What began indoors (baby plants) will slowly make their way outdoors to garden beds. In the meantime,
- young tomato plants of nine varieties, all organic and several heirloom,
- pumpkin (3 varieties: one is a native blue),
- winter squashes including including Gila Cliff Dweller (native),
- zucchini, brussel sprout, cauliflower,
- mints and low marigolds are going in and out every day. A neighbor kindly donated a folding table to the garden project. That generosity will come back to them in nourishment through the season. Boy am I glad for this table! We can’t plant until late May/early June here. 7800 ft altitude brings the possibility of killing frost until late in Spring and as early as mid-September in late summer.
The two baby hazel nut trees, two gogi berry plants, and two thornless blackberry plants are slowly putting out new leaves. I bought babies. I’m not sure that was smart, but I could not afford to replace more mature, more costly trees/bushes if the first ones didn’t make it. The west wind here is harsh and nights are just now sustaining above 32° with consistency. The baby mulberry tree is a trooper, still alive, but not leafing yet.
One more thing, bringing water to the roots of trees. When planting these trees, I used a 3 ft. length of 2″ PVC pipe to act as a water well shaft down to the roots. It will stay in place the life of the tree. The method:
- Dig the hole for the root ball of the tree.
- Determine the easiest accessibility to the pipe for watering.
- Make a bed of small stones for the pipe. Set it on top. Then with slightly larger stone, wedge it in. Using a 3 ft. pipe, about 2 ft. should be above ground. Half fill with water and observe. The stones under the pipe’s opening should prevent mud from filling the opening.
- Now put in your baby tree and back fill according to the nursery’s instructions for the tree to breathe.
- Fill the pipe.
- This method of deep watering ensures that the roots of the tree always are nourished. In a dry climate where water evaporates from surfaces quickly, this is imperative.
Lovely and thanks for posting the progress of your “farm”!
Wanna share the fun!