Backyard Revitalization

So it's been a while since I updated, what can I say I've been doing shit. One thing I haven't been doing until last week was my backyard remodel. Motivation to dig dirt is very difficult when it's 90 degrees at 6am.

Since last time, I've completely removed all the gravel and stones that you can see in the previous pics, removed all the plants that didn't make this summer's onslaught (the vast majority, I'm sorry to report) and started digging up the dirt so that I can keep the level of the existing patio the same as the new patio. I have learned my lesson, to a certain extent, since I did this the first time. Rather than having someone remove the dirt for me (waste collection service), because the amount will be so much smaller this time I'm putting the excess into my raised bed garden.

I like this idea for two reasons, one: the cost of having someone haul away dirt is unbelievable but it's heavy so I guess I understand, and two: I think putting the native soil into my artificially loamy store bought soil will be just the connection the garden needed to excel. Obviously, the store bought soil was the right consistency and mixture of woody mulch and compost, but it lacked the i don't know what to make it a really effective growing vessel. I think mixing one part native to 3 parts store bought will connect the mixture to the roots of this place so that the plants will instinctively know they have all the tools they need to grow. I admit, this is part positive intention and part woo-woo spirituality, but I think there's scientific merit to having a component of native soil help plants connect to the greater ecosystem in which they are being asked to grow... maybe this is why I'm not a scientist by profession?!

I have about 3-4 more wheel barrows of dirt left to move before I can think about laying pavers down. The nice thing is, not really nice more convenient in this case, virtually all my plants died over the summer so I have the raised bed almost completely clear except for a few okra plants that are dead but aren't producing either, the creosote (duh) and the pomegranate, which looks healthier than it ever has and has tons of fruits that are ripening - go figure. So all I'm doing is filling the wheel barrow with dirt, shoveling it into the raised bed and then raking the native dirt into the existing dirt of the raised bed. This addition is having the added benefit of raising the level of the dirt in my raised bed, which has decomposed about 6" or so since I put in the original dirt in the spring of '06. Once all the dirt is in, I'll buy some additional compost to stir in and I think this mix will be plant nirvana.

More to come about our seed/plant choices for this falls planting season...

As promised, here are some pictures of my backyard remodel. Starting in the top right corner, this is looking in from the gate on the side of my house. I'm removing the decorative rock that can be seen at the bottom of the frame.

An aside, the blue garbage can is the collaborative idea Miguel and I had for composting our backyard and kitchen byproducts - he has one too. We drilled holes 360 degrees round the can for good air ventilation and I used the pitch fork seen leaning against the wall to stir the compost. Currently, my bin is about half full, but that half is a rich 3/4+ decomposed blackened organic mess. It's an awe-inspiring and sobering thing to behold. Come fall bed prep - probably about mid to late August I wager - I'll spread as much as 3" of compost on the surface of each bed, starting with the new bed, seen in the top right corner pic, immediately right of the hexagonal stepping stones. The new bed because I actually used native + store bought soil so it needs to be conditioned more before it can compete with the raised bed soil, which was 100% store bought. Bing!

The top right pic, in addition to a sneak peak of the newest garden, is looking from just to side of the compost can, against the side wall, back toward the patio proper. These stepping stones were put in this spring because I intended to make each side of them a garden bed. This was an ok theory, but I didn't properly calculate the lack of sun on the left hand side (based on the perspective of the top right pic). The only seedling I planted there struggled mightily until I moved it over to the bed on the right hand side. This, along with a far too narrow walking path, was the impetus to extend the patio to the side gate. Based on what you see here, the patio will extended width-wise from the house, just out of the frame on the left, to about the middle of these stepping stones. Length-wise, it will extended from the patio to the side wall, in a direct line, encircling the a/c unit (better seen in the pic at the bottom left), and from wall to house along the path that leads from the gate to where I'm standing in this pic.

It's an ambitious project, but I have some tricks of the trade that I learned after the Hebrew slavian effort to create the first patio. Namely, the foundation of stone patios in an arid climate like the seventh ring of hell, PHX, doesn't need to be as deep or layered as its cousins in a more wet climate, like Seattle for example. My current patio, in this climate, will probably survive the apocalypse and is suitable for driving tanks on... a little more than I really need. This time, I will use a method I didn't discover until after I finished my patio - Portland Cement. This is a cement mixture type stuff and all one needs to do is rototill it into the native soil, put a layer of fine sand on top, roughly 1-2", lay your bricks (which, if done correctly, should translate into laying some pipe with your old lady when she sees how boss the new patio is) and compact the whole thing down while adding more sand to fill the cracks between the bricks. Last thing to do is water the whole thing down to set the bricks and your good to go. It's really quite simple. I mean shit, I did it for Christ's sake and I'm not the most handy of men.

These last pics show the path of the new patio from the other side. The bottom right pic shows how the new patio will envelope the a/c unit and its eventual collision with the side wall just under the tuperware storage containers. The bottom left pic shows the path from side gate to storage containers.

I'm really excited for this patio to be done. I think it is the aesthetic piece missing from my backyard puzzle - the patio will naturally lead your eye into and out of the patio. And as any painter or photographer will tell you, if your eye isn't lead from foreground to background through a picture, then not all of the pic's possible splendor can be captured. Your eye will stop at distracting and competing stimuli before completing its full look-through. The set up of a backyard is no different. The principle perspective point for my yard is where the sliding glass door meets the patio, immediately behind and to the right of the pic on the bottom right. By extending the current patio all the way to the far wall and out to the side gate, one's eye will be lead through all the visual aspects of the yard without getting caught up on anyone thing. Right now, due to the patio abruptly ending midway through the yard, one's eye can't easily continue on from the edge of the patio to the far wall and therefore is displease, at least subliminally, with how the aesthetics of yard are set up.

It's going to be a ball breaker, but I know it will be worth it. I just wish I didn't get around to completing these projects until June, which is when I completed my current patio too. Guess I was too busy planting and enjoying the beautiful weather to do it when it's nice and cool! Wish me luck!

Monsoons in May

Are you fucking serious? Monsoons in May? This global warming shit is for the birds. I bet they don't put this in the shiny brochures about PHX. They can't even say its a dry heat anymore. May, traditionally the 2nd driest month in the Valley, has had spattered rain each of the last three or four days. Help me baby Jesus!

OK, enough bitching, I'm sure no one felt bad for me when it was 70 degrees in January! On a more topic-related note, this unexpected heat and wind has had a harrowing affect on my garden. I've had to stake two tomatillo plants and a sunflower so they can survive the wind. Meanwhile, Sevilla's tree, a ruby red grapefruit tree I planted to commemorate Sevilla's birth, has gone from kicking major ass two weeks ago to looking burnt and droopy this morning. This weekend is fertilizer weekend, however, so hopefully that will help perk some of the darlings up and give them the cajones to withstand the brutal onslaught to come. Looks like we're in for a long summer.

On a positive note, I'm nearly finished with my "decorative" rock removal from the backyard. Being the impulsive idiot that I am, I put in some lava rock when I first redid the backyard for two reasons: 1) that's what you do here; 2) I thought it was the least offensive option. Oh how wrong and unintentionally lazy I was. If I had done what I knew I should have at the time, patio the whole back yard all the way to the entrance gate, I wouldn't have to remove this rock at all. The silver lining here is that I wouldn't have been able to expand my garden like I have and reap the benefits of thriving tomatillos and lemon-lime basil. If the smell of a plant could greasy the panties, it would be lemon-lime basil - pure heaven... I digress.

So now, I'm removing the rock so that I can continue my patio around my a/c unit and out to the entrance gate. After that, I will be trimming my current patio slightly in the northwest and east corners to expand my garden. I'm really excited for what she'll look like and I think the increased garden will really expand the possibility of creating a semi-sustaining garden for my brood. Plus, this will allow me to put in two additional trees, which will provide some much needed shade to the yard come summer. Not so much for the humans, we're all too pussy to go out there in the summer anyway, but for future summer crops.

Sorry for the lack of pictures, but I'm not yet the consummate journalist like my lovely wife. I'll be digging rocks in the morn and I'll try to remember to take some pics of the plants for a more well rounded blog post.

It Lives!

The mead has been kegged and I have sucked of its ambrosia. One word: delicious. Two words: captivatingly complex. Three words: a little naughty! As anticipated, our margarita mead is the nectar of the gods and everything that I thought it could be. Here are some details:

• Due to a selfish streak that could probably only be removed surgically, Miguel kegged the beer without me on Tuesday night.
• This means that my plan to add lime juice to the mead in keg was foiled.
• Since this was predominantly my recipe, I'm considering dropping Mike as my BFF
• After being reminded that I can just add a little lime juice to my glass and then those that may prefer the mead without the lime juice can have it their way too, I calmed slightly and gave up my rash plan kicking Miguel to the curb.
• ABV: 13%, according to the specific gravity reading - specific numbers to follow once I get them from ye olde selfishe one
• Color: almost the exact same color and clarity of reposado tequila... and just as naughty!
• Smell: for some reason, there seems to me an apple-like smell. Confusing, yet titillating
• Taste: fruity, a touch sweet, dryish finish with that honey complexity.

Overall, I'm quite satisfied with our endeavor, but it's not perfect. I'd really like it to have more of a detectable tequila flavor to really emphasize the "margarita" moniker I'm going for. I did add a few squirts of lime juice to the mead and that substantially increased its margarita-like quality and its overall taste, in my opinion. Mike, on the other hand, was ambivalent about the addition of lime - hence his rogue kegging without proper supervision.

For anyone not in the PHX area, we will host visits so you can partake of the wonderment but you best hurry. A delicious draught like this won't last long, especially with a couple of lushes like Guthrie and me around. For those in PHX, we'll be taking reservations starting tomorrow... same time warning applies.

An Introduction

Everyone needs passion in their lives. For me, it's brewing kick ass beers with my BFF Mike, who just so happens to be my father in law - figure that one out?! - and growing my own veggies, herbs, flowers and fruit trees. First the gardening, never in my life would I have believed you if you told me that I would be willing, let alone seeking out, home improvement and landscaping projects. I absolutely loathed yardwork when I was a kid. I swore that the only reason yards and landscapes were invented was to punish children now that they can no longer work in the mines! Now, however, I've created a quite presentable garden and patio area in my meager backyard. Here, judge for yourself:

Before (oh yeah, I fixed the flooding problem too)

After

Looks like a fairly nice sanctuary, huh?! This picture was taken last summer when I was feeling pretty good about the backyard but not completely satisfied. Since this pic was taken, I've taken another quantum leap forward (without the help of Scott Bakula). I'm moving the direction of a sustainable food garden. I have my lovely wife to thank for helping me make this decision and you can see why if you check out her amazing blog too. This spring has proven a radical transformation of my garden, as well as my attitude toward it. Before, I was at best a passive gardener but I hadn't made the difficult yet necessary emotional commitment to believe that I could create an urban farm-like plot in my 33' x 16' closet of a backyard. Now I have made that commitment, I have successfully grown nearly every new plant in my garden from seed (a first for me), and more than half of all my plants are edible, medicinal and/or aroma-therapeutic. LG said it best just the other day, so I won't try to, but check out this bounty she picked on a random Tuesday in May (along with our other bounty!).

Moving onto my other great passion: homebrewing. Mike and I have really got things dialed in with our homebrewing. For example, we currently have a Margarita Mead frothing in the carboy in Mike's beer closet. Here's the simple recipe we used to create what promises to be a refreshing, delicious and debaucherous drink:

3lbs pressed agave nectar

10lbs mesquite honey

Water enough to make 5gal

Zest of 3 limes (primary fermentation)

Juice of 5 limes (keg/bottle - to prevent the citric acid from killing the yeast)

This recipe has been brewing (yeah, I'm that stupid) in my head for about two years now. It was inspired by the sole-scotching desert summers here in PHX (it's supposed to be 103 today in early May - fuck global warming!), several previously successful meads, reading the recipes at gotmead.com and some sage advice from a chance encounter with the current American Mead Czar, Bernie Tonning, head meadmaker for Redstone Meadery, at Papago in early 2008. I asked Bernie for some advice on how to brew mead with agave nectar and he suggested doing a 70/30 split between honey and agave. Hence, the recipe was born. What about the lime, you may ask? How could one justifiably make a mead with agave nectar and not put lime in it? That was just a given, like bacon and pretty much anything else.

Back to the brew team. We have a very complementary yin and yang collaboration style

Mike and me. He is very precise, balanced, traditional and clean, while I'm creative, non-traditional, experimental and messy. It's works quite well in both the creation and execution of panty-moistening homebrews and meads and we both have delusions of grandeur that we could take this show on the road someday... or, at least, when we've over-partaken of our craft we ruminate about opening our own shop.

So, there's the intro to the blog. There will be much more mental diarrhea to follow and perhaps even a few snipits of wisdom. I hope you enjoy it.