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grrlgeek
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grrlgeek's Desert Garden Adventure

Part One: The Garden

We went from bringing a few plants home from the BigBox every year, and eating whatever came off of them, to what can only be described now, as a driving passion (maybe, more aptly, an obsession) to grow everything in every seed catalog ever published. We’re going to need more land! Our goals remain seated in growing sustainably, organically, and bringing diversity to the table.
Tipoff Romanesco F1 Cauliflower
Tipoff Romanesco F1 Cauliflower
The bug really took hold last summer, but being too late to plant the usual suspects, we did a fall garden instead – peas, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, beets, lettuce/greens, chard. We kept it to small plantings of each, and it was like a mini laboratory for learning the ropes and learning from mistakes. Lots of the latter. I also started artichokes from seed and I still, every day, go to those plants immediately when I come home from work and just bask in their awesomeness.
Emerald Artichoke
Emerald Artichoke
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This forum has been a true guiding light. I read nearly everything, going back years. All of your responses and assistance to others, progress of your gardens, hints, tips, tricks, warnings… I’ve heeded and ignored them all, as appropriate (or otherwise), but before I proceed with showing off my humble progress, I wanted to be sure to thank you all for what must be hundreds, or even thousands, of hours of collective support and advice you have so generously shared here.

The first piece of good advice I ignored for Spring 2014 was, “keep it simple when starting out.” We did years of simple, and can manage to keep store-bought tomato and pepper plants producing until November, so, instead of staying the safe course, it was time to get serious. To those who can’t resist temptation, my advice from experience would be to NOT obtain seed catalogs from 10 different companies in August. You will read them cover to cover several times over, and by December, your garden plans will have taken over the world. And what a wonderful world that will be.
Seedlings out for a day in the sun.  This could happen to you!
Seedlings out for a day in the sun. This could happen to you!
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I’ll break this thread up into separate replies on individual aspects of the garden and then add to it as things progress this summer.

First off, an introduction to the senior executive and supervisory staff here at Desert Square Foot Farms. Read on….

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grrlgeek
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Meet the Staff

As you view the photos in the following posts you will notice what appears to be an abundance of overkill security measures for a city lot surrounded by block walls. Thought I’d show you why, up front, to perhaps keep the laughing and pointing to a minimum, at least from those who know and love huskies.
seniorstaff.jpg
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From left to right, meet Teeka, Queen Nanny. A pedigree line from champions, and a great great…. Oh, I forget how many greats… grandfather, who had a prominent role in the movie Iron Will. She’s 11 and slowing down, but still has enough spunk to keep the other two on the lower rungs. In the center is Baldr The Good. Middle Child. He’s low-content wolf-husky. Still a little wild at 110 pounds and 3.5 years, but settling into manhood, finally. He supervises all activities here on the farm. To your right is our baby, 2 year old wolf-husky and half-sibling to Baldr, Artemis. We had pick of the litter and we chose the runt. A sweet and submissive little thing with a wicked streak. A world class stealth and thief, she is relentless in pursuit of besting her big brother. He lets her think she’s winning, then, with one swift maneuver, she’s on her back. Rinse and repeat, ad infinitum.

Here’s a couple of examples of why all the plants are on lockdown. Baldr is a climber, not that he needs to climb, since he can reach just about anything. Here you see him at just 4 months old, ready to take out the 2nd batch of cherry tomato starts we bought from the home improvement center. We put this 2nd batch in hanging pots. First batch didn’t last long on the ground. On the right, Artemis, who excels at digging and all water-related activities. She can trench out a sprinkler line faster than I can. I only occasionally find that useful.
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Yes they’re trained. Mostly trained. They can sit and stay and come and fetch. They know some stupid pet tricks and behave well off-lead. They can “leave it,” as well as respect a boundary of a flimsy 2’ tall plastic garden lattice leaned up in front of a hallway they’re not supposed to venture down. They don't steal (many) socks, provided I don't leave the laundry basket on the floor. But the back yard is theirs, and I can only take so much of it away from them before I have bored huskies, left to their own devices for 6.5 hours a day. So we compromise and I tolerate some mischief. But, green plants in their domain, with food hanging off of them? I don't dare tempt them that much, and tomato leaves are poisonous to dogs, so losing my plants is the least of my concerns.

Anyway, the plant prisons and my self-imposed “limited space” will probably make more sense now. :eek: :hehe:

Read on for the “Greenhouse” project…

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grrlgeek
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The Greenhouse Project

In prior years we had wood boxes on top of a tall table for our garden area. But the summer sun baked and fried anything we put out, and that was bad. A little hoop house of PVC pipe was constructed on top, and shade cloth added. That went well, and of course, we wanted to expand on that success. So why not get a greenhouse? Then we can grow things all winter long! The rest is history.

Hubby is a machinist… prototype stuff. He makes parts for things that fly in space. He had burned out on the trade years ago and went through a plumbing apprenticeship, but ultimately hated that and returned to aerospace. But I digress. The words were coming out… “Let’s get a greenhouse,” but he was really saying, “I can build that myself out of PVC and it will only cost 3x more and take 5x longer!” But we had fun, and he is super handy at designing intricate drip irrigation systems.

We call it the “greenhouse,” but we only covered it with plastic for 3 months and probably only needed a cover for 2 months for season extension and cold weather crops that need a little extra protection. Mostly, though, it’s a high-security plant prison.
Under construction
Under construction
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A shade shelter for the dogs, so they can be in the greenhouse, without being IN the greenhouse.  Cool wet sand on the ground, and we still have access to the irrigation valves underground.
A shade shelter for the dogs, so they can be in the greenhouse, without being IN the greenhouse. Cool wet sand on the ground, and we still have access to the irrigation valves underground.
Ta-Da!  Ready for plants!
Ta-Da! Ready for plants!
Part of the Fall 2013 garden - October 2013. Plastic just went on, but the door is still uncovered along with a section of the back wall.
Part of the Fall 2013 garden - October 2013. Plastic just went on, but the door is still uncovered along with a section of the back wall.
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A little reconfiguring and here we go for Spring-Summer 2014
A little reconfiguring and here we go for Spring-Summer 2014
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16’x7’ turned out to be a lot less space than it seemed at the outset. Coming Soon: The Expansion Part I – Front Yarden.

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applestar
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First thread I opened this morning to "skim thru" -- but your narrative sucked me right in and I read it all -- I love it :D. You got wonderful projects going there with great "helpers".

Looking forward to more. 8)

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pinksand
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I agree with applestar, your words sucked me right in! Thanks for the peek into your garden adventures.

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ElizabethB
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DITTO Applestar and Pinksand. Your helpers are beautiful! Love the greenhouse. More please!

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grrlgeek
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The Expansion Part I – Front Yarden

I got it into my head that I was going to grow corn. Not just corn, but a real-live Three Sisters garden. I was going to need more room than the greenhouse could provide and that left me with only one option: the front yard. Down the road from me I drive past a house every day where, last summer, they had planted a row of corn down each of their neighbouring fence lines; 20’+ rows, 2 plants deep, all the way down to the sidewalk. Big, beautiful, ten-foot-tall stalks of corn, right out there in the open for anyone to see. This, at a house that fronts the main boulevard bordering our tract. I thought it was awesome and it wasn’t a stretch to convince me that I was going to do that too.

Hubby had some mild [cough] reservations about the concept of my “Three Witches” garden; teasing me - somewhat relentlessly I might add - that someone would call code enforcement and complain about my urban farm. I knew if I ignored him long enough he’d capitulate, and we now plan BBQ events together, in anticipation of our big corn harvest.

Yeah, but corn wasn’t the only thing on my mind.

For the Yarden, we decided to build a raised bed. The area we had available was what was left of the lawn. I am not sorry to see it go, either. I know nature hates straight lines, but the pavestone walkways on the house make use of lines and triangles, so we decided to follow the defined borders as a starting point. The location of the pathway in the centre was dictated by the places that get sun, or not.
First, the cherry tree had to be relocated.  It had just been planted there in that hole a few months before, and was still dormant.  It fared well and I got to eat 1 cherry before the birds took the rest!
First, the cherry tree had to be relocated. It had just been planted there in that hole a few months before, and was still dormant. It fared well and I got to eat 1 cherry before the birds took the rest!
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We used cedar fence boards and knew at the time that they wouldn’t be a long term solution.  Our goal this coming winter is to build a stacked (no mortar) retaining wall around it, make it taller/deeper, and remove the cedar planks.  For the walkway inlet, we’re thinking about using stacked 4x4s instead of stone.
We used cedar fence boards and knew at the time that they wouldn’t be a long term solution. Our goal this coming winter is to build a stacked (no mortar) retaining wall around it, make it taller/deeper, and remove the cedar planks. For the walkway inlet, we’re thinking about using stacked 4x4s instead of stone.
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100.25sf of Gardening Bliss, coming up!
100.25sf of Gardening Bliss, coming up!
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The section closest to the front door is the SW corner, and it gets morning sun, but afternoon shade. I wanted to keep the part-shade section to the barest minimum. All the rest gets bathed in morning sun and then varying degrees of afternoon sun. The best spot in the NE corner gets 8+ hours of sun a day during the longest days, with respite around 11:00-1:00 when the sun makes it over the peak of the roof.
March 15th, one month after planting.  Herbs in the bottom center of the screen.  Clockwise around after the herbs: Baby Bok Choi; Swiss Chard; Osaka Purple Mustard; Spinach (4 kinds); Lacinato Kale; Carrots (5 kinds) Radishes (5 kinds); Beets (4 kinds) Globe Purple Top Turnips, Broccoli (2 purple, 3 green), Tipoff Romanesco Cauliflower, empty space with strawberry baskets sitting on it; Peas (4 kinds); Onions (2 kinds).  I said we were getting serious!  In the walkway are some store-bought flowers, because I didn't have enough plants yet.
March 15th, one month after planting. Herbs in the bottom center of the screen. Clockwise around after the herbs: Baby Bok Choi; Swiss Chard; Osaka Purple Mustard; Spinach (4 kinds); Lacinato Kale; Carrots (5 kinds) Radishes (5 kinds); Beets (4 kinds) Globe Purple Top Turnips, Broccoli (2 purple, 3 green), Tipoff Romanesco Cauliflower, empty space with strawberry baskets sitting on it; Peas (4 kinds); Onions (2 kinds). I said we were getting serious! In the walkway are some store-bought flowers, because I didn't have enough plants yet.
May 2nd - 6 weeks later.  The lettuce boxes were kicked out of the greenhouse and are vacationing here, awaiting completion of their new home.   Yes, the peas were a bear to harvest.  Next time, not so densely.  It's getting warmer, so I need to mulch as soon as the cool weather stuff is done.
May 2nd - 6 weeks later. The lettuce boxes were kicked out of the greenhouse and are vacationing here, awaiting completion of their new home. Yes, the peas were a bear to harvest. Next time, not so densely. It's getting warmer, so I need to mulch as soon as the cool weather stuff is done.
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We don't have an HOA. That would have been a deal-breaker for me. I won’t be told where I can park my truck (I mean really, the sidewalk is paved – haha kidding) or how long my garage door may remain open. Granted, I do have a sense for aesthetics; though, maybe not a great eye for design. But I like what we’ve accomplished so far and in the next installment, I’ll pan the photos out on the rest of the yard, and I think you will, too.

Coming soon: The Expansion Part II – Rock Garden Makeover

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grrlgeek
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The Expansion Part II – Rock Garden Makeover

So. I admit that it is with some trepidation that I post this installment. Claiming that I had a black thumb, I’ve always been sort of anti-plant in general. Not so much about plants that produce food, because I could readily see the value in those. It’s the flowers and lawns and bushes that I could never wrap my head around. Mostly bushes. As a kid, I hated having to clip the hedges when it came up on my turn for yard duty. They had to be squared off, perfectly flat on top, everything raked out and put in the compost pile. My mom took great delight in her flowers; roses and geraniums, and lots of them. I still don't like the way they smell. Our neighbours had gardenias. Yak. I just got a migraine from the mere thought of their scent. (The gardenias, that is, not the neighbours.)

Older and wiser now, or maybe just more decrepit and not spending every weekend dirtbike racing in the desert, I’ve come to appreciate my yard a lot more. Pretty much every summer since 2009, we’ve had some sort of Yard Project going on to entertain us.

I moved to the desert because I like the desert. I love the bare, unforgiving landscape, and admire the things that find a way to thrive in it. In 2005, we had record rains and the floor of Death Valley bloomed bigger than it had in 100 years. I was at a race nearby and took a daytrip to see the show. Death Valley averages about 2” of rain a year. In 2005, it got over 4 whole inches the entire year, and produced vistas like this:

Image

Image

Not my photos. This was before a camera phone for me and the trip was a spur-of-the-moment hop in the truck kinda thing.

It was awe-inspiring, made even more special by the fact that it doesn’t happen all the time. I may never see that again in my lifetime. And it’s those images burning in the back of my mind when I look at my yard and ponder how I can make it look like the wild desert, and not Beverly Hills.

Too bad I don't have a clue what I'm doing! But let me show you what we started with, what we did, and where we're at today......

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grrlgeek
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Where We Started...

I bought the house in 2007. I got a dying lawn and a professionally landscaped (former model) yard full of plants and bushes that don't belong in the desert. Bulbous, topiary bushes to boot, that wanted me to come over there and trim and square them off with neat, flat tops or restore their perfectly spherical snowman-like segments. There were close to 200 active sprinklers on the property (on a 9000sf lot, mind you) with a water bill that had way too many digits in the dollar amount. I pulled the plug on all of it for a year. When it died, I pulled it.

Rosemary, a juniper, and a couple of those darn bushes were the last plants standing. Oh, and the pine trees, of all possible things one could choose to plant in the desert, they survived too. I capped every sprinkler that didn’t have a bush associated with it any longer, and tried to get the lawn going again. I soon realised that wasn’t going to happen without installing sod, and that wasn’t going to happen, either.
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The front half of the yard gets sun from 6am to 8pm in summer with several hours of hot, dry wind in the afternoon blowing over it. The watering required to keep it green was staggering and I merely gave up.
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This has happened one time since I’ve lived here. We get a couple of “dustings” of varying degree every winter, but this storm in 2008 was the only time it stuck. I’ve never lived anywhere that it snows at all, and I was out there making snow angels like a 5-year-old. I have to consider this kind of weather in garden plans, but it’s a fluke, rather than a likelihood, that it will occur.

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grrlgeek
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What We Did....

In 2009 we took all the dead/dying sod off of most of the front yard, added a scoop of sand, and covered with pea gravel. The prior year, I had paid a visit to my former abode (ex-husband still lives there) and harvested a bunch of cuttings from my San Pedro cactus and planted two stands. For plants, I stuck just a toe in, and chose yuccas that produce only one flower per year, and even then, not for years until they become established. And for a time, it was good.

Grass out, rocks in!
August 2009
August 2009
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August 2009
August 2009
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This was the concept drawing.  The yuccas in the picture are Photoshopped in. We decided against a Joshua Tree because of the moths, bugs, and vermin they attract.
This was the concept drawing. The yuccas in the picture are Photoshopped in. We decided against a Joshua Tree because of the moths, bugs, and vermin they attract.

This is the only view I have of the front yard once all the plants were in and they are still so tiny!
August 2010
August 2010
We planted an Ocotillo in place of the Joshua Tree, but it never established itself. In the lower left, along the wall by the window are the skeletons of some bushes from the back yard that didn’t make it during the 1-Year Survival of the Fittest Challenge. We took out the flowering thorny replicating bush and planted blackberries and raspberries there, using the shrub skeletons as trellis. It looks pretty Spartan most of the year, but I like the way the berries look trellised on it when they are green. The snowman bush is dead on top, but kept growing from the suckers at the base. After we gave up on tomatoes in the back yard (dog attacks), I just hung the baskets from the top section of the bush and had a “snack tree” for nibbles whenever I passed by.

The first to flower in 2012 – Yucca filamentosa. Berries on their stick trellis along the wall. Yeah, I've been neglecting my weeding.
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Okay, you’ve waited long enough! Fast forward to the present, and I will bring you the Expansion Part III - Rock Yarden Makeover (Where We Are Today)

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grrlgeek
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Intermission
2008-08-xx-web-pedro 006.jpg
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San Pedro Cactus flowering in September 2008. I love this very forgiving cactus. It had always flowered for me shortly after planting cuttings. I am sure it’s stress induced but it sure is pretty. I ultimately took out both stands to make way for the artichokes. At some point I’ll go and get more cuttings and find a new location for a stand or two.



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