How to grow the perfect onion in the AZ low Desert ( or so we hope!) I have had so many people ask me about how to grow onions successfully here in the Low Desert, that I thought I had better write a few destructions - oops sorry - instructions !! Anyway, here goes......... You can start onions here either from seed or onion starts. Onions are a cool season crop and actually pretty easy to grow here. They like relatively good soil, but don't seem to mind clay soil too much ( unlike carrots, which hate clay soil). Avoid using soil sulfur as a soil amendment: this affects the onion flavor, making them incredibly pungent. Trust me on this one, as someone who inadvertently did this once, my poor watering eyes suffered terribly when cooking with them, never to be repeated ! I digress..... You can start onions from seed in late September, either directly sowing the packet into the ground (making sure to keep the soil moist for good germination - not always that...
Malabar Spinach - A heat tolerant Summer Green ( Basella alba) Yes... there is a summer green you can grow in the Low Desert !! Red Stemmed Malabar Spinach Malabar Spinach is a heat tolerant summer green. It is not really a spinach but actually a type of semi-succulent vine, but the good thing is it grows really well in our Arizona summer. There are 2 kinds - the more popular red stemmed, as well as a green stemmed variety. Red Stemmed Malabar Spinach - note how the stems are vining up the sunflower stalk. Cultivation: It is native to Asia, the plant having thick, succulent heart-shaped leaves and white flowers. The red stemmed cultivar "rubra" has thick reddish purple leaf veins and stems and thus is considered to be more ornamental. As the season progresses the flowers give way to purplish-black berry looking fruit. Once the temperatures reach above 90 degrees F, it really starts to ramp up its growing habit, often growing ...
August update from the garden - Black Eyed Peas are ready !! If you remember, I planted my Black Eyed Peas at the end of May. Well, they not only survived the summer but have been growing so rapidly that I am now having to cut them back just so I can get along the pathways. It's a jungle out there in my garden at the moment !! They are now producing pods like crazy, which is fantastic. I am growing them for the dried "peas" and if you also remember, the variety I am growing is an Heirloom - Bisbee Red, bought from Native Seed Search based in Tucson. http://www.nativeseeds.org/ For how to grow Black Eyed Peas, please refer to my earlier post form June 2017. Anyway, here are the pods in all their glory. Note smaller green pod in background, with larger "mature" dried pod in foreground. Harvested dried pods. Bisbee Black Eyed Peas Some will be saved for next year'...
Great video Carol - thank you! After you sieve your compost, do you return the large particles to the compost heap or do you toss them as spent?
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