Yesterday morning was a sad day. I went out to feed the chickens and was in the chicken coop trying to get a bird out that had gotten in, and somehow my favorite speckled hen went running out, with the dogs right there. The youngest dog just grabbed that chicken and killed it. No amount of yelling at him to release or drop the chicken helped. I was so sad about it. It's never good when you have to wake up to a chicken funeral!
This morning, my husband and I were out in the neighborhood running with one of the dogs. We were on our way back, and we hear my husband's name being yelled. We turn around and see that it was someone he knows, that had just purchased a gun, wanting him to find him some ammo for it. This is seriously 6:30 am! I just had to laugh, because that's the deal right now. There is simply not much ammo to be had, and we can't really go anywhere, without someone wanting to talk to him about getting a gun or ammo. Really?!?
Wow! Can you believe that it was only a couple of days from 2 strawberries to a small bowl full of berries! Really, strawberries are very easy to grow. Once you have a good location for them to thrive, that is. Here in Arizona, too much sun and heat is often a cause for strawberries not doing well. I have found that they just cannot tolerate that much sun. I have had them located in various parts of the yard, and in the spring, when the temps are cooler, they do very well. Once those temperatures get up in the mid 90's and above, they just don't seem to like it. After much trial and error, I finally relocated about 12 small plants to the north side of my home. This little area does not get a lot of sun. It probably gets about 4 hours of morning sun, at best. However, they have multiplied and spread all over the place. I don't even know how many plants are there now. Probably nearing 50 or so. I should count them. I did give them some organic fertilizer early spring this year, and they do need good watering. The soil they are in hasn't been enriched with any compost in about a year or so, and even so, it was clay to begin with. Give them a try!
These are "Little Finger" carrots, and they are about the size of a little finger. Although, much tastier. I picked these yesterday morning and ate them as a snack a little later. If you notice, most of them aren't super straight. That's because when I planted them, I planted them too densely and they are now overcrowded and growing every which way to get some space. Those darn little carrot seeds are just so small, I find myself impatient to just get them in already! And crooked carrots are the results. It doesn't change the taste, though. Delish.
Here in Arizona, we are heading into dangerous territory (the upper 90's and flirting with 100 degrees)! Remember that after 100 degrees, it's time to give those tomatoes some shade. They will not set any fruit above 100, even though they have flowers on them. Also, I usually check the soil every day, to make sure the plants are getting enough moisture. It doesn't take long at all for a plant to be depleted in our wonderful sunny hot weather!
And that's about it for today! Happy gardening!
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