Brownbag-

Summer

Gardening:

Veggies & Herbs

that Thrive in

the HeatPresented by Eileen Kane

University of Arizona Maricopa County

Cooperative Extension Master GardenersTo teach people to select, place and care for plants in an environmentally responsible manner based on research specific to the low desert.

Our Goals:Increase efficiency of people's landscapes.Decrease excessive use of pesticides, water, and fertilizers.Decrease amount of green waste in landfills.Increase school and community gardening efforts.

A Maricopa County Master Gardener is an individual who completes a University of Arizona Cooperative Extension, Maricopa County specialized course in gardening in the low desert (once a week for a three-hour session for 17 consecutive weeks, plus 50 hours internship), and maintains certification with 25 hours of service and 12 hours of continuing education per year.

4341 E. Broadway Rd, Phoenix

Remember your home address is 9b!

http://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov/

Tomatoes!

Best to plant the small and

medium-sized varieties in our

desert gardens.

Look for tomatoes labeled for 60-

to 70-day maturity.

Successful varieties include: Yellow

Pear, Cherry, Sweet 100, Earlypak,

Earlygirl, Small Fry, Patio,

Champion, Earliana, and Sunripe.

Eastside, 6 hours daily sunlight.

Happy Valentines Day!

Till soil to a depth of 2 to 3 feet.

Plant when soil temperatures have

reached 60 degrees.

Should be bottom-watered (water

the roots, not the leaves, should

never be allowed to dry

completely, nor should it remain

too soggy.).

Fertilize plants with diluted

fertilizer every 2 or 3 weeks until

flower and fruit production begins.

Heirloom versus hybrid

Open Pollinated: capable of

producing seeds that will produce

seedlings just like the parent plant.

Hybrid: cross-bred compatible types

of plants to create a plant with the

best features of both parents. Many

hybrids will not produce plants with

identical qualities.

Spring & Summer Herbs

Will Bolt & Die as Temps

Approach 100 degrees

Arugula, Rocket

Chervil

Cilantro/Coriander

Dill

Nasturtium

Parsley

Breadseed poppies

Calif. & Mexican poppy

Viola/Pansy

Start Now

Basil

Black-Eyed Susan

Chili/Chile Peppers

Ginger Root

Grass-Citronella & Lemon

Oregano

Passion Vine

Sesame

Sweet Pea

Sunflower

Ginger, Sesame, Passion Vine

Flower Planting Guides

http://cals.arizona.edu/maricopa/garden/pubs

http://cals.arizona.edu/pubs/garden/az1100.pdf

Bee Balm, Black-eyed Susan, Butterfly

Weed, Coleus, Coreopsis, Cosmos,

Dahlias, Desert Marigold, Desert

Milkweed, Dusty Miller, English Daisy,

Blanket Flower,

Insects: Friend or Foe

Friends Ladybeetles

Green lacewings

Praying mantises

Assassin Bugs

Ambush Bugs

Damsel Bugs

Big-eyed Bugs

Minute Pirate Bugs

Spined Soldier Bugs

Syrphid Flies

Wasps

Dragon- & Damselfl;ies

Spiders

http://cals.arizona.edu/maricopa/garden/html/general/question.htm

Seed GerminationA seed contains the embryo of the

new plant, with a supply of food

for the embryo until it has formed

sufficient roots and leaves to

obtain its own food.

Imbibition: reactivates enzymes present

in the seed. These enzymes break down

storage compounds in the seed to make

them available for the embryo.

Digestion & translocation: enzymes that were synthesized or activated previously

begin to break down storage material within the seed into simple compounds which

are translocated to the embryo. The embryo begins to grow as cells elongate & divide.

Germination: seed continues to undergo metabolic changes which transform

the embryo into a seedling.

Summer Greens Project

To develop planting & harvest recommendations for leafy greens that perform well

during hot weather in the southwest deserts.

• Jute leaves, Corchorus, (aka palovar sauce, Molokheya), cooked or raw,

very frost tender, full sun

• Malabar spinach, Basella alba, cooked or raw, vine, harvest tips

• Purslane, Portulaca oleracea, (aka verdolagas), cooked or raw, frost tender,

full sun, moist soil

• Redleaf Amaranth, Amaranthus, cooked, frost tender, moist soil, wind pollinated,

no shade

• Sweet potato leaves, Ipomoea batatas, cooked, climbed, moist soil, full sun

• Land seaweed, Salsola komarovi, (aka Japanese Saltwort or Okahijiki), cooked,

full sun, moist soil, sow the seed when soil temp is + 70°F

• Jamaica leaves, Hibiscus sabdariffa, raw, salad green, edible flower bracts

• Chard – did not perform when planted in late spring

http://bit.ly/HrKdj0

Jute leaves

Malabar Spinach

Purslane Readleaf

Amaranth

Sweet Potato

LeavesLand Seaweed Chard

Jamaica leaves

A word about “salt”…

Dissolved in our water

via natural and human processes:

• calcium,

• magnesium,

• sodium,

• sulfate,

• chloride, and

• bicarbonate

http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/fs-170-98/pdf/fs17098.pdf

http://cals.arizona.edu/pubs/garden/az1005.pdf