Gardening for Hot and Dry Climates
If you’ve ever been fortunate enough to vacay or even live in a tropical place, one of the things you’re sure to remember are the banana trees. Nothing screams tropical like a banana. We’re all trying to capture a piece of the tropics in our …
When you think of gardening the first plant everyone wants to grow are tomatoes. It’s just the thing to do and for good reason. Tomatoes taste ten times better fresh off the vine then anything you’ll ever get at a supermarket. If you live in …
If you’re familiar with the nursery story Jack in the Beanstalk, it’s a story about a boy that had magic beans and when he planted them a massive stalk grew into the sky leading to the land of the giants. Well, if you’re looking for …
One of the best plant purchases I ever made was a Black Mission starter tree for $2.50. It didn’t look like much, just a 6-inch twig with a couple leaves, but it took off that first summer. Fig trees are one of the easiest fruit …
Strolling around the campus of Arizona State University a White Sapote tree can be found. When I discovered this tree it was loaded with fruit. I was lucky enough to sample one of the fruits and found it quite enjoyable. I believe this tree is …
As someone who grew up on berries living in Northern Michigan, where they grew like weeds, moving to the Arizona desert presented many challenges with growing berries. I’ve experimented with different types of berries and witnessed other local gardener’s successes or failures with growing berries …
Pomegranates are one of those fruits that tend to go under the radar. They pop up in stores for a short time of the year and then disappear. Pomegranate trees originated in the Middle East and seem made for hot, dry climates like our Arizona …
Jaboticaba is another one of those fruits that I haven’t had the chance to get my hands on here in the Phoenix area. Since, I haven’t had the chance to sample the fruit, I was hesitant about purchasing a tree. I found some cheap starter …
One experience that opened my eyes to the possibilities of growing more in a hot, dry climate was discovering a Peach Orchard in a suburb of Phoenix, Arizona. I took my wife and kids to their peach festival to pick peaches and it quickly became …
I’ve searched high and low for a Canistel (aka Yellow Sapote or Eggfruit) to try in the Phoenix, Arizona area. I’ve been able to find a lot of unique tropical fruits to try at various ethnic markets, but Canistel hasn’t been one of them. Since …
I had a chance to sample a Loquat off a tree from a local nursery. This was another one of those fruits that I had never even heard of until I began getting more entrenched in growing fruit trees. For us local gardeners, we joke …
I always assumed that Plum trees grew in more temperate climates. I remember climbing into some trees as a kid in Northern Michigan and feasting on juicy plums. When I first purchased a home in Arizona, I discovered plum trees at the local big box …
As a kid growing up in Northern Michigan, we had a few mulberry trees nearby. I loved climbing the tree and beating the birds to the tasty mulberries. Mulberries tend to get a bad rap here in Arizona due to the pollens that can cause …
If you’ve never tried a fresh mango off the tree, you’re missing out. The stringy unripe mangos from Walmart just don’t cut it. Grocery stores have started to introduce some better quality mangos, but for the most part, they’re Tommy Atkins variety, which is a …