When you think of Arizona you probably think of the never-ending scorching desert, cacti, tumbleweeds, rattlesnakes, the color brown, droughts, and maybe you think of the Grand Canyon. It gets incredibly hot here, sometimes it can be over 120 degrees. Walking out of your house in the summer feels like walking through the gates of hell. It’s a dry heat though, so it’s not too bad…just kidding, it’s pretty miserable, and you do have to be super careful not to overheat or overdo yourself in the sun. Sun poisoning is no joke, and it feels like hell going through it. Have you ever had a sunburn so bad that the whole thing turned into painful blisters? I don’t recommend it.
When you think of Arizona you probably don’t think of gardening. Am I right? People barely survive in the summer, how can a garden possibly survive? When we bought our house in the valley I never even considered having a garden, because I just assumed that it was not possible. However, 2020 happened, and being stuck at home 24/7 made me realize how desperately I needed a hobby that I enjoyed. I saw a lot of my friends in the Valley making gardens, and I decided to give it a shot. Honestly going into it I really didn’t think we would get that much out of it, but I was really surprised at how much our garden thrived…okay maybe thrived is not the right word…It produced a decent amount of food, and I just didn’t question why some of the vegetables never grew. I’m a beginner here and I was super grateful for every little sprout. I’m sure I’m not the only person in Arizona unable to grow a pepper…
I really don’t feel as though I have a green thumb. I have successfully killed every house plant we have ever had to include the low maintenance snake plant, and our aloe Vera plant. Don’t even get me started on our unlucky bamboo plant. R.I.P. I’m not a great judge of what a plant needs when it is suffering. You can ask Cody’s dead plant upstairs. Just kidding you can’t, because it’s fucking dead, as dead can be. My beloved monstera only lasted a few months before she was dead. House plants are tricky and require just the right amount of everything or else they suffer. The point I’m trying to make is that you don’t have to “have a green thumb” to have a great garden. You just have to be willing to learn. There are so many things to consider, so many different factors that will determine what you can plant and when you can plant, its a ton of work to prepare the bed you will be planting in, and I promise that you will run into problems. It’s not easy but it’s a really fun hobby, and totally worth it when you take a bite out of food that you grew.
I am no expert, but this is my second year doing this and I feel like I am a bit more qualified than I was last year. I came up with a list of 7 things to help with your garden. If you by chance are an expert please leave a comment and let me know what’s up!
7 tips for a garden in Arizona
- Choose what kind of garden you want to have. Do you want an in-ground garden, raised beds, a pallet garden, a herb garden, or a container garden? There are different challenges that come with each type, as well as different benefits for each type. We chose to do a pallet garden because we had the pallets and because the pallets allowed us to not have to till the ground underneath too much, while still allowing the roots plenty of room to grow. I really like the way our garden looks, and I like the separation the pallets create from vegetable to vegetable. One downfall of this type of garden is the length is not very long so you either have to plant only one or two plants in each section or risk having an overcrowded space. Last year we over planted our squash not realizing how giant and out of control that plant can get, and although we grew some of the most amazing squash I’ve ever tasted, it eventually died from not having enough space and started to take over the okra planted in the next spot over.
- Decide where you are going to put your garden. Spend a couple of days watching your yard, and watching the sun exposure over your yard. Do you have an area with trees that can help with shade? Do you have a beautiful flat, dirt oasis with no shade at all? Do you have an area of your yard that is exposed to the sun less than the rest of your yard? Choose a spot, and keep a record of how many hours of direct sun that spot gets. When choosing a spot try and find a spot that will give your garden at least 8 hours of sunlight. We skipped this step last year and picked a spot that has all the sunlight all day, so we had to improvise and make shades for our garden once it got really hot. Also, it’s good to remember that you can make it work no matter what you have. I’ve heard of people having herb gardens in their shower with just one tiny window for light.
- Prepare the area and lay down some nutrient-rich soil. Even though we used pallets for our garden, we still chose to dig down and till the ground about 6 inches deep. The reason we did this was so that the roots of the plants would have more room before they hit that hard clay-like Arizona ground. We also propped each pallet up with some bricks to give it a little extra room to grow. When picking soil choose one that is rich in nutrients, and specifically for vegetable gardens. When you lay it down, break it all up and mix it with some of the existing soil. We have been composting for about a year, and although that soil isn’t quite ready to add to the garden, it will work really nice to add this summer when the heat kicks up.
- Choose seeds that will grow well in Arizona, and that you actually enjoy eating. Some things are easier to grow than others. For example, Okra grows amazing in extreme heat. I was harvesting okra every other day for months last year, and it refused to die, even after I stopped watering the garden. On the other hand, tomatoes can be really tricky. I was able to grow one teeny tiny green tomato that was smaller than a quarter and not edible. Like I mentioned earlier our squash grew really well, and I was able to harvest those every few days as well. You would be surprised at how many vegetables will not only tolerate, but appreciate the Arizona heat. Spinach, eggplant, corn, and peppers are some other vegetables that do well in the hot season. You will want to replant in the fall (after August) and go for vegetables that fair well in the cooler season such as cabbage, kale, broccoli, and onions.
- Water, water, water. I can’t stress this enough. If you plan on having a garden in the summer in Arizona, get ready to water that bitch about 3 times a day. When I first planted last year I was only watering twice a day, and it took forever to see anything grow, and even then the growth was minimal. I asked around a bit for advice, and all my fellow Arizonians told me I needed to add another watering in. Once i started watering in the afternoon, the garden took off. We started seeing more sprouts, and things started to flower. I was worried I was going to overwater it, but it turns out that I was under watering it. Don’t underestimate how HOT that afternoon sun is. When you water you want to give it enough so that it reaches 6 inches below the surface.
- Track the progress of your plants, and adjust as needed. The truth of it is you are going to run into your own set of problems, as well as achievements, and you just have to be ready to readjust as you go. Don’t be afraid to join gardening groups on social media, and ask the pros for advice. Gardening is hard, but it’s extremely therapeutic if you allow yourself to enjoy the process. Remember every mistake is a chance to learn and makes you that much wiser. There are so many resources out there, and I promise there are a hundred different answers for every question you can come up with. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes and learn.
- Tend your garden and keep a lookout for weeds and overgrowth. You might have to thin out your garden, by removing some of the sprouts so that your vegetables aren’t too close together. You might have to prune some of your vegetables, like tomatoes. You will also need to keep an eye out for weeds growing in your garden. Adding mulch to your garden will help protect it from the sun, protect against weeds, and also provide spiders a nice environment to hunt for garden pests that harm your plants. Harvest your vegetables when they are ready, and this will encourage new growth.
I hope you found this helpful and I hope you give gardening a shot this year! If I forgot anything, or if I totally messed something up in this post please let me know in the comments! If you already have a garden, please feel free to leave any of your tips in the comments, or post any pictures of your garden!
