Epic Yard Farm

05/28/2026

Been out of town for a couple of weeks and came home to find the local wildlife discovered our Tropic Snow white peaches before we could.

Looks like the rats or squirrels decided they were ripe enough already… forcing us to harvest earlier than normal this year.

Thankfully, Tropic Snow peaches continue to ripen pretty well indoors on the counter, so all is not lost. Still sweet, still juicy, just not quite tree-ripened perfection.

Gardening is a constant negotiation with nature sometimes. One year the challenge is late frost, another year it is birds, and this year apparently it is peach thieves. 🍑

05/21/2026

Quick how to Sprout TURMERIC and GINGER. Two of your stro...

04/29/2026

Another photo dump… this time with what’s blooming at Epic Yard Farm 2.0 🌸

The garden is shifting into that season where everything is trying to flower at once… and the pollinators are definitely taking notice.

Let’s see if you can name them all 👀

Some are loud and showy, others you’d miss if you weren’t paying attention… but every single one is feeding something.

That’s always the goal out here… stack blooms, keep something flowering year-round, and let the system do the rest. 😏

04/28/2026

Meet the latest additions to our Way Outback Garden 🌿

Snow Queen Eucalyptus (Eucalyptus victrix) and Grape Soda Bottlebrush (a cultivated form of Callistemon jeffersii), both grown by .

I really appreciate having a local grower who can supply these unique Australian natives for those of us who want to experiment a little, or even build out a themed garden space.

They may not be native to Arizona, but I’m excited about what they’ll bring to this part of the garden. Between the blooms for pollinators and the biomass they’ll produce over time, they’re going to help transform this open, exposed area into something a lot more alive, layered, and intentional.

This corner has been ignored for a while… not for long 🌱

Current lineup in the Way Outback:

• Queensland Bottle Tree (Brachychiton rupestris)
• Australian Flame Tree (Brachychiton acerifolius)
• “Long John” Grevillea
• “Moonlight” Grevillea
• “Peaches and Cream” Grevillea
• “Sylvia” Grevillea
• Lemon-Scented Gum (Corymbia citriodora)
• “Snow Queen” Eucalyptus (Eucalyptus victrix)
• “Grapew Soda” Bottlebrush (Callistemon jeffersii)
• Male Date Palm seedling (Phoenix dactylifera)

Building layers for shade, pollinators, and future soil. This space is finally starting to come to life 🌱

To give these plants a gentle start I gave them some worm castings extract from to introduce beneficial microbes, bacteria, nematodes, protozoa, and fungi.

04/28/2026

Our first ever taste of Hadoulis F White fig 🤍

We planted this one back in October 2024 as a one-gallon from .

This is a rare Greek fig with an intense berry flavor… and wow, it did not disappoint. So good.

It’s been sitting in our Mediterranean Garden without dedicated irrigation, so growth has been pretty slow over the past year and a half. Definitely on me, I need to step it up and give this tree what it needs to really take off.

This one’s a keeper. Looking forward to helping it size up and start producing lots of delicious figs!

I personally prefer berry type figs. What is your favorite?

04/25/2026

Saturday morning photo dump 🌿 Our garden lately…

1. Honey Jar and Chico Chinese jujube trees are on overload production this year.

2. Our Ye Hu Da loquat is clearly loving its spot. We’re hoping it grows into a big, beautiful, productive tree.

3. Taiwanese Indian jujube is pushing out blooms right after an application of Nutrient+… proof of how effective it is for encouraging blossoms.

4. Black Sphinx date palm is pollinated and shaping up to be a huge harvest year!

5. Galaxy donut peach and Tropic Snow peach are both absolutely loaded.

6. Superlicious™ blackberry and Prime Ark Freedom blackberry are in full production right now.

7. Candy Heart pluerry is just so pretty… every time I walk by, I stop and stare.

8. Methley plum, which we cut back hard to remove diseased wood, has made a full comeback!

9. White Pakistan mulberry is growing into such a beautiful fruiting shade tree.

10. Silas Sapodilla is starting to push out flower buds.

11. Perennial spring flowers are doing their thing and making me so happy: sage, Mexican evening primrose, and Jerusalem sage all showing off.

12. Desert King fig is loaded with breba crop this year after a few seasons of pruning and training.

13. One of my most exciting fig grafts this year has taken, the Martinenca Rimada fig!

What’s thriving in your garden right now?

04/24/2026

Another day, another sweet little neighborhood trade. 💛

Stopped by my friend Nancy’s place this morning (1.3 miles from our house) and came home with a fresh batch of loquats! They are perfectly ripe, glowing golden, and so delicate you have to handle them with care. It’s one of those fruits you almost never see in stores, and this is exactly why… they bruise very easily and don’t travel well.

In return, I brought her a jar of freeze-dried loquats from the last batch she shared with me. Same fruit, different form… sweet, tart, and a little tropical in both versions. Freeze drying is a great way to preserve loquat. They are light, crunchy and I agree with Nancy that they can be great to snack as is or add to trail mixes.

There’s something really special about this kind of exchange. Fresh harvest → preserved → shared back again. It creates this nice little loop between neighbors.

Another reminder that some of the best food isn’t something you buy… it’s something you grow, share, and pass along.

04/23/2026

And just like that… the neighborhood exchange continues. 💚

This time, Kimberly shared some beautiful homegrown tomatoes. From sweet little cherry clusters to stunning heirlooms in every shape and color… you can see the flavor in these.

In return, I sent her home with a jar of our freeze-dried Shangri-La mulberries from this season. Sweet, crunchy, and packed with that deep berry flavor—little bites of spring preserved.

No money exchanged. Just food, time, and care, all grown in our own backyards and shared just a couple doors apart.

This is exactly what we were chatting about… a simple, local rhythm of trading what we have in abundance. Some fun ideas are floating around with honor system produce stand with donation for the neighborhood.

If this keeps going, that little street market idea might not be so far off after all.

04/22/2026

Happy 14th Anniversary to Kaye at Late Bloomer Show! When we first started learning about gardening, we were so lucky to have found Kaye's YouTube channel, learn so much from her amazing garden, and then have the amazing opportunity to meet her and build a loving friendship over the years. 🥰

Please give this beautiful anniversary message video a watch, and give her a follow and watch her amazing journey at her homestead in TN!

1 like, 1 comment. "Earth Day and 14th Anniversary Message"

04/18/2026

There is something really special about neighbors sharing what they grow.

Our neighbor, Kimberly, whose edible garden was featured in our Neighborhood Garden Tour video series, dropped off a huge bag of Japanese eggplants from their garden this week, and they are overflowing with Swiss chard and kale right now too. We were joking that we should start a little farmers market right here on our street... but honestly, I think it is a wonderful idea.

If a few more neighbors joined in, imagine what we could create together. One family grows vegetables, another has fruit trees, someone else keeps chickens. We have been loaded with mulberries for weeks, now asparagus, and before long we will have more peaches than we know what to do with. The neighborhood kids could even set up a table with baked goods.

A little weekly street-side farmers market where neighbors share their extra harvest, swap food, catch up, and keep things local. Fresh food, stronger community, and less waste. It sounds pretty amazing to me.

Maybe it is a dream... but I think it is the kind of dream worth growing. 💚