Part 2 Gardening in New Mexico

Part 2 Step 5-10

Welcome back to part two of Gardening in New Mexico. The previous post had the first five steps; let us review them quickly now.

Step 1: Check out your exposure

Step 2: Choose your planting area

Step 3: Consider a Fence

Step 4: Know your dirt

You have to walk your area to understand your dirt and what it may need to be productive for your goal of planting.


These are all done after you have made your decision on if you are going to plant a garden, and what type it will be a vegetable, fruit, or even flower garden.

Step 5: Decision between tilling the soil or creating raised beds

This step will be based on if you want to nourish your soil and till in some fertilizer or other amendments into it. However, if you have a bad back, hips or legs, you may want to go with the raised bed option. This way you will not be bending down so low to the garden not only for planting but killing those weeds in the future also. If you go with raised beds make sure the wood used is not pressure treated because those chemicals will leach into your food. Not a really good option since we are going for healthy vegetables or even fruit such as grapes or blueberries.

Contact the local County Extension Service

If you are really unsure of what you want to plant so they will grow in your area of the country. An example of help needed would be planting a lemon tree. If I was living in Maine, the lemon trees would freeze because of the weather, however, here in Albuquerque they grow just fine in a pot because they can be taken inside of a garage while they are in hibernation over the winter. This service is provided through the funding of the U.S. Department of Agriculture network.

Write down your preferences
If you are like me, you will need to write them down because we all have hectic lives and sometimes life gets the best of us. If you are planning a vegetable garden, again think about what your family likes to eat, what you normally purchase at the grocery stores or even can purchase because the store does not carry it. If you are planning on a flower garden, think about the colors you love and would like in a vase on your kitchen counter. Here in the desert we have a wide variety of colors, however, the yellows and purples are my favorite because they also attract those hummingbirds I spoke about in the last blog.

Make a Seasonal Plan

Each time of the year means different things for different people including our vegetables and even flowers. After your decision about what will grow in your yard and what time of year they will produce flowers or vegetables, you will need this schedule. An example would be if your flowers bloom in July then die planting some evergreens also will help with keeping the area look lush. Also, if your tomato plants take months to get as big as you would like them, plant smaller vegetables or herbs close so they can also use the space. This is called companion gardening. A big bush of basil in the tomato plants also keeps bugs away from the tomato. Again if you contact the local county extension office they can help with the plan so you have a productive garden.

Buy Some Basic Tools

The following is the minimum tools needed for the garden no matter what part of the country you reside:
spade, garden fork, soaking hose, hoe, hand weeder, baskets to collect the produce or flowers from the garden and a wheel barrow to help with adding the mulch or soil to your garden.

Ok now you have the minimum steps to get started, go outside with your family so they can get dirty also.

My three year old grandson has been working in the garden since he was 1 1/2 years old; he is an old man out there now.

Stay tuned for another post about Gardening in New Mexico.

Ronda Z