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Summer Gardening in Arizona

This post has been a long-time reader favorite since I first published it in 2018. It was updated with new images and watering guidelines in January 2025.

The challenge with vegetable gardening in the low desert of Arizona comes when temperatures soar in the hot, dry summer months. It can be challenging, but don’t give up! It is possible to have a productive vegetable garden in hot climates like Arizona during the summer heat. Here are the essentials for summer gardening in Arizona and other hot climates.

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Article Index:

1. Plant Heat-Loving Varieties
2. Provide Shade
3. Water Correctly
4. Mulch
5. Adjust Expectations
6. Consider Taking the Summer Off

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6 Tips for Summer Gardening in Arizona

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1. Plant Heat-Loving Varieties for a Summer Vegetable Garden in the Low Desert of Arizona

When summer vegetable gardening in Arizona, choosing suitable vegetables and planting them at the correct time is a matter of life and death for the plants. Use this Arizona Vegetable Planting Guide. Select varieties that mature quickly.

A few vegetables survive and even thrive in our intense summers. Here are a few of my favorites:

• Asparagus beans thrive in the heat and produce all summer. Plant from March through the beginning of July in the low desert of Arizona. For more information about growing asparagus beans, read this post.
• Malabar Spinach. Plant from March through May in the low desert and harvest it all summer and fall. For more information about growing Malabar spinach, read this post.
• Armenian cucumbers are a long, slender fruit in the melon family that taste like a cucumber and look like a cucumber inside. Plant them in the low desert of Arizona from the end of February through the beginning of July. For more information about growing Armenian cucumbers, read this post.
• Sweet Potatoes grow best in hot weather—plant transplants or slips from the end of March through June in the low desert of Arizona. For more information about growing sweet potatoes, read this post.
• Other crops that grow well in a vegetable garden during the summer in Arizona are okra, basil, tepary beans, and melons, particularly desert-adapted varieties such as Chimayo melons.

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Vegetable, Herb, and Fruit Planting Guide for the Low Desert of Arizona

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2. Provide Shade for Summer Vegetable Gardens in Arizona

The sun’s intense rays in the hottest months of the year are too much for most plants. Shade cloth, sunflowers, and vining plants can all be used to provide shade for tomatoes, bell peppers, newly-planted plants, and other plants that prefer shade when summer gardening in Arizona.

Wondering if your garden really needs shade? In Why Add Shade to Your Garden in Summer, I share how shade protects plants, conserves water, and extends your growing season.

Shade Cloth for Summer Gardening in Arizona

If you are growing a vegetable garden during the summer in Arizona and the garden area is in full sun, consider adding shade cloth. Don’t think of completely enclosing the garden, but providing some relief when the sun is at its highest. The area should receive some sun throughout the day. For example, attach shade cloth to existing trellises with zip ties.

Sunflowers Can Shade Arizona Summer Gardens

Add sunflowers around your garden to provide shade. Sunflowers are one of the easiest plants to grow from seed. Sunflowers grow quickly and, depending on the variety, can offer shade to surrounding plants. Plant sunflowers from February through July. Learn how to grow sunflowers in this guide.

Vining Plants Can Shade Arizona Summer Gardens

When growing a vegetable garden during the summer in Arizona, consider planting sun-loving vining vegetables (Armenian cucumbers, luffa, malabar spinach, etc.) purposely to provide shade for other plants that don’t tolerate full sun. Notice areas in your garden that could utilize plants as shade. For example, vining vegetables can be grown over artichoke crowns that go dormant during hot summers to protect them from intense heat that might damage the crowns.

Want more ideas for creating shade in your summer garden? This article shares more of my favorite tips. 

Not sure how much sun your veggies need? Check out this guide on Which Vegetables Need Shade (and Which Thrive in Full Sun) to help your garden thrive.

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3. Water Arizona Summer Gardens Correctly

Watering summer vegetable gardens in Arizona correctly is the most critical care you can give your plants. Problems in the garden are often traced back to watering issues. 

Observing your plants and soil is the best way to determine how much you should water. There is no set time for everyone to water because many factors are involved (sun, shade, air temp, microclimate, age and size of the plant, etc.).

Principles to consider when watering:

• Water deep and wide enough to moisten the plant’s root system. Let the top inch of soil dry out before you water again.
• Monitor plants for signs of underwatering stress (leaf curl, wilted or dropped leaves, branch dieback) to help you determine how often to water. Plants require more water in dry, windy, and summer heat.
• Do not overwater. Plants that wilt in the afternoon but recover by morning suffer heat stress, not water stress. Take care to add more moisture so as not to cause root rot. Allow plants to develop some heat tolerance by not overwatering.
• Salt builds up in the soil where the watering level ends. Occasionally water deeply to flush the salts out of the root zone and ground.
• Water the soil not the plant. Avoid putting water on the leaves because of the salt content in our water.
• Water in the morning. Plants absorb moisture more effectively in the morning. 
• Some type of automatic watering system is best.  Try to be in the garden when the system is on so you can be aware of any issues. I use the watering grids from Garden in Minutes  (Use code Angela10 to save $10 off $100.)
• Consider adding ollas. Ollas are a form of plant irrigation that slowly provides water at the roots as the water seeps out of the terra cotta pot that is buried underground. You refill the olla as it empties.
• Get tips for the best way to water raised beds in this guide.

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4. Mulch Summer Gardens in Arizona

Mulch, mulch, and mulch your vegetable garden during Arizona summers. Use compost, pine needles, or straw around your plants. Growing a vegetable garden during the summer in Arizona means adding mulch. Learn more about what to use for mulch in this guide.

Here are a few of the many reasons to mulch: 

• It insulates the soil and keeps the temperatures even.
• Mulching slows evaporation, allowing plants access to more water.
• Mulching keeps the soil from developing a hard crust that is difficult for irrigation to soak into.
• Weeds are less likely to sprout. When you mulch, your plants won’t compete with weeds for water and nutrients.
• As the mulch decomposes, it adds organic matter and nutrients to the soil.

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5. Adjust Expectations for Summer Gardening in Arizona

• Understand your garden will probably not look its best in the summer heat.
• Be aware that pollen in pepper and tomato plants may not be viable when temperatures are over 100°F. The set fruit will continue to mature, but new fruit may not be produced.
• With intense heat, long days, and nights that don’t cool off, many plants go into summer dormancy. They focus on staying alive rather than growing.
• This is not the time to prune, trim, or over-fertilize.
• Stressed plants are more prone to pests and diseases. Monitor plants and consider pulling them if they become overwhelmed so the rest of the garden is not infected.
• Plants may emerge from dormancy during the monsoon season and more humid months of July and August.

New to gardening in the heat? Elevated Garden Bed Tips for Hot Climates is a great place to start if you’re working with a small space or just want an easier setup to manage.

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6. Consider Taking the Summer Off When Gardening in Arizona

Growing a vegetable garden during the summer in Arizona is challenging. If you travel frequently, don’t like the planting options, or would rather not spend extra time outdoors during the hottest time of the year, here are some alternatives:

• Let the garden rest. Cover with a very thick (3-5 inch) layer of mulch and provide some irrigation. Do not let the soil dry out.
• Feed the soil with a cover crop. Learn more about cover crops in this article.
• “Solarize” your soil. Only do this if your soil has significant weed issues, diseases, or nematodes. Solarizing the soil uses the sun’s heat to kill the weed seeds, diseases, or nematodes lurking in the soil. Unfortunately, it also kills the beneficial microbes in the soil.            

A Basic Overview of Solarizing:

• Add manure into the soil & water well. 
• Cover with clear heavy plastic sheeting.
• Bury the edges of the plastic, or hold it down with rocks.
• Allow soil to “bake” in the sun for 6 weeks.
• Read this article from the Arizona Cooperative Extension office for more information about solarizing soil.

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Looking for more information about gardening in Arizona?

• Monthly guides for what to do and plant each month of the year in the low desert.
• Seasonal tips for gardening in Arizona.
• Gardening classes focusing on successfully gardening in Arizona.
• If you would like to learn more about the principles of successful desert gardening, my guide, “Desert Gardening: How to Grow Vegetables in a Hot, Dry Climate,” may be helpful.

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