The Happy Horn Worm

Did you know that horn worms like Desert Willow trees as well as tomato plants? I didn't know that. This might be a different kind of horn worm. His horn looks different. I did know that another kind of smaller caterpillar loves Desert Willows. I had a bunch of them attack the tree I planted at my house. They did a lot of damage but the tree survived and grew back rapidly and denser.

This happy horn worm was not happy for long. The next day when I went back to see how much he had eaten...a big spider had eaten him! I guess I don't have to worry about my tree. It has a giant spider guarding it.

Two Tomatoes For $2.50

Well, the tomato struggled and finally came back. I picked 2 tomatoes yesterday before the birds discovered them. I paid $2.50 for that tomato plant and watered it carefully (except for the week I was out of town and my substitute gardener forgot about it and it almost died). I have put a lot more time in to that plant than it was worth but next year I will probably try again.

I never got any zucchini. One grew but shriveled when I left for a week. I planted some yellow squash seeds. Perhaps I will get some this Fall.

Planted Trees Today

Here's my happy little Desert Willow. I planted it on the West side of the mobile home near my greenhouse so that I wouldn't have to haul water much farther than I already am for the little garden. I didn't clear the aloe away from the spot. I am hoping the aloe plants will keep the soil from drying out and keep the soil cooler. So far the tree looks happy.

The Mesquite tree is hard to see but it approximately 12 feet from the other tree and will grow very fast to give me some shade. I need to dig a wider basin around the bottom of the tree to collect water. Eventually I want to direct the water that comes off the mobile home roof to go to the two trees. That will take a lot more work since the trees are a little higher up and it's hard to put gutters on a mobile home. I need to design some way to catch the water as it comes off the roof and pipe it over to the trees. That would be easier than trying to dig trenches along the ground I think. It needs more thought.

New Trees From "Trees For Tucson"

I ordered baby trees from Trees For Tucson through the local electric company-TEP. There is also a tree program through Trico Electric for those who have it. Even though the tree application said it would take a month for the trees to arrive, I mailed my check on Friday and they arrived the next Thursday. I am thrilled. Since they are early I haven't dug the holes yet but hopefully they will be ok until Saturday when I have time to dig.

I got 3 trees. A Mesquite, a Desert Willow and a Desert Ironwood. I hope to replace some Cholla cactus with one or two of the trees. I have enough Cholla and not enough trees.

Garden Disappointment

Well, the garden is pretty much dead. All of that work hauling water, putting up shade, for nothing. I didn't even get one tomato. I went on vacation for a week and left a neighbor to water but the garden went rapidly down hill. The birds ate the tomatoes, the zucchini shriveles, the peas died and half of the strawberries dies for reasons unknown. It is very depressing.

I'll try again next year. Maybe add some bird netting and time the tomatoes better so that they don't ripen when I'm gone.

Starting The Spring Mini-Harvest

The mini-garden is still alive. I have to water it everyday by hand because I don't have the a drip system I suppose I could set up some sort of drip system by hanging a container on the fence and connecting it to drip hose. Since I use recycled washing machine water I prefer to water the plants from the bottom to keep any bacteria away from the edibles.

I only bought one tomato plant and I think that will be plenty. There are more than a dozen green tomatoes right now. I hope they don't all get ripe at once.

This is my first zucchini ever. I wasn't even sure it would grow in a pot. So far so good. The hottest month is yet to come. It might not make it thru the summer but I am still optimistic.

What's Growing Now

Prickly Pear flowers are blooming now. Palo Verde trees are blooming too but I didn't get a picture of them. The bees sure are busy!


These aloe plants survive and multiply even though I don't water them at all. These flowers are a little old. They looked better last week.


Here's my little garden. I have zucchini, tomatoes, strawberries and a few other things. I need to set up some shade for them because they are wilting every afternoon. Not a good thing!