Photography by Michael Woodall

DESERT GARDENING 101

Just about everything delectable grows in Valley of the Sun gardens. (Except rhubarb. If you grow rhubarb successfully, please contact me, and I’ll be right over with a camera and pie crust!) Even so, new gardeners, or experienced growers relocated from other regions, sometimes are confused by the low desert’s gardening calendar. If you follow gardening practices of other regions—planting by Memorial Day and harvesting everything around Labor Day—you are guaranteed to be frustrated.

TWO GROWING SEASONS
It’s easy to achieve abundant harvests if you understand the low desert’s two major growing seasons, with different annual vegetables thriving in each.

Cool-season sowing may start as early as mid-August (but is more common in mid-September) with gardens producing through April. Most cool-season annuals can be sown or transplanted through February, allowing them sufficient time to reach maturity and be harvested before the heat hits.

Warm-season sowing or transplanting begins in mid-February and, depending on the plant variety, may continue into June or July. Plants soldier on through the summer’s heat with attention—and water—from the gardener. They stop producing when temperatures turn cold.

BEST PLANTING DATES
For a range of optimal dates, see University of Arizona Cooperative Extension’s Vegetable Planting Calendar for Maricopa County, ag.arizona.edu/pubs/garden/az1005.pdf. Make adjustments based on your specific growing conditions (elevation, sun exposure, wind, soil type), the weather, and your gardening “style” and experience.

For example, because summer’s triple-digit temperatures often continue well into October, many gardeners prefer to wait to plant cool-season veggies until temperatures abate. This requires less water to keep the soil consistently moist for seed germination, and emerging seedlings will be less stressed by heat and thus require less water. The trade-off with planting later is that roots are slower to establish in cool soil, and harvest is delayed.

Consider your habits as well. Do you like to be out in the garden monitoring the situation daily (in the heat), or do you only have time for a quick weekend walk-through? Do you like to experiment? If you don’t, stick with the midrange of dates on the planting calendar rather than pushing the envelope on either end. Keep a garden journal of what and when you plant, and compare results from year to year to determine your most reliable set of dates.

WHEN TO PLANT WHAT
Plants with edible fruits are warm-season crops. Among them are: corn, cucumber, eggplant, jicama, melons, okra, peppers, pumpkin, squash and tomatoes.

Plants with edible leaves, stems and roots are cool-season crops. They include: beets, cabbage family (broccoli, Brussels sprouts, bok choy, cabbage, cauliflower, kale), carrots, onions, parsnips, radishes, salad greens and turnips. Peas also are cool-season.