Apples. apples, apples

Thank goodness the monsoons came when they did as the apples had sort of stopped growing, along with everything else. We have had about 5 inches of rain in the last few weeks and the apples grew, the weeds grew (and how they grew) and now it is picking time! And weeding time, good for the waistline!!!

What does one do with many, many pounds of apples other than the usual pies, cakes and breads? Well, I decided to make cider. It is fantastic, prefer it to any I've had in years. I couldn't find many recipes on the 'net as to the how-to of making your own but I assumed that making apple juice and then letting it ferment a little might work. It did for me.
I also added some home made vinegar to taste. O, la, la, it is so good.

Did I tell you, back when there was no rain in sight, I decided that we needed to adapt to the Apache gardening system. They used waffle shapes but I don't plant that much so I used large circles around each plant. What a great plant saver, here is a shot of them just after they were formed. Keeps the water at the roots which is very necessary when there is no soil moisture at all.

Now the zucchini plant is so large that it is coming over the edge of the stones, we are eating the little guys raw, the mini eggplants are producing as many was we can eat and the tomatoes are FINALLY acknowledging the fact that they should produce tomatoes. But, it has been so hot they weren't interested.  The tomato horn worm ate the mini tomato plant before I could discover him!

No matter what I do it is neigh on impossible to improve the soil without amending it every year. Between the caliche and the dryness, it is a gardener's challenge. I've now gardened in every zone of the USA and this is the toughest. This year I've decided on ground covers come Fall, which I will have dug in in the Spring. Have the seeds for 4 different kinds, so will do a test of the best one for southwest gardens. Stay tuned.