There are a lot of things to like about the High Desert, but it is not a garden friendly environment. The growing season is short and the soil is volcanic sand. While sunshine is abundant, it’s dry and hot in the summer and bitterly cold in the winter.
In our case there are a couple of additional obstacles. Our house sits on a small urban lot, unfenced and landscaped for the desert environment.
Also, we have a mule deer population undeterred by human presence and able to strip a plant to its branches . . . usually just as it’s starting to bloom.
That said, we have attempted to cultivate some crops in small raised beds.
We’ve managed a yearly harvest of garlic, onions and root vegetables. It worked because they store well and aren’t as attractive to the deer.
Our efforts at gardening this side of the Cascades are regulated by how much effort one is willing to expend.
Last year we added vertical planters on our porch, Green Stalk. Basically stackable soil bins that you irrigate via a top mounted reservoir. They sit on rotating bases and occupy very little space.
It also has fitted frost coverings that allow a good deal of protection to overwinter root corps and protect berry plants.
In the multiple planting pockets are strawberries, greens, and some root crops which seem to thrive in the relative shade of our patio.
A couple of pockets of petunias produce prolific blossoms attracting pollinators well into the fall. This next season might see the addition of a couple of tomato plants, a patio classic.
We’ve worked gardens on many different scales, sustainable to container . This small patio gardening fits our life these days.
