Starting a Veg Garden in the desert

Hi, I am a new member who lives in Palm Springs, California. This is a very, very hot summer area. The winters are mild with no frost, usually. I am starting my first Organic vegetable garden this Fall. My soil is very sandy with great drainage, but low fertility. I have the garden set up with underground drip on a timer.
I have gardened in many climates and know that each climate has great gardeners that know the right variety of veggie's and all the secrets to the best gardens.
I would appreciate any advice and I will be happy to share the progress of my garden.
Irene

you are in a wonderful zone. do you have a cooled greebhouse or basement for strarting your seeds? if i lived in a more arid climate i would do that. what will you add for fertilizer? i think worm castings would be great, but i know very little about sandy soil.

you will love DG & this forum. a wealth of info, and everyone is so friendly too! seems also there may be a forum here just for arid climates, but it would be more than just organic/veggies.

i have a friend moving to Vegas, so will be watching this thread to get tips for her.

plesase excuse my typing. hand surgery has me doing things differenly this season...

welcome to DG!

tamarafaye

Thanks for writing. This is so great to be able to hear from people who love to garden.
I don't have a cooled basement or green house. I think that I will start some seeds in my airconditioned laundry room and see if that is better than the seeds I start on my covered patio at the end of August. I plan on putting a few in the soil as well.
I have Celebrity Tomato seeds and would love to know a good cherry tomato.
Thanks for the worm casing tip. I saw this at my local nursery and wasn't sure if it was worthwhile.

don't forget, you can post or read tips in: vegetable gardening, california gardening, container gardening, heirlooms, tomatoes, peppers, garden talk, propagation, soil & composting, herbs, & many many more!

plant files is fun, and you can start your own journal too! searching is fun too. and the bookworm is outstanding!!!

honestly i just get lost in Dave's Garden sometimes, when i am not outside lost in my own LOL

happy gardening, see you around!

tamarafaye aka cornius

Irene, I gardened for 16 years in San Bernardino. Not exactly your climate conditions, but close! The soil was a wonderful sandy loam, easy to work, unlike the rock-filled black clay I struggle with here. It was hard to build up humus in that soil though; I always added lots of compost each time I reworked a bed but the dry heat by season's end nearly always cooked it out. I had some success with sheet compsting - I was using raised beds and at the bottom of the bed I would a layer raw compost materials such as grass clippings and chopped weeds. It lasted longer and gave the worms more nourishment. My garden space was enclosed on three sides by six foot block walls and on the fourth by an ivy-covered fence. Not total protection from those dreadful Santa Ana winds but helpful.

I grew some great summer crops, and thoroughly enjoyed growing lettuce and celery all winter. The romaine types did best, and I kept friends and coworkers supplied. The escargot sized snails were sometimes a problem but a quick tilt of the salt shaker will dispatch them handily.

You might want to experiment with the sunken bed idea, too. Some desert-area gardeners in places like Tucson have found that with the growing space below pathway level their plants have more wind protection and water runoff loss is not a problem.

Enjoy your garden...you'll do well! Yuska

San Bernadino is very similar to Palm Springs without the extremely hot temps. I escape to Germany in the summer months and am writing from there now. The gardens here are so beautiful. I live in Bavaria about 20 miles North of Austria, I am surrounded by the Alps and a beautiful Lake. So, I will be gardening in the Fall,Winter and Spring. I have already learned so much from this Web site, I am getting anxious to be home in the desert and begin growing my seeds. I have collected some gorgeous Columbine seeds from my neighborhood walks in Germany and I know they do well in the desert as my neighbor has good luck growing his.
I also have used tons of Compost on my roses and other desert plants. I buy bags at the Nursery and am planning to try worm casings. Have you used Coffee grinds. They give them away at our local Starbucks and I have put them on some citrus trees I transplanted from my old house. The heat does seem to eat the compost I use, I don't use Manure but perhaps I should.
I don't know what is in the soil here in Germany, but the produce is so so good.
I shop at an Organic Food store(There are 3 in my little town)and the fruit and veg is like I remember from a long time ago. German's are very serious about their food and feel sorry for me having to go back to the U.S. and eat our uninteresting bread.