Best Vegetables to Grow in Arizona

You may think of a desert landscape when the state of Arizona is mentioned. However, there are mountainous and plateau areas that are cooler, in the north. If you live in this state these are things to consider when deciding when to plant your vegetable seeds. The USDA plant hardiness zones span from 5 to 10 in Arizona. Zone 10, which is considered a very warm climate, includes the Yuma and Phoenix areas. Most vegetables can be grown in Arizona, because it is a long growing season state, for the most part.

Note: find your Arizona planting zone at the online National Arboretum USDA plant hardiness zone map.

Cool Season Vegetables

Cool Season Vegetables are referred to as so, because the seeds are not bothered by frost and will germinate in cool soil. In fact, cool season vegetables don't like hot weather and need to ripen in cooler climates or during cooler months. Beet, broccoli, spinach, radish, pea, lettuce, eggplant, cucumber, beans (certain varieties), onion, potato and turnip all vegetables in this category. For Arizona, this also holds true. Plant these crops in late winter or very early spring. You want to harvest them before the mid-summer heat appears. In the southern part of the state, you can get two plantings from these crops. The second round can be planted in late summer, so that the cool season vegetables will be harvested during fall when the temperatures are lower.

Warm Season Vegetables

Warm season vegetable seeds must be planted after the last frost, in your location, and after the soil has warmed a bit. These vegetables, unlike cool season vegetables, need the warmth of the sun to germinate, grow and mature. Beans (certain varieties), eggplant, cucumber, pepper, squash, pumpkin, melon, sweet corn, tomato and sweet potato fall under this category. The more difficult Arizona regions to grow warm season vegetables is the very warm, zone 10 locations and the cooler winters in the zone 5 locations. This means a shorter warm vegetable season for zone 10 and 5, one because of heat and the other because of cold.

When to Plant

For the largest part of Arizona, the time from planting vegetable seeds to harvest can be estimated. Time will vary, somewhat, depending on the variety. Some of the most popular vegetables include: Beans (snap, bush, 45 to 60 days), broccoli (60 to 80 days), cabbage (60 to 90 days), carrot (70 to 80 days), sweet corn (70 to 90 days), cucumber (50 to 70 days), head lettuce (70 to 120 days), pepper (60 to 90 days), potato (75 to 100 days), Sweet potato (100 to 130 days) and radish (25 to 40 days).