@MxSmith what a beautiful plant!
@Btown Wow, you have a beautiful yard, so much greener than the zero scape ones in Nevada and California.
~ Sunset Snuggles
@sunnysideup Thanks. Xeri scape references native and drought resistant plants not just cactus and the like. All my plants are either native to Colorado or do very well here.
I have two acres so I pretty much growing everything. Im in USDA zone 9b. In this raised garden bed I have baby okra, marigolds, yellow squash, and two tomatoe plants.
@Maurice112 Nice raised beds and plants.
A word of warning for those who wish to plant blackberries:
I’ve got blackberry starts but I am keeping them in 10 gallon pots AND I’ve got plywood beneath the pots so there is no way the roots can make their way through that. Also am making sure the trailing canes don’t touch the ground. The bushes from which these starts were taken are very productive and thornless.
@Opulence - cilantro does not like hot weather so if you try to start it this time of year, put it some place where it can stay a little cooler. I need to start some myself.
The raised beds at the community garden dry out really quickly, they do not hold the moisture well at all. Last night I was reading about a “core” method where you dig a trench down the center of the bed, lay several inches of straw or other organic material that will hold moisture in the trench, and then rake the soil back over it. It acts as a reservoir. I will try it in the spring. For now, I mulch the beds well and I bury plastic jugs with holes in them in the beds. I was noticing that when I watered the beds a lot of the water would run off so this will help release the water slowly and near the roots. Since everything is a new situation to me this year I’m learning a lot about the various peculiarities of my situation. For instance, we got a lovely gentle rain that went on for hours today. However, when I went to check a pot of potatoes that’s growing (not well) next to the building the soil in it was dry. Apparently the building shielded it from the rain so in spite of the rain I watered those pots. My goal is to manage things to reduce the amount of watering needed. I’ve got native wildflowers in large pots for now but once I’m able to get them into the ground and they are established, they should not need to be watered.
I picked a couple more tomatoes today. This one is called Tasmanian Chocolate and it’s from the Dwarf Tomato Project. It probably could have used a few more days on the vine but it was still decent, hints of acidity and sweetness. It’s growing in a 5 gallon bucket. This one was just under 3 oz. It has a sort of brick color to it. I ate a few of the black cherry tomatoes, too. So far they are the best.