Sonoran desert around Phoenix, Arizona
Saguaro Cactus covered Low Sonoran Desert surrounding Phoenix, Arizona

Gardening in the Desert Southwest has Its Difficulties and Benefits

Gardening in the desert is much more difficult than in other parts of the U.S. Mainly because temperatures during the summer months stay above 100 degrees. The humidity is very low, and the elevation in some areas is over a mile high.

Southwest Deserts are the Hottest and Driest Regions in the United States.

The availability of water has defined its landscapes, history of human settlement, and economy.

Because of varying elevations throughout the Southwest, first and last frost dates differ greatly. As a result, the Southwest has cool nights, high winds, and long dry spells. 

There are extreme differences in desert elevations and gardening is different for each distinctive desert climate zone. The single best place to experience and learn about the desert is the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, near Tucson. It is no ordinary museum filled with specimens. The mission of the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum is to inspire people to live in harmony with the natural world by fostering love, appreciation, and understanding of the Sonoran Desert. In fact, this is a combination zoo, natural history museum, and botanical garden. After a day here, you’ll never again think of the desert as an empty place with nothing but cactus.

Of the 12 USDA plant hardiness zones in the country, the Southwest includes seven of them: zones 4 through 10. The differences and variety of climate, rain, soil and temperature and elevation in these zones leaves gardeners feeling very perplexed! Check here for the plant hardiness zone near you: USDA Plant Hardiness Zones in the US. For successful gardening in the desert outcomes, it’s important to study not only the climate and elevation. The length of your growing season, your soil quality and composition, sun and shade exposure, and plant irrigation needs are critical to plants needs.

Gardening in the desert can be challenging due to the harsh environmental conditions such as extreme heat, low humidity, high winds, and poor soil quality. However, with some planning, preparation, and the right techniques, it is possible to create a beautiful and productive garden in the desert.

Your garden’s elevation or location in a sheltered valley or exposed slope can greatly affect your local climate.  Agricultural extension offices and local garden centers can be good resources regarding your local micro-climate. So growing food in drier climates is nothing new, but for many of us it’s a very perplexing way to garden.

There are 2 different types of deserts in the Southwest each one having different elevations. The higher the elevations the cooler the desert. They are all extremely dry 

They are informally called: 

Low Desert and High Desert

To have a successful garden in the desert you must focus on all the details of your micro-climate.

Low Deserts -Gardening in the Desert

Beautiful Native Low Sonoran Desert
Low Sonoran Desert

Sonoran Desert is a good example of the low desert and best known for their long, hot summers.  There are two main growing seasons in the low desert Southwest:

The first growing season is from Mid-February until the end of May.

Then after the high temperatures of summer, from Mid to late September (once temperatures are below 100 degrees) until early to mid December.


Scorchingly Hot Low Deserts of the Southwestern United States

The average temperature in the Low Desert ranges from 60 degrees Fahrenheit in the winter to 110 degrees Fahrenheit in the summer.


High Deserts – Gardening in the Desert

The Chihuahua Desert extends from Mexico to mid-New Mexico.

This Chihuahua desert is referred to as high desert. Albuquerque (5312 feet above sea level) and Santa Fe, New Mexico (6998 feet above sea level) are prime examples of high desert. High Desert is an informal designation. High Desert is typically used to define geographic areas of desert that are between 2,000 and 4,000 ft in elevation. 

At the lower end of high desert elevations you will find cities like: Tucson, Arizona (2643 feet above sea level), and Las Cruses, New Mexico (3900 feet above sea level). There is quite a bit of variation in the microclimates within the designation “High Desert”.

The Chihuahuan Desert is a desert and ecoregion designation covering parts of northern Mexico and the southwestern United States.
Chihuahuan Desert

The Cooler Shorter Seasons of the High Desert

High Desert: If you want to plant in containers in a sheltered area, you can have a Winter garden September to April. Otherwise plant your cool-season plants on the shoulders of the warm season, March and April.

Last Probable Spring Freeze
First Probable Fall Freeze
Number of Probable Frost-Free Days

Frost tables by City for the southwest states of Arizona, Nevada and New Mexico
Frost tables by City; for Arizona, Nevada, and New Mexico.

It’s time to pick a plot or plots for your desert vegetable garden. You will find out how to in Planning Your Garden.

This site is for people who are intent on getting as much food as possible from their desert gardens, whatever, the size of their plot. Our knowledge is drawn from a background in backyard gardening in the Southwest Deserts.

No matter what your goals are, the plans and methods described on this website will help you approach your garden like a small- scale farm, dramatically increasing its production. Focusing on production means that your garden will need more careful planning, record keeping, and managing than a usual backyard vegetable garden.

Learn More About Your Area of Interest Below

Planning Your Desert Garden

Taking the time to prepare a helpful plan is one of the most significant things you can do for your garden. You’ll need to consider which crops to raise, how much of each crop to plant, and when to expect your crop. It’s no overstatement to say that a comprehensive garden plan alone can double or triple the productivity of a garden.

layout of raised garden beds.
A Planned Garden

Preparing the Soil in Your Desert Garden

SOIL PREPARATION AND BUILDING
The best soil should be deep, well drained, and fertile, and should contain plenty of organic materials and retain moisture well. The preservation of a good level of organic matter in the soil solves a lot of common desert gardening problems.  Here in the Southwest, you will need to add a great deal of organic matter–compost to your gardens.

Caliche in the soil

Getting Water to Your Plants

The object of water use in the desert is to conserve the water whenever possible. There are many water conservation methods that can be used when watering the garden.  A gardener of the desert must learn to live with the limitations of the climate.

Raised Beds for Your Desert Garden

In my opinion, a raised garden bed is the best way to grow Vegetables in the Desert.
The soil in a raised bed is well aerated, which encourages healthy root systems and healthy soil.
Raised beds allows you to put your resources into a small area, allowing you to grow vegetables as frugally as possible.

Picture of raised garden beds.
Raised Garden Beds

The Art of Composting

Composting is an extraordinary soil improver, and is especially important for successful desert gardening.
The soil is not, as many suppose, a dead, inert substance. It is very much alive and dynamic. It teems with bacteria, actinomycetes, fungi, molds, yeasts, protozoa, algae and other minute organisms. —J. I. RODALE, PAY DIRT

A Picture of a rectangular compost bin and a double barrel type of composter.
My Compost Bins

STARTING SEEDS INDOORS

Starting seeds has several benefits but learning how to start them indoors can be a little overwhelming, and a lot of things can go wrong. I tried and failed several times to start seeds indoors, but each disappointment taught me something new. Learning from my missteps and avoid making the same mistakes. The following method has proven to be very successful for me, and it’s very consistent and easy. 

Great information on the back of seed packages.

How Do Hungry Worms Nourish and Enrich Soil?

Conceivably no other living organism in the soil is as significant as an earthworm in helping to increase soil healthiness.  Earthworms increase soil ventilation, penetration, construction, nutrient sequence, water movement and plant development. Hungry Worms are one of the main decomposers of organic matter.

Worms in soil.
Worms In Black Gold

Growing a Vegetable Garden in the Southwest USA offers a distinctive set of trials, particularly if you are new to it. 

To start planting your garden, you’ll need to get some vegetable seeds. Order your seeds from reputable seed companies to verify the seeds are high-grade and most seed companies offer catalogs for free.

So what Shall You be Planting in Your Garden?

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