Spring Gardening 101 – Part One
Gardener Leslie Honaker
Spring is a great time to garden! Go to part two when you're ready to buy your plants and start growing. Start here to get ready to bring the green into your yard by following these easy tips to grow on.
 Spring is a great time to garden! Get ready to bring the green into your yard by following these easy tips to grow on.
Know Your Zone
Sunset Zone 13:
Based on what plants grow best in an area.
USDA Zone 10:
Based on lowest temperatures in an area for a plant to survive.
Location
Your planting site is one of the most important factors for success. Poor soil can be improved, but a poor location is forever a poor location. Is the site convenient? Will the garden be open to pets? Is there water access? What is the site’s sun exposure? Are there trees nearby that could offer shade? Is there invasive Bermuda grass nearby?
Best Performance for Beginners: Raised Bed
Sunlight
Resist the temptation to hide your vegetable garden from the desert sun. Most vegetables require 6-8 hours of sunlight a day to fully develop.
Best Performance: Eastern exposure (morning sun with relief from the hot afternoon sun)
Water
Your vegetables and other plants can’t survive in our desert climate without regular water. Watering deeply and infrequently is key. Place your garden near a water source. Avoid over-head watering that dampens foliage—instead, water plants at the root zone.
Best Performance: Irrigation soaker hose or t-tapes on timers.
Know Your Native Soil
You’re not in Kansas anymore! Our native Arizona soil is very different from what you may be used to. The combination of low rainfall and high temperatures makes our desert soil low in organic matter; our soil contains just one half of one percent of organic matter (that’s pretty bad!). It also is heavy in clay, making drainage a problem. In order to improve drainage and increase organic matter, you’ll need to add compost at least two or three times a year. Our soil is salty or alkaline (sweet) and registers 7.5 – 8.5 on a scale of
1-14. Most plants grow best between 6.0-7.0. Alkaline soils also have low levels of trace minerals (manganese, copper, iron, zinc and boron).
Best performance: Add plenty of organic matter (compost) to native soil, and gypsum if your soil is heavy with clay, at least two weeks before planting.
Growing Seasons
We have three great seasons for growing vegetables in the low desert:
Cool Season is typically planted October–February to grow and bloom through April.
Warm Season is typically planted February–April to grow and bloom through July.
Hot Season is typically planted May-July to grow and bloom through November.
Size and Space
A family of four could harvest an adequate supply of vegetables from a 9’ x 12’ plot.
Keep the bed width no larger than 4’ to allow for easy access for weeding and harvesting.
Use block, broken up concrete, or treated wood to create raised beds; they should be a minimum of 10” – 12” tall. Our advice is to start small, and build on your successes.
Digging Out!
If you are planting directly into the ground:
Loosen and break-up the soil to a depth of at least 12”.
You may need to use a pick ax, as roto-tillers often bounce off our hard soils!
This is hard work, but worth it. If you stick to a regular amendment program, you may only have to do this once. It takes up to one year to really condition your soil. Avoid areas planted in Bermuda grass. You’ll be fighting the Bermuda more than enjoying your desired plants.
If you are planting in a raised bed:
Bring in bulk garden soil mix to blend with your native soil.
Even if the bulk mix is listed as a “compost” blend, still add quality compost too, up to 1/3 the total volume of soil in the bed. Amend soil as listed below. Again, it could take up to one year to condition your soil.
Amending with Organic Matter
Before planting, you’ll need to amend your garden soil. Add at least 2-3” of organic matter to your soil.
Organic matter is the dead or decomposing remains of living things. Examples include compost, dried leaves, and dried manures. Organic matter is crucial to organic gardening—it provides food for the plants and microorganisms living in the soil. Organic matter is a major source of nitrogen providing over a dozen essential nutrients and micronutrients to plants. Add gypsum if you have heavy clay garden soil.
Add phosphorus and potassium (see below). After all is mixed, water in and wait at least one week before planting.
Amending with Phosphorus
While you are adding organic matter, it’s also important to add an organic source of phosphorus. Plants use phosphorus to flower, fruit and set seed. Adding phosphorus, potassium and trace minerals before nitrogen fertilizers allows your plants to build strong root systems, enhancing their hardiness and vigor. Add these elements to the root zone of the plants, about 6-8” from their stems.
Recommended Organic Sources of Phosphorus:
- Bat Guano (phosphorus based)
- Colloidal Soft Rock Phosphate
- Fish Bone Meal
- Sea Bird Guano (phosphorus based)
- Soft Rock Phosphate
- Steamed Bone Meal
Amending with Potassium, Trace Minerals, Calcium
Our native soil should have a fair amount of potassium, however adding a bit more isn’t bad. Potassium makes plants hardy, vigorous, and disease resistant.
Giving your plant Trace Minerals is the same as giving your plant a multi-vitamin.
Calcium in the form of Gypsum helps build sturdy wall cells (don’t add lime). Add these elements to the root zone of the plants, about 6-8” from their stems.
Recommended Organic Sources of Potassium:
- Crushed Granite
- Greensand
- Seaweed Extracts
Recommended Organic Sources of Calcium
Recommended Organic Sources of Trace Minerals
- Glacial Rock Dust
- Kelp Meal
In Part Two, Leslie shares advice on planting seeds and transplants, plus what plants to choose for your Warm Season garden.
Learn more about Leslie Honaker
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