Container Gardening in the Desert

brismith70 · April 7, 2011

Hello All.

I am brand new to the TV forums and relatively new at gardening. When I was younger, I always helped out in my grandparents' garden, but only recently got into gardening myself. Recently, I moved to the desert of the Phoenix, AZ metro area. My wife and I bought a house with desert landscaping (read granite mulch), a small back yard (read tiny) surrounded by a cinderblock wall (read man-made heat-retaining nightmare). My experience here so far is that there are three months during the summer with high temperatures over 100 degrees every day and lows in the 80s or 90s. One of those three months has high temperatures over 110 degrees and low temperatures over 90 degrees.

One of the things that I am experimenting with is growing in containers. I find that the harsh Arizona sun and more specifically the heat will kill plants dead during the middle of summer here. With containers, I am able to move the containers around the back yard and out of the full on afternoon sun. Watering them, or more specifically getting them to retain moisture, is difficult at best.

I have read the instructions for the EarthTainer III. I notice that there are gaps to allow for some insulation. My question is given the nature of the weather here in Phoenix, will that be enough to prevent root boiling? Instead of using white plastic or reflective Mylar to cover the soil, is there something else that might help with keeping the soil cool? Will additional insulating measures need to be taken?

The other option seems to be to let the containers go fallow during the summer and enjoy the two planting seasons that I do have. You know...treat summer like everyone else treats their winter.

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Brian

rnewste · April 7, 2011

Hey Brian,

Welcome to the Tomatoville family. You will find a lot of good information here!

I've been to Chandler more than 25 times (Intel) and I am sure you will have to be creative to get a reasonable tomato harvest there. First off, you will need to get some Coolaroo fabric to shade your containers. Next, you will need to plant at times friendly to the Phoenix heat. Fortunately, you may be able to get a Spring and Fall crop.

We have Tomatoville members from Tucson and areas near you that have first hand knowledge of your growing "challenges", so hopefully, they will chime in.

Raybo

April 7, 2011	#1
brismith70 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Cambridge, MA Posts: 71	Container Gardening in the Desert Hello All. I am brand new to the TV forums and relatively new at gardening. When I was younger, I always helped out in my grandparents' garden, but only recently got into gardening myself. Recently, I moved to the desert of the Phoenix, AZ metro area. My wife and I bought a house with desert landscaping (read granite mulch), a small back yard (read tiny) surrounded by a cinderblock wall (read man-made heat-retaining nightmare). My experience here so far is that there are three months during the summer with high temperatures over 100 degrees every day and lows in the 80s or 90s. One of those three months has high temperatures over 110 degrees and low temperatures over 90 degrees. One of the things that I am experimenting with is growing in containers. I find that the harsh Arizona sun and more specifically the heat will kill plants dead during the middle of summer here. With containers, I am able to move the containers around the back yard and out of the full on afternoon sun. Watering them, or more specifically getting them to retain moisture, is difficult at best. I have read the instructions for the EarthTainer III. I notice that there are gaps to allow for some insulation. My question is given the nature of the weather here in Phoenix, will that be enough to prevent root boiling? Instead of using white plastic or reflective Mylar to cover the soil, is there something else that might help with keeping the soil cool? Will additional insulating measures need to be taken? The other option seems to be to let the containers go fallow during the summer and enjoy the two planting seasons that I do have. You know...treat summer like everyone else treats their winter. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Brian

April 7, 2011	#2
rnewste Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Campbell, CA Posts: 4,064	Hey Brian, Welcome to the Tomatoville family. You will find a lot of good information here! I've been to Chandler more than 25 times (Intel) and I am sure you will have to be creative to get a reasonable tomato harvest there. First off, you will need to get some Coolaroo fabric to shade your containers. Next, you will need to plant at times friendly to the Phoenix heat. Fortunately, you may be able to get a Spring and Fall crop. We have Tomatoville members from Tucson and areas near you that have first hand knowledge of your growing "challenges", so hopefully, they will chime in. Raybo