Flagstaff's Banana Belt

We live in the Banana Belt of Flagstaff, located south of Mount Elden. The reason why this area is called the Banana Belt is because Mount Elden acts as a thermal mass trapping the sun from the day and tempering the cold air at night. During years gone by, this area was one of the few places where settlers could actually grow edible vegetation. In fact, our backyard is an old played out potato field, which unfortunately turned our soil into fine dusty dirt with little resemblance to healthy soil - yet another gardening challenge. Despite the banana belt effect, it is not unusual to see temperatures dip 40 degrees between daytime and nighttime even in this temperate area. Areas north, west, and east of Flagstaff can experience temperature differences up to 50 degrees between night and day. So the Banana Belt offers a promise, albeit a slight promise, to the otherwise frustrated Flagstaff gardener.