Great Tips For Growing Your Own Food In A Desert Environment
Posted on: 21 March 2017
You might have thought of growing your own food in a garden backyard but wondered how well the plants would do in a desert environment. For those living in Nevada, Arizona, and California, growing flowers and trees can be a bit of a challenge in the arid climate, let alone growing your own food. It is possible, however, with a few tips and the right plants, you can grow your own food right in your backyard.
Desert Adapted Seeds
There are some plants and seeds that grow quite well in a desert environment and they aren't too hard to find either. There are several desert adapted seeds that you can plant in your backyard garden that can flourish if given the right care. For example, you can plant almonds, apple trees, nectarine trees, pomegranate, fig, peach trees, apricot, plum and pretty much any other breed of tree you can think of except for tropical ones. If you are looking for a specific type of seed, simply ask at your garden supply store for the best ones for your garden.
Sunlight and Watering
You might worry about the abundance of sunlight your garden receives being in a desert climate, but for the most part, sunlight is rarely a worry with desert-adapted seeds. If you want to protect young plants when they are first peeking up from the ground, for example, corn, beans or squash plants, you can shade them by planting companion plants that offer shady cover, or you can use a shade cloth during the hottest parts of the day at least until the plant becomes stronger and is able to provide more of its own shade.
The bigger concern is the amount of water you give your plants. You need to keep to a regular schedule when plants are young and during their entire growing period. You need to make sure you are thoroughly watering, enough so the water seeps right down into the roots and the plant is able to grow a strong, deep root system to sustain itself.
Fertilize
The soil in a desert climate is usually the hardest problem to solve, as it has an unusually high pH number compared to soil in other parts of the country. To combat this problem, you need to make sure your soil is properly fertilized so your plants can get the nutrients they need to make themselves healthy. It's not necessary to overdo it on the fertilizer and in fact, you only need to add the material about once a year. It depends on the type of pot you are using to plant your seeds in too, clay, plastic or even the bed itself. You can use simple kitchen waste like egg shells, coffee grinds, and melon once it's decomposed, or you can purchase fertilizer from a garden supply store. Contact a company like Bob Williams Nursery Inc. to learn more.
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