Arizona Backyard Nursery Fail to Functional High Desert Greenhouse.
- Charise Gardner
- May 15
- 2 min read
Watch that video and cringe, yes that is my brand new Mueller greenhouse and yes, that high desert nursery business failed. Not because I didn’t try hard enough but because the Arizona sun is cruel and I miscalculated the need. Sitting in the high desert of Arizona, roughly 2850’ in elevation, gardening hits different. We have actual winters where it freezes and summer's where everything scorches, I mean look at that video. Those greenhouse mega store pots melted in a short window out there. This is no joke and why all those Arizona homestead dreams are so hard to manage and why every time I see a newcomer that plans to live off grid in Arizona, I cry a little inside. Not because they don’t have the drive but because this is not something you will experience in many other places.
Spring of 2026 I learned that people in my area are giving up gardening because of the drought and our water rates. The people who are gardening are starting their own seeds in an attempt to save some money.
So now we will transition this space from a dedicated Arizona backyard nursery to a high desert greenhouse; from a seed starting shell into a living system. I’ll add more air flow, that little fan isn’t cutting it. We’ll add an evaporative cooler that will do two things: cool the air and add moisture, add another raised bed or two, and some full time herb and tea pots on those shelves.
I love growing in my greenhouse and we’ve had great success, but learning the hard way that a back yard nursery wasn’t in my cards hurt a little bit, I won’t lie.
But I’ve wiped the tears, straightened my tank top, put on my tennis shoes and we are off to the races. Make sure and subscribe to the newsletter so you don’t miss a gem or tear. Today it’s about refreshing the old soil with some slimy creepy crawly compost worms, adding some pots for herbs, tomatoes, and restarting that hydroponic system in the corner.
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