Growing Seasons in the Desert

Posted by Robert Dailey Apr 26, 2007

Basically, a growing season is the time during which plants can grow. Most often, climate and the type of plants used actually determine the growing season. There are a lot of elements that make up a typical growing season: climate, cold-hardiness zones, microclimates, temperature, elevation, precipitation, soil temperature and condition, and amount of daylight hours.

A desert gardener, paying attention to growing seasons, can have a very productive and healthy garden

Generally, the growing season is determined by the period between the last killing frost in the spring and first killing frost in the fall. This period varies widely, depending on latitudes, elevation, water and sunlight. Essentially it means the period between the last day in spring that the temperature hits 32 degrees F () Celsius) during the night, and the first day in fall that the temperature hits freezing. The first frost is the period when annuals die, and biennials and herbaceous perennials die back to the ground.

Additionally, some plants (and some plant varieties) take longer to mature or fruit than others, making their growing season longer than plants which require a shorter time to mature. Choosing the proper varieties or cultivars for your region can be very far-sighted and perceptive for gardeners.

Scientists are continuously experimenting with plant varieties that have shorter growing seasons, or are more cold-tolerant than other varieties of the same plant, and many breakthroughs have been made in developing new cold-resistant and cold-hardy varieties.

Other factors that affect growing season are availability of water, length of days, elevation above sea level and prevailing winds.