On 9 Jul 2004 14:26:44 -0700, (Lauren) wrote:

I'm a beginning gardener! I've had tons of success with large
container gardening in my BARREN Vegas backyard. I bought all my
edibles as seedlings at a local nursery... tomatoes, peppers, squash,
green beans and eggplants. If I plant by Feb and harvest late
May-June, everything's fine. BUT, I want to continue growing stuff
throughout the summer and notice the nurseries never sell
seedlings/seeds for edibles that are tolerant of southwest conditions.
So, I came across a catalog provided by a non-profit group called
Native Seed Search that sells seeds for a variety of edibles that are
more heat/drought tolerant than your average plants. Anyone have luck
growing in the southwest June-Sept?? With Native Seed company?

Looks like an interesting heirloom seed source. (
http://www.nativeseeds.org/v2/default.php )

I didn't see anything specifically about heat- or drought-tolerant
plants, although I did see mention of "low desert" for a particular
tomato. "Drought-tolerant" and "grows happily in a desert" are rather
different designations.

Garden centers carry veg seeds and plants in early spring when most
people's throughts turn to gardening, just as clothing stores
introduce bathing suits in March that are all gone by July. If you
are getting good results from the plants you buy, the best thing
might be to ask your garden center what varieties they are, and buy
seeds of the same. You could also try the UNLV extension office.
(see: http://www.unce.unr.edu/Southern/mg/mg_sites.html )