ARIZONA GARDEN TOUR: Summer Survivors & Fall Garden Prep
Tour my Arizona fall garden after a long, hot summer. See what survived, what struggled, and how I’m resetting beds for fall with cover crops, worm castings, and smarter watering. I garden in Mesa, Arizona (low desert, Zone 9b/10a).
00:00 Introduction
00:21 Summer Survivors
04:45 Struggling Plants
06:35 When to take down shade
07:01 Soil Prep, Worm Bins & Cover Crops
09:21 Adjust watering for cooler temperatures
10:02 Fertilizing & Pruning Plants
11:20 Clean up summer damage
In this tour you’ll see:
• The “sweet spot” bed with okra, gomphrena, and cowpeas used as green manure
• Maximilian sunflowers coming into bloom and how they spread
• Sweet potato strategy and harvest timing for Thanksgiving
• Marigolds and zinnias that held through summer, plus Armenian cucumber on a trellis
• Containers with Armenian cucumber, luffa, roselle, and how I handled aphids by targeting ants
• Chiltepin and other peppers setting a fall crop
• Cantaloupe still producing
• Texas ageratum for queen butterflies and why I want more survivor plants
• Summer-proof container flowers: vinca, angelonia, gomphrena, sweet potato vine, lisianthus
• Peanuts flowering and when to harvest
• What struggled: roses, a few Shasta daisies, and heat-stressed peppers in an elevated bed
• Fall prep: take down tall sunflower shade, keep shade cloth until highs are below 90°F
• Cover crops I’m growing now: black-eyed peas and sunn hemp to “grow” fertilizer
• Refreshing worm bins and harvesting fresh castings
• What I’m planting next month: brassicas, snapdragons, campanula, delphinium
• Bed prep timeline and the raised bed mix I use
• Watering adjustments with Garden Grids and why asparagus fronds stay for now
• Fall tomato tips and feeding plan to speed recovery
• Planting I’itoi onions and spacing
• What I prune now and what I leave until it cools
Resources mentioned:
• Flower Planting Guide for the Low Desert https://growinginthegarden.bigcartel....
• Arizona Vegetable Planting Guide https://growinginthegarden.bigcartel....
• Garden Planner and Journal https://growinginthegarden.bigcartel....
If you want planting dates, monthly tasks, watering guidelines, and planning pages in one place, grab my Garden Planner and Journal.
Some links may be affiliate links. Thank you for supporting my work.
Hashtags:
#ArizonaGardening #DesertGardening #FallGarden