frequently asked questions

I HAVE NEVER GARDENED BEFORE, CAN YOU COACH ME ALONG THE WAY?
Absolutely! When we install a garden, we include 1 hour of complimentary consulting time and provide aftercare instructions for your garden. We are happy to help support you in any way we can. From bug detection, training your tomatoes, or fertilizing schedules, Farmyard is here for you!

HOW MUCH TIME PER WEEK DO I NEED TO DEVOTE TO MY NEW VEGETABLE GARDEN?
This will vary depending on the size of your garden. At a minimum, you should spend 5-10 minutes a day and at a maximum, you could putter around all day if you want! We spend about 10-30 minutes a day in our garden just checking things out. The easiest way to catch an issue with pests or possible diseases, is to catch it early before it can spread. We encourage our clients to spend time in the garden and get familiar with your plants. You may soon find yourself spending more and more time there.

I WANT TO INSTALL A GARDEN, BUT I AM OUT OF TOWN FOR THE SUMMER, CAN YOU MAINTAIN MY GARDEN DURING THAT TIME?
Yes! We have complete maintenance services available for our clients. We can customize this program to suit your needs. Whether it is a 2 week summer vacation or a 3 month summer hiatus,
we can help keep your garden in great shape.

WHAT KIND OF WATERING DO I NEED TO DO?
Most of our clients choose an automatic drip irrigation system for the garden. This takes away the issue of remembering to water and the question of how much and when. If you are one of those self-disciplined types, a simple watering wand and a hose will work just fine. Just try to remember to keep the water off the leaves. This can be a way fungal diseases get their start.

WHAT KIND OF INCREASE WILL I EXPECT ON MY WATER BILL?
This will vary depending on your specific installation. If you are taking over an area of yard that was previously grass, you should see no increase. If you are taking over an existing planter that already has an automatic watering system, you should see no increase. If you are installing a new garden on an area that had no water to it previously, there will be an increase on your bill depending on the size of your garden.

CAN I USE AN EXISTING PLANTER I ALREADY HAVE IN MY YARD?
Yes of course. What a fantastic idea to re-purpose a flower planter to be more productive! Farmyard can almost always convert a planter to a vegetable garden. Most of the time, we will need to replace or amend the existing dirt so it is more compatible with the nutrient needs of vegetables.

I HAVE A GARDEN SPACE ALREADY, BUT I HAVE HAD VERY MINIMAL SUCCESS, DO YOU DO SOIL TESTING?
Yes, we do! Our soil test service is $20.00. This test will cover pH and nitrogen, phosphorus, and potash levels. We will email you our findings along with some information on how to get those nutrient levels back to where they should be. You can also send your soil to a variety of soil testing facilities for a more detailed result listing. Click here for a list of soil testing laboratories.

DO YOU INSTALL FRUIT TREES?
Yes we do. Often people here in Arizona don’t realize that many fruit trees are very happy here. There are varieties of plums, apricots, peaches, and apples that thrive in our warmer temperatures. Farmyard only uses these particular varieties for our client’s orchards so they have the very best opportunity for success. There is also a great number of citrus trees available including oranges, lemons, limes, key limes, blood oranges, and grapefruits that are prolific producers as well.

I WANT TO USE PART OF MY EXISTING LAWN, CAN YOU CONVERT THAT SPACE?
Yes, we can!

WHAT ARE YOUR FEES FOR CONSULTING FOR MY GARDEN?
Our consulting rate is $150.00 for the first hour and $100.00 per hour for each additional hour. Most initial site visits are $50.00, some are more depending on your location in the valley to accommodate for drive-time. When you choose to move forward on an installation with Farmyard, your site visit fee becomes complimentary and is deducted from your final billing.

I AM NEW TO ARIZONA, WHAT KINDS OF VEGETABLES CAN I GROW HERE?
You can grow almost anything here at different times of the year. Some seasons will be shorter for certain crops than in other parts of the country, but it is not impossible. Tropical items which require high humidity are quite difficult, but there is actually a nursery here that specializes in tropical fruit trees that do well in Arizona.

I LOVE TO GARDEN, BUT I HAVE PHYSICAL LIMITATIONS FROM BENDING OVER, CAN YOU BUILD A GARDEN AT WAIST HEIGHTH?
Yes, we can and we have! We can build garden tables for wheelchair accessibility and taller planter boxes at custom heights. We can even put your garden on wheels so that you could move it as needed.

frequently asked questions

I HAVE NEVER GARDENED BEFORE, CAN YOU COACH ME ALONG THE WAY?
Absolutely! When we install a garden, we include 1 hour of complimentary consulting time and provide aftercare instructions for your garden. We are happy to help support you in any way we can. From bug detection, training your tomatoes, or fertilizing schedules, Farmyard is here for you!

HOW MUCH TIME PER WEEK DO I NEED TO DEVOTE TO MY NEW VEGETABLE GARDEN?
This will vary depending on the size of your garden. At a minimum, you should spend 5-10 minutes a day and at a maximum, you could putter around all day if you want! We spend about 10-30 minutes a day in our garden just checking things out. The easiest way to catch an issue with pests or possible diseases, is to catch it early before it can spread. We encourage our clients to spend time in the garden and get familiar with your plants. You may soon find yourself spending more and more time there.

I WANT TO INSTALL A GARDEN, BUT I AM OUT OF TOWN FOR THE SUMMER, CAN YOU MAINTAIN MY GARDEN DURING THAT TIME?
Yes! We have complete maintenance services available for our clients. We can customize this program to suit your needs. Whether it is a 2 week summer vacation or a 3 month summer hiatus,
we can help keep your garden in great shape.

WHAT KIND OF WATERING DO I NEED TO DO?
Most of our clients choose an automatic drip irrigation system for the garden. This takes away the issue of remembering to water and the question of how much and when. If you are one of those self-disciplined types, a simple watering wand and a hose will work just fine. Just try to remember to keep the water off the leaves. This can be a way fungal diseases get their start.

WHAT KIND OF INCREASE WILL I EXPECT ON MY WATER BILL?
This will vary depending on your specific installation. If you are taking over an area of yard that was previously grass, you should see no increase. If you are taking over an existing planter that already has an automatic watering system, you should see no increase. If you are installing a new garden on an area that had no water to it previously, there will be an increase on your bill depending on the size of your garden.

CAN I USE AN EXISTING PLANTER I ALREADY HAVE IN MY YARD?
Yes of course. What a fantastic idea to re-purpose a flower planter to be more productive! Farmyard can almost always convert a planter to a vegetable garden. Most of the time, we will need to replace or amend the existing dirt so it is more compatible with the nutrient needs of vegetables.

I HAVE A GARDEN SPACE ALREADY, BUT I HAVE HAD VERY MINIMAL SUCCESS, DO YOU DO SOIL TESTING?
Yes, we do! Our soil test service is $20.00. This test will cover pH and nitrogen, phosphorus, and potash levels. We will email you our findings along with some information on how to get those nutrient levels back to where they should be. You can also send your soil to a variety of soil testing facilities for a more detailed result listing. Click here for a list of soil testing laboratories.

DO YOU INSTALL FRUIT TREES?
Yes we do. Often people here in Arizona don’t realize that many fruit trees are very happy here. There are varieties of plums, apricots, peaches, and apples that thrive in our warmer temperatures. Farmyard only uses these particular varieties for our client’s orchards so they have the very best opportunity for success. There is also a great number of citrus trees available including oranges, lemons, limes, key limes, blood oranges, and grapefruits that are prolific producers as well.

I WANT TO USE PART OF MY EXISTING LAWN, CAN YOU CONVERT THAT SPACE?
Yes, we can!

WHAT ARE YOUR FEES FOR CONSULTING FOR MY GARDEN?
Our consulting rate is $150.00 for the first hour and $100.00 per hour for each additional hour. Most initial site visits are $50.00, some are more depending on your location in the valley to accommodate for drive-time. When you choose to move forward on an installation with Farmyard, your site visit fee becomes complimentary and is deducted from your final billing.

I AM NEW TO ARIZONA, WHAT KINDS OF VEGETABLES CAN I GROW HERE?
You can grow almost anything here at different times of the year. Some seasons will be shorter for certain crops than in other parts of the country, but it is not impossible. Tropical items which require high humidity are quite difficult, but there is actually a nursery here that specializes in tropical fruit trees that do well in Arizona.

I LOVE TO GARDEN, BUT I HAVE PHYSICAL LIMITATIONS FROM BENDING OVER, CAN YOU BUILD A GARDEN AT WAIST HEIGHTH?
Yes, we can and we have! We can build garden tables for wheelchair accessibility and taller planter boxes at custom heights. We can even put your garden on wheels so that you could move it as needed.