Mesquite Tree Harvesting in Phoenix Arizona

Learn how to harvest mesquite beans for food in the desert southwest then connect with organizations in Maricopa County to mill your beans.

[@MoJoy85]

You’re a really great teacher!

[@GregPetersonAndTheUrbanFarm]

Ahhh Thank you!

[@lowmanite]

Thanks, Greg. That was really great information.

[@johnmarengo3919]

Good and informative video. I wish I would have seen you isolate the power to the mill prior to sticking your hands in there though. Thanks for creating the video!

[@dr.changezdentalhospital8301]

Beautiful information As a hobby I Am working on this tree and leaves and beans. Unlucky we in Pakistan don't know about it's flour and all beans are just wasted even in larger aereas of its wild auto cultivation I am working as a volunteer to use theese beens etc in bulk even tons for for animal feed This video is great inspiration and motivation more over confidence inspiring for me thank you very much

[@ranasammani7745]

Great and useful information. Thanks!

[@surfviewgardens2396]

Great video, Greg and TUF crew!

[@GregPetersonAndTheUrbanFarm]

Hey thanks! We’re getting ready to do our milling this year

[@jinglebunny3337]

Such civilized good people

[@timdarmetko4039]

awesome . thanks

[@sebastianponce191]

I love to eat them when I was a child. Nice and sweet

[@neallolin2681]

I have a question, now an old lady back when I was in my 20's use to picked them up off the grown then she cooked the beans after washing them, she soak them for a long time in the sink for hours with water then rinsed them off, then put them in a slow cooker with a big piece of ham and all her spices,,, I didnt know what I was eating when she asked how you like the beans, I said they are good, then she told me they was the mesquite beans we picked up days before,,, My question is Why can't the beans be soaked rinse slow cooked and eatin

[@GregPetersonAndTheUrbanFarm]

They absolutely can be eaten that way. We just wanna make sure that when we pick them they're picked off of the tree. And if you're milling them for Flower, they have to be kept dry.

[@SpaceDoggy777]

Very interesting!!

[@sonofthedesert3132]

Hello Greg. I have a question about the harvesting of the pods. There are several videos here on KZbin stating NOT to use the pods anymore after it has rained on them because of the fungi growth (just like the ones on the ground) Well... it has rained on 3 evenings in a row here on the west side of Phoenix the last few day's. Can these pods still be harvested and then maybe baked in the oven for a few hours at 225 degrees to kill the fungi and also what ever made it into the pods?

[@whyteisrealyte]

Probably if they are on soggy ground you can tell the difference mold is very obvious

[@anotherhuman8211]

The fungi make toxins which is the danger, which you should not try to take chances with, especially when the pods have a propensity for a high degree of being prolific.

[@deniseshively3252]

As far as aflatoxin goes……what is the difference between letting them sit for several days in your hot car vs picking them up off the ground? Wouldn’t both encourage the toxin?

[@GregPetersonAndTheUrbanFarm]

Great question. The aflatoxins are being picked up off of the ground. When we let the beans sit on the ground, the aflatoxins attach to the beans. They're picking them up off of the ground.

[@deniseshively3252]

Thank you!

[@2010mistersoftee]

Pizza made with mesquite flower??

[@yolandachakoetoe4729]

We have the Prosopis juliflora on the island of Curaçao. This tree have the same kind of bean pods. Can you make these same kind of cakes from this tree?

[@itzakpoelzig330]

Try it and let us know?

[@arandomtrip8082]

How many buckets can you get full of one tree also can mesquite beans from the floor can they still be use for something else besides food or is it a total loss?

[@vickigeorge5073]

I picked mine up off carpet as soon as they fall, tree is really tall. Are they still good?

[@GregPetersonAndTheUrbanFarm]

Not sure what you mean - what is the carpet?

[@vickigeorge5073]

@@GregPetersonAndTheUrbanFarm outdoor mat for rv

[@GregPetersonAndTheUrbanFarm]

@@vickigeorge5073 So if you are using something like a sheet and putting it on the ground and knocking the beans off the tree - yes. If you are leaving the mat down and piking them up in the morning after they have spend hours on the ground no.

[@williamlewin9610]

Make coffee out of them beans.

[@b_uppy]

Are there mesquite trees that are relatively thornless?

[@randomguythatvibes5161]

For what I seen no

[@b_uppy]

@@randomguythatvibes5161 Actually saw that there are, but unsure if they are for sale...

[@davidhorst9203]

Chilean mesquite has the fewest thorns

[@b_uppy]

@@davidhorst9203 I know they're trying to develop thornless varieties but unsure how far along they are...

[@wildpaisley6351]

Where is this mill??

[@GregPetersonAndTheUrbanFarm]

In Phoenix

[@juststoppingby390]

We havr trees all around us and i cant get a yone ti identify 8f they are nesquite trees or something totally different. Is there any way u can send you a picture if it😊

[@GregPetersonAndTheUrbanFarm]

Picture is in the video

[@juststoppingby390]

@@GregPetersonAndTheUrbanFarm thank you Greg. I need someone smarter than I am to look at my leaves and pods to double check for me in case it's something else and I pick something that's toxic

[@Hashashin_Fidayin]

@@juststoppingby390 One way I've found/ ID Honey Mesquite near me is when the flowers are in bloom. They are some of the sweetest flowers I've smelt before. And they have unique flower bunches.

[@baddog9320]

Lol they are keeping half the flour. There is no chafe when you mill it yourself. What they deem as chafe, just is remilled. They are keeping half the flour. Not surprisingly with yuppies nerds. Just go buy a $12 blender and make your own. Oh and a one dollar flour screen. And pick up those pods from the ground. A lot easier and less painful then picking off the tree. Oh and the Red pods are the ones you really want. And not all honey mesquite rattle. mine don't. Best pods are red, and plump. worse are green. If you dry green they will never get red or plump up. And will be less quality. Green are not palable.

[@11JadeStone11]

Are there different varieties? I live in the desert near Palm Springs, CA and what I thought were mesquite trees, actually look different. Maybe they aren’t 🥴

[@GregPetersonAndTheUrbanFarm]

There are. The ones that are harvested in Phoenix are Texas Honey, Velvet and Screw Bean. Best way to ascertain their edibility is to harvest one off a tree when it is dry and nibble on it. If it tastes like something you would want to eat then harvest away!

[@jennylynn9835]

Are all mesquite beans edible? Like the fat ones or screw beans?

[@GoodEnoughandStuff]

Yes! But the sweetest are the honey mesquite beans.

[@juststoppingby390]

This is a winderful service

[@russcarroll1648]

My weren't dry in June

[@GregPetersonAndTheUrbanFarm]

Looks like we will be doing a milling in Oct as well. Check out UrbanFarm.org/mesquite for ongoing updates

[@Hj61S827]

@@GregPetersonAndTheUrbanFarm have you screened for Parkinson’s?

[@user-pt6qg6xu1w]

گیاه دم اسبی

[@garyb9353]

is it keto?

[@diannebartkus9893]

Anyone in 29 Palms do this? 😊

[@Caintuckee64]

*DO NOT EAT THESE BEANS OFF THE GROUND! VERY BAD FOR YOU!* should be at the first frame of your video, some people are too hyper to watch much beyond a few seconds.

[@GregPetersonAndTheUrbanFarm]

Yep clearly stated in all our classes and this video

[@baddog9320]

This is not correct. 1st do not harvest until they are brown. Before hand. will give you a less palable pod. Each year the time to harvest changes. it may be mid may one year and late September another. If you pick them when they are brown. You can mill them right then. You can just put them in cages and let them dry. Or just store them like this. You can mill them like flour. This flour has a licorice flavor. Sometime quite strong. Mixing with other flours will improve this. But I have made bread with just mesquite flour. BTW here is a recipe For basic Mesquite bread. 1 cup mesquite flour. 1/4 water ( guessing never measured) Make your dough and bake. I use a solar oven and 4 hours @ 200 degrees. makes a nice bread. No sugar needed. But you can add other things. Back to the subject You can harvest off the ground. The mold myth is just that a myth. If you harvest that year pods. You are fine. If you live in the desert. Outside the desert is another story. Mold does NOT grow in the desert. If you are getting mold growth. You are not in the desert. At best you are in a semi arid area. To grow mold you need cool and moist. Well desert is far from moist. And cool only happens at night and winter. BTW this is the same reason you can not make methane gas in the desert. Its too hot and dry or its too cool. And the only time its in acceptable range. Last less then 30 days needed.

[@Hj61S827]

Humidity skyrockets in the desert overnight, its how cactus survive. The last 31 days we had a 73% High and 6% low. I’ve seen 90%.