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

Man oh man! It's looking good!!

Hey guys! It's been quite a buy past week! I had my nine year anniversary with the love of my life and had a freak bit of thunderstorms hitting the Las Vegas valley. My anniversary was wonderful, but my garden didn't like the wind that came with the storms we had. I'm going to share with you guys a few photos of how far certain plants are progressing through this weird weather. Enjoy :) !!

Here's my straight-neck yellow zucchini squash that just formed the morning after another weird Las Vegas storm. 

 I picked this guy off the plant because it turned just the right shade of pink. I learned how to tell when it's ready for harvest through trial an error, lots of error. That's how we learn and improve :). 

These spicy boys are a real treat. They're called Santa Fe Peppers and get a real kick to them once they change to a red like you see here. If you are a fan of spicy peppers. I'd say give this one a go! 

Some beautiful Italian heirloom Roma tomatoes. What can I say? These are super flavourful and provide just the right amount of acidity to sauces, soups, and salads. 

This Cubanelle Pepper is one extreme eye-candy. I mean wow! Not only is it a mild sweet pepper. It's an awesome pepper for gourmet plating. Does quite well in the desert dry climate!  

Pimentos' are my top Five Spicy Peppers to grow. They are gorgeous and dreadful at the same time. Why did I say dreadful? Well, it's a super spicy pepper when matured, and with the ribs left in it. Watch out!

 It's an amazing thing to grow your own food. It has more flavour than the average market and more nutrients in them! Thanks for reading and enjoying these beautiful bountiful plants. Until next, keep it green and keep it growing. 

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