Summer Gardening: Veggies & Herbs that Thrive in the Heat.

1. Brownbag-
Summer
Gardening:
Veggies & Herbs
that Thrive in
the Heat
Presented by Eileen Kane

2. University of Arizona Maricopa County
Cooperative Extension Master Gardeners
To teach people to select, place and care for plants in an
environmentally responsible manner based on research specific to the
low desert.
Our Goals:
Increase efficiency of people's landscapes.
Decrease excessive use of pesticides, water, and fertilizers.
Decrease amount of green waste in landfills.
Increase school and community gardening efforts.
A Maricopa County Master Gardener is an individual who completes a University of Arizona Cooperative
Extension, Maricopa County specialized course in gardening in the low desert (once a week for a three-
hour session for 17 consecutive weeks, plus 50 hours internship), and maintains certification with 25
hours of service and 12 hours of continuing education per year.
4341 E. Broadway Rd, Phoenix

3. Remember your home address is 9b!
http://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov/

5. Tomatoes!
 Best to plant the small and  Till soil to a depth of 2 to 3 feet.
medium-sized varieties in our  Plant when soil temperatures have
desert gardens. reached 60 degrees.
 Look for tomatoes labeled for 60-  Should be bottom-watered (water
to 70-day maturity. the roots, not the leaves, should
 Successful varieties include: Yellow never be allowed to dry
Pear, Cherry, Sweet 100, Earlypak, completely, nor should it remain
Earlygirl, Small Fry, Patio, too soggy.).
Champion, Earliana, and Sunripe.  Fertilize plants with diluted
 Eastside, 6 hours daily sunlight. fertilizer every 2 or 3 weeks until
flower and fruit production begins.
 Happy Valentines Day!

6. Heirloom versus hybrid
Open Pollinated: capable of
producing seeds that will produce
seedlings just like the parent plant.
Hybrid: cross-bred compatible types
of plants to create a plant with the
best features of both parents. Many
hybrids will not produce plants with
identical qualities.

7. Spring & Summer Herbs
Will Bolt & Die as Temps Start Now
Approach 100 degrees
 Basil
 Arugula, Rocket
 Black-Eyed Susan
 Chervil
 Chili/Chile Peppers
 Cilantro/Coriander
 Ginger Root
 Dill
 Grass-Citronella & Lemon
 Nasturtium
 Oregano
 Parsley
 Passion Vine
 Breadseed poppies
 Sesame
 Calif. & Mexican poppy
 Sweet Pea
 Viola/Pansy
 Sunflower

8. Ginger, Sesame, Passion Vine

9. Flower Planting Guides
http://cals.arizona.edu/pubs/garden/az1100.pdf
Bee Balm, Black-eyed Susan, Butterfly
Weed, Coleus, Coreopsis, Cosmos,
Dahlias, Desert Marigold, Desert
Milkweed, Dusty Miller, English Daisy,
Blanket Flower,
http://cals.arizona.edu/maricopa/garden/pubs

10. Insects: Friend or Foe
Friends
 Ladybeetles
 Green lacewings
 Praying mantises
 Assassin Bugs
 Ambush Bugs
 Damsel Bugs
 Big-eyed Bugs
 Minute Pirate Bugs
 Spined Soldier Bugs
 Syrphid Flies
 Wasps
 Dragon- & Damselfl;ies
 Spiders
http://cals.arizona.edu/maricopa/garden/html/general/question.htm

11. Seed Germination
A seed contains the embryo of the
new plant, with a supply of food
for the embryo until it has formed
sufficient roots and leaves to
obtain its own food.
Imbibition: reactivates enzymes present
in the seed. These enzymes break down
storage compounds in the seed to make
them available for the embryo.
Digestion & translocation: enzymes that were synthesized or activated previously
begin to break down storage material within the seed into simple compounds which
are translocated to the embryo. The embryo begins to grow as cells elongate & divide.
Germination: seed continues to undergo metabolic changes which transform
the embryo into a seedling.

12. Summer Greens Project
http://bit.ly/HrKdj0
To develop planting & harvest recommendations for leafy greens that perform well
during hot weather in the southwest deserts.
• Jute leaves, Corchorus, (aka palovar sauce, Molokheya), cooked or raw,
very frost tender, full sun
• Malabar spinach, Basella alba, cooked or raw, vine, harvest tips
• Purslane, Portulaca oleracea, (aka verdolagas), cooked or raw, frost tender,
full sun, moist soil
• Redleaf Amaranth, Amaranthus, cooked, frost tender, moist soil, wind pollinated,
no shade
• Sweet potato leaves, Ipomoea batatas, cooked, climbed, moist soil, full sun
• Land seaweed, Salsola komarovi, (aka Japanese Saltwort or Okahijiki), cooked,
full sun, moist soil, sow the seed when soil temp is + 70°F
• Jamaica leaves, Hibiscus sabdariffa, raw, salad green, edible flower bracts
• Chard – did not perform when planted in late spring

13. Jute leaves Purslane Readleaf
Amaranth
Malabar Spinach
Sweet Potato Jamaica leaves
Leaves
Land Seaweed Chard

14. A word about “salt”…
Dissolved in our water
via natural and human processes:
• calcium,
• magnesium,
• sodium,
• sulfate,
• chloride, and
• bicarbonate
http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/fs-170-98/pdf/fs17098.pdf

15. http://cals.arizona.edu/pubs/garden/az1005.pdf