preparing for summer in the desert garden
DESCRIPTION
Summer Gardening: Veggies & Herbs that Thrive in the Heat.TRANSCRIPT
Brownbag-
Summer
Gardening:
Veggies & Herbs
that Thrive in
the HeatPresented by Eileen Kane
University of Arizona Maricopa County
Cooperative Extension Master GardenersTo teach people to select, place and care for plants in an environmentally responsible manner based on research specific to the low desert.
Our Goals:Increase efficiency of people's landscapes.Decrease excessive use of pesticides, water, and fertilizers.Decrease amount of green waste in landfills.Increase school and community gardening efforts.
A Maricopa County Master Gardener is an individual who completes a University of Arizona Cooperative Extension, Maricopa County specialized course in gardening in the low desert (once a week for a three-hour session for 17 consecutive weeks, plus 50 hours internship), and maintains certification with 25 hours of service and 12 hours of continuing education per year.
4341 E. Broadway Rd, Phoenix
Remember your home address is 9b!
http://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov/
Tomatoes!
Best to plant the small and
medium-sized varieties in our
desert gardens.
Look for tomatoes labeled for 60-
to 70-day maturity.
Successful varieties include: Yellow
Pear, Cherry, Sweet 100, Earlypak,
Earlygirl, Small Fry, Patio,
Champion, Earliana, and Sunripe.
Eastside, 6 hours daily sunlight.
Happy Valentines Day!
Till soil to a depth of 2 to 3 feet.
Plant when soil temperatures have
reached 60 degrees.
Should be bottom-watered (water
the roots, not the leaves, should
never be allowed to dry
completely, nor should it remain
too soggy.).
Fertilize plants with diluted
fertilizer every 2 or 3 weeks until
flower and fruit production begins.
Heirloom versus hybrid
Open Pollinated: capable of
producing seeds that will produce
seedlings just like the parent plant.
Hybrid: cross-bred compatible types
of plants to create a plant with the
best features of both parents. Many
hybrids will not produce plants with
identical qualities.
Spring & Summer Herbs
Will Bolt & Die as Temps
Approach 100 degrees
Arugula, Rocket
Chervil
Cilantro/Coriander
Dill
Nasturtium
Parsley
Breadseed poppies
Calif. & Mexican poppy
Viola/Pansy
Start Now
Basil
Black-Eyed Susan
Chili/Chile Peppers
Ginger Root
Grass-Citronella & Lemon
Oregano
Passion Vine
Sesame
Sweet Pea
Sunflower
Ginger, Sesame, Passion Vine
Flower Planting Guides
http://cals.arizona.edu/maricopa/garden/pubs
http://cals.arizona.edu/pubs/garden/az1100.pdf
Bee Balm, Black-eyed Susan, Butterfly
Weed, Coleus, Coreopsis, Cosmos,
Dahlias, Desert Marigold, Desert
Milkweed, Dusty Miller, English Daisy,
Blanket Flower,
Insects: Friend or Foe
Friends Ladybeetles
Green lacewings
Praying mantises
Assassin Bugs
Ambush Bugs
Damsel Bugs
Big-eyed Bugs
Minute Pirate Bugs
Spined Soldier Bugs
Syrphid Flies
Wasps
Dragon- & Damselfl;ies
Spiders
http://cals.arizona.edu/maricopa/garden/html/general/question.htm
Seed GerminationA seed contains the embryo of the
new plant, with a supply of food
for the embryo until it has formed
sufficient roots and leaves to
obtain its own food.
Imbibition: reactivates enzymes present
in the seed. These enzymes break down
storage compounds in the seed to make
them available for the embryo.
Digestion & translocation: enzymes that were synthesized or activated previously
begin to break down storage material within the seed into simple compounds which
are translocated to the embryo. The embryo begins to grow as cells elongate & divide.
Germination: seed continues to undergo metabolic changes which transform
the embryo into a seedling.
Summer Greens Project
To develop planting & harvest recommendations for leafy greens that perform well
during hot weather in the southwest deserts.
• Jute leaves, Corchorus, (aka palovar sauce, Molokheya), cooked or raw,
very frost tender, full sun
• Malabar spinach, Basella alba, cooked or raw, vine, harvest tips
• Purslane, Portulaca oleracea, (aka verdolagas), cooked or raw, frost tender,
full sun, moist soil
• Redleaf Amaranth, Amaranthus, cooked, frost tender, moist soil, wind pollinated,
no shade
• Sweet potato leaves, Ipomoea batatas, cooked, climbed, moist soil, full sun
• Land seaweed, Salsola komarovi, (aka Japanese Saltwort or Okahijiki), cooked,
full sun, moist soil, sow the seed when soil temp is + 70°F
• Jamaica leaves, Hibiscus sabdariffa, raw, salad green, edible flower bracts
• Chard – did not perform when planted in late spring
http://bit.ly/HrKdj0
Jute leaves
Malabar Spinach
Purslane Readleaf
Amaranth
Sweet Potato
LeavesLand Seaweed Chard
Jamaica leaves
A word about “salt”…
Dissolved in our water
via natural and human processes:
• calcium,
• magnesium,
• sodium,
• sulfate,
• chloride, and
• bicarbonate
http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/fs-170-98/pdf/fs17098.pdf
http://cals.arizona.edu/pubs/garden/az1005.pdf