   2012 Summer Gardening - September 5, 2012 Jeff Schalau, Agent, Agriculture & Natural Resources University of Arizona Cooperative Extension, Yavapai County Our vegetable garden in Prescott has become a jungle of vigorous, highly productive crop plants (there are a few weeds too). It’s no wonder with the decent rains we’ve had so far this summer. I truly enjoy vegetable gardening and find it very rewarding to eat homegrown food. The division of labor at my house has me planting, weeding, and irrigating. My wife, Dorothy, does much of the harvesting and we both do the preparation and cooking. For several weeks, my wife and I have enjoyed lots of fresh produce, eggs from our chickens, local 4-H lamb, and various fruits (so far, mostly peaches, grapes, and pears with a good apple crop coming along). In particular, my eggplant (var. ‘Black Beauty’) have grown to three feet tall and are producing more than I have ever experienced. Many Yavapai County gardeners and growers experienced tomato plant losses from Curly Top Virus, but it did not affect my garden. I got the tomatoes in late (mid-June) and am just starting to harvest. My cucumber and summer squash vines are also growing vigorously. Peppers and beans are also going ape. I attribute my garden success this year to planning (crop rotation), the use of cover crops, soil preparation (homemade compost and triple super phosphate), and well-spaced summer rains. I have included photos of my 2012 garden below. So how much rain have we gotten so far this summer? I used rainlog.org to gather data (four to six observers) and the following are my findings. Verde Valley averages were: Sedona/VOC had 5.2”, Camp Verde/Rimrock had 6.9”, Cottonwood/Clarkdale had 7.0”, and Cornville had 6.4”. The Quad City averages were: Prescott had 7.9”, Prescott Valley had 7.4”, Chino Valley had 5.6”, and Dewey-Humboldt had 7.5”. I compiled the data between July 4 and August 28, 2012. Of course, these amounts vary somewhat from location to location given the localized nature of our summer storm systems. I know we should count our blessings, but the NOAA Climate Prediction Center forecasts above average probabilities for precipitation through December 2012 for most of Arizona. This is largely due to the continued development of El Nino conditions during that time period. If you want to become a better gardener, I invite you to attend the 13th Annual Arizona Highlands Garden Conference at the du Bois Conference Center on the Northern Arizona University campus in Flagstaff, Arizona on Saturday, October 6, 2012.This year’s theme is “Gardening in Thin Air” and focuses on how we can produce food and beauty in our gardens and landscapes. Keynote speakers are: David Salman, the President/Chief Horticulturist at Santa Fe Greenhouses, Inc. and High Country Gardens Mail Order Catalog; and Charlie Nardozzi, nationally recognized garden writer, speaker, radio, and television personality. David will speak on Planting to Attract Bees for Improved Pollination: How Home Gardeners can have better Vegetable and Fruit Harvests which will provide a palette of regionally appropriate plants that support both healthy populations of bees and create a beautiful home landscape. Charlie will speak on Edible Landscaping, the perfect way to combine food production and beauty in your yard regardless of its size. He will discuss selecting the most attractive vegetables, fruits, and herbs to grow in your yard, some surprising choices of varieties, and tips for maintaining them all. There will be several other speakers including past favorites Carl Olson, Terry Mikel, Kim Howell and Joe Costion, and many others. The conference costs $75 (before September 14) and includes a light breakfast, lunch, snack, conference materials, and a welcome bag. There will also be a pre-conference garden tour on October 5, 2012 between 9:15 am and 3 pm which costs $25 and includes a locally-sourced lunch. The tour will go to several Flagstaff gardens including a small hobby farm that uses permaculture design principles. Pre-registration is required for both the tour and conference. For more information, go to http://extension.arizona.edu/events/arizona-highlands-garden-conference-2012 or call your local University of Arizona Cooperative Extension office. I’ll be there and hope you will be too! Follow the Backyard Gardener on Twitter – use the link on the BYG website. If you have other gardening questions, call the Master Gardener help line in the Camp Verde office at 928-554-8999 Ext. 3 or e-mail us at cottonwoodmg@yahoo.com and be sure to include your name, address and phone number. Find past Backyard Gardener columns or provide feedback at the Backyard Gardener web site: http://cals.arizona.edu/yavapai/anr/hort/byg/. 
Jeff Schalau's summer garden showing (left to right) 'Kentucky Wonder' pole beans, four types of peppers, 'Black Beauty' eggplant, and five varieties of tomatoes.
Another view showing summer squash (scallops and zucchini), carrots, lettuce, flowers, and some beets.
Another view showing trellised cucumbers (Armenian and slicers) with beets and lettuce in foreground. |