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Overview
Arizona is the biggest producer of commercial tomatoes in the United States.
This is largely because a company located in Willcox called
Eurofresh grows over
125 million pounds of hydroponic greenhouse tomatoes a year.
The irony of this is that tomatoes are actually not that easy to grow here
in our regular old soil and sunshine. Regardless, people always want
to grow tomatoes and for that matter other vegetables and herbs in their yard.
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There are many good reasons to grow your own vegetables. For one,
almost everything tastes better when it is fresh out of the garden.
Additionally, with the growing popularity of organic foods
many people like to grow their own organic vegetables so they
can fully certify the organic origins of what they eat.
There are definitely some vegetables that are easier to grow
in Phoenix AZ than others. Some vegetables can be grown
almost year round and some can only be grown during the
cooler months. Given below is a general approach to vegetable
growing and then a listing of vegetables I have tried
and what my experience has been.
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An Overall Approach To Vegetable Gardening In Phoenix Arizona
Fruit trees are the primary focus on most of this web site, but
vegetable gardening requires a very different technique than growing trees.
Unlike trees,
vegetables do best with frequent light waterings and lots of fertilizer. Most
vegetables pop out of a seed, grow extremely rapidly, produce their crop, and
die within months.
The two most useful components in vegetable gardening in the desert are
compost
and fish emulsion.
A couple inches of compost can really help out a vegetable garden.
Compost helps to keep the soil moist and also generates a slow steady supply
of nutrients. Fish emulsion gives vegetables the nitrogen boost they need
for rapid growth, without adding salt to the soil. The salts added by
chemical fertilizers can burn
more sensitive plants and stunt growth, negating the benefits
of the nitrogen added. Desert soils are relatively salty, so chemical
fertilizers that would work fine in other climates will burn plants here.
Growing Artichokes
Globe artichokes actually grow fairly well here, but they need afternoon
shade and plenty of water.
If planted in the early spring they will not produce until next spring
so its best to plant them in the fall, so that you will get heads the following
spring. In summer they look dead, but don't despair just keep taking care
of them and they will come back. I find the effort to reward ratio on
artichokes to be a little low. They only produce for a short part of the year
but require maintenance all year. Probably that is why they
are expensive in the stores.
Growing Chilis and Peppers
Both hot and sweet peppers do very well in Phoenix Arizona. Interestingly,
they don't like the hottest part of the year, so they are most productive
in spring and fall. They can be kept alive through the summer, but its really
not worth the trouble. To maximize your pepper production either plant them in
the early fall from seed and pray for a mild winter, or plant them in early March
as larger nursery stock. Unfortunately, the local retailers don't often have
these plants available until later in spring, so a good plan is to raise your own from
seed in pots. Peppers are hungry plants so fertilize them well to maximize yield.
Growing Dill
Dill is a weed here. It is easy to grow. Planted in early spring and cared for
a dill plant will be 5 feet tall by early summer. At this time
cut it off at the base, hang it in the shade to dry up, then just
rub the dried out leaves between your fingers, drop them into a tray, and
seal them up in a bottle. The result will be years worth of dill seasoning.
Growing Eggplants
Eggplants do very well in the Arizona desert and even like the summer heat.
They are so productive that its not unusual to see people sharing them with
coworkers and friends. Like most vegetables they need the soil to be kept
always moist and are heavy feeders. Frost in the winter can kill them, so it
is best to plant them in March.
Growing Melons
Melons do very well here, except for one problem, whiteflies love to suck the life
out of the plants. Most years the whitefly invasion starts in July when the
humidity starts to rise. Anyone who plays tennis probably has fond memories
of all those little white moths flocking to their tennis ball.
The best strategy is to plant melons as early
as possible in the spring, so that fully ripe fruit is produced before the middle
of summer. Don't even bother trying to poison the whiteflies once they have
decended, they rebound amazingly fast. They are more or less invincible in the
melon patch, you will never win. That being said, the best cantaloupe I ever
had was grown in my own garden here in Phoenix.
Growing Mint
I have tried peppermint, and it lingered for years in light shade. It never
really took off, or took over as mint is known to do. Mints naturally grow
in the mountains which leads me to believe it is just too hot for it here.
Growing Oregano
Oregano is so easy. Grow it in light shade and water it on the same
schedule as your grass. That's all you need to know.
Growing Rosemary
Rosemary has to be one of the easiest plants to grow in the Phoenix area.
It needs very little water and likes the sun and heat. Even if
you don't plant it, it might show up in your yard anyway. It grows
as a bushy ground cover and makes a decent landscape xeroscape plant.
The big bonus is that it is an excellent spice.
Growing Strawberries
Strawberries are a frustrating crop here. Right about the time they take
off and start pumping out berries it gets too hot for them. Furthermore,
they don't like the alkaline soil so one has to practically replace the
native soil with compost and other amendments to get them to grow.
Sure, there are always those gardeners you will run into here
that tell tales of their wonderful berry patch and how sweet the berries
they had last year were. Further investigation always reveals that
they had just a few nice berries for 2 weeks in late May before the cooker
started. Strawberries in the Arizona desert .... not worth it.
If you still insist on trying the best variety for here appears to be
Sequoia.
Growing Tomatoes
The tomato is always the star of the vegetable garden so everyone wants to grow it.
Yes, home grown tomatoes always have a lot more flavor than store bought ones.
Unfortunately, no other garden plant seems to have as many pests and diseases
hunting it down as the poor tomato. Being a celebrity draws attention apparently.
In Phoenix, tomatos have a problem very similar to strawberries. Just when they
are getting ready to really produce the summer heat knocks them out. Therefore,
the key to tomato growing is planting early and choosing the earliest varieties.
Even so, keep in mind that your season will be short. Keeping tomatoes going
through summer here is a waste of time and water, so say goodbye to your little
darlings when temperatures go over 100 F., and pull the plug.
Links to more vegetable gardening information
Roger Smith's Desert Garden
Maricopa County Home Horticulture
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