Seasonal Gardening Resources | New Mexico State University

Reference Materials

Circular 457: Home Vegetable Gardening in NM
Provides general information for growing vegetables in home gardens. Includes the EIGHT SIMPLE STEPS FOR A SUCCESSFUL GARDEN, as well as a chart showing When to Plant Cool-Season and Warm-Season Vegetables. Revised 2014.
Circular 457-B: Growing Zones, Recommended Crop Varieties, and Planting and Harvesting Information for Home Vegetable Gardens in NM , Companion to Circular 457.
Includes a New Mexico growing zones map, as well as a table providing recommended crop variety and planting dates, days to harvest, planting instructions, and yield information.
Guide A-150: Principles of Cover Cropping for Arid and Semi-arid Farming Systems
Using appropriate cover crops can prevent or reduce soil erosion and enhance soil health. Discusses various considerations in choosing warm- and cold-weather cover crops.

Codling Moth (Apple and Pear pest)
New - Added to the Seasonal Gardening page under Spring: Codling Moth information, from USU Extension.

Starting Seeds Indoors – Utah State University Extension (external site)
- Video - How To: Start Seeds Indoors - Click to watch the video...
- Handout - Start Your Own Seedlings Indoors - Click to download the document...
- Article - Grow Your Own Transplants At Home - Click to download the document...
Suggested Planting Dates
Note: Each site and each season are unique. Know your microclimate.
- Circular 457: Home Vegetable Gardening in NM
- USU Vegetable Garden - Click to view USU page and resources... (external site)

Fruit Tree and Orchard Pruning
- Guide H-156 - Tree Pruning Techniques
  NMSU Extension, Curtis W. Smith.
- Guide H-327 - Pruning the Home Orchard
  NMSU Extension, Revised by Shengrui Yao.
- Pruning Fruit Trees Clip with Confidence
  USU Extension (external site)
- Training and Pruning Peach Fruit Trees
  USU Extension (external site)
- Training and Pruning Apple Trees
  USU Extension (external site)
- Pruning the Orchard
  USU Extension (external site)

Grapes
- Guide H-303 - Pruning Grapes to the Four-Arm Kniffin System
  NMSU Extension, Revised by Gill Giese.
- Grapevine Pruning
  NMSU Extension Demo Video with Gill Giese.
- Pruning Grapevines - First Year
  NMSU Extension Demo Video with Gill Giese.

September and October
September is a good time to plant cool season vegetables for fall harvest as well as prep your garden for fall/winter.
- Remove diseased or waning warm season vegetables.
- Make room in your bed for your fall planting. It is OK to cut or pull producing plants; you do not need to have every single tomato, pepper, eggplant, or squash up until frost. Keep enough to enjoy and remove the rest.
- Incorporate compost into your planting beds and re-hydrate your planting beds for adequate soil moisture throughout.
- Recommended vegetables for planting include peas, carrots, beets, kale, chard, lettuce, radish, turnips.
- Many can take a light frost, but a sheet or row cover to protect is recommended.
- Establish cover crop now to last all winter.

Hoops, Mulch, and Cold Frames
- Circular 606: High Tunnel Hoop House Construction for NM
  Published by Del Jimenez, Agriculture Specialist, Rural Agricultural Improvement and Public Affairs Project RAIPAP].
  See also these related videos:

Mid September - Mid October
- A good time to plant garlic depending on your frost/freeze date range.
- Create raised beds for planting next year:
  * Fill your raised beds with rotting wood, cut plant material, compost, dried leaves/straw, manure, and garden soil.
  * Water adequately and let it rest for planting next year.
  * You may need to top the bed with compost and soil next spring due to shrinkage.

Guide H-234: Garlic Production NM
Tips for planting garlic in your garden. Discusses varieties, planting, pest control, and harvesting.

Fall/Winter Gardening Tips
Checklist for Trees, Perennials, Annuals, Vegetables, and Houseplants. [Click to download...(http://cahe.nmsu.edu/county/bernalillo/farmranch/documents/fall-winter-garden-tips_bernco-ces_jgarlisch_2019.pdf) the list, by John Garlisch.

Publications For Winter Gardening

Fact Sheet-09-39 - Plant Season Extension in the Desert
Benefits of extending the growing season; Selecting and establishing the growing site; Sun exposure; Slope and elevation, etc. Includes sections on Mulch, Hoop Houses, and Low Tunnels. University of Nevada CES.
Season Extension Tools & Techniques
Windbreaks, Cultivar Selection, Floating Row Covers, High and Low Tunnels, and more. Univ. of Kentucky School of Agriculture CES.
Extending the Garden Season with Season Extension
Cold Frames, Greenhouses, as well as High & Low Tunnels and Cold Frames. Univ. of Nebraska-Lincoln, Nebraska Extension: Community Environment.
Circular 606: High Tunnel Hoop House Construction for NM
Discusses materials and includes step-by-step instructions for building these affordable practical high tunnel hoop houses.
Building Hoop Houses
NEW - Downloadable, 32-page book: Hard-Sided High Tunnel Construction, by the University of Wyoming Extension.

Videos

How to Extend the Growing Season
Learn about structure to extend your growing season, including this video about building a cold frame, by Utah State Univ. Extension.
How to Build a Low Tunnel Part 1: Bending low tunnel frames
Building a mini-hoop; demonstrates how to bend 10-foot EMT conduit with a four-foot pipe bender, by University of Illinois Extension Horticulture.

Hoops

Extending the Gardening Season Using Raised Beds, Parts 1-4
Four videos showing the steps to building the mini hoops (see following Plans and Materials List) , from The Univ. of Maine Cooperative Extension.
Plans and Materials List
Downloadable PDF. Drawings and items for building mini hoops on top of the raised bed (see above videos RE Extending the Gardening Season...) , from The Univ. of Maine Cooperative Extension.