We have goals to start a CSA in the high desert, at least to be able to sell produce at the farmer's markets in Apple Valley and Victorville...and maybe start a farmer's market in Lucerne Valley. Not to mention, you MUST have a garden if you're going to be self-sufficient! So we're planning our garden. We have about an acre that we've dedicated to garden space-that should be plenty to start a market garden...as a matter of fact it's huge when you've never done market garden before!!!
The most gardening experience I have is first I grew a backyard garden when I was a child. This was in a small town called Rialto where the growing conditions are just perfect! Not too hot, not too cold, just the right amount of rain. I dream of having those conditions again. The past few years here in the desert, I've also planted a garden. Not a very big one mind you, but enough to produce vegetables for a couple people during the warmer months. I've never had the patience for those tiny seeds you plant for winter crops--carrots and lettuce and such. Why did God have to make them so small and unwieldy? Now a pumpkin seed is a nice sized seed.
Anyhow, I've broken the area up into where I'd want beds for which plants. I've tried to take into account which plants grow well together. This is called companion planting. Some plants help each other, for example, beans put nitrogen into the soil for corn and corn provides a nice stalk for beans to climb up.
I've also tried to consider garden rotation. The idea of this is that crops should be rotated according to their grouping (like leafy vegetables versus fruiting vegetables versus root vegetables) so that there is less build up of disease. It's very complicated to a beginner so I finally just said screw it! I'll plant what I want where I want and figure rotations and all out when it comes to it.
I've ordered a truckload of seeds and I've got some carrots and lettuce and radishes and spinach and arugula and peas planted. I even planted a rhubarb although I have know idea what you do with rhubarbs. I've heard you can make a pie with them, but it doesn't look like something I'd want in my pie...
Here is my desert planting guide that I've developed based on some books specifically about high desert gardening. One thing to remember is that there are three separate seasons of planting in the desert, not two like other more temperate places. More about this later...
