Welcome to the growing number of gardeners who find gardening in wooden boxes very rewarding. I'm not sure if the Search engine is working, but there are numerous previous posts on this subject. If not, then just ask away. You probably will be getting many, many suggestions for the best way to treat your particular soil/gardening problems, and the nice folks in these forums can be very helpful. (just ask me how I know). Anyway, my solution was to have 9 cedar boxes to grow veggies in - (I wish they were all the same size now) - but the best dimensions seem to be 3 ft across by 6 to 9 ft. long. This is so one can reach across to pull weeds, plant, etc., and also have room to maneuver wheelbarrows or mowers around. They are without bottoms - but I nailed a piece of galvanized hardware cloth on the bottom to prevent burrowing voles, etc. One nice thing, they can be placed directly over existing grasses - so no need to dig below, any grass will be killed off from lack of sunlight. Soil - whether you grow in boxes or directly in the ground, a good porous soil is necessary. I recommended the box method above, if your soil is clay, hardpan, cement, sand, etc. Plants like compost, manure, peat moss, vermiculite, etc. to keep them happy. Many folks make their own soil - visit the Soil Forum for good ideas there. While not always easy to find material in the beginning, it can save a bundle if you make your own (leaves/grass/shredding). Otherwise, top soil can be had - check your landfills - they sometimes have free mulch, etc. If you intend to work your own soil - then adding compost or composted manure would also be beneficial, also deep digging if possible - to break up the existing hard soil clay/cement/hardpan/etc. Many older gardeners prefer the alternative box gardening to avoid this. You mention keeping watering to a minimum - this would also be ideal for that as well. Tomatoes and peppers love heat to ripen - so their biggest need in summer is to keep them watered. This is only a starter for ideas. But feel free to tune in again, whenever you have specific questions. The folks in these forums are only too happy to pass along their helpful ideas. Just my 2 c's. Bejay

Good luck! I was in your position a year ago, I had moved into my first house and created my first vegetable garden. I'm in a very different zone (6A) and my season is winding down, but I think I had a very successful summer with my first garden, given that it was very cool and rainy for all of June and July. Here is what I did, for what it's worth. I had the area tilled where I wanted to create a garden (it was grass). I then raked out all the big clumps of grass left behind, and added them to my new compost bin. I then had 2 yards of topsoil and 2 yards of compost delivered (my garden is 16'x16'). I think adding the topsoil and compost really added the nutrients needed and eliminated any grass re-growing in the area. But, after finding this site, I realize a soil test would have been a good idea. After I planted, I mulched with salt hay to keep down any weeds (make sure if you use straw you ask if there are any seeds in the straw). I hope this information helps in some way! Good luck and above all, have fun! Use this site often for advice, I do and there are many people with years of experience and knowledge who have helped guide me through my first year as a gardener! p.s. consider creating a compost bin, if you haven't already, you can create your own garden fertilizer with it. I got mine through the town public works department for a very reasonable price

I want to grow Anaheim peppers, jalapenos, serranos and vegetables. I haven't decided on which vegetables yet. You can grow all sorts of things here quite well, actually. Follow the recommended times for planting on the planting calendar linked below. Peppers go in now. I have three pots I painted white that are about four feet across and open bottomed that will sit on the ground. I was planning on putting them on the east side of the house and using porch poles as vining support for things like peas and beans. I could put them on the west side but am t hink IMO ng morning to noon sun is better than noon to sunset sun. I hope so because I prefer sitting on that side of the house. :) The east side is definitely better for the plants that will grow through the summer. I have lots of neighbors producing lots of manure they would love to be rid of and a corral out back full of it that's been sitting for at least a year with no fresh added. I am considering using compost tea as fertilizer. Using the aged manure to make compost tea is a great idea. Most of my knowledge is from books and magazines which are no substitute for experience. I would enjoy any advice and discussion and want to post as I go on this forum. I don't know any gardeners here and could definately use advice. If you are interested in taking some classes to help you get a kick-start, consider looking for help through the Desert Botanical Garden (dbg.org) and the Valley Permaculture alliance (phoenixpermaculture.org). Here is a link that might be useful: Urban Farm Planting Calendar

Howdy! Congratulations on the successful gardening season! Those are good sites that you mentioned. Also, you might look into Sandhill Preservation Center and Baker Creek Heirlooms, though there are A LOT of other good companies as well. I take it that you have HOT summers? Here in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, we have HOT summers. I have found that many of the large old beef steak varieties don't really like our mid-summer's heat. Drop in on the Oklahoma Gardening forum and ask about tomatoes. One of the folks there, named Dawn, is a walking encyclopedia on tomatoes for hot climates. She lives just north of Dallas, TX. I have grown Sioux for two seasons and found it quite good for our conditions. My favorite tomato, still, is an heirloom I received from an older gentleman in Illinois. It's called Baker Family Heirloom. Unfortunately, it is not commercially available. I'd have to send you seed. Actually, the Oklahoma Gardening forum would probably be a good place for most of your questions. The "growing tomatoes" forum will tell you quite a bit as well. Heirlooms are not generally harder to grow. But some are very specially adapted for certain conditions and therefore don't do well in a wide range of conditions. I grow an heirloom winter squash called Warsaw Buff Pie Pumpkin. It's good, and it does well in a wide variety of conditions. The only squash varieties I'd stay away from, if you live live in the eastern half of the country, are the c. maxima varieties, such as Hubbard, Turk's Turban or Big Max. C. Maximas (this is a family of squash) tend to succumb to squash vine borers. C. Mixtas, such as butternut, Tahitian Melon Squash and my own Warsaw Buff Pie Pumpkin are much more resistant. If I recall, Baker Creek Heirlooms actually lists their squash by the scientific family. Hope this helps! George Tahlequah, OK