Homesteading is much different in the high deserts of Bisbee AZ.
We have 100% solar power in our home, we have a well for water and a 2000 gallon tank for water collection from a system that collects water from the workshop gutters. I used almost all of what was there to water the gardens before the monsoons started in July. Extra barrels are set around by the chicken house where soon we will have hens again. Yay for Chicken Mamas and egg layers!!!
I am really hoping I have fortified their run to keep out critters. There are snakes, coyotes, big cats and other animals that can get in even a fenced-in property not to mention predators from above, so they won’t be free ranging here. I’m hopeful they will be happy with a very nice house and half shaded run.
We haven’t seen one Javelina or mule deer on our land, but since someone stole every apple but one last week, (and they were READY to be picked) I’m guessing the deer jumped right over and helped themselves. LEARNING. Next spring I will fence in that tree.
It seems to me that in the desert, I can grow food year-round and 75% of the time, outside. In winter I plan to bring some of the herbs and the papaya inside and will try to grow spinach and lettuces indoors as well. Considering you can honestly start seeds in January here and get them in the ground or raised garden beds and pots in February and March, I am THRILLED at what I have been able to grow.
Hot peppers are not only good eats, but you can make things with them.
Mitch makes amazing hot sauces from the different chilis and I wait for the jalapenos to turn red and make hot pepper jelly! My friends and customers back in PA loved this stuff.
Mitch made fermented hot sauce this year and boy is it yummy.
I have cayenne peppers drying right now to make a pain balm with them. Capsaicin is a wonder of a pain reliever and when I use infused cannabis in olive oil too, it’s a double strength pain relieving balm with just a few added organic ingredients.
There are seemingly not the plethora of growing plants that I was familiar with back in PA that I can make medicine from here. The offerings are different and I have MUCH to learn about the natural flora and I WILL.
The best discovery so far is that we have multiple sumac trees growing and not the poisonous kind. For YEARS, I have bought sumac which is the secret ingredient in my Turkish hummus. These little red clusters of “berries” more seedlike coated with a fine tangy orange-red powder provide birds and insects with great food. I picked a bunch and ate them like nuts and tried a “lemonade” recipe that I found but honestly, it wasn’t that good.
What has amazed me more than anything with the plants that I grow and the natural vegetation all around, is that everything blossoms several times, not just once as back in PA. Every squash plant, the kumquats, the cacti, everything has bloomed many times in one season.
I had an expert at the farm explain to me, with all the rains and heat, it happens.
I am joining a group and one of its arms is teaching people how to create gardens in their front yards, even in the desert. This is going to be FUN!!!!
Besides growing food, several projects needed addressed when we moved here.
The solar power was not sufficient to run our house, so Mitch did a ton of research to see how it could be improved and if he could do the installation. HE DID with help from neighbors and friends.
Now, we have ample power, but we still don’t squander it.
Water conservation is a constant concern in many places and this state is no exception, especially the desert. Our well works great, and we have been told that our watershed supply should be secure for the next 100 years. That’s comforting, but we do NOT waste water.
I have always been a firm believer of “if it’s yellow, let it mellow, ” if you catch my drift, and as I like a nice, hot bath, I save the cool water as it runs and heats in pots and use that for watering indoor plants, filling the dog and cat water bowls and hand-washing dishes. There are easy things we all can do to make the most of our water.
We aren’t using grey water though. Everything drains right into the septic. But if we do get a bucket to clean something, we use that soapy water to clean anything around that could use it then our it off somewhere that can use it! No waste!
Our road is a whole other issue and will be a constant project. After several road catastrophes and rentals of HUGE equipment, we have financed a nice sized tractor for Mitch to keep the road in working order. We need to come and go regularly, delivery drivers and friends will visit and it’s just good stewardship to keep the roads leading here passable or better.
We were desert dumb when we moved here and ignorant in the ways of monsoon rains and how they can take out a dirt road in 90 minutes of driving and fast moving rains. Flash flooding is a real thing here and water is POWERFUL. Again LEARNING!
Visit this space often to see what is new on the desert homesteading project.