Fall Vegetable Gardening
Though it's still oppressively hot and the autumn cool-down seems far away, I started prepping my vegetable beds for fall planting. This weekend I weeded, cut back herbs, pulled out plants that didn't survive the summer, and top dressed with BioFlora Dry Crumbles, a favorite organic, granular fertilizer. I'm all set for some Vilardi Gardens plants.
My friend Suzanne, owner of Vilardi Gardens, has a fantastic variety of plants that are available at the local farmers markets - look for them at Roadrunner Farmers Market, DeSoto Central Market and Ahwatukee Farmers Market. After meeting up for lunch recently, I came home with some new additions of sesame (black, tan, and white), tomatoes (Indigo Rose, Cream Sausage, Violet Jasper, Tasmanian Chocolate, Dwarf Beryl Beauty, Punta Banda, and Taxi), Hibiscus sabdariffa, purple and Genovese basil, and Lunga Violetta eggplant. I can't wait to get them planted this week.
I'm especially excited to try growing capers for the first time.