1. Backyard Gardening Get your hands dirty!
Evelyn Brumfield  Keep Phoenix Beautiful

2. Who am I?
Keep Phoenix Beautiful, local affiliate of Keep America Beautiful.
Nonprofit organization dedicated to working toward a vibrant community.
Evelyn is the Education Director, and recently finished a Masters in Sustainability Leadership.

3. Can you grow in Phoenix?!
You can grow and harvest something fresh every month of the year in the low desert!
I am here to give you a basic overview of a huge topic. Your situation will be specific to you, but you’ll have tools!

4. Six steps to harvesting your own fruits and vegetables.
1. Select Site
2. Determine Size
3. Prepare Soil
4. Select and Sow Your Crops
5. Sustain your Garden
6. Celebrate!!
Save!

5. Six steps to gardening & growing your own fruits & vegetables:
Site
Size
Soil
Select & Sow
Sustain & Save Seeds
Six steps to gardening & growing your own fruits & vegetables:
Celebrate!!

6. 1. Decide where to put your garden. Vegetables need:
6-8 hours of sun each day
A reliable source of water
Soil tilled about 6”-18” deep
The garden should be easy to access
Allow space for paths between planting areas
Allow space for reach the beds (both sides)

7. 2. How big should your garden be?
Should fit where the conditions are best.
Should not be so big and so much work you get discouraged.
You can always add on!
Should allow you to grow what you want to grow and use!

8. One Options: Raised Beds
Soil in raise beds is warmer in the winter.
Can be built to meet needs of challenged gardeners or challenged sites.
Remember, you should be able to reach the middle from both sides.
Use materials that fit your landscape and budget.

9. Another option: plant container gardens

10. 3. Preparing the soil Plan out beds.
Till & rake soil – remove rocks and junk.
Add compost: aim for ½ native soil ½ compost.
Add balanced fertilizer according to directions.
Till the bed again and rake it level.
Install irrigation.
Italicized directions are optional!

11. 4. Selecting Your Crops:
Choose crops that will grow for each of our seasons. We have 3!
Refer to calendars for planting dates.
Refer to seed packets for instructions.
Fit the crops to the garden.
Plant things you like to eat!

12. Resources:
Maricopa County Cooperative Extension:
Az1005, Vegetable Planting Calendar
Desert Gardening for Beginners
Native Seeds/Search:

13. What can I plant now?

14. What can I plant now? 1. Look for X or XX 2. Look for DATE
3. Look for CROP

15. What can I plant now?

16. How do I plant it?

17. Sources of Seed and Plants
Local independent nurseries
Seed catalogues and internet sites
Friends
Plant sales, garden clubs
Big box retailers

18. Shall I buy transplants or start seeds on my own?
No guesswork– you jump start the garden.
Give you a head start on plants that require a longer season than we have to produce.
Limited to what you can find.
Plants cost most than seeds.
Not all things should be transplanted, so you may do both!

19. Some vegetables need a head start
Some vegetables need a head start. Buy transplants or start your own 8 weeks ahead of planting time
Spring planted: long season crops:
Peppers
Eggplants
Tomatoes
Sweet potatoes
Fall planted: long season or perennial crops:
Brussels sprouts
Artichokes

20. Planting transplants Prepare soil: it should be moist and friable.
Remove transplant gently from container, handling by the crown and roots.
Do not damage the stem, this is how the plant transports the energy from photosynthesis to the roots for storage and growth!
Set the plant into soil so the transplant is at the same depth as the garden soil, do not sink it into a well!
Feel free to flare out the plants roots to prevent spiraling
Firm soil gently around the plant, water.

21. Shall I buy transplants or start seeds on my own?
Must be patient – germination and growth takes time.
Much wider variety of seeds available.
Cheaper!
Can save your seeds year to year.
Not all things should be transplanted, so you may do both!

22. Plant these vegetables directly into the garden. (Seeds, Tubers, Roots)
Plants that grow from tubers, crowns, or cloves
Potatoes, asparagus, garlic
Plants that grow from big seeds
Peas, beans, corn, squash, melons, cucumbers, pumpkin
Root crops:
Beets, carrots, parsnips, radishes, turnips

23. Starting seeds in the garden.
Work the soil, making it friable/crumbly and moist
Label each area
Plant seed according to package directions!
Do not plant deeper than suggested
Follow spacing instructions
Firm soil gently over seed rows to insure good seed soil contact
When all rows are planted, water carefully with soft pressure to insure enough moisture to initiate growth
Check daily and irrigate as necessary to keep soil moist – a dry seed is a dead seed

24. 4. Maintaining your garden
Watering
“Feeding”
Mulching
Weeding
Pest control
Weather protections

25. Watering your garden Use ground-level systems to reduce evaporation
Select a timer you are comfortable using
Adjust it as seasons change
Use temporary sprinklers to irrigate newly seeded area or
Hand water newly seeded areas and transplants
Keep a watering can handy for spot watering

26. Arizona has great soil for gardening!
Our soils are rich in 19 of the 20 nutrients necessary to grow vegetables
Balanced fertilizer incorporated during soil prep is often enough to go a season. This can be achieved with good compost.
Fertilize only when plants show reduced vigor or nutrient deficiencies, or are described as ‘heavy feeders’

27. Pest control: know your enemy!
Pull weeds while small before they flower and seed, add to compost pile
Weeds are hosts for many unwelcome pests, compete for water and nutrients
Not all insects are bad!
Use the least toxic control methods first: cultural and mechanical before resorting to toxic products
Killing the bad guys also kills the good guys!
Most plants can sustain some damage and still produce a great crop

28. Other helpful tips
Use frost cloth, old sheets, light blankets to protect plants from frost
Use shade cloth to protect tomatoes from bugs, and keep fruit from sun burning
Make a compost pile, turn and irrigate it
Plant flowers to invite pollinators to visit
Visit the garden frequently
Build fences, or cages to keep rodents out
Use hardware cloth to line raised beds to deter gophers

29. 5. Harvesting your crops
Pick produce young and often to keep new ones growing.
Use the information on the seed packet to project about when to expect to harvest
Experiment with new recipes to use successful harvests in new ways.
Thin and eat crops like lettuce, and other greens, radishes, mustards, carrots.
Use succession planting to extend harvest.

30. Local Community Garden: Pierson Model C. G.
Camelback and 19th Avenue

31. Local Community Garden: Mountain View Park C. G.
7th Avenue & Cheryl Dr

32. Questions? Comments? Thank You!
Evelyn Brumfield
Keep Phoenix Beautiful

33. Head over to www.KeepPhxBeautiful.org
Click on Education
Click to download