Winter Vegetable Garden
Cultivating a Year-Round Vegetable Garden in the Desert Southwest
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Transforming Chaos into Order: Reviving My Vegetable Garden
A Peek into My Winter Vegetable Garden
One of the many blessings of living in the desert Southwest is the ability to grow vegetables out in the garden all year long. Today, I thought that I would give you a peek into my winter vegetable garden.
Maintaining the Garden with a Renovation
Over the past couple years, my vegetable garden had become slightly messy with a mixture of herbs, vegetables, and flowers growing in disorganized masses. Now, anyone who knows me will tell you that I am not a perfectionist – far from it. But, I realized that I am more likely to maintain and harvest my vegetables when they are neatly laid out in rows.
So in August, I ripped out everything from the garden except for a new Spanish lavender plant.
Vegetable Garden Soil Enrichment and Preparation
Once September arrived, my husband helped me to replace a few of the wood sides that had gradually rotted. I was happy to note that they had lasted over five years.
We amended the soil with 2 parts of mushroom compost and 1 part aged steer manure. This was my first time using mushroom compost. I wish I could say that it was because I had read about how good it was, but the truth is that the store was out of my favorite brand of compost, and mushroom was what was available. So, we used it.
Blood and bone meal were then sprinkled to provide organic sources of nitrogen and phosphorus.
Efficient Irrigation for the Raised Beds
A new irrigation system was installed in the form of micro-soaker hoses. We bought a kit from our local big box store, which was easy to install.
Sowing Seeds and Bountiful Harvests
Now for the fun part, sowing seeds!
The folks at Botanical Interests provided me with seeds, free of charge, to try out in my garden. I’ve used their seed for years, and they have a large selection of flowers, herbs, and vegetable seed that is of the highest quality.
My favorite cool-season crops are leaf lettuce and kale. I’ve had great luck growing kale, with the same plants lasting for over two winter seasons.
The earliest crop that I’ve harvested were bush beans that I planted in September from seed. Botanical Interests suggested I grow ‘Jade’ and ‘Royal Burgundy’ varieties. Both were delicious, and I discovered that the purple color fades when roasted.
The Vegetable Garden is Thriving!
The mild winter has my basil thriving. A client gave me this unique variety of basil called, Mrs. Burns Lemon Basil. It is an heirloom variety, and it is growing beautifully.
Three-inch little heads of cauliflower are just beginning to form. For some reason, I don’t have much luck growing broccoli, but I do grow a mean cauliflower.
While I did reduce the number of flowers in the vegetable garden, I grew a brand-new variety of marigold from a seed called ‘Moonsong Marigold Deep Orange.’
My strawberry plants are beginning to flower and produce tiny fruits.
The Joy of Growing Your Own Vegetables
My avoidance of bagged salad greens is still in place as the garden is still producing plenty of leafy greens.
Finally, a peek into the future, with carrots growing vigorously.
Do you grow vegetables? I highly recommend it. Even with the busyness of life and the stresses that it brings, it just melts away as I take a few minutes to walk through the garden observing new growth, some welcome surprises, and most importantly, the delicious flavors that it adds to our favorite dishes.
Disclosure: I was provided seed from the folks at Botanical Interests free of charge for my use and honest opinion.
January in the Vegetable Garden
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."
All of your work is surely paying off, the garden is looking lovely!
Great post! Had a couple of questions: The soaker system you purchased, is water supplied by a garden hose that you attach when needed or did you guys tie it into the irrigation system? What kind of watering schedule do you run on a winter garden and when does it transition to a spring one? Last question, have you ever tried using Ollas in your raised beds? Thank you for your time.
Hi Mario,
We tied it into the existing irrigation system. We have a separate line dedicated to the vegetable garden. In general, I water once every 3 days in winter and every 2 days in spring, beginning in mid to late March. In summer, I water daily. While I haven’t tried ollas personally in the garden, I do have a friend who waters her entire vegetable garden using ollas that she has connected to a rain barrel – it’s pretty cool.
Thank you, Isadora!
Hi Noelle, I’ve always admired your “raised” vegetable garden. Do you have problems with bunnies aka AZ Rabbits? I started seeing fewer bunnies after I stopped over-seeding Winter rye grass. (Now I buy some close-out lettuce from Whole Foods and place it under the Prickly Pear cactus.) Sorry to go off topic, Ms. AZ Plant Lady always inspires me.
I love growing a winter vegetable garden; so much easier than a summer one. Yours looks wonderful. What is growing around the cauliflower plant?? Looks like some type of clover.
Hi Sandy,
No rabbit problems where I live because my backyard is completely fenced in. I love your idea of buying lettuce for the rabbits under the cactus.
Hi Lisa,
It is an oxalis, pink sorrel plant that I was given years ago from a gardener in Oregon. It loves the moist soil of the vegetable garden and looks great fall, winter, and spring. In summer, it dies back to the ground.