Cheryl Bisceglia
The climate of the low desert of Arizona has a reputation for extreme heat, but let’s look beyond that for a minute. Did you know you can successfully grow veggies and flowers year-round here?
There are three distinct planting seasons that are long and sometimes overlap. This means you can start a garden almost any time.
Cool season crops can be planted starting in September and will grow and produce through March or later as they thrive in short days and cool nights. These are very easy to grow and great for beginners. The list of cool season crops is long, and many can be started from seed.
Cool season crops include:
Veggies: beets, bok choy, broccoli, Brussel sprouts, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, chard, collard greens, garlic, kale, lettuce, onions, parsnips, peas, potatoes, radishes, rutabagas, snap peas, and turnips.
Flowers: alyssum, borage, calendula, foxglove, geraniums, larkspur, marigold, nasturtium, pansies, ranunculus, snapdragons, and stock.
Many cool season flowers are not only beautiful but will attract beneficial insects to help your garden stay healthy and happy. Some examples are borage, nasturtium, calendula, alyssum, and marigolds.
Warm season crops can be planted starting in February and will produce until at least May. Many will produce through the heat of summer and into October.
Warm season crops include:
Veggies: artichoke, basil, beans, corn, cucumber, garlic, green onions, melons, squash, and tomatoes.
Flowers: celosia, coneflower, coreopsis, cosmos, gaillardia, gazania, globe amaranth, moss rose, salvia, summer snapdragon, vinca, zinnias. Most of these will also bring beneficial insects into your garden.
In the low desert, we also have a category of plants called perennial edibles. They will produce until the temperatures get too hot. They stop producing but continue growing until the temperatures come down, usually in September or October. They will then begin producing again, with most needing a healthy cut to remove burnt foliage and encourage new growth. Those plants include artichoke, asparagus, eggplant, garlic chives, onions, peppers, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, blackberries, elderberry, garden huckleberry, grapes, passion fruit, and strawberries.
Monsoon season crops can be planted in July-August and generally follow the same growing season as warm-season crops, they include basil, beans, corn, cucumber, eggplant, okra, peppers, squash, tomatoes, and tomatillos. They will generally produce through November or December and in some cases even into January as they benefit from the increased rain bringing with it higher humidity.
Please visit the PebbleCreek Garden Club website at pcgardenclub.org.