New Mexico Newbie

[NMgardener]

Hi everyone,
     I have been lurking for a while, but decided to finally post.  I have gotten such good info from here and I would like to thank everyone.
     I was new to the earthbox last year and because of this forum, I had a great year.  I have never grown tomatoes like I did last year and I can't wait to get started this year!. 

[Sun City Linda]

And so it begins!  Welcome.  You'll have many more EBs in the future I suspect.  LInda

[PaulB]

Hello NMgardener, I see you are in the Duke City, and I am over here in UFO central.  If I can help you in any way with your eb garden, please let me know.  Hope you didn't get much wind damage today.  Welcome to the forum.

[NMgardener]

Thanks for the welcomes! 
We are getting slammed with winds up here in the Duke city.  There hasn't been to much damage yet, but it's still blowing now.  The winds in NM are phenomenal!
Paul--do you have to shade your boxes during the summer?  The sun was kind of hard on some of my crops last year.

[PaulB]

Yes, I used a beige shade cloth on the west and half of the roof of my tomato tunnel.  Look at my thread "My Garden Update" in the My Earthbox section to see pictures of it.  I had a narrow piece of green shadecloth just on the west side first, then replaced it with the wider beige one.  It worked very well.

I only used it on the tomatos, the squash and herb boxes don't have any structure near them.

[techytom]

Hey there, NMGardener, I'm a brand new newbie here in Rio Rancho out in the very NW corner of the city, way out in the niddle of the desert.  I just purchased my first EB a few days ago to see if I can combat some of the outdoor effects of our perpetual sun.

I was contemplating just planting some herbs to see what might happen -- basil, parsley and cilantro.  I start them all indoors from seed, although I may start the cilantro directly from seed in the box.

What kinds of plants are you planting?  Let's share!!!!

Tom
Rio Rancho

[PaulB]

Hi Tom, and welcome to the forum.  Glad to see another NM eb gardener, you will love the growing system.  Since I live in Roswell, just a little hotter than you are, if I can answer any questions for you, I would love to.  I have 20 boxes and am beginning my third year of using them.

Herbs will do great, although I have had trouble with sage, it always seems to die on me.  Basil does fantasticly, as does dill and parsley.  Cilantro gets a little tricky, although I may not have tried the same variety that you are contemplating.  Tomatillo did great as did rosemary.  My chives and garlic chives overwintered outside and are sprouting new growth.  These were all grown in full sun.  I provide some shade for the tomatos, so they fare better.  I cover the top and west side of my tomato tunnel with shade cloth, the beige variety, leaving the morning sun full access to the plants.  This also helps modify the wind damage.

Here is my journal, if you want to take a peek at how I do things: http://forum.earthbox.com/index.php?topic=5805.120