Backyard Gardening Get your hands dirty!

1. Backyard GardeningGet your hands dirty! Evelyn Brumfield Keep Phoenix Beautiful Evelyn@KeepPhxBeautiful.org

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: 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: https://extension.arizona.edu/maricopamg • Az1005, Vegetable Planting Calendar • Desert Gardening for Beginners • Native Seeds/Search: http://www.nativeseeds.org

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? • Transplants • 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. 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? • Seeds • 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 Evelyn@KeepPhxBeautiful.org

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