Raised bed gardening in Arizona

I am a little overwhelmed at all that it seems I'm going to need to know, to give this raised bed gardening thing a good go! I have been looking at the pro's and cons's of several types of raised bed construction.I have also been studying the method of watering I want to use, as well as how often I should expect to be watering .I know it will vary according to the types of crops I want to grow, and by the season .I am trying to group the veggies and herbs up according to their water and soil condition needs. I found a great little Youtube clip from Paradise Veggies that was super helpful.

Another little gem I came across in my search for Arizona specific info was a site called gardenweb.com. While reading other people's questions and answers I had several of my questions answered, and learned about a few things I had not even considered! What an adventure! I am excited, my kids and grandkids are super excited! I can picture My garden when I close my eyes, I am looking forward to creating it.Catch up with you later! I am off to build a fence.

Entry # 5

I can't help but notice lately how much of our lives are affected by media. I stand in a salon all day and I'm here to tell ya, media rules a majority of the the conversations that take place there.The older clients will come in talking about what they read in the paper, or saw on the news.The younger generations, pretty much everything from about 55 on down to five seems to be tapping into phones or ipads and the like for their moment by moment fix on everything from facebook, to Youtube, twitter, the list goes on. Information moves very fast, and that can be a great thing, and a bad thing. People, at least the majority I feel tend to believe what they read and what they see without question .I cant think of a better way to confuse, control, and scare the masses like a little media influence.Lately I am far more skeptical of anything I see, read, or hear from any media source. I seem to be looking for the hidden message, the motivation behind the delivery. I really don't take much of anything at face value anymore.Who new a few films in English 102 would be so informative .Films on media influence and the very real social consequences of the messages it sends to all of us .Films like " Killing us Softly 4" that discussed how woman and girls are portrayed in the media, and "Wise Guise" that covered men and boys social images in the media. Last but not least the Micheal Moore films "Bowling for Columbine" and " Capitalism; a love story. All I can say is I look at things differently now, and I'm good with that.

Letting it rot!

That's right! I am letting it rot! Grass clippings, egg shells, all the pulp I extract when I juice,grass clippings, and a variety of other things. I have decided I would like to learn the art of composting. I have always enjoyed planting and growing flowers and ornamental plants but I have decided to give raised bed gardening a shot and making my very own fertilizer from waste that ordinarily would have made its way to the landfill just feels like the right and smart thing to do. I learned that the city of Phoenix recycles their garbage cans into compost bins by cutting the bottom of the garbage cans off and drilling aeration holes in the sides and leaving the lid in tact. The cost you ask? Only five bucks! So, I got two.I started this journey with a book called " Let it Rot! The Gardeners Guide to Composting" by Stu Campbell. I have also found a few helpful websites like You grow girl! This a great little blog. I have also been taking notes from another website called   composting 101.com. So much information, and I am excited! I will keep you posted on my progress.Ciao for now.

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Entry # 4

I came across a movie today, a Michael Moore film titled Capitalism; a love story. I was appalled at the multitude of examples of corporate and government greed but the one dirty trick that peeved me the most was the fact that corporations can buy life insurance policies on their employees without there employees knowing about it and with no benefit whatsoever to the families of the deceased.What? how can that even be legal? I know I can't buy life insurance for someone else making me the beneficiary without their consent so why is it the rules are different for corporate america? Even more insulting are the names these policies are known as, " dead peasants" or "janitors insurance". Unbelievable! Would you believe there is almost no way of finding out if the company you work for has a policy on you? That's right, it is solely up to the company if they want to disclose that information. I never knew what I did not know until I ran across this film, I wonder what else I don't know. I think I will be looking into some more Michael Moore films, seems like a good place to start.