Friday, April 17, 2009

Arizona Low Desert Spring Crops Planting Guide

Ever wonder what crops to plant when here in the Arizona desert? Our planting guide is very different from everywhere else in the United States. Fortunately, for us we have 2 or even 3 planting cycles. We haver our spring crop, summer crop, and fall/winter crop. It is April in the Arizona low desert and time to get your vegetable garden going before the real heat hits. Below is a guide of what to plant in April in Arizona.

Beans - Blackeye. These perform well in the full summer heat.
Corn - Flour, Ornamental, Popcorn, and Sweet. These need to be planted in April and again in July/August. The supersweet variety needs very war soil to sprout.
Cucumber - Armenian and Standard. Plant in April and again in AugustThe Armenian withstands the heat better then the standard. The standard must be harvested frequently for best quality.
Eggplant - Plant now for best production in the fall.
Melons - Get these in early April. They need rich soil, lots of water and lots of room. Harvest in late July, Aug., and Sept.
Okra - Pick frequently to maintian production.
Peppers - Start indoors in winter for best harvest in fall.
Squash - summer, winter. Pick the summer variety frequently to maintain production. The longer the winter variety is left on the vine, the sweeter.
Sunflowers - Very drought tolerant.
Watermelon - Needs rich soil, lots of water, and lots of room.

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