I've been asked what my secret to growing in the desert is and it is lots and lots of compost and organic matter, mulching with straw like crazy and regular deep waterings with a soaker hose. Shade is a big factor as well and if you haven't let 1,000 sunflowers grow in your garden (this won't happen next year) you do need to use a 50% shadecloth when the heat ratchets up!
And here is what is growing on the ramada by the garden. Gourds! I got these seeds from a gourd growing friend in Taiwan who I met when I was attempting to grow a giant pumpkin several years ago.
Here's a link to my growers diary:
http://www.bigpumpkins.com/Diary/DiaryView.asp?season=2008&grower=44212&action=L
and here's a link to some other pictures of the pumpking growing:
http://www.jennymatlock.com/07-08%20garden%20and%20baby%20cradle/main.htm
My sister past away mid-March of '08 (the year my husband and I were attempting this)and I just lost my momentum with the whole project and never repeated it.
We had to leave the end of June to drive to Ohio for her burial and before we left we cut up the pumpkins to weigh them. We did have one that was a little over 300 pounds. I think they would have gotten much larger cuz the leaves were still really vibrant when we cut them up!
It was a fun and crazy experiment and just gives you an idea you can grow just about anything in the desert.
Through my growers diary is how I met the grower in Taiwan and he was so sweet in sending seeds along.
Gardeners are a bunch of "good seeds" aren't they?
Wow, I really have to implement your compost idea. I am not "composting". I am just dumping food scraps into a controlled heap in my back yard where they eventually decompose and disappear. I think that your idea is great, and if I kept that right outside my kitchen door I might actually accomplish something... :0)
ReplyDeleteLove the gourds! How pretty!