It’s unreal how fantastic the weather has been this summer. I only got about 10 drops from this beautiful cloud and you can see why so often you get pounded and the neighbor 1/4 mile away got nothing.
Earlier this afternoon it rained hard a mile away, but I only got 1/32″ or so:
10/2/22 rain gauge
ANY amount of measurable rain is great!
10/2/22 Peaches
Fortunately, peaches don’t all ripen at once. After I get up I almost always check the greenhouse and the garden. I’ve eaten countless half peaches in recent weeks. The critters know what’s ready and of course, the wind blows ripe peaches off the tree.
Some of the peaches also developed some rot, probably due to the rain, or maybe hail. It’s the first time that happened and fortunately, most are ok.
So I’ve been eating many partial peaches and today I had at least 10, almost too many, even though most were only halves. They’re still not so ripe that you have juice running down your face after every bite.
I have many more protective bags, but haven’t had time to put them on.
They work somewhat, but just as I decided to finally harvest the last apples, they were GONE. The rats and squirrels can easily chew through the bags. I also didn’t have time to harvest most plums and many ended up rotting in the protectors after they were ripe and feel off the branch. Harvesting takes time.
10/2/22 Tomatillos
A couple of years ago we planted a fruit tree that sadly died for unknown reasons. No gopher or grub damage, it just died.
So I was going to try growing potatoes, but the tomatillos volunteered and took over. There are still some potato plants growing, but I doubt I’ll get to harvest any as I didn’t hill them and they probably didn’t get enough water.
I’m hoping for some SALSA soon, have so many tomatoes in the greenhouse.
This winter I hope to transplant the peach and apricot trees from outside the garden where they never get enough water to bear fruit into the garden. Behind the tomatillos is a dead cherry tree to be replaced. I still have another cherry tree, but haven’t gotten any fruit yet.
I’ve been so busy, just started to cut down giant tumbleweeds inside the garden and there are so many outside. It’s easy when they’re small, but as always with deferred maintenance, little jobs turn into big jobs.
10/2/22 Pomegranates
I’ve been harvesting the pomegranates that split open (irregular watering, I think) and the pomegranate by the gate has the most fruit, probably because it got the most water. But it’s also more protected, the bushes on the south side had most of their flowers blown off.
8/27/22 Pomegranates
You might think that the whitish pomegranates are sour, but I have several varieties of Mexican heirlooms. A master gardener instructor mailed me cuttings from their Yuma test garden back in about 2015 and the lightest color was almost too sweet to eat, with none of the expected pomegranate tartness. So I’m going to try to have several varieties ready to eat and then I can mix them up.
I’ve eaten a lot of fruit this summer and some people frown on all that fructose, but I think it just can’t be bad for the average person. If we shouldn’t eat it, why is it growing?
I go with the flow and am a big believer in eating naturally. Fruit in summer, potatoes in winter. That is how it’s meant to be 🙂
And I found that I actually was in ketosis despite eating fruit, probably because I do intermittent fasting.
I’m amazed at how much fruit I got after the HORRIBLE spring with the wind and freezes after I posted the beautiful blooms in March:
Bees and hummingbird moths love the plum and nectarine flowers
The spaghetti squash are small this year and I just harvested the first zucchini on 9/25:
9/25/22 First Zucchini
Didn’t even add any onions or anything else and enjoyed the flavor with just a bit of salt and pepper. I love those little tomatoes!
And have so many, pulled hundreds of volunteers in the walapini, but it still looks like a jungle. If anyone locally wants tomato plants to overwinter in pots or in a greenhouse, I’m still pulling plants and they will freeze here.
Now I’m just hoping for a LATE first frost. Last year I lost most tomatillos to the first freeze and got no zucchini at all. It often freezes by the end of October. Sometimes we’re good till Thanksgiving, you never know.
6/4/22 Figs ripening
It looks like my first fig harvest was in June. Figs are difficult to harvest. You have to wait for them to get very soft, but NOT soft enough for the insects and critters to take them. I have not found a way to protect them yet. They are so incredibly delicious!
This fig grew at least two feet so far this year and is now growing a 2nd crop. I planted several new figs last year and found that they do best in amended soil with LOTS of water. At least one of the new figs is now growing little figs again too.
Not desert plants, but I grow veggies around them, so the water isn’t just for the figs.
Chichiquelite Huckleberries
The Chichiquelite huckleberries are another WEED. They’ve been self-seeding year after year and are incredibly prolific. Small and not very sweet, they can be harvested from early summer until they freeze. They’re best in smoothies.
The best thing about permaculture is that you have to do so little planting and the garden IMPROVES year after year as long as you give it plenty of water and pull the “weeds”.
I might not even need much shade cloth next year. I took it off recently because the constant wind storms kept tearing it, the clamps kept blowing off and some of the posts are loose now. I don’t use concrete since everything changes as the plants get larger and some of the posts we put in last year already have to be removed.
It’s been another amazing summer, despite the countless wind, dust and hail storms. I just wish I had more time to maintain the plants, harvest, and cook.
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