[Arid_gardener] RE: vegetable & herb gardening

[Chris Slowey]

Janet,
Thank you so much for your help. I have built the boxes-installed the drip
lines-filled them with good compost /soil.
 The only question I have now is Where is the best place in Phoenix to get
the plants? Are seeds better or replants?

Chris Slowey
1804 East Rovey Ave.
Phoenix Av. 85016
home (602) 277-8801
cell (602) 796-4575
email: slowey at cox.net

-----Original Message-----
From: Janet Howe [mailto:JanetH at dprinc.com]
Sent: Thursday, August 17, 2006 1:44 PM
To: slowey at cox.net
Cc: arid_gardener at Ag.arizona.edu
Subject: vegetable & herb gardening

Original Question:

Hello, I have a 25' X 12' area in my back yard I have save for a
vegtable/Herb garden. I'm planning on getting the soil ready this month
and start my first planting in September. This is my first attempt at
vegtable gardening and I have the following questions:
1) Are raised boxes good way ro go?
2) What size should the boxes be? Depth? How many?
3) Wher could I get good soil? Additives?
4) What the best watering? Drip? Hand?
5) Is there a basic class I could attend?
6) Would you recomend a basic guidebook?
7) My yard is an old citrus orchid?
8) Plants?

Please advise,  Chris
Chris Slowey
85016
slowey at cox.net


Answer:
Chris, I've experiments with a number of different herbs & vegetables
and have learned a number of things the hard way, I hope some of this
information is helpful:

1. raised boxes:  I highly recommend these, it's what I've grown herbs &
vegetables in and have been very happy with the results.

2. size, depth, number:  my raised beds are approximately 2 feet high
and 3 feet wide.  I can access mine from only one side - if I was to do
them again, I'd make them a little narrower, simply because it's hard to
comfortably reach to the back of the beds, but I'd keep the same size or
make them slightly wider if I had the ability to access them from either
side.  The height is okay, but necessitates having to bend over, so if
you have back problems, you may want to make them high enough to
comfortably reach - however, also remember that you have to fill them,
and it takes a lot of material to fill.  How many is strictly up to you
- how much do you want to grow, weed, attend?  I've always been an
advocate of you can't have too much garden space!  My raised bed is
approximately 30 feet long (by 3 feet wide) and I wish it was larger,
there always seems to be more varieties I want to try and just don't
have the room, so I augment with large pots.

3. soil, additives:  my raised bed is of concrete block, so I used the
excavated native dirt left over after installing the beds and combined
it with lots of organic material, i.e., compost, composted manure, etc.
Once the soil was well combined and the plants were planted, I've added
3-4" of mulch on top, which over the growing season breaks down and gets
turned under for more organic matter, then the next planting season I
add more compost & manure, and another 3-4" of mulch and repeat that
process each growing season.  By doing so, over a 3-4 year period, the
soil has become very productive.

4. water:  I don't know what the best watering method is, or what will
work best for your situation, but I have been happy with soaker hoses.
I work a lot of hours and have limited time I can spend with my garden,
so I set the hoses up on a timer and that's one less thing I have to
worry about.  I've had to replace a hose or two over the years, but each
growing season I lay the soaker hoses out after the plants are in, then
cover them with the mulch and that's seemed to extend the life of them
since they're not in the direct sun.  They've held up very well and seem
to work well for me.

5. classes:  There is a Desert Garden Institute class on Herbs scheduled
for October 7th and will be taught by Carolyn Hills.  I've been to this
class and highly recommend it, she's extremely knowledgeable and very
entertaining, and covers many, many different kinds of herbs -- all she
grows in her own garden, so you get lots of good, practical advise.
Here's a link with additional information if you're interested in
attending that or other Desert Garden Institute classes:
http://cals.arizona.edu/maricopa/garden/html/calendar/public_classes.php
#herbs  All classes are held at the Maricopa County Extension Office,
4341 East Broadway,Phoenix, AZ 85040

I've also attended a number of classes at the Desert Botanical Garden,
and I'd recommend any of these classes as well
http://desertbotanical.org/index.aspx?pageID=512

6. book(s):  I've got a number of books on gardening in the desert, but
these are the one's I've found myself referring to over and over again:
Earth Friendly Desert Gardening and Desert Gardening for Beginners
(these two are from the Master Gardener press:
http://cals.arizona.edu/maricopa/garden/html/pubs/mgpress/mgpress.htm or
you can get them on Aamazon.com) and Gardening in the Desert and
Month-by-Month Gardening in the Desert, both by Mary Irish (any book
store or garden center seems to have these, or Amazon.com).

7. not sure what you're asking here.

8. most plants can be grown here, just refer to the seasonal planting
guidelines you can find in the Desert Gardening for Beginners book.

Good luck with your garden!

Janet Howe
Master Gardener volunteer
Maricopa County Cooperative Extension