Martha Retallick's Monthly Newsletter | January 13, 2026 Thinking Like a Farmer My Meyer lemon tree. Copyright © Martha Retallick. All rights reserved. When I meet another Martha, my first question is: What elderly relative were you named after? Usually, it's a grandmother, an aunt, or some long-departed ancestor. I fall into the "ancestor" category. I'm named after my great-grandmother Martha. She was my mother's maternal grandmother. From her Victory Garden in Buffalo, a city with long and...
about 2 months ago • 4 min read
Martha Retallick's Monthly Newsletter | December 11, 2025 Dealing with Reality Malabar spinach. Copyright © Martha Retallick. All rights reserved. The Climate Prediction Center of the National Weather Service is out with its forecast for Arizona and the Southwestern region of the United States. And, I’m sorry, it’s probably not going to be the forecast you want to hear: Warm temperatures and below average rainfall. So much for that notion of coming out of that drought that we’ve been in –...
3 months ago • 3 min read
Martha Retallick's Monthly Newsletter | November 18, 2025 A Note from the Future Ocotillo fall colors. Copyright © Martha Retallick. All rights reserved. I know that Black Friday inboxes can get overwhelming. If you’d rather not hear about my newsletter subscribers-only Black Friday special, you don’t have to do anything. You’ll only be getting my Black Friday emails if you click the button below: Opt in for Black Friday Emails We now return you to your regularly scheduled newsletter. This...
4 months ago • 2 min read
Martha Retallick's Monthly Newsletter | October 14, 2025 Here Comes the Rain! Rainwater filling basin. Copyright © Martha Retallick. All rights reserved. After a yearlong drought, there’s nothing like good, thumping thunderstorms with plenty of rain. More than an inch, in fact! We in Tucson would like to thank the remnants of Hurricane Priscilla and Tropical Storm Raymond for being so generous. I'm especially grateful because Priscilla and Raymond have filled my 1,500-gallon cistern to...
5 months ago • 4 min read
Martha Retallick's Monthly Newsletter | September 16, 2025 Urban Wildlife Watch Roadie 2.0. Copyright © Martha Retallick. All rights reserved. Meet Roadie 2.0! This greater roadrunner started showing up in August, and I was thrilled. Back in 2022-23, my front yard was a hangout for a bird the neighbors called Roadie. In addition to enjoying the grubs, lizards, and other delicacies, Roadie was a ham. It got to the point where I’d be following him around the yard, and I’d say, “Closeup?” He...
6 months ago • 4 min read
Martha Retallick's Monthly Newsletter | August 19, 2025 That Time I Flunked Water Harvesting Ripening pomegranate. Copyright © Martha Retallick. All rights reserved. It’s a common lament. You water, water, and water fruit trees like the pomegranate shown above. But they just aren’t thriving. Happened at my place, and it was one of my worst water harvesting failures. Here’s the story: In 2017, I had a laundry-to-landscape greywater harvesting system installed. Instead of sending my laundry...
7 months ago • 3 min read