Reap What You Sow

Tips from a local gardening expert will help you make your garden the best it can be

Gardens can be fragrant, beautiful places where rare breeds are cultivated and preened, but they are also functional, convenient places to plant fresh herbs and vegetables. Julie Rodolico of the Maricopa County Cooperative Extension lets us into her own garden and provides some helpful tips for gardeners who want to plant herbs and vegetables all year long.

Soil is one of the most important factors in a successful garden. When is the best time to prepare soil for planting vegetables and herbs?

I work on improving my soil a little at a time, starting in July and into August. First, I remove all of the vegetables that have died in the summer heat. Then I turn over the soil. Every season, you must add new organic matter, such as compost, to the soil, working it in at a depth of eight to 12 inches. Vegetables thrive in rich, well-draining soil. If you don't have good soil, bring in Miracle-Gro planting soil with gypsum, and mix it well with good compost and the original soil. I also add soil sulphur, nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium nutrients. Nitrogen is used for lush green growth; phosphorus is for root growth; and potassium is for hardiness, vigor and disease resistance. Natural organic material, such as blood meal, provides nitrogen, as do fish emulsion and coffee grounds. Seaweed/kelp provides potassium.

Advantages to Natural Organic Fertilizers:

• Slower to leach from soil; fewer applications required
• Encourages beneficial soil organisms
• Improves soil structure, including aeration and moisture-holding capacity
• Little or no salt buildup
• Difficult to over fertilize and burn plants

Disadvantages to Natural Organic Fertilizers:

• Takes longer to decompose, which slows the availability of nutrients to plants
• Will need to be combined with other types to create a complete fertilizer
• Not as concentrated as synthetic fertilizers
• Cost per pound of nutrients is higher

I use triple-super phosphate on all my plants, vegetables and herbs. It is an inorganic or synthetic fertilizer that must be added to the plant hole in the area of the root ball. It is not absorbed from the top of the soil via water.

Advantages to Inorganic Fertilizers:

• Nutrients are more quickly available to plants than with organic fertilizers
• Higher, more concentrated nutrient levels
• Cost per pound of nutrients is often lower

Disadvantages to Inorganic Fertilizers:

• Nitrogen generally leaches through the soil fairly quickly, requiring more frequent applications
• Over fertilizing may burn plants
• Many are easily lost to the air if not immediately watered in
• Does not provide organic matter

What are the most functional, easily sustainable vegetables to plant in your garden? When should you plant them?
Here in Arizona, we are fortunate to have two growing seasons, unlike other parts of the country. January through June is the warm-weather planting season, and July through December starts cold-weather planting.

Warm Weather Crops/January - June:
Crops like squash and tomato do well in warm weather, as does bok choy, which is wonderful because you can plant it from seed and it has a long season. Carrots are my favorite and can be sown any time from August 1 through April 15. I usually plant mine in September; however, you can stagger your plantings for a lasting crop. My 4-year-old grandson Domonic goes in the garden almost every day after preschool and picks a carrot and a peapod from the garden. It's a real treat for him. They are so easy to grow. But remember to thin them out after they get to be an inch or so tall. Swiss chard is another favorite of mine; it is another tender, sweet green that can be planted in January from seed or transplant. I am planning to try beets some time between September and March 1, which is the best time to sow beet seeds.

Warm-Weather Crops: January - June
Vegetable/Fruit/Herb Planting Months
Swiss chard January
Squash February - March
Tomatoes February 15 - March 15
Eggplant (transplant) March

Cold Weather Crops: July - December

Vegetable/Fruit/ Herb Planting Months
Leaf Lettuce August 15 - September 15
Broccoli (seed) August 15
Broccoli (transplant) September 15 - December 15
Peapods September 1 - December 15
Cauliflower September 1 - December 15

Cold-Weather Crops/July - December:

My cold crop does much better than my warm one. I find more bugs in the spring, and the heat just seems to get to everything. In winter, you do need to watch out for frost nights and will need to cover your garden on those nights. Peapods, broccoli and leaf lettuce are all fabulous cold-weather crops.

Sometimes, it seems like the seeds I plant die before they reach the surface. Is there a certain depth at which a seed should be planted?

Seeds need to be planted according to the directions on the seeds' package. Carrots, for example, need light to grow and should be barely covered with soil. I cover mine lightly with peat moss. Others need to be planted one-quarter of an inch to one inch in depth.

I noticed that your garden is planted as individual beds rather than rows. Why did you choose to plant in beds? Are there advantages to this type of garden?

I have six raised block-construction vegetable and herb beds that are approximately 28" deep, 30" wide, and 15" long. They are wonderful because I can sit on the edge to work and harvest the beds. I don't have to bend down to pick weeds, either. Beds also make soil compaction almost non existent because there isn't any traffic walking on the soil. Raised beds are also better for drainage when combined with compost and good soil.

Are there any herbs or vegetables that should or should not be planted next to each other?

Rotating crops around each season is important for keeping away disease. Herbs that originated in the Mediterranean region's dry soils thrive in full sun and tolerate our arid conditions with little deep watering. Mediterranean herbs used in cooking include oregano, sage, rosemary, thyme and fennel. Lavender is also wonderful for floral scent; however, these require less water and should not be planted next to a high-water-use herb or vegetable such as basil, lemon grass or garlic chives. Tomatoes and most vegetables are high-water users.

If your garden is organic, do you have any tips for natural pest control?

My vegetable garden is organic. If possible, plant a wide variety of herbs to provide food and shelter for beneficial insects. Basil, chamomile, parsley, thyme and lavender are just a few plants that attract beneficials. I often get powdery mildew on my zucchini when damp, humid conditions exist; in that case, I use a fungicide specific for mildew only on infected leaves. Pests tend to become more prominent in the spring, so there are times when I have to hand pick any caterpillars that I might see eating the lettuce.