This document provides information and guidance for vegetable gardening in the low desert climate. It outlines the 6 steps to harvesting homegrown vegetables: selecting a site that gets full sun; deciding garden size; preparing soil; selecting and planting crops; maintaining the garden through irrigation, weeding, and pest control; and harvesting crops. Tips are provided for soil preparation, choosing crops for each growing season, starting seeds or using transplants, and extending the harvest through succession planting and season extenders. The goal is to harvest fresh vegetables every month of the year.

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

8. Or plant container gardens

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