Surviving the heat

My husband and I live in southwestern part of the United States where it is hot and dry and keeping the plants alive has definitely been a challenge. It has taken proper soil care, irrigation infrastructure, shade and cooling to have successful harvests.

We started the garden three years ago. We had a bit saved up and dove into this project with enthusiasm. We brought in soil, set up origination, and constructed a green house. Help from friends has allowed us to set everything up much faster than we could do on our own. 

We wanted to make sure that the plants we grew represented a diverse diet so we can make a switch from supermarket produce as fast as possible. Thus, we planted beans, peas, peppers, tomatoes, corn, pumpkins melons and squashes, lettuces and darker greens, potatoes and carrots, and garlic and onions. We planted multiple varieties of one vegetable. For instance my husband was fine with roma tomatoes while I absolutely had to have heirlooms. 

We knew it was going to be a challenge growing in hot, dry, and windy conditions so we started preparing accordingly. We went with a water efficient drip system which delivered water straight to the roots and budgeted for a higher water expenditure than we had as just a residential property. We constructed a spacious greenhouse with adequate ventilation. We started planting in pots to be able to move the plants between inside of the greenhouse and outside when needed. 

The two challenges were ran into were heat waves and strong winds. While cooling is expensive, we managed to get several fans in the greenhouse to facilitate air flow. We increased water flow and made sure all the fertilizing work was done before the bulk of the summer started so the soil retained nutrients. The greenhouse also protected our more fragile plants against the wind. We did loose several tomato wines in the process and some cantaloupe blossoms. 

All in all, it was a lot of work, but now that we have a system down it’s easier to manage crisis. I would say we definitely picked a more difficult place to start our journey towards self-sufficiency but we have no regrets. The produce tastes better than even the organic fruits and vegetables we used to buy and being able to step our into the garden, pick what we need, and eat it right away is amazing. The freshness is unbeatable. 

We are looking to utilize all this sun and set up solar panels on our house to decrease our reliance on the grid which is vulnerable to heat wave disruptions, and that’s a project we already started on.