"When Hell Freezes Over"....akin to "When My Border Collie Gets Tired"

That is, until the magical creation the "Walkie Dog" (I am sure copy write, patented, etc.) arrived in the mail yesterday. This contraption allows me to ride my bike with my dog...thus actually giving her some exercise with the amount of energy I have left after work. Now I can do this without risking my own life or hers...which is what happened the last time I tried to take her out with me on my bike. Leah is now sleeping soundly on the floor. Tonight we actually just went on our normal little walking loop around the neighborhood, and she walked along with the bike a good portion of it, and I biked slowly part of it so she could run. You have to be careful not to overexert your dog and hurt them! She seemed very content and happy not to be restrained by my slowness. I pretty much let her set the pace. As you may be able to gather from the picture, the piece of metal attaches to the seat post and then has a short leash that comes out from that. There is a spring inside the metal rod so the leash has some give for the pup. I don't really think the leash was designed for a road bike. It works, but I might look into getting a heavier clunker for this purpose.

Greywater Harvesting, a.k.a.grow fruit from laundry.

The magical detergent that makes this whole project possible. The key thing about this product is that there is no sodium of any kind. Our soil here is very alkaline, so many detergents claiming to be good for greywater harvesting are actually terrible for us because they contain sodium that will make our soil more alkaline. Booo. Check your ingredients and know your soil! I bought this from the website of a local guy and was able to pick it up at an office just down the street to avoid shipping costs. It was 25 bucks but I can get up to 128 washloads if I measure carefully. I think with the amount I use I will actually get around 100, but that still makes it very reasonable.

The extended drain hose sits nicely behind the washer and in the drain pipe when not in use--just as the drain pipe did before this system was in place. I bought a regular drain hose and attached it to my existing drain hose--it slipped right on and made the hose long enough to reach the barrel. The drain hose I bought at Lowe's for less than $9.

When I run a load of laundry, I simply pick up the end of the drain hose from the drain pipe and set it in the barrel. This takes about 5 seconds.

I bought the barrel from craigslist for $10. It had the disadvantage that the top did not screw off, so I had to use a hand saw (a reciprocating saw would have come in handy, but I got a little exercise in the process) to take it off so I could screw the hose attachment in from the back. The hardware for the hose attachment, along with a rubber washer, was about $7 at the Ace Hardware around the corner from my house. I used a garden hose that was left at my house when I moved in. I went with the cheapest hose attachment possible and it shows. It leaks, but not excessively. I still get plenty of water to my plants, and the water that leaks doesn't cause any problems for me, so I am going to leave it how it is.


Before I start my load of laundry, I simply set the end of the hose where I want the water and I leave it there. This is the fig tree that got a good, deep water yesterday. If I am around I can move it in the middle of a load because each small tree doesn't really need the full 40 gallons that my washer puts out on a full load, but if I am busy, it doesn't hurt my tree to get the water. Right now I am running a small load and put the hose on my grape vine. I'll move it to my second grape vine in a little bit.

It is important to note that I don't use greywater for my vegetable garden, only for my fruit trees. It is recommended to avoid contamination by not putting greywater directly onto stuff you are going to eat. I did use greywater when I was prepping the soil for my vegetable garden...I figured if the veggies weren't there yet then it couldn't hurt. I also use greywater to water my compost pile, as we have to do that here in the desert so that it has enough moisture to do its composting magic.

!Ay, Que Picoso!

Chiles de Arbol, flowering and beginning to set fruit

The Expansion

Tomatillos, Eggplant (2 varieties)

Pumpkins, Zucchini (from seed)
Not pictured: more tomatoes, beans (from seed), squash (from seed), more tomatillos (from seed), watermelon (from seed)

The Initial Veggie Plot (circa spring break)

This plot was going to be my entire vegetable garden--and it is doing wonderfully! I got addicted, though, and had to expand to the other side of the walk way. This side gets great afternoon shade, so it will be interesting to see how the other plants do with an extra 2 hours of sun as the summer heats up. In this first year it is all a matter of experimenting and observing.

Early Girl

This early tomato was started in March from a 4" pot I bought at Baker's Nursery in Central Phoenix. It is not quite as tall as the grape tomato plant, but it is over 3' tall and very bushy and healthy. It has started to set fruit and is still flowering. I think this will be a great producer for the $2.50 I paid for it. Next year I want to start completely from seeds, but this year I got a little bit of a late start (for Phoenix), so my tomatoes and peppers and a few other things I bought as plants.

This grape tomato plant is about 4 feet tall and 3 feet wide. It is cramping the style of some of the peppers and one basil plant, but I suppose that is my fault. It has dozens and dozens of tomatoes on it and I spotted the first tomato turning from green to orange yesterday. How exciting!

Progress!

Second post-hole for the raspberry trellis has been dug, and I deepened the other. Both posts are sunk and holes filled back in. I cut the wood for the cross pieces. Now I just have to attach them and stretch the wire...oh, and plant the poor raspberry plants that have been sitting on the front porch for a few weeks.

Update

Second vegetable plot is in. I might have planted everything a little too close together. I may need to do some transplanting as soon as I get some more ground ready for planting. I also need to get more space ready to plant some tomatillo seeds. I got two tomatillo plants, but I want to do some mega-production so I can make lots of salsa verde to can or freeze and eat all year.

I earned myself some blisters on my hands this weekend. I didn't finish either trellis project as I intended, but it was because I was happily sidetracked planting more vegetables.

I did get one post-hole dug. I am hoping if I get the other post-hole dug this week my sister will be willing to help me put it all together next weekend. It is a simple project and I think as long as no digging is involved she will be into it. It will be more fun to do this project with a partner.

Vegetable Garden!

I set the blog aside this winter...somewhat unintentionally...but my many outdoor projects have resumed within the past month and I am ready to report!

Outdoor Projects Completed:
apple tree planted and thriving
peach tree planted and killed
grape vines planted (one killed, but replaced) and thriving
old fire-pit dug out and patio built around it (thanks Dad and Jim!)
Small front-yard vegetable garden planted--tomatoes, basil, and hot peppers
Drip system programmed, soaker hoses for veggie plot added

Outdoor Projects in Progress
Laundry-water collection system (utilizing special soap, a hose and 55 gallon barrel)
--for now I am running around like a crazy person with buckets of water, trying to keep up with the washing machine's water output.
Grape trellis providing passive cooling to south facing windows
Raspberry trellis
Second vegetable plot--adding tomatillos, more tomatoes, zucchini, eggplant, another type of pepper, and more herbs.