Desert Garden Survival Guide

When temperatures are regularly above 110 degrees and you're getting little to no rain, it may seem like growing a garden is impossible, but I'm here to help you make it possible! Follow my tips below for how to keep your garden surviving through the extreme desert summer.

6 Tips to Help Your Desert Garden Survive

1. Set up a drip system:

Proper watering is an absolute must in the summer, but don't rely on hand watering to keep your garden alive. When it's 115 degrees outside, do you really want to stand out there for 20 minutes every day with your hose? Plus, a lot of that water will be lost to evaporation before the plants can even get to it. A drip system is the best way to save water and your sanity. It allows the water to get close to the roots, under the canopy of leaves, so there is less evaporation, It's pretty easy to set up too. And when you set it on a timer it becomes something that you don't even have to think about. You can buy kits or individual pieces to put together, depending on your needs. I recommend running it while you're out there at least once a week to make sure it is all running correctly and all of the emitters are properly connected.

2. Pick the right varieties:

Armenian Cucumbers

It's important to make sure you pick the varieties of fruits and vegetables that can withstand the extreme heat. Most varieties of corn, okra, melons, and some flowers such as tithonias and zinnias usually do well with higher temperatures. But you can also grow cucumbers and beans if you pick the right varieties. Armenian cucumbers and Chinese red noodle beans are significantly more heat resistant than others in the same family. So make sure that when you pick out your summer seed packets, you stick with the ones that are already primed to do well, otherwise you're setting yourself up for crispy crops and disappointment.

3. Add a thick layer of mulch:

Mulch is an extremely important component to gardening no matter where you are, but especially in the extreme heat of summer. It will help to retain moisture in the soil, keep soil temperature regulated, and suppress weeds. I like to use pine shavings, the kind that's used in rabbit and hamster cages, but you can also use crushed up dead leaves or hay if you have access to it. Just make sure you add a good 1 to 2 inch layer, and don't let it pile up around the plant stems because that can cause rotting if theres too much moisture.

4. Add shade cloth:

Even if you're careful to only plant heat loving varieties, our summer sun is harsh and unrelenting. You should still make a plan to string up some shade cloth above you garden. I recommend using at least 40% shade or higher, and putting it up in a way that will block afternoon sun if possible. This can reduce the temperature underneath by up to 10 degrees and protect your plants from the worst of the suns rays.

5. Don't fertilize:

This one may seem odd, but fertilizing during the hottest part of the summer can really stress out your plants. Adding fertilizer tells the plant that it needs to push out leaves and fruit at a time when it's taking all it has just to survive. You may notice that you don't get a lot of production during the summer, but that's because the plants are conserving their energy. Wait until the temps get down to the 90's to start fertilizing again and you will see a huge flush of fruit come in.

6. Get the timing right:

Timing is everything when growing a garden in these tough conditions. Starting seeds indoors at the right times so that they can grow and produce during the best temperatures for them can make all the difference. While we can usually grow the cold loving things like lettuce and broccoli throughout the entire fall and winter, our summer growing season is split into 2 short periods of time in spring and fall. Though we can get things to survive the summer, there isn't much production. So I like to start warm season seeds around January, so I can plant them out in March, and then again around July so I can plant them out in September. This second planting will fill in the gaps for anything that I may have been lost during the summer. Starting seeds too late in the spring means that the plant wont have time to get established before the heat really kicks in and they will die. And again starting seeds for warm season crops too late in the summer means they wont have time to produce before the cold comes in and kills them.

Follow these 6 tips, and you will find that you have more food than you know what to do with in the fall. Just remember, the summer is not about big harvests, though you may get a few things, it's about survival until the conditions are right for production. Good luck and happy growing!

Are there any tips that I missed to keep a garden alive in the summer? Please add them in the comments!