Sonora 10

This is a blog about gardening, permaculture a little bit of food. Some other odds and ends on occasion as well. :)

[gagardensaz]

9am I was still able to see frost on the ground in the shadows. It may be another month before buds will show themselves again. On the brighter side the moisture is always welcome.

[gagardensaz]

Prepping the arrival of 25 bare root fruit trees sometime in Jan. The holes are dug and mulch is ready. I will still have to run a drip out to the swale but the hard work is completed. Each hold is about 2.5 feet wide.

[gagardensaz]

Here is an Aerial view of the west swale after a recent rain. The darkened areas on the ground is where most of the water infiltrated. The total lengeth of the swale is about 300′; for perspective. 

[gagardensaz]

Here are few photos of the west swale. Notice the creosote directly up and down hill from the swale. The difference between the creosote that has access to the water harvesting of the swale compared with the other bushes is considerable.

[gagardensaz]

As it turns out dried Russian Thistle and other weeds make great mulch when broken into smaller pieces. This will certainly help protect the soil from the relentless Arizona sun.

[gagardensaz]

I had a guy come out and dig five new swales and a dam. Considering the time and effort it would have cost me to dig these by hand, it was well worth it. I do hope they will stand up to the monsoon season, we had and exceptional rains last year. We took some of the soil from near the house and spread it in the swales. The soil will have plenty of native and weed seed, which will help with water infiltration once established.

[gagardensaz]

I caught a pair of Owls on one of the acacias. I know they have an abundant supply of rodents to eat on the property.

[gagardensaz]

Here is a first attempt at rooting prickly pear. Very easy, almost embarrassing easy. Please do not use your fingers or hands to do this. The best thing to use would be a tongs or grabber. Cactus including Prickly pear have visible thorns as well as smaller thorns that can harbor bacteria. Bottom line is don't get stuck by the thorns! Ok, here is my method: 1. Twist off a pad 2. Set the pad on TOP of soil in a planter 2.5 Put the planter in a shady spot, moisten the soil. 3. Two-ish weeks later gently check to see if you have roots.

[gagardensaz]

The Sweet Acacia has been one of the stars this Spring early summer. Lots of new growth with once a week watering.

[gagardensaz]

This plant is all over the place for the Last few months. It has a very salty taste, not unpleasant though. One interesting note is the C4 photosynthesis, which is associated with decreased water use. Another positive is it allows me to cut the accumulated salt in the plant and relocate it. The bad thing is it indicates my soil is saline...

[gagardensaz]

Family

It is true that I would not be in the position I am if it were not for the people in my life. I am very grateful to the people that have believed in me and still believe in me. I lost my father who believed in me perhaps more than I do of myself.

[georgejamesvaltom]

Update from Arizona: we just started our monsoon season. “Monsoon season?” you ask, “What is that?” Well let me tell you:

Every summer, the advent of monsoon season brings storms on a daily basis. The mornings are always bright and clear, but by the end of the day these pleasant things blow into the valley:

It’s not really dangerous or anything, as long as you go inside. But it’s a fun little quirk that comes with living here. Just wanted to let the world know!

[gagardensaz]

This marks the start of the rain. Finally...

[gagardensaz]

One of two castor bean plants that have sprouted up. I have notice an exceptional number of voles running around. Information I have read indicates that this plant may deter them. We shall see...

[gagardensaz]

After seeing some damage to my plants from some critter I decided to use a piece of hardware cloth. This is not really something I want to repeat around the property but the results are positive. The hardware cloth keeps out the hungry animals. I have thrown out some castor seeds, they are starting to come up. Hoping they will survive the heat and sun then help be a deterrent for the animals.

[natureisthegreatestartist]

[gagardensaz]

I agree 100% I found that we end up paying for processing in medical bills, pain, inflammation etc…. so it’s paid for on the back end.

[gagardensaz]

I went to tonopahrobs farm stand this weekend and enjoyed the awesome flora around their property. This is a shot of his grapes beginning to develop. Among other things he has pomegranates, apples, citrus, figs and dates making it a destination all year long for the varieties available.

[gagardensaz]

I made use of the sunflower and alfalfa seeds that I got in the mail. I moistened some of the native soil and made seed balls which got spread out in the swales and other random spots. Happy to report that the alfalfa seeds are inoculated with nitrogen fixing bacteria.