Garden Shelter Arrival
Starting a garden in the Arizona desert is quite an undertaking but not impossible with the right preparation. Plans need to be made to protect your garden. After struggling with the idea I needed a greenhouse for years, I decided all I really needed was some sort of fencing and some way to shade the garden during the hottest months of our southern Arizona year; that would be May through June. A lot of searching led me to a chicken coop. It sounds funny but the chicken coop had all the features I desired; security fencing for the perimeter of my garden, plenty of space inside for growth, a structure to place shade cloth over, and at a reasonable cost. Here in the desert there are plenty of hungry animals during the dry months when green plants are impossible to find. Every time I would bring up a sprout it was soon stolen by one of our desert friends being the only green thing around. The perpetrators ranged from birds to rodents to deer. Deer also invade my rose bushes but that’s another tale for another day. The next step would be ground preparation. Clearing the ground is necessary in order to control weed growth. My plan is to have raised beds and use the Square Foot Gardening method as a way to control weeds and conserve water; another concern in the Arizona desert.
Here is a link to the bargain Chicken Coop I found online: https://www.wayfair.com/pet/pdp/tucker-murphy-pet-thaddeus-metal-walk-in-chicken-run-with-wire-mesh-for-up-to-20-chickens-bpsp1122.html?piid=
Follow this blog to follow along as I put this together and hopefully have my garden set up before the summer heat sets in fully.
Garden Ground Preparation
