https://www.unce.unr.edu/counties/clark/

They advertise classes and you can register online:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/growing-under-the-stars-with-master-gardeners-vegetables-for-cooler-times-tickets-36518010352

The Extension off Paradise in Vegas has a beautiful garden, everything from fruit trees and veggies to natives.  A great place to check out while in Vegas once it cools off.

Located at Floyd Lamb Park (just east of US95 & N Durango).  You do NOT have to pay the entry fee if you say that you're going to the nursery.

Twice a year they have a sale, currently $5 for 1 gallon pots.  

Here is their current fall sale flyer:
http://forestry.nv.gov/wp-cont.....-Flyer.pdf

I didn't expect the course for free and would have gladly paid $100 or so for the info WITHOUT the certificate.

Geoff's fear mongering about the impending collapse and the promises of WEALTH after you get your PDC were even more offensive.  What an eye opener.

And because Paul Wheaton, the owner of permies.com gets a commission for everybody who signs up for the $1,000 course from permies.com ALL critique of Geoff's marketing and pricing was prohibited.

Just recently I thought I'd give permies.com another try, hoping for changes.  I should be so lucky, this post was also censored because it violates their posting guidelines.  It's such a time waster to have to go through this and I'm just going to seriously limit my posts there -- again.

The censored post:

I love what you're doing, Charlotte!  

People who are looking to COPY what someone else does to be ASSURED success really shouldn't be farming.  With so many variables you have to be willing to do extensive research and then TRY and ERR.   That's all there is to it -- unless you want to be a corporate / conventional farmer.

If you can't even understand the basics such as why no till, soil structure, microbes and mycorrhizae are critical in arid environments you're on the road to failure.

I sure wish I had the time and money to do more soil testing.  I was very disappointed in International Ag Labs tests and recommendations:
https://highdesertfood.org/forum/soil-tests-fertilizers-and-amendments/

There was nothing I could do to get them to give us organic recommendations, nowhere did they state that "high brix" recommendations = chemicals and in my experience it's ALL about Luke selling very expensive PROPRIETARY fertilizer mixes that have to be shipped across the country. 

I don't mind paying for stuff I can't get locally, but I'm not going for this proprietary BS.   How can I find out what works if we don't know what we're putting in our soil?

Just in the last year I've spent a lot of money (at least $500) on nitrogen fixing microbes, EM-1, humic acid, soft rock phosphate, minerals, whatever supplements and beneficial nematodes, but I sure wish I had some recommendations to follow.

And I really wish I could find others to join in ordering in bulk.   I bothers me tremendously to pay $18 for 50 lbs of soft rock phosphate and then $27 for shipping it.   I could get shipping down to less than $10/bag if I ordered it by the pallet. Could use maybe 5 bags myself, but what to do with the rest?

Same with perlite for potted plants (I propagate), could get it CHEAP in Casa Grande, but would have to get a huge amount.

Where did you get your soil tests, Charlotte?  

Is there something like an organic growers' co-op for more affordable inputs in Phoenix?   I was so excited when I saw soft rock phosphate at Arbico in Tucson, was going to get a pickup load, then found out they drop ship from Arkansas.

https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/soilandhealth/info

I just signed up.  Here's the curriculum:

I searched the propagation protocols for "yucca" and got to

http://npn.rngr.net/renderNPNP.....-yucca-422

Just about anything you'd want to know about propagating Blue Yuccas.

Very cool!

Be aware that Arizona's climates differ greatly from the mountains to the low desert.

I had a look at Ten Steps to a Successful Vegetable Garden and it hasn't been updated since 2008.   l like the listing of veggies we could be growing, but I read the section on soil preparation and fertilizing and it is not how we grow.  Growing "organic" as in certified organic is not even mentioned in the article.  I wish I had the time to put together comprehensive instructions.

The publication FAILS to explain that the "organic mulch" they mention refers only to organic matter and that store bought mulch (compost) likely contains sewage sludge (medical and industrial waste and toxins) and it doesn't mention that the glyphosate in Roundup causes all sorts of problems for humans, animals and of course our soil (see my posts at GMOs, Roundup and other toxins).

Universities get a lot of funding from biotech companies and I've read about University of Arizona GM cotton trials in Mohave Valley.  9/1/15 NYT: Food Industry Enlisted Academics in G.M.O. Lobbying War, Emails Show

During the growing season fertilizers may be needed. Applying bands of fertilizer, usually only nitrogen, is called “side-dressing.” Apply ½ lb./100 feet of row of 21-0-0 or equivalent fertilizer, three inches deep and about four inches to the side of the plants. Alternatively, spread nitrogen fertilizer on the soil surface about 4 inches from the plant and water it in. However, too much fertilizer too close to the plant may injure plant roots. ...

Apparently they don't even know that there are different kinds of nitrogen and that veggies need MUCH more than nitrogen.  I searched for "mineral" and it's not in the publication.

That said, the Extension provides a lot of good info about native plants, pests and diseases and you just need to be aware of what's NOT in the publications and that there's a LOT more than NPK to growing nutrient dense food.

Check out his blog:

http://xtremehorticulture.blogspot.com/

Bob provides so much great info and his blog is a MUST READ!

In January 2016 Bob started the Las Vegas Desert Horticulture Meetup and you can find a lot of info about his horticulture skills and experiences at Bob's Linked-In profile.

Check out the website with lots of info:

https://artisticgardener.wordpress.com/

We followed her recommendations for the first half of our new orchard (7 tree holes), although we're taking more of a permaculture approach and will be interplanting with nitrogen fixers.  And of course we'll grow veggies around the trees until there's too much shade.

I've followed Tim's posts in Elaine Ingham's AACT group for quite a few years and he takes a very scientific approach to evaluating teas and I sure wish I could afford a microscope.