Hi to all of my friends and fellow gardeners.
Wow, does time fly. I have been here in Az for over 3 months. Tomorrow I am headed home to Colorado. Time to start thinking about the garden and get those seedlings ready to plant as soon as the snow is off the Ute mountain. It has been a hard winter at home and I have found out the deer did a number on my Australian Pine trees, ouch!
The Az. desert is in bloom and it is beautiful. Really gives me spring fever.
My sheep are about to give birth. I will post photos ASAP. My friends in Cortez have 7 ewes and within 3 days they have 18 more lambs. Mary need a little lamb??????????
I will keep you posted on how many mine have as soon as they come. So please check back soon.
Think spring.

Planet Green

A friend of mine sent this link to me. I thought you might enjoy it too. There is a wealth of information here. I hope you enjoy it too.
Think Green, Think Spring.
http://planetgreen.discovery.com/go-green/gardening/green-gardening-basics.html

Spring Fever

Hi all,

Wow, do I have spring fever! I can almost feel it in the air and since I am still in Az, and it's actually raining, I can't wait to get back home and start my garden. The problem is, it's going to be snowing there for the next three days. SOOOOOOOO, I guess it may still be a while before I see any seedlings popping their heads out of the ground. I can dream though, sigh.
I am heading home to Colorado the first week in March and leaving this lovely weather behind. It has been a great winter with warm temps and beautiful blue skies.
I hope you are all ready for the planting season. Go back through some of my previous posts for some great info to help you out this season. Let me know what you think and how they are working for you.
Think Spring

Organic Gardening

I like to buy organic vegetables and fruits, but when I go to the store and look at the prices I cringe. Hear what I am saying? I thought so. Do you know how much better they are for you?
Have you tried to grow your own? It doesn't take much time and you can tailor your garden to the space you have, even if you only have a balcony or patio. Have you thought about container planting for your veggies if you have limited space. Some of you have an area in your garden that would be perfect, just look at it. Others have huge areas that may even require getting that tractor out. What ever your size think ORGANIC. Chemical free, vitamin rich, fresh natural foods. Organic grown foods are found to be much higher in antioxidants (up to 40%). We know that antioxidants help reduce stress and in these days and times, who doesn't have some stress in their lives. Plus the added benefit of being outdoors and the satisfaction of watching your plants grow. You also get to show them off to your friends and family, but the best of all is the harvest. So go to the link below and get started.
Click Here!

Grape Growing System

Ok, Enough about sheep for a while ( at least until the lambs come in the spring : )).
Let's talk about grapes. Do you like to eat them or maybe go a little farther and make your own wine? No matter what you do with them, first you need to grow them.
There is nothing like going out and picking your own home grown grapes.
Whether you are starting for the first time or have experience growing grapes, here is a system to follow for the best results you have seen.
Click Here!
Happy harvest.

Exotic Sheep

I have updated my facebook with some really interesting links to exotic sheep that I have. The Texas Dahls and Royal Whites all are hair sheep. The Royal Whites are the first new breed of sheep in the U.S. in 20 years. They are a cross between St. Croix and White Dorpers, both have hair instead of wool. They are pure white in color. So go to my facebook page and check it out.
http://tinyurl.com/9ybbfy

Glendale Xeriscape Garden

WOW, It's amazing what you can find if you really look at the phone book. As you know I am in Peoria, Az. for the winter. The town next door is Glendale. They have a Xeriscape Botanical Garden, how cool is that. I am going to go see it after the new year celebrations. I'll post some photos for you to see. Let's all make an effort to conserve water starting today. The best place to do that is in your own garden and landscaping. Here is a link in case you would like to check it out. Happy New Year and thanks for reading my blogs.
http://www.gccas.edu/glendalelibrary

Go Organic

Happy New Year to all.
I am really looking forward to spring and getting back into the garden.
I am still in the Phoenix area and it is starting to warm up, finally. We have had 3 nights with freezing temps. Wow, I came here to escape the cold. As far as home in Cortez, I hear there is more than a foot of snow on the ground, so I can't complain. Way below freezing temps. My chickens are not happy campers, although they have a great barn they are staying in with some beautiful horses. There is a beautiful rooster named Sgt. Pepper they are keeping company with. His hen Miss Chicklet is not happy at all. Makes me wonder, how happy they will be to come back home and leave him behind.
Speaking of cold and gardens, This may not be the time in your area for composting, but it's a good time to start thinking and learning about it. Check out this link below and start thinking spring planting and happy, healthy plants. Use what you have and save some money. Go organic this year.
Click Here!

I am in Arizona for a while to escape the snow and bitter cold. Also here for the holidays and my birthday on the 22 of Dec.
Thanks to my new followers. Hi Amy, Dakota is so cute, give Colin a kiss for me.
David, what can I say. Glad you are back.
Merry Christmas and a very healthy happy new year.

Joyce

Self Sufficient Lfe

Along with gardening I am a hobby farmer. Seems like a natural enough thing to do when I'm not in the garden. I like to think of it as FREE COMPOST. My friends laugh at me, but hey, what the heck.

I have some chickens only 5 now thanks to the coyotes and foxes ( Ginger, Dolly, Marilyn, Annette and Diana). I also have 2 Texas Dahl Sheep (Iris and Lily)and 1 Royal White(Daisy). These sheep have hair instead of wool. Really beautiful, pure white.

They will all be having lambs this spring. I will include some photos when they are born, so check back in April for that.

Anyway, I thought I would include something here for the gardeners who also want Free fertilizer. Plus a whole lot of fun with some farm animals.

Check this out.

Click Here!

Also, send me some photos of your animals too.

That's Daisy, my Royal White, when she was a (spoiled) Lamb

Solar and Wind Power

Ok, so you are out in the garden, with your sunblock on (I hope), the sun is shining and it's a beautiful day. The sun has done a great job of growing those beautiful flowers and veggies, the wind has kept you a little cooler, while you are tending the fruits of your labor.
Have you thought about putting that sun and wind to good use for your home and not just the garden.
You can save so much on your electric bill or even make money with solar and/or wind energy.
Seriously, How many days a year, where you live is it either not sunny or not windy. I live in the southwest corner of Colorado and it's sunny and windy almost everyday. No matter where you live this is an option for you.
I think in today's economy we need to try to do all we can to prepare for tomorrow. Solar and wind power is the wave of the future. So why not start now. Why wait and keep paying the power company, when the power is right outside your door?
I am including a couple of options for you too see.

Check this out:
Click Here!
Click Here!
Click Here!

Composting

Are you composting in your garden?

Have you thought about a worm farm?

A major part of household waste is organic and should not be discarded but kept and recycled. Worms will eat just about anything that was once living. That includes: leaves, grass clippings, weeds, all sorts of household food scraps, natural fibre cloth, all sorts of manure (including dog and cat droppings), paper products and even human hair! Worm castings or ‘poo’ is one of Mother Natures best natural fertilisers. You can not over fertilise or ‘burn’ your plants with castings, simply spread or water onto garden beds and lawns.

Get more information here.

Click Here!

Hypertufa containers

Here is a great way to have fun and create some beautiful items for your garden. It's also a great gift idea.

Get a group together and make them together. I am in a garden group and we are getting together and pooling our money to buy the supplies.

You can also use for fundraising for a garden group or any other groups you can think of.

Be creative and think outside the Hypertufa box.

Send me some of your photos to share with others.

Have fun!

http://joydut.cfb123.hop.clickbank.net/

Click Here!

Help us feed millions of people

Click Here!

Regional gardening

Energy efficient gardening tips for your region.
No matter where you live, we are looking to cut our heating and cooling cost. One place to look is in your own garden. Be it wind, sun,or snow, we all have different needs in all seasons. Here are a few tips that can help cut your energy costs.

Let's start in the northeast and midwest.
In the summer you want to help keep it cool, so plant your deciduous trees on the west and south sides of your home for shade. When the leaves are gone in the winter this allows the suns rays to help warm your home. Add a windbreak of shrubs or trees on the north and northwest to keep the winds from cooling your home in winter.

Moving to the plains and mountains in the west:
In the summer again we want deciduous trees for the shade in the hot sun on the sunny side of the house. Plant your windbreaks on the north and northwest sides, if you can, to help keep those high winds at bay. We want to use as much of the suns radiant heat as possible, so make sure your trees on the west and south are deciduous.

Pacific northwest:
You have lots of cloud cover in the winter, so again you will plant deciduous trees on the south, west and southwest sides of your home to make best use of the suns radiant heat. They will also cool your home in the summer months.

Southern California:
Plant windbreaks around your home to deflect the warm summer breezes and plant shade trees on the west and south sides to cool in the summer.

Southwest:
Summers are HOT, so again plant your shade trees on your sunniest sides of your home. Here it may need to be on the east, south and west sides, because it doesn't take too long for the sun to start it's heating early in the day. Also plant wind blocks to keep the warm winds off your home.

South:
A perfect place for some xeriscape gardening to keep the humidity down. So plant drought tolerent plants near your home. Plant evergreens trees on the south and west sides of your homes to help cool. Here you want some breezes, so plant your shrubs and fences to help direct them to your home to help cool it.

Why xeriscape landscaping

Are you looking to save on your water bills? Start outside in the garden. Xeriscaping is a great alternative to our traditional methods.
What is xeriscaping? It's creating a low water garden and landscape. Using native plants and trees that are adapted to your climate and weather patterns.
It doesn't matter what part of the country you live in, you can implement this in your landscaping. If you live in the desert southwest, you may want to plant cactus, yuccas, penstemons and other plants that thrive in dry areas. Check with your local nurseries for suggestions. This also includes trees, bushes and grasses, plant water wise trees and lawns.
If you have a traditional garden and are deciding to shift to xeriscape, consider the trees you already have. Many people will tend to forget that changing over can put a strain on your existing trees. They may have had a lawn that used a fair amount of water before that the trees loved and needed, but now they have changed to a lawn with very little water needs, or no lawn at all. Perhaps to a rock landscape. You can still give your tree the water it needs by drip irrigation or just giving it a good soak once or twice amonth depending on your climate. Again check with your nurseryman.
Before you start, plan your garden and do some research. Organize your plants according to their water needs. Group plants with a higher water needs close to your home and water source. then plants with less water needs you will plant farther away. This way you don't have plants that are drought tolerent mixed in with plants that will suffer in the heat. this is called hydrozoning.
Don't forget the all important mulch. Mulch locks in moisture in the soil and helps to cool the plants depending on the mulch you use. It also helps to deter the dreaded weeds. So you can save time, and your back, by controling the weeding you need to do.
After you have planned, planted and mulched don't forget that just because these are water wise plants, you will still need to water them the first season to let them get established.
Have fun and enjoy the color and beauty of your new garden