Gardening in the Desert

Sunday, October 8, 2001
I have a new garden area. We fenced in an area that measures 15 feet by 17 feet with three beds within that area. The north bed was ready for planting, so I planted vegetable seeds in that. It has been unseasonably warm, September being one of the hottest on record.

Here is an image of the north garden bed which measures 42" x 70".

I planted red bunching onion along the north and east edges. White bunching onions along the south and west edges. Within the top two-thirds starting on the left: Chard Bright Lights, Red Beets, Golden Beets, and Radishes. Along the bottom third: Little Finger Carrots and Pinetree Lettuce Mix.

A couple of weeks ago I transplanted two Early Girl tomato plants into the middle bed which is a smaller square. The tomato plants take up half of this bed, and I am planning to plant herbs in the remaining half.

Soon I will plant African Daisies along the perimeter of the yard. I have been waiting for it to rain for the past two days, and only a few drops have fallen. The forecasters were warning we were going to have rain, rain, rain continuously for two-three days. . .

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From the Farmer's Almanac site: "THE BEST TIME to plant flowers and vegetables that bear crops above ground is during the light of the Moon; that is, from the day the Moon is new to the day it is full. Flowering bulbs and vegetables that bear crops below ground should be planted during the dark of the Moon; that is, from the day after it is full to the day before it is new again. The Moon Favorable columns at right give these Moon days, which are based on the Moon's phases for 2001 and the safe periods for planting in areas that receive frost. See the chart of frosts and length of growing season. See Heavenly Details for the exact days of the new and full Moons."

Heavenly details, dates of new and full moons for October, 2001:

Full Moon: 2nd day, 9th hour, 49th minute
Last Quarter: 10th day, 0 hour, 20th minute
New Moon: 16th day, 15th hour, 23rd minute
First Quarter: 23rd day, 22nd hour, 58th minute

Target planting dates: (Two days before the new moon for above ground)
October 14th, 2001
November 13, 2001
December 12, 2001
January 11, 2002
February 10, 2002
March 11, 2002
April 10, 2002
May 10, 2002