Plus I Can Give Tips for Growing Food In-Ground

Most of the food I have grown has been in containers (yes, container gardening in the desert!), but at my last home, I also had a ​large raised bed for my organic vegetable garden. I've also done some research on edible plants best grown ​in-ground or that can't fit into my relatively small space. And while I grow a number of newer cultivars called hybrids (NEVER GMOs), ​my preference is usually heirlooms for the stability they offer.

​For those new to organic vegetable gardening, the best time to begin to grow your own food was several years ago, but now is second best. ​Even if you start with just one vegetable, herb, or fruit tree, you too can learn how to grow your own food in your own Phoenix, Arizona desert garden (yard) or in any other hot climate! Container gardening is one of the easiest ways to begin a vegetable garden, and you may never need a raised bed even if organic hot weather desert gardening--not just cool climate or cool weather gardening--is what you have in mind.

Starting your education and planning for the following year four or more months before spring (October or earlier) is ideal, but with the right elements in place, you can even start some things for a fall harvest in the heat of summer. For example, I'm now successfully starting heirloom tomatoes from SEED outdoors in dry 114 F Arizona weather, and my Phoenix summer garden just became much more exciting as homegrown and heirloom tomatoes provide an array of flavors not found at the grocery store.

/

• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5

~"Your handmade shade structures held up to four monsoons [--some of which broke trees in half or uprooted them all over the city]. I watched them through my window, and they kept standing! You did a great job!"
​A neighbor in 2018 or 2019

​A NEIGHBOR IN 2021

/

• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5

Making organic Vegetable gardening consulting more accessible

When I looked into it a couple of years ago before inflation took place, a number of vegetable gardening consulting services began with a roughly hour-long, in-person consultation of about $150 and then cost $50+ hourly after that, and not all of them had an organic focus. Additionally, most did not have a potted/container garden specialization, had not tested as many heirloom tomato cultivars, and did not have the specialization of hot and dry low desert vegetable gardening which has many challenges of its own including too few clouds to soften the sun's rays, too little rain, and supremely dry air.

​One of my goals is to help more people than can be helped with those types of consulting services—through e-mail and phone consulting which works for both locals and those outside of my immediate area of Phoenix, Arizona, plus reducing the amount of time spent driving reduces cost. 

As I have spent hundreds of hours researching answers to my questions and learning through trial and error, it is also a goal to save my customers much time, money, and effort! I’ve documented much along the way for sharing via computer.
​
My experience is with growing food organically—mostly potted and in a raised bed—in a supremely hot and dry, low desert climate (Zone 9B), but I can also help those in climates less hot than Phoenix, Arizona’s 105-118ish-degree summers, and I’ve done some research on plants best grown in-ground or that can’t fit into my relatively small space.
​

PRICING​

Pricing for my organic vegetable gardening consulting service is listed on this page.

/

• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5

"This woman kept her plants alive this summer!"​
​A neighbor in 2018 or 2019 bragging to her family as they went for a walk

​A NEIGHBOR IN 2021

/

• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5

KEYWORDS

grow food, grow organic food, organic gardening, organic vegetable gardening, organic fruit and vegetable gardening, fruit and vegetable gardening, learn how to grow your own food at home, phoenix summer garden, arizona grow food, arizona vegetable garden, grow food arizona, organic vegetable gardening Maricopa County, organic vegetable garden Maricopa County, container gardening Maricopa County, container vegetable gardening, organic container gardening, container vegetable garden, organic container garden, organic container vegetable gardening, hot weather garden, hot weather gardening, arizona garden, arizona gardening, phoenix vegetable garden, how to garden in Phoenix, how to garden Phoenix, vegetable garden arizona, arizona container gardening, backyard garden, backyard gardening, green thumbs, green thumb, fresh produce, kitchen, harvest, fresh food, veggies, crops, sunlight, shade, shaded, sunny, sun, bright, water, window, windowsill, soil, nutrients, fertilizer, pots, wind, windy, plan, planning, garden plan, easy to grow, easy crops, easy plants, rapid growth, easiest vegetables, easy vegetables, quick results, plant seeds, start from seed, seed grown, vegetable starts, big harvest, best producers, easiest plants, easiest to grow, direct sow, transplanting, watering, hand watering, watering tips, gardeners, gardening, whether to use a greenhouse, pollinating, pollinators, hand pollinating, summer garden phoenix, summer garden arizona, phoenix container gardening, phoenix container garden, container gardening, zone 9b gardening, zone 9 gardening, zone 9b garden, zone 9 garden, desert garden phoenix, phoenix desert garden, grow food not lawns, grow vegetables phoenix, grow vegetables scottsdale, grow vegetables arizona, grow vegetables nevada, grow vegetables new mexico, grow vegetables texas, grow vegetables california, grow food instead of ornamentals, edible landscaping, grow organically, grow food organically, grow vegetables, vegetable and herb gardening, vegetable and herb garden, vegetable and fruit gardening, vegetable and fruit garden, grow fruit, grow herbs, growing vegetables, chemical-free gardening, gardening without chemicals, grow your own food without chemicals, full sun, desert, vegetable gardening, container gardening, grow in a container, container vegetable gardening, grow fruit trees in pots, fruit trees in containers, how to grow, how to grow food, best soil for growing food, starting a vegetable garden, vegetable garden soil, learn how to grow, learn to grow, how to grow in a container, potted garden, vertical gardening, small vegetable garden layout, when to plant, where to plant, what to plant, how to plant, how to water, when to water, when to grow, watering frequency, what will grow, can you grow, plants to grow, growing season, dormant, deciduous, evergreen, January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December, desert gardening, desert garden, desert plants, edible desert plants, botanical garden, edible plants, gardening in a small space, gardening in small spaces, edible gardening, small vegetable garden, fruit trees, herbs, spices, grains, nuts, seeds, edible cacti, edible cactus, cacti with edible fruit, edible fruit, nopales, tunas, cactus fruit, pitaya, low desert, Phx, AZ, Phx AZ, Phoenix, Phoenix gardening, Arizona gardening, California gardening, Nevada gardening, Texas gardening, Arizona, California, Texas, Nevada, New Mexico, zone 9b, zone 9, zone 9b gardening, zone 9 gardening, grow food Phoenix, grow Phoenix, organic gardening Phoenix, vegetable gardening Phoenix, grow food Arizona, organic gardening Arizona, grow vegetables Phoenix, grow vegetables Arizona, grow food Phoenix, organic gardening Nevada, grow food Nevada, organic gardening Nevada, grow vegetables Nevada, grow vegetables Nevada, grow food Arizona, organic gardening Arizona, grow vegetables Phoenix, grow vegetables Arizona, grow food Phoenix, organic gardening Nevada, vegetable gardening Nevada, grow food New Mexico, organic gardening New Mexico, grow vegetables New Mexico, grow vegetables New Mexico, vegetable gardening New Mexico, grow food California, organic gardening California, grow vegetables California, grow vegetables California, vegetable gardening California, Arizona summer, Phoenix summer, organic food, organic, healthy eating, non GMO, organic foods, whole foods, real food, organic gardening consulting, consulting, distance consulting, e-mail consulting, phone consulting, out-of-state consulting, consultant, consult, consultation, organic fertilizer, fertilizing, soil, compost, manure, worm castings, worms, mulch, natural, raised beds, pots, containers, potting, repotting, potted, food forest, organic garden, garden, gardening, fruit, citrus, kumquats, limes, dragon fruit, prickly pear, vegetable garden, veggie garden, fast-growing trees, fast-growing fruit trees, small fruit trees, quick to fruit, heat tolerant, columnar cactus, columnar cacti, consultant, melon, watermelon, kale, sweet peppers, hot peppers, peppers, tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, rare trees, tomatillos, okra, beans, peas, squash, grapes, muscadine grapes, trellis, apples, passion fruit, pepino melon, peas, papaya, tropical fruit, guava tree, guavas, berries, eggplant, neem tree, fig tree, olive tree, mulberry tree, tea, loofah sponges, gourds, cucumbers, zucchini, jujube tree, hibiscus, moringa, cherry tree, papaya tree, goldenberry, goji berry, blackberry, boysenberry, peas, edible flowers, chamomile, turnips, nasturtiums, radishes, carrots, arugula, salad, spinach, lettuce, greens, Asian vegetables, collards, collard greens, mustard, brussels sprouts, onions, parsley, sage, lemongrass, shiso, oregano, fennel, mint, rosemary, thyme, basil, lavender, cilantro, patchouli, geranium, bay leaf, bay laurel, celery, dill, broccoli, cabbage, galangal, ginger, turmeric, urban garden, natural, composting, compost, hummingbird singing, hummingbird song, do hummingbirds sing, growing next to a wall, growing food in pots, small yard, leafy vegetable, fall, winter, spring, summer, flavor, taste, comparison, nutrition, nutritious, health benefits, healthy, home grown food, homegrown food, delicious, thornless cacti, thornless cactus, low thorn cactus, low thorn cacti, flavorful, tasty, best, comparison, ripe, tree ripened, vine ripened, harvest, natural insecticides, natural pesticides, natural fungicides, pest insects, pests, beneficial insects, bees, ants, heirlooms, hybrids, plant breeding, whole food, whole foods, real food, raw food, unprocessed food, simple meals, fermented foods, food preservation, getting difficult seeds to germinate, easy crops, easy to grow, easy to grow crops, local food, small business, locally grown, quick to produce, fast growers, harvest, harvesting, backyard garden, front yard garden, urban gardening, starting a garden, garden soil, cool season crops, summer crops, vegetables that grow well, plants to grow, best vegetables to grow in Phoenix, garden fresh, fresh produce, backyard harvest, urban agriculture, feeding yourself and your family with food grown at home, trade with friends and family for types of food that you don't grow, victory gardens