Gardening in SouthEast Arizona!

[gardennurse]

Hi Everyone,
I have been gardening for a few years now. Nothing crazy just a small plot here and there but i constantly find myself overwehlmed everyyear come the middle of summer with weeds and bugs and going out to manually water! So this coming spring I am going to start gardening in raised beds with a drip system and I am so excited. I have been planning it for weeks and will most likely keep making changes until the garden is acutally here. I have read some of the post here and feel like you all have a lot to offer when it comes to information and experience. I hope to pick your brains for ideas because I have tons of questions! My biggest challenge right now is deciding which plants to grow and how much space to give each plant. I am going off the square foot method but i have heard that some people find they have better success with a little more spacing when it comes to specific plants and varieties.

I can't wait to get started!....is it spring again yet?
gardennurse

[gardengirl72]

Welcome to the boards! Please ask any questions you have.

[Backyard Permaculture]

Hello GardenNurse

I also live in SE Arizona, St David in Cochise County to be specific.

Where are you at?

Ron

[gardengirl72]

Please tell us a little bit about gardening in SE Arizona. Do you have any pictures of your garden?

[sumisu]

Gardennurse, good luck with your new garden.

I've been gardening for 30 years, but it was not until 2006 when I began taking it very seriously.

In five gardening seasons, I have learned that trial and error rules my garden. What are the best perennials to plant to attract bees, how to space them, when to divide them?

I have expanded to enough garden beds, 40% raised beds, so now I can rotate my crops yearly, plant winter rye in the soil for nitrogen enrichment, and keep precise records and pictures from year to year.

Probably my biggest lesson has been composting. I have one open air composter for shredded leaves and three other enclosed composters. Last season was the first year that I had enough to establish four raised beds with new compost and my crops were outstanding.

I like to manually water the plants early in the AM. I have four 55 gallon barrels and plan to add four more this coming season.

My gardening success can be measured by the willingness of neighbors on both sides of me to expand my gardens on to their property. They like to come home from work and be surprised with new plants that have be planted on their property. Both neighbors supplement my composting activity.

Good luck to you.

sumisu