Hello Plant Lovers, Do you live in Dubai and do you wanna grow your own vegetables? Well and then you need to follow this article to grow vegetables in UAE. In this article, we will also explained about all the requirements for growing vegetables in the Emirates of Dubai.
Introduction to Growing Vegetables in Dubai
There are very difficult conditions for growing herbs or vegetables, but not impossible. Vegetable gardeners and growers in the country would, therefore, be greatly helped with knowledge about watering, fertilization, and plant protection. The list of vegetable plants suitable for Dubai climate buy yourself such as
Dubai, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi, Fujairah is known for the gardening of date palms during the summar in desert. But many more plants are grown- vegetable plants such as cereals, fodder, and herbs in plastic greenhouses and open fields. However, the produce of those vegetable plants is very low. This is primarily due to the lack of the latest knowledge about watering, fertilization, and even plant protection. The scarcity and salinity of drip watering water are not helping either. In addition, it is hot in UAE the average summer temperature is 42°C-45°C, which is stressful for vegetable plants.
Things to Remember When Growing Vegetables in Dubai
A Step-by-Step Planting Guide for Growing Vegetables in Dubai
To start vegetable planting and growing a successful and sustainable garden in Dubai under its hard weather conditions, you need to remember these below mention things.
#1 Amend the soil.
Test the soil in your vegetable garden for salinity.
Try to decrease the salinity in the soil by washing the salts out. If it is too salty, then decrease and displace it with sweet sand. Combine perlite and commercial potting mix. All well-drained soil types in desert environments will benefit from adding organic compost manure.
#2 Choose your plants wisely.
Where possible, you need to use homegrown vegetable plants or then prefer other vegetable plants that grow well in heat and do not require a lot of water. Planting both cool- and warm-weather vegetables will give you a harvest of vegetables and herbs continuously around the spring, summer season, and fall. In early spring, you need to grow lettuce, greens like arugula, peas, radishes, carrots, and broccoli. After you have harvested your cool-weather vegetable plants, plant hot-weather favorites, such as tomatoes, pepper, eggplant, and herbs. In fall, you can harvest some vegetable plants such as potatoes, cabbage, and kale.
#3 Check whether you have a west or east-facing yard.
Your choice of vegetable plants will depend on the quantity of sun the backyard gets in a day. Know each vegetable plant’s sun requirements. For example:
Eggplants and okra are two beautiful plants that are sun lovers. Lettuce grows well in a partly shady area. If attacked by aphids just give a very good water soaker hose blasting and it will be fine. Potatoes like a sunny spot with plenty of moisture. Pepper, if placed outside, requires being in a partially shaded area. Carrots grow to do well in a partially shaded suitable location with a micro-climate condition environment.
#4 Lots of sunlight
All you require is a sunny windowsill or pop a vegetable planter anywhere in your house. If you don’t have a constant sun-lit window, you will require providing some type of vegetable plant lighting. Lack of sunshine will leave you with spindly, stressed vegetable plants, having little flavour.
Like all plants, vegetables require the sun to kick well-being photosynthesis. The fastly growing vegetable plants require full sun at least six to eight hours of direct sunlight a day without blockage from vegetable plants, shrubs, or fences. That’s why you won’t have much success if you vegetable plant sun-loving vegetables in partial shady limited spaces. If your backyard supplies partial shade, vegetable plants, and herbs that allow those climate conditions, such as lettuce, kale, chard, spinach, chives, cilantro, parsley, and thyme. Root vegetable plants such as carrots, radishes, and beets seem also to work if your site gets at least 4 hours of direct sunlight a day. Or if you have a sunny shade patio, switch to pot gardening. That way you can place growing vegetables and herbs includes tomatoes, cucumbers, beans, basil, dill, and rosemary.
#5 Use potting soil
Use potting soil instead of regular well-drained soil from the garden ground. Potting soil is moderately and well-draining. You can buy the potting soil from your local nursery and also ask the gardeners there how much soil each vegetable plant requires. Add some organic compost to the soil to better its quality.
#6 Feed them right
If your vegetable plants look like they are struggling, feed them every other month with a fertilizer labelled for use on edible vegetable plants. Herbs have a more thickened flavour if the vegetable is grown without a lot of fertilizer. Adjust the quantity of fertilizer according to your vegetable plant’s requirements.
#7 Water regularly
Use a watering can or other containers to bring water to the vegetable plants. Don’t leave it too long among watering, especially on very hot weather climatic days. You will require being able to water often during the first few weeks of vegetable seed germinating and the seedling is transplanted to help these fragile vegetable plants supply strong roots and stems. Once your vegetable plants are developed, it’s improved to give your vegetable garden a long drink every few days rather than a little sprinkle every day. Then the water will move deeper into the well-drained soil, which supports roots to grow deeper, where they are improved able to access nutrients they require to stay healthy. Consider installing soaker hoses or drip watering on a timer to help minimize water waste and the time you require to spend watering.
Common Vegetables That You Can Grow in Dubai, UAE
Okra Peppers Pumpkins and squash Beans Cucumbers and Sweet corn Eggplants
#1 Okra
The drought- allow vegetables will grow well alongside such as melons, cucumbers, sweet peppers, and eggplants, but ensure to go for heirloom different types of varieties of okra with deeper root systems. The far-reaching roots tolerate the vegetables to boast better dry spells and heat tolerance qualities. Probably one of the good summer vegetables is okra. A true hot-weather vegetable, it loves warm nights. Just mulch to retain the roots a little cooler and to spread moisture. But the most important thing, chooses the pods when small, no more than 3 inches max, and choose every day or at least every other day. This okra plant is very abundant, but unforgiving if you let the pods get too big. Then they become woody.
#2 Peppers
They take up very little limited space in the vegetable garden, less than a tomato plant. You can always compress in a sweet pepper plant or two, no matter how small your vegetable garden space.
Peppers even grow very well in pots or planters. Ensure you plant your peppers in a bed that receives direct sunlight all day long. The soil should be well-drained and moist the pepper plants should be planted a minimum of 30 centimeters apart.
Most sweet peppers grown-up in 60 to 90 days, while hot peppers can take up to 150 days to grown-up. Hot peppers might be thought of as a more tropical vegetable, but really can grow just about anywhere, even indoors. You can keep your pepper plants producing by harvesting regularly, once they reach an eatable size.
Many gardeners like to tolerate their peppers to fully ripen and change color, but ripe vegetables are disposed to lose some of their heat. Cut the vegetables from the plant, don’t pull. Hot peppers are very best used within days of harvest. They frost well and are used a lot in home keeping as well.
#3 Pumpkins and squash
Summer squash is a very warm-weather climatic condition plant that takes more room in the home vegetable garden than most vegetables, but, given the right humid conditions, it out-produces other options. It also can be used in a large variety of plants. These Hearty soup, stew, and side dish choices are perfect for soaring summer temperatures, especially if you go for moschata- type summer squashes that require night-time temperatures of more than 15℃ to grow well that’s a breeze in our edge of the vegetable garden.
#4 Beans
Beans like warm soil, so for best seed germination when sowing your bean seeds, wait until the soil temperatures are warmer than 16℃. For extra quick seed germination, soak the seeds in water for 30 minutes before beans seed planting, or put the seeds among two damp paper towels the night before planting. An amazing and healthy variety of beans can supply all summer long making for the ideal addition to salads or side dishes. The other compassion plants such tomatoes, eggplants, and peppers, etc., and yard-long beans.
#5 Cucumbers
Cucumber plants like warm temperatures for an increased harvest, cucumber plant, and a few more cucumbers about a month after you have planted the first round. Don’t forget to trellis, cucumber plants have excellent climbers. Nothing is sweeter than a homemade pickle.
#6 Sweet corn
Sweet corn is one of the best companion other vegetable plants like cucumber. Making for great two-in-one choices if you are have limited space. Sweet corn is wind-pollinated, so it should be planted in blocks, alternatively in single rows. Early, mid, and late-season and different varieties increase the harvest. If you miss the ideal harvest time, sweet corn will go downhill fast as sugars convert to starch.
#7 Eggplants
Eggplants will grow very well when planted through June and are best modified to high heat in a not-too-foggy environment. They do, however, require a significant quantity of nitrogen so you will have to use additional fertilizer and make sure the seedlings get plenty of suns. If you are have limited space, then try planting the seedlings alongside such as tomatoes, which also do well in sunshade, hot environments. Eggplant likes the heat and most take entirely a long vegetable growing season.
Common Vegetable planting in Hot Climate like Dubai
Vegetable plants Time to planting Maturity
- Okra All seasons 60 to 75 days
- Eggplant All seasons 90 to 120 days
- Peppers September to January 80 to 90 days
- Cucumber May to July 50 to 65 days
- Summer squash November to January 3 to 5 months
- Sweet corn September to October 55 to 95 days
- Beans All seasons 43 to 52 days
Another List of Plants You Can Grow in Dubai in summer
- Green Chillies: A green chilli is an important star in Indian cooking. This spice is grown throughout the year and so there is no scarcity and a good quantity is exported.
- Round gourd: Small round gourd, also called baby pumpkin, is a vegetable grown for its immature fruit. Green colored and apple sized, it is a slightly sour fruit which can be eaten cooked, candied or pickled.
- Kohlrabi: Also called German turnip, is a biennial vegetable, a low, stout cultivar of wild cabbage.
- Spinach: Spinach (Spinacia oleracea) is a leafy green flowering plant native to central and western Asia. It is of the order Caryophyllales, family Amaranthaceae, subfamily Chenopodioideae.
Best veggies to grow indoors in Dubai
1. Carrots
2. Tomatoes
3. Lettuce
4. Radishes
5. Beetroots.