ 10/M(11/B)

I realize your little emoticon indicates you're just kidding, but let's be clear that doing that will kill off any beneficials that may be present.

The squash appears to be having BER (Blossom End Rot) Rolly Pollies maybe just moving in to clean up. That's probably a watering issue. There's a sticky at the top of the Tomato Forum.

Knock aphids off with sprays of plain water. Unless the insect populations are different for NM, keep a lookout for beneficials like ladybugs and green lace wings. Also for their eggs -- yellow egg cluster for ladybugs and single white egg on a stiff filament for green lace wings. Tiny bee-like wasps -- [url=https://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/NE/syrphid_flies.html]hover/syrphid flies[/url] love tiny flowers like clover and mint as well as cilantro, dill, buckwheat. For more info, read the [url=https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=335]sticky on Beneficial Insects[/url].

Get some buckwheat seeds and sow them around your garden. (Sold as cover crop -- try Seeds of Change or local farm supply, but raw (unroasted) organic tan-colored (not green) buckwheat from bulk section also grew for me...) That's the fastest growing beneficial insect attractor I can think of for the hot season. Let them flower. Push over any excess buckwheat -- they have stems that break easily, or cut at ground level and use as mulch. They bring up potassium from deep in the ground to the surface and will make it available to your plants when they break down. If you scatter dill seeds, they should grow when they're ready.

DoubleDogFarm
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The squash appears to be having BER (Blossom End Rot) Rolly Pollies maybe just moving in to clean up. That's probably a watering issue. There's a sticky at the top of the Tomato Forum.

This is a quote from another web sit
Calcium is required in relatively large concentrations for normal cell growth. When a rapidly growing fruit is deprived of calcium, the tissues break down, leaving the characteristic lesion at the blossom end. Blossom-end rot develops when the fruit's demand for calcium exceeds the supply in the soil. This may result from low calcium levels in the soil, drought stress, excessive soil moisture, and/or fluctuations due to rain or overwatering . These conditions reduce the uptake and movement of calcium into the plant, or rapid, vegetative growth due to excessive nitrogen fertilization
Eric

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bjwam
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Joined: Tue May 25, 2010 10:06 pm
Location: Albuquerque, NM - Zone 6

Thanks guys. It looks like I have some work ahead of me.

Urban_Garden
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Posts: 71
Joined: Sun Mar 28, 2010 12:06 pm
Location: Indiana

I have roly poly things in my garden and they don't cause much (if any) damage. Usually they are too busy eating pulled weeds, kitchen scraps, or fallen leaves from the veggies (especially the cauliflower) so they don't typically attack my garden. :D

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bjwam
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Joined: Tue May 25, 2010 10:06 pm
Location: Albuquerque, NM - Zone 6

Finally a massive sunflower!

[img]https://i1039.photobucket.com/albums/a478/bjwam/sunflower2.jpg[/img]


More tomatoes :D

[img]https://i1039.photobucket.com/albums/a478/bjwam/IMG_8700.jpg[/img]

The Helpful Gardener
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Joined: Mon Feb 09, 2004 9:17 pm
Location: Colchester, CT

Hey BJ,

Sorry to see the issues cropping up, but this is a new garden with new soils and it will take a while to work out the kinks and work in the biology. Some issue are to be expected in that first year especially...

Roly polys are saprophytes; indeed only eating decaying material. The decay I was seeing was fungal; you can even see fruting bodies in one image. Looked like a blossom end rot; we use milk and water as a preventitive (1 to 10) or 1:3 when it first shows up. It really isn'ty a great curative; I use copper sulphate when things go wrong...

You have some very tough issues that need some thought; that sun is obviously one of them. The shots after covering are much better...

Here is advice I have never given here before (although for the life of me I cannot think why), watch the last few minutes of the Godfather. Yep, you heard me... check out how Don Corleone is growing his tomatoes (try to ignore the fact that the idiot is allowing his grandson to run around with the Flit gun). Check out the shade structures; very simple, very easy... feel free to do the monster thing with the orange peel, but try not to have a heart attack... :wink:

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bjwam
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Posts: 15
Joined: Tue May 25, 2010 10:06 pm
Location: Albuquerque, NM - Zone 6

It's nice to be back on the forum. We had a very severe winter in New Mexico believe it or not. Temperatures reached below -20˚F and in addition to the late frost we had in May, it's taken a while for things to get started, not just in the garden.

With that being said, I have learned a lot in the past year. Mostly from all the mistakes I made during my first attempt at gardening. This forum has been an incredible resource and I appreciate all the feedback and advice I have been getting since becoming a member.

Anyways, I replaced my railroad ties with CMU block. Expanded to four 8' x 4' beds. Installed a drip irrigation that I have connected to a timer and underground manifold, so I can control the beds on various zones.

Previously, I had used the existing soil in my yard and mixed it with compost. This time around I spent some money, removed the soil and replaced it in all four beds with a high quality potting mix, peat moss, hummus, composted cotton burr, mushroom compost, vermiculite, gypsum, and perlite.

Essentially, the soil has been completely replaced. After planting three weeks ago, I made sure to use plenty of straw to keep the soil temperatures down for when it starts getting hot.

These first images are after planting 06/01/2011. The two beds in between are currently covered compost piles.

[img]https://i1039.photobucket.com/albums/a478/bjwam/IMG_8745.jpg[/img]

[img]https://i1039.photobucket.com/albums/a478/bjwam/IMG_8741.jpg[/img]

A bed with bell peppers, oregano and eggplant.

[img]https://i1039.photobucket.com/albums/a478/bjwam/IMG_8742.jpg[/img]

More recently - 06/23/2011

[img]https://i1039.photobucket.com/albums/a478/bjwam/_MG_0559.jpg[/img]

[img]https://i1039.photobucket.com/albums/a478/bjwam/_MG_0555.jpg[/img]

[img]https://i1039.photobucket.com/albums/a478/bjwam/_MG_0554.jpg[/img]

[img]https://i1039.photobucket.com/albums/a478/bjwam/_MG_0552.jpg[/img]

[img]https://i1039.photobucket.com/albums/a478/bjwam/_MG_0550.jpg[/img]

Egg Plant - Black Beauty

[img]https://i1039.photobucket.com/albums/a478/bjwam/_MG_0592.jpg[/img]

[img]https://i1039.photobucket.com/albums/a478/bjwam/_MG_0589.jpg[/img]

Mr Stripey

[img]https://i1039.photobucket.com/albums/a478/bjwam/_MG_0581.jpg[/img]

[img]https://i1039.photobucket.com/albums/a478/bjwam/_MG_0587.jpg[/img]

Yellow Pear

[img]https://i1039.photobucket.com/albums/a478/bjwam/_MG_0573.jpg[/img]

Chives

[img]https://i1039.photobucket.com/albums/a478/bjwam/_MG_0579.jpg[/img]

More Herbs

[img]https://i1039.photobucket.com/albums/a478/bjwam/_MG_0562.jpg[/img]

Cinnamon, Thai, and Italian Basil

[img]https://i1039.photobucket.com/albums/a478/bjwam/_MG_0571.jpg[/img]

Cucumbers

[img]https://i1039.photobucket.com/albums/a478/bjwam/_MG_0563.jpg[/img]

[img]https://i1039.photobucket.com/albums/a478/bjwam/_MG_0564.jpg[/img]

Roma
Mr Stripey
Yellow Pear
Brandywine

Two Black Beauties
Two Red Bell Pepper
Three Cucumber

Thai Basil
Two Italian Basil
Cinnamon Basil
Pineapple Sage
Common Sage
Lemon Thyme
Texas Tarragon
Chives
Lavender
Cilantro

Everything looks healthy. I'm not having the same issues with flowering that I had last year. It been even more hot but I think the soil quality is having a serious impact. What I've noticed is that all the plants are flowering earlier and the tomatoes especially are developing much more fruit this time of year compared to last.

Blue Cohosh
Full Member
Posts: 11
Joined: Fri Jun 03, 2011 9:35 am
Location: CT Zone 6B

What a difference in plant health one year of experience makes! The garden looks great, I hope your plants yield you a bountiful harvest.

BP
Senior Member
Posts: 246
Joined: Sun Jun 20, 2010 3:54 pm
Location: Swartz Creek Michigan

Glad everything is growing good for you this year. I enjoyed this thread last year and hopr to see more pics and stories this year.

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bjwam
Full Member
Posts: 15
Joined: Tue May 25, 2010 10:06 pm
Location: Albuquerque, NM - Zone 6

Thanks for the compliments! I'm definitely having issues with the heat these days. We are close to hitting 100˚F pretty much everyday. It has never in recorded history been this dry in Albuquerque. It's quite sad actually.

In addition to the now regular and annoying wind and no rain for 6 months, there have been some serious fires in the State of New Mexico. Los Alamos was evacuated because of the smoke- it's just not a good place to be living right now.

I am beginning to realize that you need at least 4 hrs of shade for many vegetables to well in this type of environment. I think this winter is gonna be all about designing a shade structure that won't fly away in the wind.

Haven't seen many gardeners on this forum from New Mexico. Thanks for the comments, more pics to come.



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