Adventures in Spring Planting

Neighbors exchanging plants and knowledge at Garden District Plant Swap

I love Spring in Tucson. It's that time of year for plant sales and neighborhood plant exchanges. Fun!

Iskashitaa Plant Sale

Every year, I look forward to learning from fellow gardeners and discovering new drought tolerant plants - especially pretty pollinator plants for my rain garden. (Which, admittedly, has been looking pretty stark from the long stretch with so little rain.) Hand watering the new plants gives me an excuse to get out in my yard every morning to mingle with the birds and bunnies. 

While watering my new plants, I spotted this hummingbird!

It can be a challenge to find plants that will survive the harsh drought conditions (especially bad this year) and that won't be devoured by the critters. While I try to get growing conditions from the sellers, it is somewhat trial and error. Not so sustainable, I know. At least I am still able to use rainwater from one of our cisterns. 

This year I got some spiderwort and Arizona Foldwing at the Tucson Organic Gardeners Spring Plant Fair. From what I gleaned from growers, they should be drought tolerant. A quick google search confirmed that. But I also discovered that spiderwort would have preferred sandy soil. At least our basin drains well. 

While I was excited about my new plants; it wasn't particularly good timing. We were heading off on a short family vacation the day after I planted them. I took photos of the new arrivals so my friend Catherine could locate them to water them while we were away. She even brought rainwater from her own cistern! Thanks, Catherine! 

After a couple weeks, the Arizona Foldwing is doing great. Despite the unseasonably hot weather, it has grown several purple flowers! The google search confirmed, The Arizona Foldwing (Dicliptera Resupinata) thrives in full to partial sun conditions, with better performance and blooming in full sun, but it can also tolerate part shade.

I also purchased some dwarf tomato plants (to fit under the bird cage) in my backyard garden. Since we were locking the gate while we were away, we planted them around a tubular olla to keep them watered. 

Here they are with the bird cage to protect them from our resident squirrels. 

Note: they are currently thriving in that spot with daily watering. 

We heard from the growers that Spring is a good time to plant herbs. So we got some mint, basil, and thyme. While everyone says that mint will take over, that hasn't been our experience. For some reason, we can't keep it alive in our backyard. So here it goes in our toilet planter. 

In the past we have had good success planting basil under the birdcage in the shade of the palo verde tree. And the marjoram starter we got at a previous plant sale is thriving in this blue pot - even in this record heat. The high was 91 degrees yesterday! It burned my feet! 

 

Meanwhile, at the high end of our shallow basin...The agaves and aloe that I got from a plant swap, aren't loving our extreme weather - low of 40 degrees and recent highs of 95. The aloe should have never been planted in direct sun. Lesson learned: google before planting. 

 And, yes, it is past time to get some new mulch in the basin. "Chop & Drop" and "Leave the Leaves" (that the ants gathered up) isn't cutting it in this hot weather. 

And before y'all tell me to water those poor agaves, keep in mind that they have been suffering since the cold snap and Master Gardeners recommend that you don't water them during that time because cells will freeze.  (I am watering it now.)  

I don't want to give the impression that nothing survives in our basin. Here are some plants that I got at previous plant sales that have thrived despite record heat with very little water.

The Texas Ranger has hardly been watered at all and it is currently in bloom. 

But pull back to check out the prickly pear cactus. It was looking so wrinkled and droopy a week ago, that I finally gave it 3 watering cans of water. That gave it the strength to hold up those pads that are currently budding! 

The rosemary was looking a little crispy from the extended summer. So far I have given it a total of 3 watering cans of water.  

Even the native chiltepin needed some help to leaf out during this extreme weather. It got about five watering cans full.  Hoping to get some yummy chiltepin chilies this year. 

I was worried about the young ocotillo I got from Borderlands Nursery last year. But it has finally started to grow some leaves! 

Here's the real hero! The jujube that hasn't gotten any extra water besides what it gets from the basin, is budding nicely. 

 

So... I'm glad to say that the new plants in my yard are hanging in there during this extreme heat - with a little help from the rainwater that is still left in our biggest cistern. I won't lie; it's been a tough year. And the most important lesson I learned was to make sure I look up the best location for each plant to give them the best chance at survival. 

More information about our rain basins during happier times:

"Love my rain basin!" 

#lovemyrainbasin

Desert Victory Gardens

Inspired by empty grocery shelves and too much free time from sheltering in place, people rushed off to Home Depot to empty the shelves of gardening supplies. Many started their own "victory gardens."

For you young'uns out there…Victory Gardens were made popular during WWII when people planted vegetable gardens to supplement their meager rations. The government promoted victory gardens as a way to support the war effort. They even offered a booklet to help first time gardeners.

I thought a peek at that booklet might be helpful.

1. Don’t start what you can’t finish. Before you start a garden, count the work involved even before seedtime and through to harvest. Abandoned gardens are a waste of seed, fertilizer, tools, insecticides and labor. 

Great advice. Wait! No mention of water? The writers obviously weren’t living in the desert during a 27+  year drought and record heat wave!

When I think of Victory Gardens I think of my nana’s garden with perfect rows of vegetables. But nana lived on a farm in the Midwest where there was plenty of water. The gardeners of that age weren’t concerned about pollinators going extinct due to insecticides. They were blissfully unaware of the impact of climate change or fertilizer made out of fossil fuels.

Check out number 7. Don’t let the pole beans block out the beets. In fact, don’t let any of the tall crops shade short ones whatever they are. Growing things must get sun. 

What!? They obviously haven’t watched their veggies wither and die in the scorching June sun. But I’m afraid many first time desert gardeners might.

There are lessons to be learned in the desert all around us.

Baby saguaros survive the harsh summer by sheltering in the shade of native trees like a mesquite or palo verde. They don’t call these trees “nurse plants” for nothin’. Our garden is shaded by two palo verde trees. Veggies grown under mesquite and palo verde trees also benefit from the nitrogen those trees fix in the soil. As far as those pole beans go, the Tohono O'odham demonstrate how the three sisters (beans, squash and corn) benefit from being grown together. The beans climb the corn and squash leaves cover the ground to protect the soil and keep down weeds. 

Unfortunately, the giant eucalyptus tree that used to shade our entire backyard died this year. Now our baby fig trees suffer from direct sunlight. Taking advice from experienced Tucson gardeners, I've concocted shade contraptions out of tomato cages and some recycled shade mesh. No need to shade or water our native trees. Our desert hackberry, acacia, mesquite, and palo verde are thriving this summer with no additional city water. Yeah! The lesson from this is to plant native trees or heritage fruit trees that can take the summer heat!

One of our most helpful low-water gardening methods was inspired by early inhabitants in tune with their desert surroundings.

Back when the Santa Cruz River flowed year around, the Tohono O’odham practiced ak chin irrigation. When the monsoon rains came, the river would overflow washing nourishing silt over the flood plain. The silt would retain the moisture and replenish the soil. It would nourish the durable native seed crops they would plant in the floodplain. In a similar fashion we keep fallen leaves and apply organic wood chip mulch to nourish the soil and retain moisture in our garden and desert landscape. This traditional T.O. method also inspired the rainwater harvesting earthworks method of slow, spread and sink.

NOTE: If it's windy, it's best to water plants in the early morning. Otherwise,  water them after it cools off in the evening so the water won't evaporate in the heat of the day.

Pioneers living through droughts, treated each drop of water as precious. You may have seen westerns where the whole family used the same bath water. Gross! But we can use the same water twice. Dan and I carry our kitchen rinse water out to our Mexican Honeysuckle. A friend has an outdoor shower that waters his landscape. We use the greywater from our washing machine to irrigate our heritage fig and pomegranate trees.

We gleaned a great water conservation method from the Mexicans who built Tucson. They buried round ollas (unglazed terra cotta clay pots) in the ground and planted veggies around them. Water is poured into the opening on the top. That water slowly seeps through the pot into the soil. The roots of the plants wrap around the olla taking just the amount of water they needed. This saves a lot of water!

Nourishing the soil with compost, covering it with a thin layer of mulch and watering it with rainwater are desert gardening basics. To save water and have a healthy plant or tree, it's important to know how much water they require. Likewise, it's important to sow the right plant in the right season. Another tried and true technique is to plant short-season crops after the monsoons and use added rainwater to grow fast-growing favorites.

Sadly, it’s been a while since it’s rained in our yard. And the rainwater we collected in our water barrels is long gone. So I’ve had to resort to using more city water than I want to this summer. To offset that extra water use, I look for other ways to conserve water. Instead of a full shower, I often take what Nana called a “spit bath” or sponge bath and then pour that water onto plants!

Nana would be proud.

Since this blog was written we have put in three more cisterns to water our desert landscaping and garden. So I rarely have to use any municipal water. Yay!  

VICTORY GARDEN RESOURCES:

Regenerative Agriculture

Planting calendar for Tucson

Building Healthy Soil Using Cover Crops

Companion planting

Desert Composting

Worm Composting

Backyard Chickens 

Resources for Soil Amendments, Compost, and Fertilizers

Wildlife gardening

Rainwater Harvesting

ARIZONA VEGETABLE PLANTING GUIDE: A VISUAL GUIDE FOR LOW DESERT VEGETABLES

Get free seeds from Seed Library

Save on your water bill while gardening

Teachable moment for the boys

catchment basin a work in progress

After digging up layers of gravel and plastic from the backyard, Dan finally got our heritage fig trees and pomegranate in the ground. (Yeah!) After our newly planted startups finally started growing some tomatoes (Yeah!), we have to go away for a long weekend.  Not to worry, my grown boys have come to the rescue.

Look! I grew tomatoes! 

Taking advantage of the “teachable moment," I dragged my disinterested boys along (Jeremy debating politics, Josh texting his girlfriend) as I demonstrated how to care for my babies, eh, garden. Since Jeremy accused me of micro-managing, and Josh demanded, "If you want me to do this, write it down" - this is what you get!

DIRECTIONS FOR WATERING MOM'S GARDEN:

Use blue water bottle to water the two potted curry plants on table, and fill up olla by tomato plant in front of the back wall. The olla (along with the wood chip mulch) helps keep the ground damp longer. Pour the remaining water in the mulch around the plant. Don't forget to put the black cap back on the olla.

Water the kitchen garden in the morning and the evening using two metal watering cans full of water. The best times to water in Tucson are in the morning and early evening so it doesn't evaporate so fast!

Helpful hint: hold up the spout while you are carrying it outside to keep from spilling on floor. If you disregard this advice, step carefully on slippery, wet floor.

Water AROUND the plants, not on top of them. Don't rush and pour it all in one spot making a hole in the mulch. The idea is to keep the ground and mulch damp around my tomato plants.

Water the plants in our freshly dug basin.

Note: Dan still needs to dig this catchment basin deeper (leaving the trees and their circle of mulch on higher ground) and fill in the rest with mulch. But we needed to get the plants in before they were root-bond.  So he put mulch around each plant. Dan plans to install a greywater system here to reuse water from our outside washing machine to irrigate our drought tolerant edible trees.

Use one watering can full of water on my sad looking re-planted tepary beans and chiltepin. (I'm hoping they will come back and add nitrogen to the ground. )

Use one can of water for each fig tree. Pour the water around and around the fig tree getting all of the mulch wet. If it looks like it is starting to puddle, alternate watering the other tree so it has time to sink in.

Use two cans of water for the lone pomegranate tree - watering all the mulch around it. It will hold in the moisture longer.

Don't forget to use the water from your coffee grounds.

You can put the plastic water bucket here while you close the door so the cat won't get out, or you will be spending your weekend looking for the cat.

Alternate pouring coffee grounds around tomato plants, fig trees, or pomegranate. I'm hoping it will keep the bugs away. 

Don't forget to use your dish water on humming bird trumpets. Pour chunky, greasy water on compost.

Lastly, water the surviving tepary bean plants in the garden behind the back-wall (beside the fenced garden.) They survived the hot summer; they deserve to live!  (1 can will do.)

Don't forget the animals...

Feed the dog 1 scoop of dog food and then put her out. You can try using a treat to get her outside  Try to take her for a walk in the evening.

Take out the trash!

Love, mom

Came home to two happy animals and property watered plants.

Yep! The soil is damp! 

The tomato actually grew while we were away!

One happy dog! 

Nicely done, Josh!