Now that Hubby is driving a truck he has decided he likes Arizona better than Colorado. He has found that Kingman is a place he will go through a couple times a week at least. So he wants to move there. I kinda had my heart set on Colorado but as long as I get out of Arkansas, I really don't care where we go.

Ofcourse my mom has to give me all the reasons why I shouldn't move there. Like "you can't have a garden, you can only grow cactuses in AZ" Well, I know thats not true. But I wondered if anyone from the board lives there. What can you tell me? Is gardening difficult? Any info would be great. Thanks in advance!

-- Kathleen (krob777@msn.com), September 07, 2000

Answers

I lived all over Arizona many years ago and I loved it. As far as a garden, it's like anywhere else. It depends on your ground. Some is better than others. Also, you might need to check with the locals as to which plants grow best in your area and what kind of ferterlizer to use. Unless you get ground that is all rock you'll be able to grow something. By the way. There's money in growing cactus if you know what you're doing. I've got about a hundred coming up from seed that I plan to sell. Unfortunately, I'm learning as I go.

-- Joe Cole (jcole@apha.com), September 07, 2000.

kathleen-

some areas of arizona are being affected by drought which can make water and gardening expensive. see if you can find the average rainfall for the kingman area. here in the phoenix area it is about 7 inches and we do not count on rain for anything- all fields and gardens have to be watered with some kind of irrigation. my well is about 700 feet deep and i have plenty of water for the cost of pumping it. i have a market garden for about 9 months. lauren

-- (ltlctl@yahoo.com), September 07, 2000.

I've lived in Arizona most of my life, including a few years in Kingman (last half of the '80's). Elevation is about 3,300. The ground is caliche and rock. Everyone thinks of cactus when they think of Arizona, but there are so many gorgeous indigenous plants! There's a lot of gardeners there. A friend used to pile all the horse manure by the road from all the horses she raised. The gardeners loved the free manure!

The town of Kingman got a bit of rain, but my ranch rarely got any. I was 10 miles outside of town. Having livestock, I put a free flow 1,000 gallon water tank about 1/4 of the way up one of the mountains for emergencies, and only used it once when the well needed servicing. I didn't do any gardening.

Weather is constantly changing all over the country, so I don't know what Kingman's weather is like today.

-- ~Rogo (rogo2020@yahoo.com), September 07, 2000.

Kathleen, I lived in Arizona (Phoenix and Glendale) for about 15 years and loved it, especially in the winter. It is hot and dry, so the gardening techniques you have used in the past may not work. Think MULCH! Lots of it, and thick. Also, plant in wells, indentions in the ground with a berm around it. Water is too precious out there to let it soak into the surrounding bare earth. We used grey water to keep fruit trees going. As for animals, keep a good eye on them. My vet told me no horse or cow is going to lick enough salt off a block to do any good, and that I should give them extra salt in a bran mash. They loved it. Rabbits were a challenge, too. We would hang burlap bags around the outside of the hutch and keep them wet. Acted like a natural evaporative cooler. Nowdays, those mist systems are available like they use at outdoor restraunts. They would be even better. Of course, shade is a must for all the animals. If you have any specific questions, please feel free to e me. goatgal

-- melina bush (goatgal1@juno.com), September 07, 2000.

I'm actually looking forward to checking out the area. I expect gardening to be a challenge--it is for me anyhow :). Is it true that the lower humidity makes the heat easier to bear? The heat really makes me sick, but I think alot of it may be the humidity. Not to mention the allergies. I think health wise, Arizona will be a major improvement.

-- Kathleen (krob777@msn.com), September 07, 2000.