July Gardening Tips for the Desert Southwest

Harvest onions when tops bend over. Harvest garlic when a few of the outer leaves are brown.

Dig bulbs carefully and dry them in a shady spot a few days. After drying, snip roots and tops. Store bulbs in a cool, dry pantry. To create onion and garlic ristras, don't cut tops -- instead, it's best to braid them.

You can speed up fig ripening using an ancient practice known as oleification. You'll need a cotton swab and olive oil, and you'll also need to check the pulp on the oldest fig on the plant. (Older figs are lowest on the branches.)

Cut open the oldest fig to see if the pulp is pink. If it is, dip the swab in olive oil. Apply a dab of oil on the eye at the bottom of each remaining fig. Treated figs will ripen in about a week.

At lower elevations, prickly pears will ripen late this month. Ripe fruits are a bright magenta hue. For safest harvest, use steel tongs to remove fruits from the cactus.

Spring-planted lettuce, spinach, and other greens will be preparing to bolt (flower), if they haven't already. Pull plants and throw them on your compost pile and turn soil so it's ready for August planting of fall salad crops and vegetables.