Grow the things that you like and are in season for planting.... Right now I have: lettuces radishes beets spinach cabbages All started a couple of weeks ago and are doing great......I continue to plant more every week so that I do not just get one harvest. Things like the lettuce and spinach will be thinned out and the sprouts used for salad greens. Pick a sunny spot and plan on watering them regularly.....AZ sun is very harsh for seedlings. Plant and water......plant and water......plant and water...and weed. I'm in Phoenix and have all ways had vegetables growing in my yard. Good luck with the garden.....
Visit your local library and pick up a few books to get you up to speed until late February. Not really much point in starting before then.
Any update on you garden? I put tomatoes and some herbs in the ground last week Everything is growing very well. The mirrors and auto watering system I built is helping greatly. Weeds have not been a problem yet, I like to sit and pull weeds when I get home from work. Please keep us posted.....
May be a bit early for your area but down here in Phoenix I have been putting seeds and sets in since mid December. The tomatoes went in end of January along a south facing wall so they get plenty of warmth. Have one neighbor that picked cherry tomatoes for Christmas dinner. The planting seasons are all mixed up here in Phoenix. Summer is our dead zone, if your plants are not well established and watered without missing a day they will all dry up. I'm taking advantage of the sun and using the south facing wall for tomatoes now before it gets too hot. we did have a frost a couple of nights ago but the plants were protected by the wall. What is going on in your garden in northern California?
Well I plant according to my lilac bush. My Uncle Lee a farmer in Washington State once explained to me why he always had a few lilac bushes on his place. I'll share with the rest of you. When the lilac leafs out it's safe to plant your cool weather crops, when the flower buds show some color, they don't have to be fully open danger of frost has past, and when in full flower anything goes. My lilac has leafed out, so I've planted my cool weather stuff: cabbage, peas, chard. Got some seeds for peppers and tomatos planted in the green house, but since it's not heated haven't seen hide nor hair of them yet. But that's ok, not in a hurry. Still a lot of clean up to do. But we are getting some much needed rain right now, but the temps have dropped back down since this stuff is coming in from the arctic. Just waiting on Mother Nature. She doesn't like to be rushed. It's pruning and brush burning time here in my neck of the world.
Seems like this time of year may be prime time for growing in Phoenix. I have no clue how to manage a garden in the middle of summer when the temps are 100+/- My suggestion: Plant in February for a spring garden, then again in August for a fall garden.
Our summers get up there as well. Usually triple digits for 3 months. You use a lot of water (but carefully if you are sane) and you look at shade and planting situations very carefully. Everything slows down by the middle of August. But my vegetables are on drip and set to run three times a day during the height of summer. If you time the waterings right you can stimulate some new fruit and growth in the evenings and early mornings. By mid afternoon the plants and the people are all just getting by and ready for siesta.
