Backyard Farmer

Another toasty AZ day and again I've spent alot of time in the backyard. If you look at these photos of this luscious, organic, flaming red tomato and...

...this shiny, emerald green Bell pep, I think I come off as a real gardener. The truth is...


...I've had a fair amount of frost damage and after cleaning and trimming off the crunchy, dead, brown branches and leaves I'm left with rather spindly plants.

I just can't bring myself to severely cut them back since all the new growth is on the tips. I had to decide if I wanted short, compact, good looking plants in the patio pots that will be slow to produce more "fruit" or forget my pride and embrace the spindliness and have earlier and more tomatoes and Bells. What pride!!!! I'll always go with the produce.

Now my newly planted annuals are another matter. After planting last week I did my usual "dead heading" that sister Cindy taught me back in 1970-71. All the blossoms were pinched back (at least the pansies, viola's, marigold's and petunia's) so strength would go into the plant and I would end up with bushy instead of leggy plants. I go out every day and check on their progress. Yes, they are getting bushy and a lot of buds are forming and this week I'll have a pop of color in the petunia's and pansies. The marigold's are slow going. Now, I hope this hasn't bored you but may be of help to some of you inexperienced gardeners.

After more pruning of the vinca, raking, planting the last 3 lobelia and 1 viola and sweeping I felt not like a House Beautiful gardener but more like a backyard farmer. I'm feeling very Geiss Green Thumbish. Oh that puts a smile on my face.

Wait until tomorrow when you see the calamity in the front yard. Oh my it is bad. Just try to remember how much SLK likes to chop down things.