Organic Bug Spray (Neem Oil)

Hey guys!
Had another crazy weather week! First it was way too hot, then it became rainy and windy! It was literally insanity! Bugs came and left due to the weather being so daft. I decided why not make a video on my version of Neem Oil spray. This spray helps my plants fight off bugs and infection. Some states do not consider Neem Oil a true organic spray, but it actually is. It's not your average insecticide to where you spray it over and over and it alters the crops and plants genetic make up essentially. All this does it put a little clear coat over said plants and crop to make all the nasties just not interested in the plant or crop at all. I use this spray once a week unless I have a rainstorm or more bugs than normal. If you got a BIG problem with bugs its best to use it consecutively for 7 days in a row. My method is fairly simple. I use a 28 oz spray bottle not a gallon so its more potent than what the instructions say. Then I add 5 ml of neem oil and between 2-3 times more of organic dish soap (10-15 ml). Now the dish soap WILL wash off your crop and wont give it any nasty taste or residue from the soap. This will usually do the job in my particular desert garden. Let me know if it works for your gardens or if you need help finding alternatives to this recipe. Everything dealing with the garden takes time. So be forewarned, bugs will NOT leave overnight. You have to be dilligent with continually spraying or it's all for naught. As I stated earlier feel free to ask questions about anything! I'm here to help you. Here's my newest video on my Neem Oil Recipe. Leave me some comments and love people! Thanks and Keep it Green and Keep it Growing! Happy gardening!


HyperSmash

Morning after the storm in the Garden

      Man oh man! That storm was nuts last night! We had high winds with loads of thunder and lightning. It rained quite a bit and I'm quite certain that my garden was happy to receive Mother Nature's bountiful blessing. Plus, it was a pretty cool light show!

So I decided to check the garden pretty early to see how everything was looking, and of course there were some bugs. (But that is fairly typical with any morning after a big storm.) Everything in the garden looks amazing. I decided to take some pictures to share with you guys!

¤ Eight Ball Zucchini Squash : I love eating and growing this squash because its just so easy and flavorful. The crop grows as a little ball at the end of the flower. In the desert it usually takes 25-30 days to produce these flowers. I didn't have any problems pollinating them because of my garden ants and the garden bees that fly by to snack in my garden.

¤ Hungarian Wax Peppers: This is by far my most pepper producing plant in this year's run. I've harvested about 5 times and as you can see here, it's still producing. Lovely colors aren't they? ☻

¤ Italian Batavian Full Heart Escarole: What can I say? I'm Maltese! I grew up eating specific Italian greens because that's what my Mothers' side of the family ate on a daily basis. Plus, it's total eye candy! ♥

¤ Italian Rosalita Greens: Yet again, another Italian green. I love my greens. I love Italian things. ☻ Look at how pretty those leaves are. They get a bitter note once they mature about 2 or 3 more inches from this size.

¤ Waltham Butternut Squash: Another Winter Squash I'm starting in Summer! I'm crazy right?! I love the way this squash looks and the taste of the crop. It's just a Fall/Winter classic for any cold night. I'll eat these roasted over a fire or baked in the oven. Completely sublime!

Thank you guys for following and taking the time to appreciate my garden as much as I do. Nothing can be better for you than home-grown food. Especially food that you grew or food you and your family grew together! Until next time friends, Keep it Green and Keep it Growing!!

¤ BYE!! ¤

HyperSmash

Garden Summer Update!!!

              Hey guys! I'm giving you a glimpse into my place of peace, my Desert Garden! I haven't done an update for a while and I felt like I needed to show you what has been thriving!! First off I'd like to say it's awesome to grow my own food. I get the tastiest, freshest food....about 15 feet from my kitchen backdoor! Who could resist that?! Anyways here's some shots of what is doing amazing in this crazy 104 F + heat!

¤ These are my Chocolate Cherry Peppers. They are sweet and I cook them up completely whole. They are completely addictive and delicious.

¤ These are Fajita Bell Peppers, and yes they have a slight kick to them!

¤ Here are my Heirloom Italian Roma Tomatoes. These tomatoes taste like no Roma tomato I've bought at any market. Completely sweet and not that acidic.

¤ Yea that's right! I'm starting my Winter squash run...in July! Why you ask? Well Winter Squash do extremely well with the heat but not with the sun. SO... I decided to try out a theory of giving my winter squash complete shade and seeing if it still produces as much as it would grown the normal way.

¤ Of course I had to show you guys some beautiful flowers! Specifically my watermelon flowers. So you guys know watermelons LOVE the heat. You have more of a chance of getting fruit in a place that has heat for about 2 months or so.

Man oh Man!! I'm so excited to cut into this watermelon. Unfortunately, one of my fruits cracked due to the constant sun so I gave them more shade than before. But, I got to smell the inside of the cracked fruit and WOW! It's so sweet and actually made my mouth water. lol

Well, that's it for this mini update guys! I hope you like whats growing cause I know it's all looking pretty! Thanks for watching and reading my channels, blogs and vlogs. As always, grow some food for yourself! It's super rewarding and satisfying! Until next time guys!

Keep it Green and Keep it Growing!

¤ BYE!! ¤

HyperSmash

How to thin out your Onions!

             
                     Hey guys! I've noticed a lot of people don't really know how to thin out their onions or the reasons as to why this process is needed. Most people just sow their seeds randomly and just leave them tightly spread together, which will cause them to be super small and not grow properly! Even be more prone to illnesses! I learned how to thin out my onions through research and experience. I used normal tap water that wasn't too cold. The water helps the bulbs not dry out too fast in the direct desert sun when thinning out, or transplanting as some call it. The onions you will see in the video are both Italian varieties. One is a red torpedo style, and the other is a stew onion. I love these two distinct onion flavors and color. I wanted to get decent sized bulbs so that is why I am thinning them out. Anyways, here's the video! ☻


¤ Well, that's my process for thinning out onions! Hope you guys learned something new and something useful! Thanks for watching and reading! As always, Until next time folks!

Keep it Green and Keep it Growing!!

¤ BYE!! ¤
-The Desert Gardener ♥


HyperSmash

Harvesting Walla Walla Onions!

Hey guys!
Got some amazing things to show you in this post.....My onions matured!! I'm so excited. I don't know about you but my household is an Onion one. We use onions almost every single dish! I especially love these onions because of how sweet they can be. Once I pulled these suckers out of the ground, let me tell you.... it smelt so amazing!! It was the most fresh, organic onion smell I've had in the longest time. I pulled these onions a little early because I didn't want to have too large of a crop. I wanted just the right size I could store! If they had gotten bigger I wouldn't of been able to enjoy every single one like I did!

¤ Anyways, here's my video on harvesting onions from the desert garden. ☻




¤  Well hope you guys had as much fun watching this, as I had filming and growing those onions! I always encourage my readers to grow something they can eat. It's the most rewarding and healthy thing you can do for yourself. Just start out with one plant, and if you are successful... Maybe you got an inner "Green Thumb" in you! Until next time readers and fellow green thumbs! Keep it Green and Keep it Growing!

♥ Bye!


HyperSmash

Harvesting Micro-Nutrient Rich Leafy Greens!

     Hey guys! Sorry for the delay, I'm back! This video's all about leafy greens, mainly Vivian Romaine Lettuce and Escarole. Anyone and everyone should be eating some type of green everyday! It's one of the healthiest things for you! I love these two greens because of the distinct flavor they have for my salads. They pair well together with most vinaigrette. They also do well in smoothie combinations. Well.......Here's the video! ☻


¤ About the Tip ¤
      The reason you cut 1 in - 2 in above the stalk of the greens is to promote the plant to regrow. Usually when you use this method, the greens will have several heads form. Around 2-4 from my experience.

This just goes to show, you can grow some amazing things in the desert. Remember guys, it's our choice and chance to change how we look at food. "Great things come to those who wait." I don't know about you, but I'm willing to wait for some delicious, nutritious, healthy food. Thanks for stopping by and remember....Keep it Green and Keep it Growing!
--The Desert Gardener


HyperSmash

Harvesting Organic Spinach Grown From Seed!

Hey Fellow Green Thumbs!

   It's another post from the Desert Garden! I made yet another harvesting video! I'm harvesting "Blooms-dale Longstanding Spinach" from my raised bed I use specifically for greens. These greens were grown in the direct sun for about 45 days. Yes, 45 days! Amazing right?! The reason my spinach was growing and germinating faster is because of the heat and constant sun exposure! I watered my spinach about 5 times a day, (because it's in direct sun) and gave it a good helping of steer manure. I used steer manure because that was the highest nitrogen rich manure in my particular area, you can use any high leveled nitrogen manure if needed. Remember! You NEED manure when you grow organic spinach! It thrives off of nitrogen and that provides it with a healthy dose for a couple of months!

     ¤ Here's my video on Harvesting my organically grown spinach!



    ¤ Thank you guys for taking the time to read my blog and learn about desert gardening! Gardening is a gift anyone can give the earth and themselves. Not only are you learning about plants and certain foods that are healthy for you, you are also learning patience and are learning the true meaning of gardening. The reward of gratitude! Isn't it great that you can grow a living, breathing organism that provides food for you and the satisfaction of growing something yourself!

  ¤ Until next time my fellow Green Thumbs and Garden Heads!

♥ Keep it Green and Keep it Growing! ♥


HyperSmash

Implementing Shade in your Desert Garden!

♥ Hey guys! My last post I mentioned something about needing shade in the desert garden. Well... I did it! I went the money saving route and chose 1/2" PVC pipe (the thick walled pipe), got some brackets to screw it into my raised garden bed, and finally had some burlap bags laying around in my garage. I unfolded the burlap so that its just one layer covering my plants. I then zip-tied the burlap to my PVC pipe structure that's screwed into my raised beds. Now, where I live the winds get up to 50 miles an hour and the structure is still sound.

 ¤ This is my biggest box. In here I have; Sugar Baby Watermelon, Cantaloupe, Black Seeded Simpson Lettuce, Caesar Romaine Lettuce, Escarole, French Classic Endive, Roma Arugula, Heirloom Kaleidoscope Carrots, Danver Carrots. 

  As always it's better to grow your food than buy it. It's fun, and rewarding. You can make it a family event and teach the next generation what it means to eat healthy. Until next time friends.....Keep it Green, and Keep it Growing! Bye! ☻

HyperSmash

Update on the Garden, Mini Harvest July 9th 2013

      Hey guys! Sorry for the lack of update on here. I'm going to be working harder on updating more. I had to deal with a little heat wave in my area that pretty much killed the majority of plants I had in pots growing in the garden. The main thing I forgot, SHADE! I'll talk about that in another blog or video. Anyways, I wanted to show you some of the crop I was able to save before the plants completely died :(.

Here's some photos:

My Super Sweet 100 Tomatoes.

Black Cherry Tomatoes

Heirloom Tomatoes

Purple Cherokee Tomatoes

Hungarian Yellow Wax Peppers

Follow me on Instagram (http://instagram.com/ourdesertgarden) for more daily pictures from the garden! Remember, always try to grow new things! Even different types of foods you already know! Be adventurous! Take a bite out of something grown yourself. Until next time, Keep it Green and Keep it Growing! 

HyperSmash

First Garden Mini Tour!!

Here's a little tour of whats currently growing in my raised beds. See ya next time!!



HyperSmash

First (mini) Garden Update!

Hey Guys!! ☻

This is my first post, and I just wanted to share with you some pictures of my THRIVING DESERT GARDEN ♥ !!

Better Boy Tomatoes:

 I chose this breed of tomato to show you because its a juicy, red, beef master tomato that tastes amazing. This plant is only a couple of months old and should be ready for harvest around late summer, if I'm lucky it'll be earlier.

Black Cherry Tomatoes:

This breed caught my eye because of the fact that if you put them in the fridge for a while, it changes the taste of the tomato completely. Again this plant is still maturing, I will update once I get some delicious fruit. Maybe even make a video on it ☻

Bloomsdale Long Standing Spinach:

 I love spinach, but I live in the desert and found that most spinach breeds don't take to heat well. Except this one! It's been growing like no tomorrow and is about 35 days into the average 55-60 day growing cycle. I plan on growing this breed continually. 

Eight Ball Zucchini Squash:

 This is another heat resistant breed. I chose this breed because the crop is quite compact and comes in multiples. Yes, I didn't show any crop. And that's because I'll show you how to harvest these in a video. So be on the look out on my YouTube Channel! Subscribe even ☻♥!!

Lemon Basil:

 I love my basil, and I love lemons. So this was a done deal. This herb is extremely fragrant with that special hint of lemon citrus, and thrives well in the heat.

Sugar Baby Watermelon:

 This is another heat tolerant crop. I love watermelons, especially naturally sweet ones. These melons will get about 8-10 lbs. and are completely black except for one yellow spot. I cannot wait to show you guys the inside of this fruit!

Vivian Lettuce:

Heat Resistant is the key to any lettuce in the desert!! I love this breed not only for the taste, but just look at it. It's beautiful! I grew up with the notion, that you should eat with your eyes first. And wow! This takes the cake over the standard Romaine Lettuce.

That's it for the update guys! Thanks for stopping by!! Subscribe to my blog and check out my other channels! I update Instagram Daily!

Until Next Time,

Keep It Green and Keep It Growing!! ♥

HyperSmash