WHAT TO PLANT IN |
Southwest Region
| “I’d come home in the evening and pick, wash, and stack the day’s ripe produce. The following morning (while I was at work), Angie’d gather up books, jars, canning gear, worry beads, the phone (to call for advice) and ..(gulp!)..can! The next day, Ang’d do the picking, washing and stacking. Then, when I got home, I’d grab the books, phone, canner, worry beads…and take my chances. When we finally saw each other on weekends, all we could talk about was “Where did you get that idea?”, “Wow, did you write that down?”, and “Oh! So that’s the way you’re supposed to do it.”Jay Williams, Live “Country” in the CityIssue #60, November/December 1979To read more about what to plant in other months and regions, visit our What to Plant Now home page.For planting times specific to your zip code, check out the MOTHER EARTH NEWS Vegetable Garden Planner.
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Top Crops for the Southwest Region: |
Here are the Top Ten crops for the Southwest region, followed by other recommended crops, as rated in our National Survey of Most Productive Garden Crops. (The criteria for selection include ease of culture, efficient use of garden space and time, ease of storage and desirability at the table.) The recommended crops are sorted by plant family to help you plan rotations so that the same plant families are not grown consecutively in the same area, as much as possible.
Top 10 Crops: Southwest Region
1. Potato
2. Garlic
3. Cherry tomato
4. Bulb onion
5. Slicing tomato
6. Carrot
7. Summer squash
8. Snow/snap pea
9. Paste tomato
10. Sweet pepper
Other Highly Recommended Crops:
Cabbage family: Kale, kohlrabi
Cucumber family: Cucumber, pumpkin, winter squash
Leafy greens: Arugula, chard, Chinese cabbage, mache, lettuce, pac choi, spinach
Legumes: Dry soup beans, edamame, fava bean, snap beans, snow/snap and shell peas, Southern peas
Root crops: Beet, radish, rutabaga, shallot, sunchoke, sweet potato
Tomato family: Eggplant, peppers (all types), tomatillo
VEGETABLES | Sow Indoors | Sow Outdoors | Transplant |
| Arugula | XXX | ||
| Beet | XXX | ||
| Bok choy (pac choi) | XXX | XXX | |
| Broccoli | XXX | ||
| XXX | |||
| XXX | |||
| XXX | |||
| Cauliflower | XXX | ||
| XXX | |||
| Chard | XXX | XXX | |
| Chinese cabbage | XXX | XXX | |
| Collards | XXX | ||
Endive/escarole | XXX | ||
| XXX | XXX | |
| Kohlrabi | XXX | XXX | |
| Leek | XXX | XXX | |
| Lettuce | XXX | XXX | XXX |
| Mustard | XXX | ||
| Onions | XXX | XXX | |
| Parsnip | XXX | ||
| Peas | XXX | ||
| Radish | XXX | ||
| Rutabaga | XXX | ||
| Spinach | XXX | XXX | XXX |
| XXX |
Sow Indoors | Sow Outdoors | Transplant | |
| XXX | |||
| XXX | XXX | |
| XXX | XXX | XXX | |
| Rosemary | XXX | ||
| Thyme | XXX |
RESOURCES* To learn more about when to sow seeds (indoors and outdoors) or when to transplant your seedlings to the garden, see: Know When to Plant What: Find Your Average Last Spring Frost Date. * To learn more about how to start seeds, check out Seed-starting Basics. For a primer on how to transplant seedlings, see Garden Transplanting: Expert Advice. * Find garden seeds from great mail-order companies with our Plant and Seed Finder. * Learn more about high-quality seeds and great seed companies in Best Seeds for a Bigger, Better Garden and Best Garden Seed Companies, or through our seed company directory. * You might also try swapping seeds locally. * For tips on growing everything from apples to zucchini, see our Organic Gardening homepage. |
