Desert Gardening

Select a good location

Your garden should get the early morning sun and have shade in the afternoon. Don't plant gardens near trees or large shrubs as their roots will rob your plants of water.

Plan your garden layout

Select what plants you want to grow. Do they adapt well to your climate? Write down what you are planting and the day they were planted. It's a good idea to keep a gardening journal. You would be surprised how often you will refer to it.

Pick the plants that do well in your area. Try new varieties every year and keep track in your journal so that you know which plants performed the best. Explore seed catalogs for ideas.

Get good seeds, plants and supplies

Always buy new seeds. Seeds over a year old might not germinate. Buy plants that are in containers so that you know that the root is intact. Make sure that you have all your supplies including hoses, fertilizers and mulching materials. Be careful handling the pesticides. Always read the label.

Prepare the soil

If you aren't familiar with working with soil, you can get information from local nurseries. I have found them to be very helpful with questions.

Plant your vegetables

Mark out straight rows to make cultivation and harvesting easier. Space the seeds and plant at the proper depth. When the plants come up thin out the weak ones.

Irrigate the plants

For desert gardening, irrigation is very important because of the dry air and not much rainfall. Water enough to keep the soil moist but not wet. Make holes in the side or bottom of containers for drainage and air.

Mulch and cultivate to control weeds

Mulching is covering the soil around your vegetable with a protective material to conserve moisture, regulate the temperature and keep the vegetables cleaner. Mulch materials can be newspaper, leaves, straw and wood chips. Cultivate with a sharp hoe when you see weeds beginning to sprout. Scrape around the plants without going to deep so that you don't harm the roots of the new plants.

be prepared for pests

Learn about the pests in your area and how to control them. Again, nurseries in your area will be helpful with this information. Write down in your notebook what remedies you have used and whether they were helpful.

Harvest when the plants are ready

Most vegetables are at their peak for a short period of time so you must harvest during that time period. Immature vegetables will not improve after harvest and over mature vegetables will be tough and will not have a good taste and texture. Learn to tell the proper time to harvest.

Desert Gardening usually refers to gardens that have to endure hot summers in Arizona, New Mexico and parts of Texas.

We have cool season and warm season gardening.

Cool season vegetables are the following...

• Beet

• broccoli

• cabbage

• carrot

• lettuce

• onion

• pea

• potato

• radish

• spinach

• turnip

All of these vegetables are hardy and frost tolerant. They can germinate in cold soil and can be planted in winter or early spring. These plants should be planted in late summer so they can grow into cooler fall months.

Warm season vegetables are

• beans

• cucumber

• eggplant

• melon

• pepper

• pumpkin

• squash

• sweet corn

• tomato