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Desert Gardening: June Gardening in the Desert

© Pat Kolb

Water, Harvest, Enjoy!

Harvest June is a glorious month in the desert, some tree fruit is ripening, grapes are about to burst with juiciness and veggie gardens are aglow with abundant crops. Peppers of many kinds, tomatoes, green beans - these are the things of garden dreams. I still have the eggplant in a pot which appeared dead all winter and sprang to life this spring - it has several eggplant which will be ready soon. Pick your vining and bush vegetables regularly to keep them producing.

Flowers are also blooming, the roses are beautiful and the glads and lilies are starting to bloom. The ornamental grass is growing ever bigger and bushier, drooping over one end of the pond and water lilies are blooming in the pond.

Remember, keep the spent blooms cut from your flowers as much as possible to prolong the bloom. Once they bloom, they want to set seed and then they think their job is finished.

Water Water is critical for plant growth so it is important to water regularly and deeply. Don't sprinkle in the sun, it may burn your plants and too much water is lost to evaporation. How dry our desert air is! The best way I have found to water veggies is to mound the dirt up in a berm around all the plants of one kind or similar moisture needs and let water trickle slowly in until it has saturated down to root level. A thick layer of mulch (3" - 6") helps to keep plant roots cool and holds in moisture. As the mulch deteriorates, it also adds humus and nutrients to the soil. Some alternate watering methods are: drip watering, which never seemed to work right for me, soaker hose, which is great for a small area, and trench watering, for which you would have to plan when planting - you raise the planting rows and water in the trenches between. There are other interesting methods which we will cover in a later article.

Be comfortable Since I don't enjoy working in the garden in full sun in the summer, and my small vegetable garden seems to do so much better with some shade, I will soon drag out the shade cloth. I always imagine I can hear the veggies thank me once this is done.

Remember to use really high SPF sun block and wear a hat. Long sleeves can help with sun exposure too, if you can stand to wear them. When I am going to be working outside for any length of time, I also wear a neat garden belt with places for seed packets, tools, and miscellaneous items. And I use a back belt too when I can remember to put it on.