Growing vegetables is a fun solo activity or you can include the whole family. Either way there is something very rewarding about growing your own food.
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The ultimate success of a vegetable garden is determined by four major factors: soil, water, sun, and timing.
You are watching: Gardening for Beginners: How to Grow Vegetables in Phoenix Arizona
Creating a successful veggie garden in Phoenix is an enjoyable and nutritious way to get fresh food.
7 Steps to Create a Vegetable Garden
- Choose a garden location
- Decide the layout of your garden.
- Determine how your garden will receive the required water.
- Get the appropriate tools for the job.
- Prepare your garden plot.
- Take a look at your local area planting guide. What can you plant right now?
- Pick out your seeds or transplants
Garden Location: Find the Right Spot to Grow Vegetables in Phoenix
The old adage location, location, location applies to gardening too. The most important step in vegetable gardening is finding the best spot. Take a look around your yard and identify a spot for your new garden.
Vegetables need 6-8 hours of sun each day. The afternoon sun is pretty intense in Phoenix, so they will also need shade in the afternoon. Plants thrive in a garden that receives morning sun and afternoon shade. Most vegetables and herbs will need full sun.
To prevent your shorter plants from being too shaded plant these on the south side of your garden plot and the taller vegetables on the north side of your garden plot.
Every yard is different, so you’ll need to take a look at your outdoor space. Spend some time in the area you’re thinking of using as your garden spot. Some questions to consider when choosing a spot:
- Does it get sun in the morning or does it see more afternoon sun?
- Does it get full sun or partial sun?
- Are there any structures or existing trees that provide shade at different times of the day or in different seasons?
- What are your options for watering?
Garden Layout & Size
Next you’ll have to decide the size you garden you desire. If you’re starting your first garden, starting out small will be less overwhelming.
Garden size will depend largely on the space you have available and the time and effort that you would like to spend maintaining your new garden.
Will your garden be traditional, in a raised bed, or in a container?
If your garden is in a traditional in-ground bed you will most likely need to till the ground and add organic matter to the soil. If your garden is in a raised bed you’ll need to either purchase or build a raised bed and then fill it with soil.
Water Your Garden
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An irrigation system is the ideal way to go when creating a garden in Phoenix. Vegetables will need about an inch of water each week.
How often you water is important, but it is equally important to water deep enough.
Vegetables need to be watered long enough for the water to reach 1 foot below the soil surface.
Drip emitters are a great choice to conserve water. They will provide water at the soil level near the plant’s roots rather than spraying water on the leaves. If you don’t have drip irrigation system another effective way to water is to use a soaker hose or fan sprinkler.
To test if your drip emitter is providing enough water you can use a soil probe. They are available to purchase or you can make your own using a metal rod from a home improvement store.
Before you dig, call 811. This free service can tell you the location of any buried utilities.
Prepare Your Garden Plot
Now that you’ve chosen a location, determined the garden layout, have a watering system or plan in place and have your tools you’re ready to prepare your garden plot.
Your soil is very important. This is where your seeds will get the nutrients they need to provide you with fresh vegetables, herbs and fruits.
In Phoenix, Arizona native soil is not really sufficient and should be mixed with compost, and/or gardening soil, at a minimum use only 20-50% native soil, less is better when it comes to the vegetable garden.
As a reminder, before you dig call 811 to identify where any buried utilities might be.
Grow Vegetables in Phoenix: Your Garden Plot
With my first vegetable garden we had to remove the sod, which wasn’t too fun but if you rent a sod cutter it isn’t too bad. After the sod was taken out we then rented a rototiller (you can do this at most any home improvement center or hardware store) and tilled up our new garden area. We then added compost and organic material and tilled once again. Our garden area was then ready for planting.
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It was a little bit easier with our current garden. We started with a 10 by 4.5 foot area of bare dirt. To raise the garden we purchased about 30 blocks. It took 60 bags of a mixture of manure, compost, and gardening soil. Then we layered the different materials into the garden bed.
Plant shorter plants on south side of garden and taller plants on the north side. As the sun moves your shorter plants won’t be too shaded.
Garden Tools
Before you start you’ll want some basic gardening tools including a standard shovel and spade. A spading fork resembles a small pitchfork. It is used to dig down into hard soil and break up the ground. A hoe is a useful gardening tool, but if you only have a small vegetable garden it is not necessary. A wheelbarrow and a good garden rake is not necessary, but they are helpful if you have a larger garden.
Which variety of seed or transplant should I choose?
One of the first things to do is identify your climate zone. In the world of gardening, Phoenix is referred to as the low subtropical desert.
Understanding your gardening zone helps with the decision of when to plant and gives you an idea of what can grow here. In a few steps your garden will be ready.
The best advice to follow is to choose seed or transplant varieties that have a quick gestation times. Veggies that will produce within 60 days are the easiest to grow in Phoenix.
If you are starting from seeds help your plants get a head start and soak the seeds the night before planting. Soaking reduces the seed’s germination time.
Easy to Grow Vegetables in Phoenix Arizona
Easy to grow crops include
- peas
- green beans
- radishes
- tomatoes
- herbs
- peppers
- carrots.
Most seeds can be planted between the months of November and March. See the planting guide for reference. Just remember that frosts can happen even in early February and your warm season veggies will have to be covered if you plant them outdoors before the last frost.
Green beans are an easy crop to grown in Phoenix gardens. I usually plant the seeds in November and cover plants if there is a frost warning. You can also start seeds indoors and wait to plant outside until after threats of frost have passed. This year we put tomato cages around them to keep them off the ground and give us more space in the veggie garden. Small gardens don’t leave much room for watermelons, cucumbers, or squash, but you can get a couple of each plants in.
The sugar snap peas were planted around the same time and have flowers by January. In February we had our first Snap Pea of the season. The hummingbirds visit the flowers every day and like resting on the tomato cages.
When to Start Planting
Now that your gardening spot is prepared find out when to plant and how to care for them.
Source: https://gardencourte.com
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