Winter Gardening in the Desert
/I grew up in New England and David grew up in Colorado. Both areas have similar growing seasons… plant in mid-late Spring, grow and water during the summer, and harvest in autumn. Sometimes, we’d get a late-season crop if we planted hardy species in August. When we moved to Las Vegas we had to rethink gardening altogether. We are mostly xeriscaped here. Gardening in the Mojave Desert is a challenge.
It took us a while to catch on. David built a raised planter a few years ago and everyone in the household has taken a turn at trying to grow veggies there. We’d plant in March or April, grow until June and then sear the plants during the summer. We always harvested a few veggies, tomatoes and peppers mostly, but by late June ‘sun-dried tomatoes’ had a whole new meaning. The sun and extreme desert heat withered the crops on the vine.
Veggie Garden at Springs Preserve Credit: Preserve website
We are members of Springs Preserve, a 180-acres of trails, museums, exhibits and botanical gardens. The 8-acre botanical garden highlights native “Mojave Desert and desert-adapted plants [and has] received the Award for Garden Excellence from Horticulture Magazine and was named one of the Top 10 North American Gardens Worth Traveling For at the Garden Tourism Awards.”
It was while we were visiting the gardens checking out the cacti and other succulent plants for our desert scaped yard that we stumbled upon the Preserve’s flourishing vegetable gardens. We chatted with one of the master gardeners there who recommended a good resource book and explained that seasonal planting was definitely different here in the desert, not only because of the heat, but also the watering restrictions in our arid climate. Duh!
We bought the book. Extreme Gardening not only provided information about seasonal plantings, but it also recommended particular plants and species that do well in our climate and the desert’s autumn temperature range. Our local Star Nursery had many of these starter plants available as well as some recommendations of their own. We bought artichoke, Brussels sprouts, cherry tomatoes and green pepper plants. Additionally, David ordered seeds for green pea and a couple of melon varieties. All but the melons are thriving. (FYI… yes, it’s Brussels sprouts with an ‘s’ on Brussels not Brussel sprouts… news to me, too!).
David has added grow lights on a timer to extend the ‘daytime’ hours and help accelerate the growing process. On the few occasions when the temperature has dipped to the low 30s, we covered the raised planter with tarps and used incandescent bulbs to keep our babies warm. A drip system keeps the plants watered on the appropriate watering day.
Grow lights provide several spectrums of light that enhance plant growth… plus our backyard looks really cool at night.
when the weatherman forecasts temperatures in the low 30s, we cover the planter with tarps. Yup, it sometimes gets cold in Las Vegas.
So far, so good. Green peppers are almost ready for picking. Cherry tomatoes abound, but need to ripen. Artichokes and Brussels sprouts are healthy and growing tall. Peas are climbing. The melons are lagging behind, but they might survive after all.
Time will tell. If nothing else, we’ll have some fresh veggies for Christmas and it’s been a fun experiment… one that might be worth repeating. Next growing season begins in February.