How to Start a Garden in the High Desert

I've learned a thing or two about getting a garden started in this harsh climate. In this video I share 3 guiding principles which now influence my approach to all garden projects.

[@azsunburns]

I used to grow successfully in the central valley of California.. It's easy to grow in a Mediterranean climate. We've been in Southern AZ for 15 years, but 7 of those were with paid water. Expensive! We moved into 2 acres, which were neglected for awhile, but we have wonderful well water. Thankfully, even though we are on top of a rock, we have over 100 trees. A monsoon hit last year and we lost the biggest and most important mesquite in a 5 minute windy downpour. We were devastated. It covered the entire back area and our plants & birds loved it. That being said, I've spent hours on my hands and knees working old manure into the sand around dead trees to grow vines on, trimming back dead trees, watering, etc... etc... What we've learned, no such things as full sun for new plants. Two.. Our red wiggler farm was such a fantastic investment. We now have worms in numerous areas. Three, plant medicinal. Learn medicinal. Four, plant what you'll use in one way or another. When I look at photos from just a few years ago, it's crazy how much life we've helped bring back to this rock.

[@deecooper1567]

Found you on my feed & the word DESERT immediately caught my eye! I’m nw Nevada desert about 4400 alt. 1 1/2 acres of moving sand. Yes, the strong winds blow & there’s a new pattern in the back acre 😂😂. It’s very dry here & the sand is buried has buried the rocky hard pan. we don’t get monsoons like some desert states. We’re in a valley so run off from snow & it rains all around us but Seldom at our location. I’ve planted over 100 native trees around property & still adding more, hoping to help as windbreakers. Gardening is a reall struggle & the greenhouse has an evap cooler. Shade cloth is a MUST lol. And trees have a drip system & are doing great. A couple elderberries that I’m now propagating & a peach tree that survived our windy winters. Wish I could do swales but the wind would just fill them in with sand 🥴 I’m SUBBING & going to watch from the start ⭐️💫👵🏻👩‍🌾❣️

[@Adnancorner]

I would initially start with the native trees on the outside border of the garden, with bushes under those trees to create a complete barrier.

[@jamesjohn1850]

nice video. i live in the high desert mountains with very similar climate. cold, hot , too much sun and windy/wind storms I am practicing permaculture and on my second year here in the mountains. Coming from the coast of orange county this is quite a challenge. thanks for the tips, i will be working on more swales and ditches this fall.

[@essentialcomforts2166]

Very encouraging video! This would have helped me a lot when I first moved to the Colorado plains, heh. Boy was that a disaster but eventually I learned that I do have to do things differently. I came to the same conclusion as you about the ditches. Though I didnt do it on a large scale, I figured out any new flower beds had to be dug out as a ditch instead of mounded up. I would dig out the dirt and mound it up all the way around. that soil became cement and would stay there. Then I'd add all the dead stuff I could find into the hole. Recently I discovered this idea as old time 'waffle gardening'! I love how you are using tumbleweeds. I have hated them and was trying to think of a way they could benefit me. I have no grass and almost no leaves so I've been using weeds to make compost (I figured I'm gonna have weeds out here anyway, I might as well turn them into good dirt, haha). I threw a mess of tumbleweeds into a compost bin at the bottom. We shall see how it worked out come summer. But anyway, this gives me encouragement about the tumbleweeds and I love your attitude. God put these plants here for a reason and I love learning how to utilize what I have as a natural resource. I did put in a few small raised beds but they have to have enough space to protect plants from the wind and hold mulch otherwise everything dries up. Most of my garden is dug IN though instead. Anyway, thanks for sharing and helping to empower people in these conditions!

[@luxeterna1972]

such an awesome and informative video! I'm feeling very inspired. Thank you for sharing!

[@desertedenblooms]

I live in the Mojave, urban Las Vegas. Many failures. Excellent video/info. ty .Just subbed. You validated what took me so long to learn. Permaculture is a guideline not a recipe.

[@sagepremoe1565]

I like how you let the plants decide where they will grow. For many years I had no success in planting then I started asking the plants where they wanted to be and started have amazing success. Rather than going by "full sun" I look at zone tolerances. Zones X-9 always need afternoon shade. Only if it says zone 12 or is established AND says drought tolerant do I let it go in full sun. Even drought tolerant plants need more water than is advised. To break up the hard pan I plant daikon radishes the first year.letting them wilt in the ground. Some edible clay busting plants I've had sucess with ate -- Alfalfa, Artichokes, Comfrey, Cowpea, Daikon Radish, Dandelion, Mustard( cut back before it goes to seed & 3 week before planting a garden), Sunflower & Yarrow. I also surround my individual plants with a small berms so when I water the water stays close to the roots of the plant.

[@eleonorabartoli2225]

Thanks for the infos! I have noticed that where I bury my little bucket (a coffee plastic jar) of kitchen scraps, all kinds of little guys go to work and the soil all around becomes wonderful very fast. I like the little bucket because it is exactly the size of the shovel so it is easy and fast, and I can go around the yard fertilizing a different spot once or twice a week.

[@cathymadsen2930]

Pigeon pea trees are fast growing. Might not survive frost but as a human and chicken feed, chop and drop, and soil breaker I've had great success..

[@sagepremoe1565]

@@cathymadsen2930 Oh thanks; I've never heard of them. Here we have hot summers (in the hundreds) but zone 6 winters. Does this tree grow fast enough to produce in one summer?

[@cathymadsen2930]

@sagepremoe1565 I think it will be able to produce in one growing season. They sprout really fast, grow fast, and flower in the first year. Mine have survived a very dry and windy season to, with minimal water. I am in a subtropical climate so no frosty weather in winter but my summer temperature is usually over 28 °C up to 40° C in the hottest parts and it thrived in its first year.

[@sagepremoe1565]

Wonderful. My winters can get below freezing but I'm hoping I can grow it as an annual if it grows quickly.@@cathymadsen2930

[@swillinil7198]

Thanks for talking about the wind! I have similar winds here in the low desert and hadn’t considered that challenge yet.

[@UniqueLivingGreen]

I'm in the Antelope Valley of LA, seems like we deal with the same issues. Thanks for this informative video. I would love to start a permaculture food forest. We actually have a lot of agriculture out here on a large scale, but of course its not sustainable or ecologically friendly. But it is very possible to grow a lot with the right resources.

[@hippieacresnv]

Love this!! I am in northern Nevada and I are growing a food forest and will be planting a permaculture orchard in the near future!! We have the same exact environment and challenges, I have also discovered that things grow better if you plant right into the swale or ditch, so now we dig ditches or bowls for our guilds too! I also work with the weeds and volunteers, I will only pull goat heads and cheat grass, but now I may consider embracing the cheat grass in certain spots, I like to let grow whatever sprouts because we need the ground cover so bad here! I have found that Lamb's Quarters (which is delicious) makes a beautiful and edible ground cover and seeds so easily! ✌

[@eleonorabartoli2225]

Birds love Lambs quarters seeds in the winter too. Also, if I have identified cheat grass correctly, birds eat the seeds in the spring. Something else they love is Tansy mustards, native, 'pretty' yellow flowers.

[@azsunburns]

Canna lilies would do well near & in your pond & you can cut them back constantly for mulch

[@CharlotteCharley]

I just moved to northern Nevada and am so glad I found this-great advice!

[@cynthiacastro231]

Love your video! So inspiring. I live in high desert in southern Arizona and your tips are great! ❤

[@eleonorabartoli2225]

Love your philosophy, glad I found your channel, high desert also.

[@damojipurapuv9060]

As always very detailed and informative. Love your work .I live in apartment now, but will have my own garden when i move to my house

[@brockberrick2727]

Hey Nack! love the videos from you always! :D

[@veronicar.4611]

You are so right. This is the hardest I've ever had to work at gardening, and I've come to the same conclusions after 2yrs up here at 6200ft in AZ.

[@triciahollowell3560]

I'm very happy to find your videos. I just bought land in AZ. I'm used to the 100 plus but wasn't counting on the extreme winds. I bought a couple strawberry plants and no matter where I positioned them they got destroyed from the winds. Thank you for this video and tips i've been searching for weeks to find someone with similar conditions.

[@nathanaelcard]

Loved that you focused on principals. Lots of inspiration for a lot I'm working on in the Southern Rockies. Thanks Nack

[@nackspermaculture8514]

Glad to hear it!

[@yeevita]

Very cool garden. KZbin just served me this video and I love it. It was something I thought about but since hubby thinks he would break his neck, I went a different, though also similar, direction: I use containers to raise the land and give shade and maintain some moisture under those containers. Containers with open bottoms are basically your walkways. I still do give extra shade in summer because I do love big leafy greens. I have noticed the wind but my shade structures also seem to help my plants with that a bit. I was definitely not as fast as you. It took me almost a decade to get all the elements together. I am sure there is still room for improvement. However, it is mostly hands off now and gives me and hubby our lettuces, greens, some fruits, as well as nature observation and sitting listening to the birds, bees, pond, etc. Gardens are definitely lovely.

[@andrewrees4600]

Impressive, the lupins are doing well. Your pond is looking great, the relaxing sound of the water, the insects and plants. Like a mini oasis. Would love a pond myself. Would palms etc grow on your land to create shade?

[@nackspermaculture8514]

Thanks! They can handle the summer but the winter kills them unfortunately.

[@survival-boy23]

So beautiful farm ❤❤❤

[@MrJoeythethird]

Amazing stuff, incredible to see the difference in your garden between the videos. It’s such a joy watching your videos. Just an idea - it could be cool to see videos where you cover harvesting a specific plant and maybe even cooking it - now that you have plenty of food producing plants

[@nackspermaculture8514]

Thanks! Ya I could make a video on that for sure.

[@SuerteDelMolinoFarm]

Much appreciated

[@JaredDoesStuffandThings]

You definitely grow in a challenging environment! Great tips tho all around tho. Thanks for the info.

[@davebond4451]

Are you planning on starting a patreon page? I usally don't support people on patreon, but your channel and your garden is making my day every time i see a video and I'd like to have the option to help.

[@nackspermaculture8514]

Wow thanks! I wasn't planning to do a patreon for this channel but if people are interested in that I'd definitely consider it.

[@cathymadsen2930]

What is fascinating is I'm in a subtropical climate and have very similar problems to yours. I don't get cold like you however.... My dry conditions are brutal and as I'm ocean side I get very strong winds that not only rip the plants to bits it sucks out any moisture you put in. Don't use black plastic pots without sun protection (i use cane straw bales as a shade wall), find heat tolerant plants, don't follow the traditional planting season. I'm building a shade structure, probably a tunnel design, until my trees grow up a bit.

[@tinayoufatlard.5985]

Thank you

[@ilakaiser3778]

I am so glad I have found your channel. Your space is obviously on a slope or hill side. How do you approach the topography for an area that is not only flat but the highest as far as the eye can see? I am in south central Wyoming and I have mostly sand and wind. I assume you are in Idaho from your comment about potatoes. May I ask what area? I am a native of the Wood River Valley. I look forward to seeking out your other videos, and picking your brain for your wisdom.

[@nackspermaculture8514]

If I were to explain my process simply, it would be to observe the flow of water through the landscape and make iterative adjustments to the topography that maximize water sequestration. Since it's a desert (without monsoon rains) there isn't a big need to worry about water overflow runoffs. I have yet to overdo it on water retention in any part of the garden. Converting every area into pockets of ditches means that water has nowhere to go but into the ground which is loaded with organic matter to soak it all up. There are some areas of the garden that barely need any water ever, the infrequent rain is almost enough. I could water them regularly but it would be way too much water for the plants to handle. So basically I've thrown caution to the wind as far as the drawbacks of excessive water retention and that seems to do the trick out here. Obviously if I were in a desert that got monsoon rains that would change my approach entirely. In which case I would need overflows and massive water reserves to absorb the overflow. And as I mention in the video, growing on raised areas tends to be counterproductive which is the inverse of most gardening situations. I use raised areas for paths, ditches for growing. Yep! We're in Southern Idaho.

[@SuerteDelMolinoFarm]

Greetings from the LooseNatural farm in Andalusia Spain

[@jonathanasdell8415]

I laughed when you mentioned sunflowers; that's the one thing that will always grow well in the garden. Squirrels have a field day in the fall with how many seeds mammoth sunflowers will produce!

[@unionse7en]

I'm in a similar area. Rabbits are huge factor, they will taste anything. Mints/ Lavender seemed to be the most rabbit resistant, but they will still sample it. Lots of woodchips are key. Chgoose trees that set their leaves late as it is usually less windy after late spring thru summer.

[@unionse7en]

good video, all of my plants that are in some shade do better. I'm i a high desert of Colorado 5500 ft. Luckily I have high clay content so that help retain some moisture especially . under woodchips. I have no water supply. have to truck it in, but I collect massive amount when it does rain. Xeric plant choices.

[@unionse7en]

BTW, the cheapest/ fastest way to dig swales is to rent a trencher. They are one of the cheapest tools to rent, In 2-3 hours you can dig a lot of swales.

[@hermes3883]

Great video. We have the same philosophy for our gardens. Love the ditches and water. Where is the water coming from?

[@fishinthesea3454]

South African farming in Namibia. Like Zone 9 in the US. Desert. Growing food for the locals

[@GreenGranny]

I live in a similar climate. Have you researched non-typical food plants like Mesquite tree? Yellow dock seems to do well-you can eat all parts. I'm growing prickly pear too. I'm starting to expand my thinking about what is edible.

[@mechanics4all405]

you dont seem to be adding tumble weed for shade and cover this year,great work

[@nackspermaculture8514]

Yep the ecosystem has progressed enough that it's become unnecessary.

[@ourrockydreamontheelephant4188]

Thanks for the tour, I've finally found a channel dealing with similar environments. What's your annual rainfall? I'm planting the water here this year in hopes to have something similar. Thanks again, looking forward to catch up on your videos.

[@nackspermaculture8514]

Glad to hear it! We get about 10 inches of annual rainfall.

[@oldladyfromnm7590]

You're planting water?

[@c.m.303]

Just brainstorming but are there any food-producing vines to use on the fence, or something bushy, that would survive the climate and soil? They might offer some shade, and wind protection.

[@essentialcomforts2166]

oh, another thing I've heard of is planting things in the drip lines of other plants so they get watered from dew.

[@oldladyfromnm7590]

Hi from Gallup, NM. Your land looks like it could be here. 6500 ft elevation. Freezes until June. Very, very short season. 22 degrees expected tomorrow morning, April 21, 2023. Wind blows March, April and May. Monsoons in the summer with huge hailstones. I learned that food security means a closet full of commercial canned food. We have Russian Thistle here- tremendous time and effort required to beat it back. They grow more than six feet tall, one inch apart, 250,000 seeds each. Thanks go to Russia: the thistle arrived in the late 1800's mixed with a load of flax. I've started seeds for fun. I put the seeds on the front porch in daytime, if the wind allows. I keep the soil very wet, no matter what the experts say. Wind in 5% humidity will suck them dry in no time. I'm trying for flowers as much as veggies. If you had to eat only what you grew here, you'd starve. The Navajo had to have been geniuses.

[@BeginnerGardenerZ8B]

What is your zoning for your area? Where are you from?

[@wouldbfarmer2227]

Hey this Erasmus from Kapich, Utah. I want to talk to you about sporcation and vadulants in a picsrious zone.

[@kimcollier7241]

And the wind blows soil away also

[@christine_hazel]

what area can I find to buy a land like yours? I would love to be in an area a bit secluded yet not too far from civilization

[@mechanics4all405]

what keeps water pumping into pond electric pump>?

[@nackspermaculture8514]

Yes the water is constantly recirculating from a pump at the bottom of the pond to the waterfall.

[@geoffryallan7261]

Where is this

[@ninemoonplanet]

You're land is becoming so much different than what you started with. Soils first, without decent soil, not much grows. Your trees are showing decent growth, which indicates water, roots are growing stronger. What are the chances of using vermiculture, worm compost, extraction, and using a worm farm somewhere indoors? I realize it would be difficult with the large temperature swings each day, nevermind yearly, but I have a worm farm indoors, and if I don't feed the worms acidic or anything allium, they're able to produce worm castings fairly well. Topographic changes were slightly strange to me, but now I understand what they do all year. I live where incessant rain this spring made everything weak, the last 5 days have been the driest and warmest of the entire 2022 year. Completely different, so understanding how you're dealing with an extreme climate is interesting.

[@nackspermaculture8514]

I actually did make a work farm indoors initially but I ended up just dumping the worms into the garden and now there are red wigglers everywhere. The worm farm was a bit involved for the small amount of compost yield it generated. I like the simplicity of letting the worms run wild in the garden. And they survived the winter too so seems like they're here to stay.

[@TheAvidGardenerNM]

What state are you in?

[@Trippin369]

Don't the tumbleweeds dump tons of seeds in the ditches?

[@nackspermaculture8514]

Yes. And the tumbleweeds dominate until other plants outcompete them for the space. Tumbleweeds are optimized for barren soil conditions, so as conditions improve, they naturally phase out.

[@yanniemoorman]

Talk about the wind 😢

[@CaRcInOgEnIcxSyRiNgE]

Why would you plant a russian olive? They're invasive phreatophytes

[@nackspermaculture8514]

I have a video explaining this.

[@moldbuilder2000]

i see you haven't protected your garden from the wind or the sun.. if your planning on growing your garden open to the the desert elements you may and most likely will continue to struggle