1. Vegetable Gardening 101
You can grow and
harvest
something fresh
every month of
the year in the
low desert!
2. People have been gardening and
farming in the valley for more than
1000 years
Whether you have 4
square feet, 40 square
feet, or 40 acres, you can
harvest fresh vegetables
every month of the year
here in the low desert!
3. RESOURCES
Desert Gardening for Beginners
Az 1005, Vegetable Planting
Calendar
Seed catalogues
Maricopamastergardener.org
phoenixpermaculture.org
4. 6 Steps to harvesting homegrown
fresh vegetables.
1. Select site
2. Decide how big to make the garden
3. Prepare site
4. Select, plant, or sow your crops
5. Maintain the garden
6. Harvest!!
5. 1. Decide where to put your garden:
Vegetables need
6-8 hours of sun each day
A reliable source of irrigation
Vegetables need soil tilled about 18 inches
deep
The garden should be easy and inviting to
get to
Allow space for paths between planting areas
Plan to reach the beds from both sides
6. How big should it be?
Should fit where the conditions are best
Should not be so big and so much work you
get discouraged
You can always add on !
Should allow you to grow what you want to
grow and use!
7. Build raised beds
Soil in raise beds is warmer
in the winter
Can be built to meet needs
of challenged gardeners or
challenged sites
Remember, you should be
able to reach the middle
from both sides
Use materials that fit your
landscape and budget
9. 3. Preparing the soil
Lay out planting beds
Till and rake soil –
removing rocks and junk
Add compost aim for ½
native soil ½ compost
Add balanced fertilizer
according to directions
Till the bed again and
rake it level
Install irrigation
10. 3. SELECTING YOUR CROPS: Choose
crops that will grow for each of our
seasons. We have 3!
Refer to AZ 1005 for planting dates
ag.arizona.edu/pubs/garden/az1005.pdf
Or urbanfarm.org/Planting_Calendar.pdf
Fit the crops to the garden
Plant things you like to eat!
Rotate your crops
11. SOURCES OF SEEDS AND PLANTS
Local independent nurseries
Seed catalogues and internet sites
Friends
Plant sales, garden clubs
Big box retailers
12. Shall I buy transplants or start seeds on
my own?
Transplants
No guesswork– you jump start the garden
Give you a head start on plants that require
a longer season than we have to produce:
Limited to what you can find
Not all things should be transplanted-so
you may do both!
13. Plant these vegetables directly into the
garden.
Plants that grow from tubers, crowns, or
cloves
Potatoes, asparagus, garlic
Plants that grow from big seeds
Peas, beans, corn, squash, melons,
cucumbers, pumpkin
Root crops:
Beets, carrots, parsnips, radishes, turnips
14. Some vegetables need a head start.
Buy transplants or start your own 8
weeks ahead of planting time
Spring planted, long
season crops:
Peppers,
Eggplants,
Tomatoes,
Sweet potatoes
15. Fall planted long
season or perennial
crops:
Brussels sprouts
Artichokes
16. Starting seeds in the garden.
Work the soil, making it friable
Soil should feel as moist as a wrung out sponge
Use a string and sticks to layout straight rows
Label each row!
Make a shallow planting trench along string
Plant seed according to package directions!
Do not plant deeper than suggested
Follow spacing instructions
17. Firm soil gently over seed rows to insure good seed
soil contact
When all rows are planted, water carefully with soft
pressure to insure enough moisture to initiate
growth
Check daily and irrigate as necessary to keep soil
moist – a dry seed is a dead seed
18. Planting transplants
Prepare soil: it should be moist and friable.
Remove transplant gently from container, handling
by the crown and roots.
Do not damage the stem, this is how the plant
transports the energy from photosynthesis to the
roots for storage and growth!
Set the plant into soil so the transplant is at the same
depth as the garden soil, do not sink it into a well!
Firm soil gently around the plant, water.
19. 4. Maintaining your garden
Irrigating
Fertilizing
Mulching
Weeding
Pest control
Weather protections
20. Irrigating your garden
Select a timer you are
comfortable using
adjust it as seasons
change
Use ground-level
systems to reduce
evaporation
21. Use temporary sprinklers to irrigate newly
seeded area or
Hand water newly seeded areas and
transplants
Keep a watering can handy for spot watering
22. Arizona has great soil for gardening!!!
Our soils are rich in 19 of the 20 nutrients
necessary to grow vegetables
Balanced fertilizer incorporated during soil
prep is often enough to go a season. This
can be achieved with good compost.
Fertilize only when plants show reduced
vigor or nutrient deficiencies, or are
described as ‘heavy feeders’
23. Nitrogen, the missing link
Arizona soils are consistently low in nitrogen
Vegetables need only a little nitrogen to grow
and produce. Too much produces lush, too
healthy, non productive plants, but they are
beautiful plants!
Nitrogen is very volatile—is in the air, adds to
rain, water dissolves the solid form, can leach it
away, left in open bags or exposed on the soil it
can evaporate
24. More garden maintenance
Keep paths mulched to reduce weeds
Pull weeds while small before they flower
and seed, add to compost pile
Weeds are hosts for many unwelcome pests,
compete for water and nutrients
Use mulch to reduce evaporation, maintain
even soil temperatures, reduce weeds and
protect crops from insects in garden beds,
especially in summer – aim for at least 6
inches in the summer
25. Pest control: know your enemy!
Not all insects are bad!
Use the least toxic control
methods first: cultural and
mechanical before resorting to
toxic products
Killing the bad guys also kills
the good guys!
Most plants can sustain some
damage and still produce a great
crop
26. Learn to recognize the difference between
pest damage and disease [biotic]
From other problems [a-biotic]. These
include
Salt, wind-burn and sunscald
Frost damage
Over/under watering
Nutritional deficiencies
27. Make a compost pile, turn and irrigate it
Plant flowers to invite pollinators to visit
Visit the garden frequently
Build fences, or cages to keep rodents out
Use hardware cloth to line raised beds to
deter gophers
28. Season extenders
Use frost cloth, remay, old sheets and light
blankets to protect plants from frost
Make a structure from pvc, 2x2 or other
material to support the protection
Never use sheet plastic, it does not work
Use shade cloth to protect tomatoes from bugs,
and keep fruit from sun burning
Use row covers to keep caterpillars and other
insects off crops
29. 5. Harvesting your crops
Pick produce young and often to keep new
ones growing
Use the information on the seed packet to
project about when to expect to harvest
Experiment with new recipes to use successful
harvests in new ways
Thin and eat row crops like lettuce, and other
greens, radishes, mustards, carrots
Use succession planting to extend harvest