Planting

We set out most of our tomato plants last week and they have been fine with this early warm weather. I think the odds of a late freeze are pretty minimal so we are putting out everything we have into the garden today (more tomatoes, peppers, and zucchini).

Early Girl tomatoes arrived in the big box stores last weekened and were cheap in the 4-packs. They were marked at $1.68 but rang up at just over a dollar. I'm sure the nurseries will be crowded today with the warm breezy weather. A perfect day to spend time in the yard.

Grape vines have been pruned, and the buds are starting to swell.

Harvested our first batch of peas yesterday - so sweet and crisp!

Citrus Information and Vegetable Planting Calendar

Check out the PDF publications available at the University of  Arizona Cooperative Extension website link. If you are trying to decide what's wrong with your citrus tree, search for "citrus" on their site or on the web look for "Low Desert Citrus Varieties AZ 1001" to get a listing of varieties of citrus that do well in our Valley and their characteristics.

There's also a vegetable planting calendar for Maricopa County. Search for "vegetable" to find it (Vegetable Planting Calendar for Maricopa County AZ 1005).

There is also information on how much to water lawn, citrus trees, and how to design a drip irrigation system. It isn't the friendliest search site, as I can find some of the publications more easily on the web, but it's there if you look through the results along with a dozen other articles that may catch your interest. Very informative and tuned specifically to our area.

Tomatoes

Since 2007, we've planted tomatoes every year between February 9 and February 15. In 2006 we planted them January 28 because it was a warm winter.

Time to Plant

JANUARY – Time to Plant

Transplant:

Artichokes, Asparagus, Broccoli, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Chard, Lettuce

Seeds:

Beets, Carrots, Leek, Green Onions, Peas, Potatoes, Radishes, Spinach, Turnips

FEBRUARY – Time to Plant

Transplant:

Artichokes, Asparagus, Chard, Lettuce, Peppers, Tomatoes

Seeds:

Basil, Beets, Carrots, Corn, Cucumbers, Melons, Green Onion, Peas, Potatoes, Radishes, Spinach, Squash, Turnips

Garden Calendar - January

January
This is the time to ready the soil, decide what you are going to plant, and check the irrigation system if you have one.

Soil preparation: I usually till in a couple inches of steer manure and the compost pile from last season. We keep most of the kitchen waste (old salad, onions, potato peels and the like) in a corner of the garden.

Planning: I made a map of the planting area on a spreadsheet and keep that from year to year so I can remember where things were last season. (Okay, so I actually mapped the entire back and both side yards down to the square foot...) This helps to rotate crops like tomatoes or peppers that shouldn't be planted in the same spot year after year because soil diseases/pest can accumulate (nematodes). It also helps to make notes of what did well where, and what didn't. For example, we had artichokes for several years in the back. When they died, I planted more in the front near a block wall (front yard has southern exposure) and they fried in the summer sun for two years. Now I know to put them somewhere besides a heat sink. Ditto with the backyard wall. Everything within five feet struggles because of the reflected heat.



Above all, pick things you would like to eat. Peas, carrots, zucchini, beans,... something you like and preferably something that's more expensive at the stores and relatively easy to grow. My carrots are sweeter than store-bought, but probably not worth it financially. So decide what you are looking for on the dinner table. Zucchini and tomatoes are no-brainers. Easy to grow and expensive to buy at the store.

I use a drip system on a timer. This takes care of vacations and forgetfulness. Check it about every six months for plugged emitters. During the growing season check it monthly, or even weekly to make sure the plants are getting enough water. In hot June, we water the garden about every three days (yes, it's cheaper on water than growing a lawn).



Garden Map



What's growing in January

Right now the garden is growing: onions, garlic, broccoli, carrots, beets. These are hardy enough that our light frosts won't damage them and were planted in August/September. The peas are a couple of feet tall and the recent warm spell has them blooming. We'll be eating fresh peas before the end of the month.

Beets, Peas, and Broccoli

There are tomatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, artichokes, bell peppers, Anaheim peppers, and jalapeno peppers growing in seedling trays under a flourescent light in the tool shed. These will all be set out in early February assuming we don't have colder weather. In past years we've been safe setting tomatoes out in late January (and these were our best harvests) but there is a risk of an extra cold night frosting them.



Tomato Seedlings

 I'm a bit over-enthusiastic about gardening, so don't feel badly if you purchase flats of plants from the local big box store every spring. There was a year that we had lots of rain in January and February which propagated mildew, which killed all the nursery seedlings. That year was a lesson in self-reliance. We didn't have enough tomatoes for the garden and I decided it was time to learn to grow our own. This has become another facet of my gardening hobby and I can plant 50 tomatoes for a few dollars instead of paying $$ for each plant.

Backyard gardening in Metro Phoenix

I've kept a backyard garden in Phoenix for the past 20 years. Friend and neighbors know this and ask a lot of questions which I am happy to answer, although maybe with more enthusiasm and detail than they were looking for... So here is the solution: A gardening blog. I won't promise daily updates, weekly is more realistic.