Carl, sorry to hear that you ended up there. It is part of the choices we make in life and we got to do what we got to do sometimes.

However, to answer you question it would really depend on where you are. You can grow about anything there depending on where you are in the country. Down in the Southern region of Iraq near the Persian Gulf near Basra, it gets extremely hot and humid in July and August. Sort of like Houston, with another 10-15 degrees on top of it with the humidity. In the western and central part of the country, it will reach 120+ in the summer, and you will have the "shamal" winds that will start in April and end in June. 40+ mph and unbearable dust and sand. It is drier, but hotter in this region. In these two areas growing season is usually October-April. You could probably extend the season a bit if you provided the plants some protection.

The northern region of Iraq will probably have the nicest weather, cool in the winter and not as hot in the summer. The growing season starts near the end of the month and extends into early summer.

You don't have to answer exactly where you are, but if you could list some of the items that you are trying to plant and in what area of the country you are in, I may be able to give you some general guidelines. My father worked for an oil company down a ways from you in Saudi Arabia, so I am somewhat familiar with the region.

Good Luck and stay safe.

Hi Carl

First let me say thank you. My gratitude goes out to you and everyone who serves in the military.

As far as growing plants in Iraq, I know nothing. but I desert gardening in Las Vegas so I can tell you what works here and maybe some of it will help you there.

We make little micro climates for our plants. Our vegetable garden is planted between two buildings that are only about 12 foot apart to shade them for part of the day. So try to choose a place that is protected from extreme sun & wind.
The soil retains a lot of salt here so we flush the soil with water to leach out the excessive salt and add a lot used coffee grounds to lower the high alkaline level of the soil.
We start our seeds in trays that we can move them inside for the hot afternoon.
Instead of planting on the top of the rows of like other places we plant in the bottom of the rows so that the plants will recieve more water & less heat. Then as the plants get big enough to mulch, we mulch the rows heavily to keep the moisture in and the heat out. I've seen a lot of people use newspaper or leaves for mulch. Thats probably available there.

I hope that helps.
Take Care and Good Luck

Carl,
It's taken me FOREVER to find you. Check your email (yahoo).

Timmons