• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Cook, Craft, Cultivate
  • Recipes
    • Baking
    • Classic Recipes with a Healthy Twist
    • Fermentation
    • Kitchen Staples from Scratch
    • Lean and Green
    • Smoked and Grilled
    • Snacks
    • Veggie Focused
  • Gardening
  • Recommended Products
  • About
    • About Kristi
    • Creations
    • Photography
    • Privacy Policy
You are here: Home / Gardening / Garden Expansion and Indoor Seedlings

Garden Expansion and Indoor Seedlings

July 16, 2019

This summer we have been working on expanding our garden space. This has both an indoor and an outdoor component…

Indoor Garden Expansion

INSIDE we added a new growing rack that gives us more space for starting seeds.

growing rack

I am experimenting with seed starting indoors during summer to give some of my fall plants a head start, so they don’t wither in our summer heat. I know, usually you would start seedlings indoors to try to get a head start on the COLD. Well here in the southwest desert things are a little upside down for growing seasons… Fall marks the start of a new and very prolific season for us. I am hoping to be able to take full advantage of it this year!

First up is some winter squash. I am starting acorn, spaghetti, and butternut squash indoors to transplant as soon as the monsoons kick in.

squash starts

Later in August I plan to try jump starting some lettuce and other leafy greens, to give them a head start before transplanting into the garden in September. I am hoping to get lots of greens growing this fall!

Outdoor Garden Expansion

OUTSIDE we had to add on to our garden beds to accommodate all the squash seedlings I started. (Whoops ๐Ÿ˜‰ ) Hubby helped me build two more beds, and we ordered a squash tunnel from Gardener’s Supply. It looks really great installed in the garden, and I can’t wait to see it covered in squash vines!

outdoor garden expansion

What’s Growing in the Garden Now (July)?

Finally a quick update on how the garden is doing now that we are mid-July. For one thing, it is HOT. Days are consistently over 100ยฐF, reaching towards 110ยฐF. However, we are lucky in that we have several large trees around our yard, and this provides partial shade on and off most of the day. Because of this, many of our plants are still doing well. We have yellow squash and zucchini, cucumbers, green beans, laccinato kale (plants established earlier in the spring are still growing well!), malabar spinach, and eggplant (proliferous and loving the heat!)

We have several eggplant varieties growing, actually – the traditional Black Beauty, an Indian variety called Ratna with 2-3 inch sized fruits, and a Japanese variety called Ping Tung. The later hasn’t produced any fruits yet, but the plant is growing well, so hopefully we will see some fruit set soon. The Black Beauty and Ratna are producing well and we have harvested a couple times already!

Ratna eggplant harvest
Recent Ratna Eggplant Harvest

Our tomato and tomatillo plants are growing like crazy. Fruit production is slow, which is to be expected with this heat. But since the plants are vigorous, we are hoping that once it cools back down we will get a good late summer harvest before we pull them out.

And of course, I would be remiss not to mention our chile’s. We have several varieties growing: Jalapeno, Serrano, Anaheim, Sweet Red, Del Arbol, Ordono. All except for the Sweet Red continue to set fruit and ripen. This is easily Hubby’s favorite part of the garden ๐Ÿ™‚ This time of year, he has a daily fresh supply of spice!

The Ordono is one of our favorites! It is a fun ornamental, as well as providing a steady stream of chiles. I have a full article dedicated to it here if you want to read a little more.

Ordono chile plant
Ordono Chile Plant

And that’s all I have for you for now. More to come in the near future! I hope you are having an enjoyable and productive summer!

Post Category: Gardening

Previous Post: « Beef Brisket on the Traeger – Tender, Juicy, and Full of Flavor
Next Post: Etsy Photography Shop Open! »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Cindy Ayres

    July 16, 2019 at 1:55 pm

    So many great projects and pictures, Kristi! I’m loving getting to follow along. You’re also inspiring me to blog/post more for my own business ๐Ÿ™‚

    Reply
    • Kristi

      July 30, 2019 at 8:20 pm

      Thank you so much Cindy! We can inspire each other along the way… ๐Ÿ™‚

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Primary Sidebar

About Kristi

Picture of KristiJourney with me in my homemade adventures - creating more from scratch and increasing my self-sufficiency, in my small suburban home setting.
Read Moreโ€ฆ

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest

Featured Recipes

Sourdough starter - bubbles/refreshed!

Fermented Foods Part 1: Sourdough Starter

Pie pumpkins

How to Make Pumpkin Puree in 3 Easy Steps

Peanut butter protein bars

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Protein Bar Recipe

pork shoulder with smoke crust

Tender, Juicy, Traeger Smoked Pork Shoulder / Pork Butt

Einkorn Chocolate Chip Cookies – Twist on a Classic

Smoked Turkey on the Traeger

Instagram

And... we have saffron!! We planted some saffron b And... we have saffron!! We planted some saffron bulbs last fall as an experiment ๐ŸคžThey grew lots of green but didn't flower, so we cut them back in the spring, turned off their water, and waited. And waited. Towards the end of summer, we started watering them again. And guess what?!? They grew back! And this time with flowers ๐Ÿค— Those red stamen you see are the saffron spice that you harvest, with tweezers ๐Ÿ˜ณ Yep. Good thing we don't have too many (yet!!) They multiply every year, so we are looking forward to increasing abundace. I love it when garden expeirments work out ๐Ÿ‘ And the pretty fall flowers are a definite bonus ๐Ÿ‘Œ
๐Ÿ‘‰ Did you know that saffron is the most expensive spice you can get by weight?!? Makes it doubly worth the effort to grow some of your own!
.
#cookcraftcultivate #cultivate #azfallgardening #azfallgarden #azgardening #azgarden #azgardener #saffron #bulbs #growyourfood #growwhatyoueat #gardenexperiment #gardenfresh #gardeninthedesert #growsaffron
Got most of our fall and winter garden planted tod Got most of our fall and winter garden planted today! ๐Ÿค— Still need to take out the eggplants and replace them with lettuce/spinach/arugula seeds ... but they are growing so well I am having a hard time pulling them out just yet ๐Ÿ˜ซ ... soon. Maybe even tomorrow ... we will see.
But otherwise, so excited to have gotten all the other seedling starts into the ground, and my first round of lettuce and spinach seeds sown! The seedlings have been inside under grow lights for a couple months and were ready for their new home ๐ŸŒฑ
If you are new to gardening in zone 9b ... we actually have a great growing season through fall and winter - all your brassicas and greens really love this time of year!
.
#cookcraftcultivate #cultivate #azfallgardening #azgardener #azgarden #veggiegarden #fallgarden #growyourownfood #growwhatyoueat
Japanese eggplant from the garden for a Sichuan in Japanese eggplant from the garden for a Sichuan inspired stirfry dinner tonight ๐Ÿค— A tip I learned about stirfrying eggplant: soak it in salt water for 10-15 minutes after cutting, before stir frying. It breaks down the tough skin making it more tender in the finished dish (similar to steaming first,  as some recipes recommend). If you want it to be crispy, coat it with cornstarch after soaking, and then shallow fry in your wok.
The eggplants are loving this 80s weather we are having in Scottsdale right now! 
.
#cookcraftcultivate #cultivate #azfallgardening #azgardening #azgarden #azgardener #vegetablegarden #eggplant #japaneseeggplant #homegrown #growyourownfood #growwhatyoueat #sichuanfood #sichuaneggplant #fishfragranteggplant #eggplantstirfry #howtocookeggplant
The sewing project is done! A poof for the living The sewing project is done! A poof for the living room ๐Ÿ˜ƒ It's may not be perfect but I'm pretty darn proud anyways ๐Ÿค— I am not a seamstress, this is a new skill I am working on. There are so many possibilities when one has aquired some skill with a sewing machine. Pretty pleased with how this one turned out! What will I tackle next... ๐Ÿค”
.
#cookcraftcultivate #craft #sewing #sewingproject #poof #imadethat #imadeathing #sewingisfun #projectfortheheat
Wow Paige! Look at all that fur ๐Ÿคฏ Don't know if Wow Paige! Look at all that fur ๐Ÿคฏ Don't know if this is her blowing out her puppy coat or if this will be a regular occurance but we sure de-furrred this morning with our @furminator_inc ! You can tell by the light color it's mostly all undercoat ... Also, have to bribe with treats to get anything accomplished around here ๐Ÿ˜† But it works! She's looking for more outta that jar... ๐Ÿถ๐Ÿ’—
.
#cookcraftcultivate #paigepuppy #rescuedog #rescuedogsofinstagram #furminator #instadog
Ever tried a fried egg on top of your oatmeal? It' Ever tried a fried egg on top of your oatmeal? It's become a class favorite over here ๐Ÿ˜‹ We just poke the yolk while it's cooking so it cooks through and then toss it in our bowl. This one is cooked with and topped with basil from the garden ... ๐Ÿ‘Œ
.
#cookcraftcultivate #cook #breakfastinspiration #breakfast #breakfastideas #oatmealinspiration #oatmeal #oatmealtoppings #basil #gardenfresh
Getting crafty this weekend ... What's it going to Getting crafty this weekend ... What's it going to be? ๐Ÿค”
.
#cookcraftcultivate #craft #crafting #sewing #sewingproject #beginnersewer #beginnersewing #projectfortheheat
#gardenfail ๐Ÿ˜ญ We planted our pomegranate tree t #gardenfail ๐Ÿ˜ญ We planted our pomegranate tree three years ago, and every year the fruits split. This year we had about 25 fruits on the tree, they lasted longer than usual, but this last week as our temps ramped up they ALL split!! I'm so bummed ๐Ÿ˜” They are supposed to be EASY to grow here!! ๐Ÿ™ˆ We've tried regular watering, no extra watering, feeding, not feeding ... ๐Ÿคท
Anyone out there have tips they can share for growing pomegranates in Phoenix?? #pleasehelp ๐Ÿ˜†
.
#cookcraftcultivate #cultivate #azgardening #azgardener #azgarden #pomegranatetree #pomegranates
Follow @CookCraftCultivate

Footer

Cook Craft Cultivate

  • Homepage
  • About Us
  • Privacy Policy

Our Other Brands

  • Kristi Stephenson Photography
  • Kristi Stephenson Creations

Copyright © 2018–2023 Kristi Stephenson Creations LLC