Winter Harvest From a Desert Vegetable Garden
I love living in the desert Southwest.
I really do, except in August. That’s when I start to tire of the long, hot summer and yearn for fall. By September, the days begin to shorten and the weather begins to cool and I plant my cool-season vegetable garden.
One of the things that I love most about gardening in the desert Southwest is that you can grow fruit and vegetables all year long – even in the midst of winter when most of the country can only dream of growing things outdoors.
Where else can you look outside and see delicious vegetables coming up and picking them fresh for your table in January?
desert Southwest winter garden
Oh, and how about the citrus fruit that not only provides us with sweet, tart fruit – but also adds bright color to our desert gardens?
Over the next few days, I thought that I’d share with you what I have harvested from my winter garden in hopes that you will be inspired to grow your own desert Southwest winter garden.
Even if you don’t live in a mild winter area, growing vegetables is not all that different in other regions, except for the calendar. So, you can always pick up some helpful tips from vegetable gardeners who live in other places.
Tomorrow, I’ll share my first-ever success in growing a vegetable that has given me problems in the past.
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Baby Watch Update:
Our second-oldest daughter, Rachele, is expecting her first child soon! She is in the Navy and currently stationed in California – about 7 hours away from us.
She is being monitored closely because of the baby’s low birth weight and now the latest ultrasound shows a lower level of amniotic fluid.
Rachele has been seeing having weekly ultrasounds, stress tests and seeing the doctor. On her last visit, she was told that they may have to induce her maybe a week early.
So, what does that mean for me and my husband? Well, I had to reschedule a speaking engagement on “Updating Your Landscape”.
Our plan is to hit the road as soon as we get the call from her that she is being induced and/or in labor. Hopefully, we will get there before the baby does!
Meanwhile, I’m off to pack my bags!
Vegetable Garden Before The First Frost
Noelle Johnson, aka, 'AZ Plant Lady' is a author, horticulturist, and landscape consultant who helps people learn how to create, grow, and maintain beautiful desert gardens that thrive in a hot, dry climate. She does this through her consulting services, her online class Desert Gardening 101, and her monthly membership club, Through the Garden Gate. As she likes to tell desert-dwellers, "Gardening in the desert isn't hard, but it is different."
