Why Try to Garden in the Desert?
Starting a homestead in an urban desert environment can be a daunting task. It can even be a daunting idea. One that easily gets dropped. From what I've read, having never done it before, it requires a lot of hard work, patience, and dedication. I do have experience with creating backyard gardens and growing massive avocado and orange trees, but that was in California. We moved to Las Vegas seven months ago. You know...the city where the water source is drying up? But if you can grow stuff in the desert, I think you can grow things anywhere.
But I have dreams of teaching my kids how to grow their own food, preserve it, maybe even sell it, and enjoy it, regardless of where they live. Who knows what they will see in their lifetime?! I want them prepared. So I'm going to learn a different type of gardening and homesteading and they're going to learn with me.
Challenges of Desert Gardening
Water supply - The point is to sustain what you're doing, so knowing your water needs is important
Soil - It's either packed dirt or covered in gravel and weeds
Extreme temperatures - Knowing when to grow certain foods
Wildlife - Rabbits & lizards loved my garden in California and they love my yard in Nevada already
Pets - Large dogs who run sprints kill grass and they pee on everything
Kids - Short attention spans may require prepping before teaching
Time - Tending a garden with full time jobs, classes, and responsibilities is hard
Experience - That's what you're here for! I have novice experience with gardening overall, but we can learn
Space - Not every urban home has a yard or inside space
Planning - You may end up wasting time, food, & energy if you don't have a plan to save it or eat it
How to Overcome Desert Gardening Challenges
Water - Drip irrigation even for garden beds since there's no rain to catch
Soil - Coming to terms with the up front work to prep but composting can reduce spending on fertilizer
Temperatures - This boils down to research; my mother & I always refer to the Sunset Western Garden & Landscaping book - and now it's made for modern homeowners xoxo
Wildlife - DIY cages can be built around raised garden beds and chicken wire mounted across gates, but things burrowed under mine in California, so make sure it's partially buried
Pets - Gate off the grassy area and keep your garden area in places they don't run
Kids - I personally enjoy prepping the scene for what our projects will be, that way they can immediately get into the lesson and you know you have everything you need
Time - This will come down to what you plant and how much you can automate, like drip systems, but most of my free time is before and after kids are awake
Experience - I figured out gardening as a complete rookie; I spoke to older generations who always seemed to know a little bit about everything; and I got comfortable asking neighbors how they succeeded
Space - Raised garden beds for concrete yards; vertical gardening for inside or outside; and pots make moving things easy and real estate needs less
Planning - I definitely didn't plan ahead in California and had no idea how to preserve what I grew, so learning canning or dehydrating can help
Starting from Scratch: Our Plan for Creating a Thriving Garden this Summer
There are some basics about preparing to garden with no foundation but, with a busy schedule, I need to take it a step further and plan when I fit this into my schedule, without breaking the bank, and while being realistic with my goals and my obstacles. I don't expect an oasis, but I do want to grow a few things with my kids that our family will eat and that we can preserve somehow. So, here's my plan:
Month | Week | Goal | Obstacles | Contingency Plan |
|---|---|---|---|---|
March | 1 | Find 3-5 foods that preserve the best that also grow well in the Spring that we will enjoy eating, including potatoes | Almost every seed should have been started in Jan/Feb | Plant them anyway, it'll be fine - That's part of learning |
March | 2 | Build a raised garden bed with good drainage near timed water source | Husband will be out of town | I know how to use power tools and Lowe's can make cuts for me |
March | 3 | Start seeds indoors with kids | Limited kids time during the week and extra work that week | Do this on the weekend |
March | 4 | Set up irrigation plan for garden bed | Not fully understanding how to set it up for automation | Drink my coffee outside when I turn on the irrigation and let the dogs out, no biggy |
March | 5 | Find 3 ways to preserve food as a beginner | Having to purchase weird things like vinegar, jars, or tools | Start at least saving jars from grocery bought products now |
April | 1 | Find 5 recipes for sauces made with tomatoes | Going down a rabbit hole and not focusing | Use a time to succeed at time blocking this |
April | 2 | Take a break and find the next seeds to grow indoors for Summer | No obstacle here | Just stay focused |
April | 3 | Transplant to the raised garden bed | Also an extra busy work week | Remember this should only take a day, so pick one afternoon and get the kids to help |
April | 4 | Review the watering process and make adjustments | Having a watering problem I can't fix | Can always revert back to hand watering |
Why Would I Want to Learn Gardening and Teach My Kids?
For many, this sounds exhausting, but most of the learning is on you. They push seeds into pods and then move them outside to be buried...about a month apart...that's really all. Preserving is a whole different thing down the road.
But, first thing's first, growing anything is a big responsibility. It's not a heartbeating thing but it costs money to start and energy to sustain, so it requires kids to be responsible and take care of things.
It also takes a while where nothing grows for weeks, so they will learn patience.
When the weather's going to get bad or animals keep eating your harvest, they learn to problem-solve when you ask them
What do you think we should do?
Just like making their own plate of food entices kids to eat the meal, growing it adds a level of intrigue to try what they grew and, there's only healthy food to be grown here.
Last, it will teach them sustainability, like when all the lettuce crops freeze and you need that salad, or when organic produce gets more expensive, but it won't matter cause you grow your own food.
So, join my journey to learn and teach urban desert gardening as a rookie. I'll post my goals and information each week, so subscribe if you don't want to miss out on that. In the meantime, what obstacles did you come across with desert gardening and what did you do to overcome it? Tell me in the comments below...
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