Can I Garden When It Is 95 Degrees?

[Catherine, The Herb Lady]

Dear Folks,

I get asked variations of that question, or more usually I am 'told'
you can't garden in the heat.

The correct statement is "What can be planted in the heat?"

The challenge is the folks asking the question or making the statement
moved here from Kansas, Wisconsin or New York and they watched their
cabbage, cilantro, beefsteak tomatoes and similar whither away when
they planted them in April - straight from the nursery without
hardening them off - and without understanding the way the heat does
and does not effect gardening here in the desert.

Here is the bottom line - you CAN GARDEN successfully year round here
in the desert and similar climates by educating yourself on when to
plant the various varieties of edibles. Planting a small pot of
cilantro on April 15th, watching it die or got to flower and seed
within weeks, and declaring that you can't garden in the desert is
akin to trying to light a fire with a wet match and is simply a self-
fulling projection - you did not educate yourself on how to start a
fire.

Let's restate the basics for edible landscaping:

--Well draining soil - this means amending the soil to work in compost
or similar to 'fluff' up the soil
-- 6 hours of sun year - round and up to full sun for most edibles
-- Plant at the right time of the year for the variety - we garden
year round here - but have 2 primary planting seasons - warm and cool
- learn the difference
-- Water properly - lawn style watering 5 minutes a day every day
won't produce full-flavored tomatoes, herbs or luscious fruit -- deep
watering and allowing the soil to dry out between forces the plants to
send roots deep = stronger and healthier plants able to withstand
temperature extremes

Back to the heat - heat loving plants like basil, eggplants and
peppers LOVE the heat - they get record-breaking in size compared to
those 4 season zones of the rest of the country - IF THEY are planted
at the right time. They also produce for 6 or more months compared to
3 or maybe 4 in those other zones.

Tomatoes prove to be the true challenge for the transplanted or new-to-
desert gardener. The only truism about gardening in the desert is
that it is difficult to grow beefsteak tomatoes here because they
usually require 90-120 days to maturity. The home gardener is usually
not set up to start them in a greenhouse - which is warmed - in
December/January to get a jump start on fruiting.

Why? It has to do with night time heat in the desert. Once the night
time temperatures stay in the 80s - usually the end of June beginning
of July, the plants stop setting fruit. They may flower but they
won't set fruit because it is too hot.

The Good News is that we get 2 fruiting seasons out of our salad,
pear, plum and cherry tomatoes, because as soon at those night time
temperatures return below 80 they start setting fruit again.

Another truism for tomato growing here in the desert is DO-NOT stake
or cage your tomatoes - let them sprawl. High up is hot and dry, low
down is cool and moist. The production of sprawling tomatoes is very
substantial compared to the caged ones. The vines also produce
vigorous stems holding most fruit off the ground. The impressive leaf
growth also shields them from birds better. If the fruit happens to
sit on the ground before fully ripened, stick an un-coated white paper
plate under the fruit. When the plate is completely used up just toss
it in the compost pile.

The other thing about tomatoes is pollination - many people have a
great deal of trouble dealing with bugs and so they have their
properties sprayed outside and in.

If you either kill off or discourage the pollinators you will have to
pollinate your tomatoes yourself.

We keep some of our gardens in bloom year round - allowing flowering
herbs and edible flowers to entice the pollinators, bees, butterflies
and hummingbirds to do the work for us.

The spraying will also kill the good bugs which feed on the true pests
in the garden.

So how do you plant in the heat?

Established Garden:
With an established garden it is easy to insert new transplants or
seeds. If transplants harden off over the course of week, gradually
keeping the potted plants in the sun for longer periods each day until
they are in the sun about 5 hours before transplanting. Water the
plants in well even if you just watered the garden. With any seeds
you have to keep the soil moist - misting each evening in the warm
weather works best - until you see growth then back off the watering
to encourage deeper roots, misting every other day, then every 3 day
until your seedlings are on the same watering schedule as the
established plants.

New Garden Area:
This is a little more challenging than adding to an established garden
in the heat, but will work if you understand the need to 'canopy' the
soil to minimize evaporation and cool the soil surface temperature.
In our natural desert, you will see a young cactus growing in the
shade of a palo verde or mesquite - this is called 'nurse plant'. You
can create the same conditions by using flowering plants from your
favorite nursery to create these shade zones. You have basil, peppers
or eggplant six packs for instance. Also purchase 6 packs of
impatiens or moss rose (portulaca) and place 3-4 flowers snug up with
the eggplant in the center. Instant nursery. The flowers canopy the
soil and shade the sides of the eggplant allowing full sun access
overhead.

If you want to sow in seeds, set out those flowering plants and sow
just under the external edges of the leaves of the flowering plants.
Keep moist. The seeds will germinate and you will see them peeking
out from under the leaves soon as they work their way into the hot sun
a little at a time.

So, don't be afraid to garden in the heat, just learn when to plant
what variety and follow some simple steps.

Below are plants and seeds you can add to the garden now through the
end of May.

Have a great time in the garden!

Catherine
The Herb Lady

Artichoke, Jerusalem
Beans, Soy
Cantaloupe
Cucumbers
Eggplant
Fig Trees
Fruit Trees (With Care)
Impatiens Wallerana
Marigold, Tangerine Scented (Tagetes Lemonii)
Marigold, Citrus Scented (Tagetes Nelsonii)
Marigolds
Melons, Musk
Okra
Peppers, Sweet
Peppers, Chilies
Portulaca (Moss Rose)
Potato, Sweet
Purslane (Portulaca X Hybrida)
Scented Geranium
Squash, Summer
Squash, Winter
Sunflower
Tomatillo
Seed in Basil, Chive (Garlic or Onion), Epazote, Perilla, or Catnip--
making use of the canopy of flowering or vegetable plants.