To the Agricultural Question

**piperdbh** · 22nd March 10, 09:16 AM

Please do post about it, Ted. I always enjoy your posts. It's about time to put my graden in, and I plan to post some stuff about it.

**Bugbear** · 22nd March 10, 12:23 PM

Originally Posted by piperdbh

Please do post about it, Ted. I always enjoy your posts. It's about time to put my graden in, and I plan to post some stuff about it.

Well, I've switched gears. I am rebuilding a drip system. That is for the potted plants under my citrus trees. The citrus are, thankfully, buzzing with bees.

I will have to kill off some wild bermuda grass over along the area that will become the milkweed hedge. I was going to clear that side of the yard out and have nothing there because I don't even want to go on that side of the yard. However, being that I work with native desert plants, I think this will be an easy and workable option, rather than having an empty buffer zone.

I had to move my main garden over to the other side of the house, as well. I have Mt. Pima Maiz Azul (blue corn), black beans, and a spaghetti squash growing along with both elephant and regular garlic in that patch, though it will take years to develop the soil structure on that side. I have also put two flame grape vines over there; in August I will be planting, Big Fields Brown, tepary beans: another desert crop.

That pretty much covers it all. My life is boring.

**ali8780** · 22nd March 10, 08:00 PM

As always Ted, I'm completely impressed with your ability to make anything grow down "there"

Say "hi" to phoenix for me

**Bugbear** · 22nd March 10, 08:12 PM

Originally Posted by ali8780

As always Ted, I'm completely impressed with your ability to make anything grow down "there"

Say "hi" to phoenix for me

Will do.

It's taken ten years, and I'm still studying.

**ali8780** · 22nd March 10, 08:16 PM

Originally Posted by Ted Crocker

Will do.

It's taken ten years, and I'm still studying.

ever tried strawberries? I was going to attempt that challenge, but then we had to move...

**Bugbear** · 22nd March 10, 08:50 PM

Originally Posted by ali8780

ever tried strawberries? I was going to attempt that challenge, but then we had to move...

Oh ya.

Sequoia strawberries, they're everbearing, do well out here. I have also grown some other everbearing types, I don't remember the names, that are much smaller and sweeter.

All of these were in hanging baskets that were one hanging from another in columns, and under a car port with only morning sun.

They did use a lot of water, and that is why I stopped growing them. Our water, down here, has a high PH so I had to add a little vinegar to the water etc.

In the same family, I also had almonds, peaches, apricots, and I still have one rose bush.

**ali8780** · 23rd March 10, 12:27 PM

Originally Posted by Ted Crocker

Oh ya.

Sequoia strawberries, they're everbearing, do well out here. I have also grown some other everbearing types, I don't remember the names, that are much smaller and sweeter.

All of these were in hanging baskets that were one hanging from another in columns, and under a car port with only morning sun.

They did use a lot of water, and that is why I stopped growing them. Our water, down here, has a high PH so I had to add a little vinegar to the water etc.

In the same family, I also had almonds, peaches, apricots, and I still have one rose bush.

see? You're amazing

**Bugbear** · 23rd March 10, 12:54 PM

Thanks, Ali.

It's all been an experiment.

I'm looking into butterfly information now.

**Lallans** · 23rd March 10, 01:15 PM

Originally Posted by Ted Crocker

Unfortunatly, for the coppicing and pruning work, every thing here has spines, thorns and burs.

Plain old apple trees can do a pretty good job on you too. Once, in my teen years and after pruning a couple dozen apple trees while perched on a very inadequate ladder, an old man standing behind me in a bank lineup tapped me on the sholder and said "Son, you look like you were tied up in a bag of alley cats!"

**Bugbear** · 23rd March 10, 02:52 PM

That's funny.

I have six cats, and they can do a lot of damage.

I guess any tree that has dead wood twigs on the inside could scratch you up like that.

Anyhow, guess there are a couple of other types of milkweeds, and a few butterfly attracting bushes that I could plant that do well out here.

I'll have to go look at the weeds growing around my yard to see if any of them are milkweeds, for seeds, if not, I have located a local source for a couple of kinds.

I need to get an ironwood tree started too.