Vegetable Gardening in the Desert

[caley]

Hi, The last time I did any kind of gardening was back when I lived in the Perris, California area, and that was basically landscaping gardening. I've moved to the high desert of southern California, now living in 29 Palms. It gets pretty darn hot during the summer. So far it has been fairly mild , but looks like it is already starting to warm up.

Since the soil I have really isn't soil, but very coarse granular stuff, I need to do a lot to be able to get anything, other than local weeds, flowers and cactus to grow.
I picked up a 50 gallon Rubbermaid tub today at Tractor Supply, and purchased 8 cubic feet of steer manure and compost to get started trying to do a basic vegetable container setup on my back patio/graveled yard.

I will be asking in other areas of the forum just what I need to create a good growing medium, and hopefully suggestions on just what can be grown in this big tub, and what time of year I need to start. I get the feeling it is already too late to start any type of vegetable gardening this year.

Just to let you know, I live in the city, and have a very tiny place, .13 acres, and live in a 750 square foot house. So I have very limited space. I'm guessing that if I am successful growing something in this first container, I can probably fit three more in the area I have available.

I basically am a newbie when it comes to vegetable gardening, so please bear with me if I post what sounds like stupid questions.

Since I am a big fan of salads, I am hoping to eventually grow some of those salad goodies.

Not sure what else I need to write in the intro. Guess I could let you know I am ancient. I actually invented dirt, but have forgotten how I did it. No, I'm just shy of 70, and living alone. I need something to occupy my morning times, and vegetable gardening sounds like it might be enjoyable.

 

[karstopography]

Growing Regions – California Cantaloupes

californiacantaloupes.com

How to Grow Cantaloupe & Honeydew Melons

Growing cantaloupe and honeydew melons is so rewarding, as they taste much better than their store-bought cousins. Learn the best techniques here.

bonnieplants.com

Malabar spinach, <em>Basella alba</em>

While most leafy greens wither or go to seed in the heat of summer, hot weather is when Malabar spinach shines. This tropical perennial vine (unrelated to true spinach) is ornamental as well as edible. With flesh leaves, its heavy foliage on twining stems needs sturdy support. To learn more...

wimastergardener.org

Common Beans: Plant Care & Growing Guide

Common bean plants (Phaseolus vulgaris) are easy annual vegetables to grow in most climates. Get tips for a huge harvest.

www.thespruce.com

Seems like you are in a good region for cantaloupe (musk melon) and it’s likely not too late for those. They can be trellised to save space. Not exactly a salad I know. Salad greens like lettuce and spinach do well in cool weather, more maybe the type of weather you get in the fall and winter.

Malabar spinach (vining type) grows well in humid heat in the summer like what we have in the summer on the gulf coast. I haven’t grown the Malabar spinach, but my buddy here near Houston does and loves it. Houston gets blazing hot all summer. I have grown purple hull peas in the heart of summer. I believe all the cow pea types, purple hull, black eye peas, crowder, and the yard long beans do well in the heat, at least humid heat. So does okra. Okra thrives in our mid 90 days, mid to high 70s nights that are the rule all summer. Asian type Eggplants tend to do well in very hot conditions with a little afternoon shade.

 

[caley]

Looks like I missed my chance to grow something, so I guess i will have to wait until around October, when the temperatures cool down into the mid 80's to low 90's. The only time we have any humidity over 15 percent is during the Monsoonal Season, which goes from about June through early September. It tends to vary in length. Problem is that we get little rain, but when it rains, we get flash floods. Rarely do we get gentle rains.

I can at least learn just what else I need besides the cow manure/compost stuff I purchased to make a good soil, and the right nutrients. I read that I should add one part of the local sand to two parts of this cow manure/compost I purchased. If that is correct, then I just need to learn what fertilizer is needed, so I can purchase that.

I think that tub I purchased is too shallow. It is only 11 inches deep. Don't know what veggies can grow in such a shallow tub. I guess it could be used for something.

But I think I need to move along to other areas of the Forum, and see if I can learn all the stuff I need to be ready this Fall, or next Spring.

Thanks for the suggestions

 

[karstopography]

11 inches should be fine. My raised beds are 13”, but the there’s about 3-4” of freeboard in one of them and I grew a great crop of spinach over our mild winter. For fertilizer, I use an organic type pasteurized poultry manure product from Medina. 3-2-3 is the N-P-K. I also use some worm castings and fish emulsion, plus some liquid kelp. Fish emulsion works wonders on lettuce and salad greens like spinach. I have a ph/moisture meter. Most vegetables like the ph to be very slightly acidic. My soil tends to be about neutral with my watering source being a slightly basic lake.

Your sand/compost mixture sounds alright, although some compost is very “hot” and can have too much nutrients potentially burning plants such as mushroom growing medium derived compost. You could always mix in some unfortified topsoil or garden soil to tone down any hot compost.

 

[caley]

karstopography, I wish I had standard top soil, but all I have is the darn sand. I guess that someone must sell regular soil, but will have to search the local area to find that source.

Glad to hear my big tub is OK for doing some of the veggies. I will have to drill some holes in the bottom for drainage. And I will have to make a tall domed netting setup to keep the ground squirrels and rabbits out of the goodies.

Lots of preparation just to experiment growing something.

 

[caley]

I got the holes drilled in the big tub. Used a paddle drill. I then put weed block fabric in the bottom to retain the growing material. Hopefully it will retain its porosity, allowing excess water to drain.

And I managed to mix two bags of the steer manure/compost with a 5 gallon bucket of sand. I hope that helps with keeping the soil from compacting. I sifted out some local sand down on the dirt road with a fine mesh screen to rid it of all the coarse sand, plant material and rocks. I am betting that there are local seeds in it, so I probably will have to be vigilant once I plant the vegetable seeds, to rid the garden of the local plants.

Since the temperature has skyrocketed to 80F, I doubt I have any kind of chance of growing anything until Fall or early Spring. So I will not be amending the soil with any kind of fertilizer.

Guess I will see just what is possible to grow in my climate.

I might pick up another plastic tub, but will get one deeper than this one. I am placing them on the patio on either side of the walk that goes to the observatory.

 

[caley]

Hi All, I've been away a bit doing other things around the property. One is putting in a real cobble stone pathway from the house out to the street. I'm not talking about bricks or pavers, but real stones I have gleaned up just below the Joshua Tree National Park boundary where it seems a certain type of rock formation sheers off, and produces flat stones on two sides. I still have to grout between the cobblestones with mortar.

But on to what this forum is about, gardening. A couple of years ago I spent my income tax return to put in a raised planter that also serves as a barrier to the flood waters that try to course through my property. The interior is 100 feet long approximately, and 25 inches across. I am using the 60 pound (16 inch wide) soil retaining blocks stacked two high. This long structure is on my south part of the property. I had planned on planting some kind of drought tolerant small sized bushes, but never got around to it.

I also installed an irrigation setup that has the ability to setup a drip irrigation system with risers every 10 feet, and also have a timer.

Right now this planter only has the native sand in it. This sand is great for growing the native weeds and flowers, but not much of anything else, without amending the soil.

I figure that since I am curious about raising some veggies, this probably is a lot less expensive to use than going out and purchasing all the wood and other stuff to create a raised garden bed.

But I have to do something to prevent the rodents and cutter ants or whatever they are called, grasshoppers and other insects , from destroying my plants. I am thinking that either purchasing half hoops or making some out of PVC pipe, and draping them with some kind of netting, so I can keep the beasties off the plants. Not sure how I can keep the insects out.

I just watched a video about not covering some plants that require pollination by beneficial insects until the flower changes to whatever veggie or fruit replaces the flower. That still leaves these plants a target for my local ants and whatever other bad insects want to dine one my plants

Anyway, my start on this thread had me purchasing a big tub for a raised flower bed. I will keep that, and use it for something. Any suggestions?

Attached are a few pictures to show what I have been talking about.