July Planting (Sowing) Tips

Dear Folks,

Pictured - ratatouille for dinner tomorrow.  I took these pictures this morning.  I was delighted to find the Black Cherry Plum tomato volunteer the other day.

With the up/down heat/cool the tomatoes had not fared well.  The listarda eggplant, paradicsom sweet pepper and garlic will make a great meal - no squash at this time.

Another wonderful edible which loves the garden is the I'itoli onion, grown by the Tohono Oʼodham people near by for 400+ years.  This bunching onion has the taste of a shallot with a mix of onion and garlic and is prolific.  This time of year the greens start to go down and it is time to harvest separate and replant.  During the growing time, I harvest the green tops mostly and the occasional bulb.  I love this onion so much I do not grow any others except garlic chives which seems to want to stay!

Accepting Diversity is as natural as growing food and "can" be both challenging and rewarding.  Read my perspective at the end of this blog.

New to gardening folks always comment or ask - how can you grow anything in 100+ degrees.  The short answer is that it has been done for hundreds of years.

The beginning of July is the beginning of our summer Monsoon (rain) season and certain native plants were and are suitable for starting in early summer to coincide with the rains.

Corn, beans (native Tepary) and squash were and still are grown together as the "Three Sisters" with a 4th sister of sunflowers along the outside of the sisters, to attract the pollinators.

Grown together they formed a natural companion planting technique.  The corn grows tall, the beans grow up the corn and the squash grows along the ground, controlling the weeds and keeping the soil surface cool and moist. Native Americans sowed in a manner that allowed them to create a small well containing all the seeds to allow for ease of watering since they had to carry the water to the plants and direct water or filled ollas.  Ollas are UNglazed terracotta pots with small openings - less evaporation - partially buried in the ground in between plantings - installed before sowing.  The filled pot wicks moisture into the soil around it on a constant level.  Click here to read up on ollas and how to make your own.  While traditional clay is most used, you can create a similar watering device with a CLEAN plastic gallon jug, pierced all the way around with tiny punctures.

July PLANTING:

Armenian Cucumbers pictured are actually a type of melon with a cool cucumber taste and actually do well in our heat.


Most of the planting in July and August is by seed for fall production/harvest. Consider this: If you want pumpkins for Halloween, you have to count back 90-120 days for seeding in. If you do not have a bed prepared or in mind for planting now, get your bed(s) ready.

Beginning July 15th
Seeds Only Planting:

Amaranth
Anise
Beans, Tepary
Cantaloupe
Caraway
Chervil
Cilantro
Corn
Dill
Fennel
Luffa Gourds
Musk Melons
Parsley
Peppers
Roselle
Pumpkins
Squash, Winter       
Sunflower

GARDEN TIPS for July
    Sown areas need to be kept consistently moist and the seeds will germinate based on soil temperatures. [Cool weather seeds can be sown now and will give you a jump start when the soil begins cool later on.] Lightly cover with loose soil and loose mulch to keep the area moist.

    Sprinkle sown beds EVERY evening until you see them break the soil surface. Then you can start watering more but less frequently to encourage the roots to go down.
    Higher humidity can reduce moisture loss to plants, reducing watering frequency, but check with water meter regularly.  It is possible to over-water - then followed by under-watering - causing plant stress.
    Tomato plants are unable to set fruit when the Night temperatures stay in the 80s.  Maintain the plants through the summer and you will get a fall crop of fruit before frost.
    Sun damages plants in the summer time, as frost damages them in the winter time. As in frost damage, try to leave the sun damage at the top of the plant alone, if you can, as it protects the lower portions of the plant.  Pruning for fall can start at the end of August through the beginning of September when the monsoon ends and night time temperatures fall below 80.

Accepting Diversity is as natural as growing food and "can" be both challenging and rewarding.

The virus has shaken my world (more on the below).  However with the murder of a Black Man by a police officer calmly killing him shook me to my core.

I grew up in a First Responder family -  Firefighter Uncles and a cousin.  My sweetheart partner is a retired Fireman/EMT.

I have a cousin who is a police officer.  I HAD another one who was murdered on the job several years ago.

The push back has been almost as horrible as the murder.  The whatabout'ers are side tracking the point.  Hundreds of years of being a target because of their skin color.

BUT I did not grow up a "target" because of my skin color or ethnicity.

As a white woman, growing up back east, I remember wincing as family and friends made ugly ethnic and racial comments, but I never challenged them. Privately the same people would say it was nothing and they were friends with ...

This quiet "oh well" then-reality has now come back to haunt us.

BUT I did not grow up a "target" because of my skin color or ethnicity.

I did not grow up in a well-to-do family - we did not have a lot, but did not want for food, although sometimes the variety and nutrition were lacking.  I lived with hand-me-down clothes until I got my first job.

One of my family was so smart he was able to qualify for scholarships to the best colleges.

BUT I did not grow up a "target" because of my skin color or ethnicity.

I have to, and want to, do more to support everyone.  People are afraid for a variety of reasons - including the virus which is impacting so much of what used to be normal.

I want to have conversations with people about how to ease their fears. All people need to be heard regardless of opinion - without violence.  If someone who disagrees with me can tell me why they feel afraid and fear the future I want to hear them.

I was recently diagnosed with a new health challenge.  I am limited for my safety to how much I can interact with the public because of the virus.

But I am here via email and facebook messaging to have conversations with whoever wants to calmly and politely discuss their point of view and fears.

Take care of yourselves and each other,
Be kind, patient and supportive of all who need our help and support.

{{hugs}},

 Catherine


 -- Catherine, The Herb Lady

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