Boy, it’s been windy the past couple of days. Not quite as bad today as yesterday but not quite as warm, either.
Still, I want to get this done. Yesterday I tore apart a neighbor’s old porch. Most of the 2X12s either fell apart in my hands from weathering or were too short to use but I scavenged enough for another planting frame…
I’ve got the stock fencing up, sort of, and still need to wrap the bottom with chicken wire. Hoped to have some finer screen to discourage mice but that didn’t work out. I’m thinking of screwing lips to the planting frames to make them harder to climb but at least I can make the enclosure proof against rabbits and cattle/deer. I have a gate but not enough hardware to hang it; still working on that.
I’ve got seeds for things I know will grow in this climate: Melons, turnips and beans, and I’m gonna try chard and peas. Since I’ve only got the one sprinkler and not enough pressure to make it do exciting things, I’ll probably rig some tricklers later if I can get the stuff. But that’s nonessential. Need to bring the trailer to tomorrow’s shit-shoveling and haul more manure.
I’ll get this “homesteader” shit right yet.
The turnips, chard and peas are both cool weather crops, and they need to be planted immediately to have any chance of producing much. None of them will tolerate any real heat or dry conditions. The soil needs to be somewhere between 60 and 70 degrees at night for beans to do well. They love the heat, as long as they can get enough consistent water. You are most apt to have good luck with the melons, but they also require consistently moist soil.
Good luck! Desert gardening is a real adventure, and a serious challenge. Hang in there. 🙂
I believe sweet potatoes are a warm weather crop,if you like them. How about tomatoes? Carrots should work too.
Carrots will grow if they have deep enough loose soil and consistent moisture. Otherwise they will be twisted, woody and small. Sweet potatoes love the heat, but also need humidity and moisture, and very rich soil.
You can certainly try them, Joel. If you have enough horse manure in the garden beds, and can keep it moist, the plants might even endure the hot air temp and wind, but it’s a gamble. I could not grow them in the So. Cal. desert, though I tried several times. Too hot and windy, so the humidity was much too low most of the time, and even drip irrigation couldn’t always keep the soil moist between my visits to the garden.
Buy a sweet potato, stick toothpicks around the middle, set it into a jar with 1/2 in water, and put it in a warm place inside. It should sprout in a week, and start to form roots. The next week, cut the tuber into chunks, each with a section of roots and top growth. Plant so the roots are covered, but the stem and leaves are not. Keep them watered well until you see new growth, then you can slack off a bit.
Lots of work, and lots of water involved.