November 15, 2009: Adventures of an Incompetent Arizona Semi-Gardener

The night time temperatures are dropping into the forties now, so Mr. H and I are bringing the tomato plants indoors for the night. I just scooted everything else aside on the room divider, between kitchen and living room, and set them up there right under the lights. They should stay nice and toasty there. This morning, when we took them back outside, we put them in the sunny south side, out of the brrrrr cold north wind we're having today.


Toasty tomato plants.


This morning I gathered together a bunch of stuff for my next attack on this Arizona garden. It's not easy going from a 400 or so square foot garden in southeastern Washington to a 17 square foot garden in midwest Arizona! I must have MORE!!!


OK, so it's not a lot more....a plastic tote, a plastic box, a bag of compost, some vermiculite, carrot and spinach seeds and red onion sets. That just about takes care of the winter garden.



The plastic boxes will fit well between the two raised garden beds. I'll make them nearly bottomless. OK, I'll admit it...the bottom broke out of the tote when I turned the hole saw over to Mr. H. I had 5 perfect holes in it, then he took over. Why do men think they have to push really hard when drilling holes, instead of letting the drill do the job? So, no biggy, the containers will be partially buried, and will have excellent drainage with no bottoms!


Oh-oh.


16 comments:

  1. Just wait. By the end of the winter you might have a lot of square feet. A little here and a little there.

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  2. You know, Daphne, if I were 10 years younger....I'd have a real garden on the south side of the carport. I'm just not physically able to tackle such a large project at my age, the WA garden was enough. I think I need a bit of rest through the winter.

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  3. You need help! Relax and enjoy the sunshine, lol! I can't wait to see you carry those tomatoes back and forth once they start growing into a jungle...how soon we forget :)

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  4. This is a nice sized winter garden - enough to keep you in some fresh food - but not so much as to make gardening a constant chore year round. The bottomless pots are perfect actually. The greater drainage will prove to be a blessing ultimately.

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  5. Erin, that shouldn't be a problem with these little Patio tomatoes. They shouldn't get over about 2 feet tall, and I'm going to move the garden bench to the back (west) patio and put them there...that way we won't have to bend far to pick them up.

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    KitsapFG, that's what I'm hoping...just keep us and the rabbit in salads for the winter. Next year I'd like to add a pot or two of broccoli to the mix.

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  6. I tried cutting those Sterlite containers too. They crack pretty easily. Looks like you will have a nice little garden.

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  7. Rachel, at least the small one could be cut with scissors, so I just removed the entire bottom. I'm filling it with onions, so the roots can go as deep as they want.

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  8. LOL! Gran - you are one of the funniest writers I know. I can't wait to see how it turns out. And I see that your seedlings are coming along really well.

    Do you have any green tomatoes yet?

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  9. Hi, saw your blog on Blotanical. That is a good idea with the plastic bins. I have not started my veggie garden, yet. I hope to build a raised bed before spring. I like the size of your gardens. :)

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  10. Amy, welcome to my blog!

    I'm afraid this is my appeasement garden...it just keeps me happy trough the winter, until I get back north to my "real" garden.

    Thank you, I think my dogs are adorable. There are two of them, brother and sister, Annie and Otto.

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  11. Arizona was an interesting place to garden, but I don't miss it. I do get the urge to grow _something_, almost anything, though.

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  12. Thomas, yes. One plant has three (and maybe two more teeny ones). I should have measured them last week, but I do think they are getting larger.

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  13. Stefaneener, I can't even imagine trying to grow anything here through the summer. One would have to have a shade cloth building for protection!

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  14. What fun for you to live in 2 states, and to garden in each.
    These are quite different garden climates, aren't they!

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  15. Terra, I love gardening in my big plot in WA, but I'm quite the failure down here! I keep trying, though. :-D

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