The Secret to Arizona Gardening: High Berms

Berms and deep watering.

I just raised up and strengthened my berms this week, to help the plants cope with the extra heat. Small berms are ok for the mild spring months, when just a light soaking will keep the soil moist. But for the 90+ degree days of late spring/early summer, a deeper soaking is necessary.

With only shallow watering, the plant roots only grow shallowly, because the water never really penetrates the soil more than an inch or so. With deep watering, the soil will get moist deep down, and the roots will follow. Those deep roots will keep your plants much healthier when the real hot days hit.

So in order to get those deep waterings, you have to let the water pile up and sit for awhile, and slowly set down in where you want it to go. I recommend berm edges at least 4 inches high all around your growing area. That way you can flood your growing area with 2-3 inches of water at a time, and the water stays right where you want it.

Just be careful to watch that the water doesn't rise above the berm edge. Once the water flows over the edge, it will quickly rip a huge hole in your berm wall and all the water will escape.

Creating Garden Beds for Beets

Created a beet bed today. With my tiller, no problemo! I love my tiller. AZ gardening is soooo much better with a tiller. I have done gardens solely by shovel, but let me tell you, a tiller is worth it. Creating garden beds is a snap. I till about a 5x12 area, then take a hoe to it, then level it out, building up berms around the side to keep the water in. Here is a pic of my tiller turning AZ hardpan into soft fluffy soil.



Must have berms when AZ gardening! Otherwise the water just rolls off the dirt. With berms, you can give your crops and trees a deep watering. It is extra important to get those deep well-watered roots in our climate, so your crops can survive the heat. With shallow roots, they will burn up fast. Here is a pic of my beet bed I made tonight.



Making the perfect irrigation bed is easy: till the dirt loose, hoe it fluffy (and take out the rocks and roots), then rake it level. Make it as level as you can, it is worth it to avoid water run-off and pooling. The best effect is little waves in the dirt, to help the water settle evenly, as in the pic below.