So many seeds, so little time! Also, so little space. And, so little money for special soils and the like. Here in the Southwest we are also limited by just what plants can possibly take our ultra low humidity, blasting sunlight, constant winds, and voracious wildlife. Water is always an issue as well, because water costs money, and uneven watering leads to blossom end rot – ugly scarring on the blossom ends of so many things, including tomatoes, peppers, squash, melon, cucumber, eggplants, and more.

mass of seed catalogs copyright image JA Soule — So many seed catalogs to day dream and drool over!

I know that choosing what to grow in your garden is tough. There is no way I could ever grow all those cool things I find in seed catalogs. You know – the catalogs we all love pouring over. Marking with sticky notes. Folding page corners. Circling with colored markers. And so on. So here are my five tips. These tips are in the form of questions that you have to answer for yourself.

Cover image is a young may proudly growing potatoes in a simple black nursery pot. Such joy on his face.

1. What Do You Enjoy?

There are so many benefits to gardening. One is the pure joy of growing living plants. One is the fresh, delicious food. So, when you’re deciding what to grow, make sure that it’s things that you like to eat! If you don’t like eggplant (which I totally understand!) then don’t grow it!

You are about to spend time and effort and money, and then more money (unless you have free water) and more effort and more time, so make sure you’re going to enjoy the fruits of your labor! So what do you like to eat, or simply see in your garden?

I enjoy sunflowers – maybe because Dad did – but I always try to grow some.

2. What Seeds Do You Already Have?

Start by going through the seed packages that you have. Check to see if you have enough of things that you will be growing again. I have ample sunflower seed because I harvested some of the seed heads of the sunflowers that grew in my garden last year. The rest was greatly enjoyed by birds.

Still have those old turnip seeds from 2010? That’s telling you something! Don’t order any turnip seed! But know that seeds also only last so long. With every year that goes by, the germination rate will go down. Some seeds last for year, but lettuce seeds only last for about 3 years before they are non-viable.

Seed Swap

Don’t have any seed packages laying around? The last Saturday in January is National Seed Swap Day. Check around in your area for any groups doing a seed swap. If you live around Tucson, come to my free Seed Swap!

Saturday 31 January at the Woods Memorial Library
  seed swap is from 10am-11:30am only (then we have to clear the room)
  seeds and cuttings only – no soil
  Bring your library card and check out up to 5 packages of free seed
Notes:
  We can swap plants out in the parking lot but no soil inside please.
  If you want to buy one of my books, I can do that outside after the free swap.

Back to the five seed selection tips.

seed packages from the pima county seed library copyright JA Soule — If you get seed from a seed library, the “easy” or “advanced” on the package is not about growing the plant – it is about trying to save the seed of what you grew and how likely you are to get the offspring to grow like the mother (seed making) parent.

3. What Does Well For You?

Speaking of lettuce. I have yet to find a lettuce I get along with. They always seem to do poorly. Perhaps they don’t like my gardening style (Darwinistic) or my water (HARD), or just my site (too hot? too windy?). Hope springs eternal and I generally try a different variety each lettuce season.

young lettuce plants growing in a single large container — Young lettuce seedlings. They always start out so well.

“What does well” is a hard question if you are new to gardening. Books and books are filled with advice about getting started – I’ve even written a few. Just try and then maybe try again. Remember this. You didn’t walk the first time you tried to walk. Nor the second time. Nor even the third. But you did get walking in the end. Give yourself permission to both try and fail. All true gardeners kill thousands of plants in their life.

squash plant with silver and green leaves — Squash plants will spread out – they need ample space to grow.

4. What is Your Garden Space Like?

Space for growing is not just about amount of space, it is also the nature of the space.

Overall Size of the Space

Some plants stay quite small, while others act like they want to conquer the world. There is an entire notion of “Square Foot Gardening” and since I grow the vegetable garden in large nursery pots that system works well for me.

If you are growing in a garden plot, there’s also the possibility to layer plants, like having a corn plant with shorter plants underneath – an ideal use of space. I can not say enough good things about gardening with the Three Sisters. Back 10 generations ago great-grandpa George B. Soule learned how to do this from a friendly native (Squanto), and the family has been doing it this way ever since.

sunflower can grow well with corn as part of the three sisters — Sunflower can grow well with corn as part of the three sisters.

Nature of the Space

Some sunflowers are very tall, some stay short. Given that all of my space is very windy, I can’t grow any of those lovely tall sunflowers. I have to stick to the short varieties.

Example. As much as I love sweet corn, there is not yet a variety that develops cobs well in low humidity, and certainly not windy sites due to poor pollen viability. So I grow popcorn. Not sweet corn I know, but it is fun to grow and to eat in the dead of winter. But also I treasure the keeping the family tradition of growing the Three Sisters.

various varieties of corn that come in different shapes and sizes — There are so many varieties of corn!

5. Can You Be the Person Your Plants Need?

I touched on this earlier when I mentioned that I am a “Darwinistic” gardener. It’s not that I am indifferent. It is that I do not like to fuss. Some plants can be fussy. Some plants are not. All plants have ideal conditions to help them thrive. It is our task as gardeners is to meet those conditions. And it may involve fussing with some species.

tomato variety called midnight snack copyright All America Selections — Smaller sized tomatoes do well in our arid climate. This one it the charming “Midnight Snack.” Image courtesy All-America Selections.org.

Example. Tomatoes need constant fussing in our arid climate. The pollen needed to create fruits dies at 93F, but it also dies if it is too dry. In general in the Southwest pollen is only viable for a few hours at most after being released by the stamens. Wrap your tomatoes in shade cloth. Mist the cloth for higher humidity. Grow specific varieties. All way too fussy for me.

Five Things to Consider

I started with these five tips because they hold true anywhere on earth.

Here in the Southwest you also have to consider your gardening season. Cool Season crops are very different than Warm Season crops. In reality, I could have five different seasons here in Tucson, Arizona: Winter, Spring, Summer, Monsoon, Autumn. If you live in Las Vegas, Nevada, you rarely get monsoon rains, so just the four seasons. To learn to cook some of the vegetables you grow, please visit my sister site Savor the Southwest

These five tips are just the tip of the iceberg. There are also things like days to maturity and disease resistance. But if you can get those five questions answered honestly, then you have the basics you need to have a great garden.

Thanks for Visiting!

Jacqueline

So much more in this book – over 200 pages!

The latest printing is printed in the USA! I am so delighted!

The Southwest Fruit & Vegetable Guide offers not just growing guides but some of the latest varieties – including ones specifically for raised bed and container growing. Price is currently more than what you would pay on Amazon – but when you buy from me you get a signed copy!

From the review:

“In this updated 2nd edition of Southwest Fruit & Vegetable Gardening, you’ll find much-needed advice and practical tips on growing an edible garden, no matter which part of the southwestern US you call home.

Growing in the Southwest isn’t easy. It’s either too hot or too cold and often very dry. The region hosts a range of soils and climate conditions that can be difficult for a gardener to navigate. That’s why this region-specific garden guide is a must-have for every Southwestern gardener!

Botanist Dr. Jacqueline Soule simplifies the ins and outs of gardening in the Southwest and serves as your guide to success. Regardless of whether you’re tending an in-ground plot, a small container garden, or a series of raised beds, Southwest Fruit & Vegetable Gardening is an invaluable resource.”

Profits from the sale of this book go to the Arizona-based Horticulture Therapy non-profit Tierra del Sol Institute.

Legal
© Article copyright Jacqueline A. Soule. All rights reserved. You must ask permission to republish an entire blog post or article. Okay to use a short excerpt but you must give proper credit. You must include a link to the original post on our site. No stealing photos.