I'm a bit north of Arizona in las vegas. I came from a colder climate as well. Toucan's suggestions are great for the summer heat but I personally take July and most of August off since I don't really want to garden when it's over 110 degrees. I use the summer heat to solarize my soil in my raised beds to kill weed seeds and most of the unwanted critters that have moved in over the spring. The biggest change moving from a colder climate to the southwest is you can do your best gardening in the winter months. I start cold weather crops in late aug or sept and harvest carrots, lettuce, spinach, peas and other cold weather crops from December to April. I start my summer crops in March and harvest in May/June except for squash which will grow most of the summer as toucan said. I also start seeds indoors over the summer for eggplant, tomatoes and other warm season veggies and plant them out in mid August with some sun protection at first and I get a great fall crop in October. I hope I gave you some insight on your new climate! Experiment and enjoy the longer growing season.

The dowel or other object has to go up through the BOTTOM of the pot into the perched water there - a dowel in the top of the pot won't affect drainage, even if it's stuck way down into the soil. Think of it as making a bridge for the water at the bottom of the pot to cross. We're talking about drawing the water DOWN and out, from the bottom. Here is a picture of someone who was using yarn to wick perched water out of her pots: I looked and looked for a picture of someone using the stick-through-a-drainhole-to-drain-more-water-out trick, but couldn't find one. I'll try to stage one in the next week. It's amazing when you're not expecting it, LOL! Cotton is a good wicking material, the problem with it is that it will rot pretty quickly. As long as you don't mind replacing those wicks regularly, it will work. I would replace a cotton wick every year, because though you MIGHT get 2 years out of it before it starts to rot, you also might not, and end up with nonfunctional wicks halfway through the 2nd year. However, you might be able to get cotton t-shirts for free or cheap from local thrift stores - they often toss damaged or stained items, or sometimes even stuff they just get too much of. T-shirts these days are usually a 50/50 cotton-poly blend - so wicks made from this will probably be a little bit longer lasting than 100% cotton. I'd still replace them every spring, especially if you're getting them free or for super cheap. Just be sure you don't end up with t-shirts somebody was working on their car in, soaking up oil with, or using while painting and/or cleaning their paintbrushes! Some people use strands from Rayon mop heads. These also tend to break down (they're made from wood fibers, cellulose) but they are cheap and effective. Al, of Al's gritty mix fame, uses them. Go to the following post and search on "Tue, Jan 1, 13 at 13:24" to go down to the post where he talks about wicking to remove perched water. Container Soils - Water Movement and Retention XVI Here is a picture showing the kind of wicking you need to do to drain off that perched water, from the thread above: Now, if we're talking about drawing water UP from the bottom (wicking UP rather than down and out) here are some pictures illustrating that. You can use almost anything that will absorb water for the wicking - I bet even cut up strips of "super towel" might work, though I don't know how long they might last. But nylon clothesline is a good choice that is cheap and easy to find. You could also buy capillary matting (which comes by the yard in widths up to 72") and cut that into strips. I think that is mostly polyester felt (THICK polyester felt, you won't find it at JoAnn's). Anyway here are some pictures: Here's one who used cut up capillary mat: Here are her directions for how she made her pots: DIY self watering pots A lot of folks swear by using soil wicking systems. There is a reservoir (or several sometimes in commercially built self watering containers that use this) into which you firmly tamp soil, which will be partly below the water line of the water reservoir in the bottom of the container. Here is a picture showing the system: The air space between the water reservoir and the soil is important to this design, and its what makes it different from sitting your pot in water and doing what we think of as conventional "bottom watering". As for the video links you posted - there are problems with that guy's system. First is the soil medium. Straight MG garden soil is a TERRIBLE medium for a container. That needs to be mixed 1:1 with peat, or even 1:2. Even so, in our conditions here that isn't an ideal potting medium by a long shot. I've used it for years and so far I am getting away with it here- but I'm not sure I would be getting away with it in a tall container like that, wicking or no wicking. Second is the way he planted that tomato. Firstly, a 5 gallon bucket is really too small for most tomato plants. Still you can manage with that more or less, if you take a little extra care. When I plant tomatoes in the ground (or in a raised bed), I snip off all but the top two or three leaves/stems and plant it in a trench with the root ball at least 8" to 10" deep, angled up from there so the top two leaves come out just an inch or two above the soil. I also plant in water catchments (a depression so water is guided to the plant. Because a tomato will root all the way along the stem, and this is one of the best ways to drought-proof your tomato plants. When planting in a container, I do something similar - I will snip off all but the top 2 or 3 leaves/stems and plant it with just a couple of inches of soil below the root ball, then fill just to where those top few stems are poking up. This will likely be way below the level of the top of the container. Then as the plant grows, I remove lower stems and add planting medium. This way the tomato roots all the way along that stem and you aren't waiting for the roots to grow down into the bottom of the container - they are already there, and strong and healthy to boot! when I get to within about 3" of the top of the container, I mulch (about 2" of bark). Then there is your selection of plants. For a 5 gallon bucket, a determinate variety is a must. Also, look for varieties specifically bred as "patio tomatoes" or for containers, such as Celebrity, Bush Champion, Bushsteak, Bush Early Girl, etc. Burpee's has a bunch of varieties specifically for container growth - probably other seed sellers do as well. I grow determinate paste varieties in small spaces in raised beds when possible, though this year I ended up with Early Girl because that was all that was left by that time (mid-July, we moved at the end of June so my garden went in VERY late). When I was growing tomatoes in containers, I grew them in cut-off garbage cans instead of the 5 gallon buckets. I just don't feel those are really big enough for tomatoes. Garbage cans were a lot cheaper back then ... but if they go on sale, you might grab some for your tomatoes next year. I use the garbage cans because they are UV stabilized, intended for outdoor use. Other plastic containers usually break down pretty quickly in the sun. I HAVE grown them in 5 gallon buckets but they were hard to stake, hard to keep from falling over in a wind, and didn't yield as well as when they're in larger containers. I put the garbage cans up on spaced pavers or concrete brick to improve drainage - but that might not be as much of an issue in LV, with the right potting medium. Just make sure the drainage holes are good sized - like 1/4". Cover with soil fabric or coffee filters to keep the soil from washing out. You can also build mini-raised beds out of concrete blocks - a raised bed doesn't HAVE to be 4' wide and 10' long. Bonus - for me anyway - is having that thicker edge to sit on when I get tired, LOL! A concrete block "container" 24" square (internally) would need 2 courses (16 total) of standard 8x8x16" concrete blocks, and you'd then have a 16" tall raised bed to work with which will NEVER wear out (well not in OUR lifetimes). The soil dynamics in a raised bed are MUCH more forgiving than in container growing. The bricks run about $1.50 here when they're not on sale - if you keep your eyes peeled, watch craigslist and your local freelist, etc, you might catch them for less. A concrete block raised bed takes no real skill to build - just lay them out so the corners alternate. With no frost heave you'll be good to go to just lay them out on a level piece of ground. Hope there are some ideas that might be of use to you.

Do you absolutely need to take your laptop? I'd think long and hard about that -- for a first-time flier (not that it's going to be very difficult for you! don't be nervous!) it'll be just another thing to have to be aware of when going through security, when you leave your hotel or wherever you're staying, etc. Security also makes you have it out of the bag so they can look at it. If there are websites you've bookmarked for Florida restaurants, tourist attractions, directions, etc., just print all that stuff out and take it with you. (And if you're staying at a hotel, it might very well have a "business center" that has computers to use. You could print your return boarding passes out there, or you could just wait until you get to the airport and get them there.) Ditto on the cigarette lighter -- get one at a drugstore, tourist shop, grocery store when you get to your destination, and when you're ready to return to the airport for the trip home, toss it. I know you'll probably be itching for a smoke after getting off the plane, tho. You cannot have a lighter in your checked bag. TSA officers have ceased banning them from carryons (as long as it's a common Bic kind of lighter, not a "torch" lighter--those long ones I know I use to light the firewood or a gas stove burner). Anything aerosol (hairspray, deodorant) can be found in a pump form, which even in non-travel sizes are often smaller than the aerosol cans. Here is the TSA line on aerosols: "Not allowed in either carry-on or checked bags (any except for personal care or toiletries in limited quantities)." That last part in parenthesis leaves a lot to the discretion of the security scanners, so why risk it being tossed in the trash bin there? I forgot once that I had a regular-size can of aerosol deodorant in my carry-on (the only bag I had), and TSA tossed it as soon as it was spotted.

Growing tomato's here is a bit different than in other areas of the country due to the sun intensity and heat. Plant tomato's as early as possible but you must also watch over early "starts" due to the cold weather than can still arrive in Feb & sometimes early March. They need protection from evening temps. Star has tomato protection from cold weather. Tomato's will grow, should flower and produce fruit all Spring long especially if any of the many cherry or patio tomato's are grown, also medium size tomato's such as Celebrity or Early Girl are easier to bring to maturity. Beef Steaks, large tomato's are not nearly as easy. When the temps go above 90* the tomato's will no longer set blossoms, therefore not tomato's. If left in the intense summer sun, the plants will often dry up and die. Many people have better luck growing their vegetables under shade cloth here through the summer and get good results. Also tomato's can be planted in containers, once over 90*, cut the tomato's back by half, place them in the shade, continue to water and bring them out again at the end of Sept. into the sun. The plants will begin flowering and developing tomato's. You may have tomato's (though green) up to Nov or Dec. Watch for frost temps. and pick any tomato's left on the plants, place them in paper bags to ripen. If you feel that you are not getting good pollination, you can take a small stick and shake the plants a bit. You should be able to see pollen being released so that you can be assured your plants are getting the necessary pollination. Of course good fertilization every 6 weeks is advisable whether regular or organic. Growing tomato's here is a bit different than in other areas of the country due to the sun intensity and heat. Plant tomato's as early as possible but you must also watch over early "starts" due to the cold weather than can still arrive in Feb & sometimes early March. They need protection from evening temps. Star has tomato protection from cold weather. Tomato's will grow, should flower and produce fruit all Spring long especially if any of the many cherry or patio tomato's are grown, also medium size tomato's such as Celebrity or Early Girl are easier to bring to maturity. Beef Steaks, large tomato's are not nearly as easy. When the temps go above 90* the tomato's will no longer set blossoms, therefore not tomato's. If left in the intense summer sun, the plants will often dry up and die. Many people have better luck growing their vegetables under shade cloth here through the summer and get good results. Also tomato's can be planted in containers, once over 90*, cut the tomato's back by half, place them in the shade, continue to water and bring them out again at the end of Sept. into the sun. The plants will begin flowering and developing tomato's. You may have tomato's (though green) up to Nov or Dec. Watch for frost temps. and pick any tomato's left on the plants, place them in paper bags to ripen. If you feel that you are not getting good pollination, you can take a small stick and shake the plants a bit. You should be able to see pollen being released so that you can be assured your plants are getting the necessary pollination. Of course good fertilization every 6 weeks is advisable whether regular or organic.