Mortgage Lifter tomato and it's story.......

I planted a mortgage lifter this year because it produces giant tomatoes; however, because of the high temperatures in Phoenix, large type tomatoes are subject to crack and have a hard time growing to their "potential." BUT I am trying (again ) to grow these fabulous types. I love the story of how this tomato got it's name and hope you will enjoy it as well.

The Mortgage Lifter tomato was developed in the early 1930's in Logan, West Virginia by a radiator repairman, M.C. "Radiator Charlie" Byles. Without any experience in breeding, he made a successful cross of four of the largest tomatoes he could find - German Johnson, Beefsteak, an Italian variety, and an English variety. Radiator Charlie sold the first seedlings of his new tomato in the 1940's for one dollar each to customers who drove up to 200 miles for his famous plants that bore tasty tomatoes averaging two and a half pounds. With these sales, Charlie managed to pay off his $6,000 mortgage in only six years, and so the tomato was named Mortgage Lifter.

White Sugar Snap Pea??

I was weeding my garden this morning and came upon something I have never seen - a white sugar snap pea. It is the only one in a row of green and growing just as well as the others. I am anxious to see what it produces..........

Giant Orange Blossoms

I (Jane) wanted to post this incredible photo of the biggest orange blossoms I have ever seen. I have had my citrus in large cement pots for about 4 years and this year all my citrus is blooming unlike ever before. They have an incredible fragrance which reminds me of driving by the old orange groves in Phoenix about 20 years ago. I am anticipating many sweet sweet oranges!!

Linda's Garden as of 3.19.09

Here are a few photos of my garden. It has been a work in progress since I put it in 4 years ago. I started with the enclosed 20'x20 area with 2 raised beds 4'x 12' each with overhead sprinklers for seedlings and 1/2" soaker hoses. All of my beds are amended with PWP (chicken poop) and my most favorite Happy Frog soil conditioner, I get mine at Baker Brothers in Phoenix but you can find it at http://www.foxfarmfertilizer.com./ In my raised bed I have Sequoia Strawberries which I planted last spring, they are filled with growing berries. They made it thru the summer last year(My garden has the wall to the west which provides afternoon shade.In the front of the berries I still have some buttercruch lettuce, carrots and collard greens. I give it about a week more and then I will plant more strawberries!

My Beautiful Sweet Peas!!! This was the first time I tried growing them. They did beautifully. I started them from seed in October and mid February I got flowers. They smell divine. To the right of the peas is my peppers, 2 red , 2 yellows, 2 orange and I jalapeno. I have to be honest, I have never had luck with peppers but I am not giving up. I have had success with jalapenos though. I watered and fertilized them with my favorite, organic fertilizer ( I will post the name later ,sorry I forgot it)

This is my extension garden formally grass, that I added last spring. I was garden crazy and just did not have enough space. I just planted my tomatoes last Sunday: 2 Golden Pears ( I have such great luck here in Phoenix with these little tomatoes. 4 Romas (You can never have too many Romas they are amazing for tomato sauce.) 1 Brandywine, 1 White Zebra(I have never tried this one before, I will keep you all posted). 2 Eary Girls and 1 sweet 100's.

Everything is Blooming.........

Here are a few photos of the beautiful blossoms in my yard:

Jane's Garden as of 3.16.09

Well the weather has been beautiful and most of my seeds are up and look pretty happy! I lost one tomato plant (purple Cherokee) and have replaced it. I also went a little crazy at the nursery and ended up with more tomato plants than I anticipated. So I planted a few more in the garden as well as in individual pots. This will be the first time I have planted this many in pots.

I also planted bush beans, cilantro and zucchini. Here is a list of this years tomatoes:

• Black Krim (which I believe is an aka for Black Russian)
• Mr. Stripy
• Old German
• Purple Cherokee
• Mortgage Lifter
• Marglobe
• Superfantastic
• Plum
• Orange Oxheart

Jane's Planting Day 3.4.09

Here are some of the heirloom tomatoes that I planted. I can't wait to see what they do! All from Summerwinds Nursery - just off the truck from the grower!

I planted the following by seed: Radishes, Beets, Sweet Onions, Sugar Snap Peas and Turnips. I used paint stirrers from Home Depot along with some twine to make my planting rows. For now I am using an overhead spray to water. My major problem is keeping the Desert Doves and Quail out of the garden!

It doesn't look like much right now but soon this will be a lush garden full of organic produce. I will photograph it weekly and note what's happening in this blog. For now the weather has been great for planting; warm days and cool nights.

One of my favorite seed catalogs

http://www.heritageharvestseed.com/

I love this seed catalog because it reads like a book and is full of historical notes. This company based in Manitoba Canada specializes in rare and endangered varities of vegetables, flowers and herbs. You will find varieties that date back to the Civil War as well as a of seeds brought to North America from early settlers. You can order the catalog by visiting their site noted above.

Spring Vegetable Planting Schedule for Phoenix

For those of us who live in Phoenix, we are fortunate to live in a climate where we can have 2 growing seasons! The following is a listing of vegetables that can be planted in the spring and the range of dates for best results!!

If you live outside the Phoenix area, please refer to your local cooperative extension for planting information or visit the Farmers Almanac website at:www.almanac.com. Remember, weather and watering can affect planting and harvesting dates.

Beets through 3/15
Beans, Bush 2/1 - 3/15
Beans, Lima 2/1 – 3/15
Carrot through 3/1
Corn 2/15 - 3/15
Cucumber through 4/1
Eggplant 1/15—4/1
Lettuce through 3/1
Onion (green bunching) through 2/1
Onion – set through 2/1
Pepper, Seed 2/1 - 3/1
Pepper, Plant 3/1 - 4/1
Pea through 3/1
Pepper, Seed 2/1 - 3/1
Pepper, Plant 3/1 - 4/1
Pea through 3/1
Potato, Irish 3/1 - 4/1
Potato, Sweet 3/1 - 6/20
Radish through 4/1
Squash, Summer through 5/1
Tomato, Seed through 3/1
Tomato, Plant 2/15 - 3/15
Watermelon, through 4/1

This is Jane's Desperate Garden! I am in the process of preparing my garden for the spring 2009 season. It is a 12 x 12 x 20 raised bed garden that was built in 1998 and sits in the northwest corner of my backyard. It was filled with organic soil and I continue to amend it annually by adding worms, organic compost and organic PWP. (Chicken do!!) My watering system is both overhead sprinkler ( for seeds ) and direct emitters (for plants) and is on it's own valve. I have tried several watering systems and this one works by far the best! By this time next week you will see a planted garden.

Here is the link for Maricopa County Planting Guide: http://ag.arizona.edu/pubs/garden/az1005.pdf

This will give you the planting dates for vegetables - both seeds and plants.

The Desperate Gardener is planted..........

Welcome to The Desperate Gardener blog.

We are Linda Barreira (garden enthusist) and Jane Dobbs (master gardener) who live in Phoenix Arizona. We are avid gardeners who met a few years ago at a garden club comprised of some truly amazing and talented women! We have decided it is time to take our wealth of experience and our love for gardening and all the ways it can enhance the home and family to the next level. So we planted.......... The Desperate Gardener .

As Desperate Gardeners we LOVE:

• growing organic gardens
• raising chickens
• providing organic food for our families
• getting together with other gardeners to share ideas about gardening and the ways it can enhance our homes
• teaching and encouraging others how to garden
• involving our children in the garden
• reading seed catalogs ( seriously!!)
• to cook using products from the garden
• planting roses, fruit trees and flowers
• going to farmer's markets and supporting our local farms

Our desire is to share all that we have learned about successful orgainic gardening and all the ways a garden can enhance your home and family. We will be journaling our ideas, thoughts and progress through this blog using our own spring 2009 gardens. Our hope is to inspire others interested in all things gardening to begin something - whether you are an experienced gardener or a novice.