October 02, 2009
Well, we all made it through the long hot summer. This is it! This the big time for us Desert Dwellers. I assume all of you spent the last half of September getting your soil ready for the fall garden season. The weather has changed and NOW is the time to plant your seeds and get your transplants in the ground. If you need a good source of where to get them I always go to Baker’s Nursery at 3414 N. 40th Street Phoenix, AZ, 602-955-4500. Here you will get honest answers to your question by the owners themselves. They aren’t like clerks at some of the big box stores like Home Depot & Lowes. I’m not saying to not shop there, but the plants are contracted out to another company and once they arrive no one takes care of them. Time after time I go look when I’m there buying something else and most of the plants don’t even get watered! How sad!!
Ok, enough is enough. You can plant all of your cool season veggies now and they will do just fine until March etc. Tomatoes, squash, corn & peppers are not a good idea now. The nights are long and cold and then you run the risk of frost killing them and your hard work is gone. If you absolutely can’t get to planting seeds right now you can always go to the nursery and get 4 in. pots of plants that are already established and they will do just fine.
I always get excited this time of year because I can grow almost anything to my heart’s desire, and so can you!. So, get out there and good digging & planting . May the Veggie Force be with you!
[ ] Posted on 10.02.09 under Farmer Darrell's Tips
3 comments for Farmer Darrell’s October Gardening Tip
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October 05, 2009 at 10:20 am
As you know this is my first REAL garden here in Arizona, I love my garden.
Saturday I put in seed of cauliflower, turnips, radishes, rutabaga, parsnips, head lettuce, leaf lettuce, carrots, scallions.
Still need to get the cilantro, collards and garlic, go figure Home Depot and Lowes have NO garlic, oh bother thank goodness for the internet. My father had great success with garlic so I’m going to try it.
NOw I can sit back and watch it grow. I don’t think I told you about my adding worms to my garden. My ground out in the middle of nowhere is rock hard. My husband built me 4, 5X8X15 raised beds with a water system.
I added worms put my kitchen scraps (after running through the blender)in designated areas in each bed, I barely scratch the top and WORMS and my soil is wonderful. They have done really well with the mulch, manure and kitchen scraps. The soil is YUMMY.
October 08, 2009 at 8:49 am
Janice, Way to go! It sounds like you put a lot of thought intoyour fall garden. May the Veggie Force be with you. You know if you go the grocery store and buy some pods of garlic in the produce dept you can seperate them into cloves and plant them. They will do just fine, I do it all the time! Be sure to plant with the pointed end up! HAHA Just kidding! Let us know how everything is doing in a couple of weeks! The worms and scraps are a great idea and you will benefit from them. The worms will reproduce by the hundreds if they have plenty to eat. Farmer Darrell
October 08, 2009 at 3:27 pm
who needs worm tea, got the idea from a worm farmer he’s had great luck
composting this way, I love watching the baby worm (wormlets?) haha run for cover when I turn the soil and I mean run the little guys are FAST.
I have garlic coming now, I was trying to get the Italian Lorz but the seller has not responded, shoot it’s the hotter garlic. It will last for about 9 months.
Root crops are my favorite, I make alot of soups and stews during cold weather and they are so yummy.
Thanks for Veggie Force saying, I need that.