Preparing Your Garden (Alamo: to move, pine, yard)

[Pintada Kid]

Now is the Time to start adding Fertilizer and Turning over the Soil and Raking your yard and gathering dry leafs and using them for Mulch or to put back into the Soil. We are probably going to have Cyclonic Conditions all through Spring and into summer so dont forget to fertilize your lawn and water it to keep the Wind from blowing away the roots and to give it strength. KID TIP... Fruit Trees and Evergreens need watering in these Dry Conditions. el pintada kid

[Vinegaroon]

It was pretty dry, but we just got 2 feet of fresh powder up on the mountain. It was waist deep on Tuesday.

[lisdol]

Ooh lucky you. We got a dusting. Happy to see that melted into the ground.

I am waiting with bated breath to see if the buffalo grass lawn I started last summer revives and gets thicker this summer.

I am also going to prepare my square foot garden very very soon.

[RamblinRoseRanch]

Glad I saw this post. I've been going over garden catalogs, looking for varieties that do well in NM climate. Any recommendations or does anyone wanna share what they're planting?

[Minathebrat]

Originally Posted by RamblinRoseRanch

Glad I saw this post. I've been going over garden catalogs, looking for varieties that do well in NM climate. Any recommendations or does anyone wanna share what they're planting?

That's so funny! I have too. This is a nifty link for vegetable gardens. http://cahe.nmsu.edu/pubs/_circulars/circ457b.pdf
I also seem to remember Towanda on another thread giving the name of a good gardening book for New Mexico.
One exciting thing I've been researching is buried clay pot irrigation. I'm thinking this might be just the thing to effectively keep plants hydrated and not use wasteful drip-irrigation systems.

[chilegal]

Just don't plant before the last frost.. all your work will be for nothing. And if you are in an area where deer are, put up high fence.

[Pintada Kid]

I would not plant till the end of April or into May but even then we can still get snow till the end of May here in the Center of New Mexico. I dont have much of a Green Thumb but what i plant are Yellow Squash, Cucumbers, Radishes, Carrots, and Pumpkins for Halloween and i try to plant when theres a Full Moon. But Corn does well too and Green Chili and Beans and Tomatoes. Usually theres vendors all over N.M. with Chili and Tomato plants everywhere. P.S. You can grow Watermelons and Cantalopes in the Center and Northern N.M. but sometimes we dont have enough Warm Weather or its too Cold for them to Grow to Maturity unless you can find a Warm Spot in your yard with good soil. el pintada kid

[lisdol]

I don't leave anything unprotected til the end of May. I think our last frost date is mid to late May here in the E Mtns.

Going off of memory (I have a spreadsheet with planting dates etc for this year's garden) only things like peas are going in ground before Memorial Day. I think I am keeping my seedlings indoors til then.

[malamute]

Originally Posted by RamblinRoseRanch

Glad I saw this post. I've been going over garden catalogs, looking for varieties that do well in NM climate. Any recommendations or does anyone wanna share what they're planting?

It depends a whole lot on the altitude. In some parts of NM it's almost too cold to grow anything but pine trees, even in the southern regions, it's too cold at night even in mid-summer for tomatoes to grow well unless you're careful where you locate them.

Apple trees can produce apples where there are enough cold nights to keep them dormant well enough -- there has to be 28 days with temperatures below freezing in order for most apple trees to bear fruit. Peaches do well where it's warm. Cherries need more cool weather so they do okay in higher places or the north. I don't think anywhere in NM is warm enough for tropical fruits.

[Cathy4017]

Originally Posted by malamute

It depends a whole lot on the altitude. In some parts of NM it's almost too cold to grow anything but pine trees, even in the southern regions, it's too cold at night even in mid-summer for tomatoes to grow well unless you're careful where you locate them.

Apple trees can produce apples where there are enough cold nights to keep them dormant well enough -- there has to be 28 days with temperatures below freezing in order for most apple trees to bear fruit. Peaches do well where it's warm. Cherries need more cool weather so they do okay in higher places or the north. I don't think anywhere in NM is warm enough for tropical fruits.

As far as tomatoes, I started using portable planters last summer. While it's plenty warm in Alamo for a good tomato crop, I had tomatoes in June because I was able to get them out early. If the nights were consistently below 55 (which they often were), I just wheeled the suckers either into the kitchen or the garage, and wheeled them back out the next morning.

I had tomatoes from June to November because it was so easy to move them if necessary.

If I move farther north, I'll have to do the same, because the growing season is shorter! You can also use row covers, but if the ground is too cold anyway, tomatoes and chiles are not going to thrive until the soil warms up.