‘Hopi Red Dye’ amaranth

For the Low Desert

WHAT TO PLANT
Native crops—Traditional crops sown at the start of the monsoon season include amaranth, devil’s claw, melons, squash and tepary beans. Rainfall and increased humidity help seeds germinate, establish and mature during the short growing season. Amaranth’s leaves are a source of calcium and iron, and its small seed grain is rich in lysine. ‘Hopi Red Dye’ amaranth has a deep-red flower stalk that grows 1 to 2 feet long; seeds are black. The Hopi use the flower to make a natural food dye. ‘Guatemalan’ amaranth produces light-green flowers and cream-color seeds. Native Seeds/SEARCH offers seeds online (nativeseeds.org) or at its new retail shop at 3061 N. Campbell Ave., in Tucson.

Warm-season vegetables—Transplant sweet potato slips. Sow seeds for Armenian cucumbers, cantaloupe and okra. Southwest Gardener in Phoenix offers seeds from Botanical Interests for such  intensely flavored melons as French heirloom ‘Charentais’ cantaloupe and hybrid ‘Sweet Delight’ honeydew.

Continue transplanting palms and Bermuda grass lawns—Their root systems thrive in warm weather.Wait to transplant other landscape plants until weather cools in fall.

GARDEN MAINTENANCE
Water citrus effectively—If stressed for water, fruit rinds can’t expand as they grow, and cracking and splitting fruit will appear when it is too late to take corrective action. Apply water at the tree’s canopy edge and slightly beyond, where it can be absorbed by feeder roots. Move emitters outward as the canopy expands, since water applied at the trunk is not absorbed. Water mature citrus trees every 10 to 14 days to a depth of 3 feet. Water new transplants every 5 to 7 days to soak through the depth of the root ball (depending on size at transplant), usually 2 to 3 feet. Use a soil probe to determine how far water penetrates. The probe will move readily through moist soil but stop at dry, hard soil.

Solarize soil—Let the sun’s power de-stroy chronic disease or weed problems in garden beds. Add 2 inches of manure on top or mix into the top few inches of the fallow soil. Soak with water. Cover the bed with thick clear plastic sheeting. Sun passes through the plastic and heats up the top layer of soil to high temperatures, killing most pathogens and weed seeds. Bury the edges of the plastic or weight it down securely with bricks or rocks so that it won’t blow away and the heat can’t escape. Solarization takes about six weeks.

Monitor container plants—Protect containers from late afternoon sun. Daily watering may be needed. Be sure water drains out the bottom and doesn’t collect in saucers, because salty water reabsorbed into the pot damages roots. Apply a layer of mulch on top of the soil to retain moisture. Frequent irrigation leaches nutrients, so feed with a slow-release fertilizer, or use an organic fertilizer according to package instructions.