Best Vegetables for the Southwest
These varieties are built to thrive in the conditions where you live
1. Purple tomatillo
Maturity: 80 to 90 days
Yield: 5 to 15 pounds of fruit per plant
Needs: Full sun; rich, loose soil (but will tolerate heavy clay soil)
A gorgeous addition to any garden, tomatillos can become small trees if the conditions are right, so plan accordingly. Planted in late spring through early summer, the purple tomatillo is a stout, upright plant with yellow flowers, and produces husk-covered purple fruit. Sweeter than green varieties, the 2-inch-long fruit is a vivid addition to salsa. Fruit is ripe when they break through the husk, showing their purple skin. If there’s a threat of frost, be sure to pick even husk-covered fruit; slightly underripe fruit can still be used as you would use mature fruit, though they are not as sweet. Plants can become brittle as they mature and fill with heavy fruit, so be careful when harvesting or working around them.
2. ‘Chinese Red Noodle’ bean
Maturity: 50 to 60 days
Yield: 1 to 4 pounds of beans per plant
Needs: Full sun; moist, well-drained soil (but will tolerate heavy clay soil)
This is a fun and tasty bean, producing attractive, 18-inch-long red pods. Thriving in the summer heat, this strong, vining plant sends out large, unusual purple-pink flowers before forming its pods. Eaten whole (pod and all), ‘Chinese Red Noodle’ beans are sweet and tender, retaining some of their color even when cooked. Pick the beans when they feel solid or when they have slightly loose skin. Make sure to harvest often because mature pods will slow further bean production. Beans can be used dry.
3. ‘Santa Fe Grande’ pepper
Maturity: 80 to 90 days
Yield: 2 to 5 pounds of fruit per plant
Needs: Full sun; rich, loose soil (but will tolerate heavy clay soil)
Mildly spicy, this heirloom pepper thrives in the heat of southwestern summers. ‘Santa Fe Grande’ can be direct-seeded or transplanted. To germinate in the ground, seeds will need warm soil and air. To start producing fruit, the plant needs really hot temperatures. It produces high yields of 4-inch-long peppers throughout the growing season and is an excellent pepper for roasting.
4. ‘Green Striped Cushaw’ winter squash
Maturity: 80 to 90 days
Yield: Five squash (weighing 5 to 10 pounds apiece) per plant
Needs: Full sun; rich, loose soil (but will tolerate heavy clay soil)
A Native American heirloom, ‘Green Striped Cushaw’ is a huge, vigorous vine, so give it plenty of room when planting. Direct-sow in late spring to early summer. If the fruit is exposed to a cold snap, their thick, pale orange flesh will become sweeter. Fruit weighs 5 pounds on average but can get as heavy as 20 pounds. They store well at cooler room temperatures, gaining flavor through the winter.
—Eric Luther runs Desert Greens, a community-supported agriculture farm in Las Cruces, New Mexico.
Photos: David Cavagnaro
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