Spring has come early to Northern Arizona. It feels like we
didn’t have winter at all. In the 23 years I have lived in this area I don’t
remember a single winter without at least some snow. But we got no snow at all
this year and barely any rain. Since mid-November we had one storm with
measurable rainfall and that was 0.7 inches. I guess the Midwest is getting all
the winter!
Our average last freeze each year is May 1 so it’s now time
to plant some of the cooler weather crops in our little garden. I bought
spinach, romaine, broccoli, and beet seeds and planted them yesterday. I only
planted a five foot row of each, small enough that our portable row covers can
go over them if we have a cold snap.
We tried growing these same vegetables the first year we
were here but that was before we built the full cage that surrounds our garden
now. The first year everything came up beautifully and then, one day, it was
all gone. Critters had eaten everything. Not this year, though. We have it
protected against everything except insects.
Last November we thought we’d try planting a winter crop of
garlic. It is working out wonderfully. They survived the winter (minimal though
it was) and they look great! We didn’t pick most of the onions we grew last
year and they have come back looking really good.
In two or three weeks I will plant some veggies that are a
bit more sensitive to frost and see how they do. Then, in the beginning of May,
we will plant the pumpkins. We will also
plant tomatoes, chili peppers, and cilantro once a freeze is unlikely. Last year we made pico de gallo completely out
of what we grew in our garden.
If you want to eat home-grown food in the middle of winter, plant pumpkins at the beginning of summer. Pumpkins last a long time in storage. We cut
open a pumpkin from last year in February and it was fine. We cut, steamed, and
mashed it, and it is now in our freezer waiting to become pumpkin bread or
maybe pie.
We are excited about our garden this year. We learned a lot
in our first attempts out here and are looking forward to having even more
fresh food grown in our own yard. Delicious!
