Desert dweller new to forum

[igorsMistress]

Hi everybody

1. What state/province/country are you in and what is your climate like?

I'm in AZ, USA and we have a desert climate.

2. Who or what inspired you to become more self sufficient?

We lived in CA so we were always prepared for an earthquake. We have different risks now, but it's just good to be prepared. Over time It's developed into being more self sufficient to be more prepared. I was fortunate to have my husbands grandparents and they often talked about how they made the ends meet in tough times. We've had some really tough times.

3. In what ways are you self sufficient now and in what ways would you like to learn more?

My husband taught me to fish, I'm learning to process birds for meat, we have chickens for eggs and meat and we are working on improving our soil in the garden. We are both proficient with fire arms, but I'm best with a bow. We have a dehydrator I use often and I know how to can fruits and veggies.

I'd like to learn to forage here, and we need a water collection system for rain too. Also, the garden has been a major frustration.

4. Are you interested in stocking up for future needs?

Yes. We empty the pantry and freezer over the summer to stock up during winter sales.

5. Do you make crafts or useful items? Would you want to teach others how to do these?

I'm not crafty, I can crochet and make some beautiful candles but I'm a minimalist in my home. I don't have a lot of time, I don't want to spend what I do have dusting knick knacks. My husband is our seamstress. I like to learn to make useful items though.

6. Can you legally keep livestock where you are at? Do you have any? What kinds?

Yes, we have some hens and a roo. We could keep other livestock if we lived in a different neighborhood in our city. There are horses here, likely rabbits and goats too.

7. Do you like to garden? If so, what do you enjoy growing?

I love it! We used to grow garlic, tomatoes, herbs, beans and peas, cukes, squash, pumpkins, apples, strawberries, oranges, lemons, plums, apricots, eggplant, flowers, lettuce and spinach, artichokes...then we moved to AZ. It's a learning experience, that's all I can say.

8. Do you fish? Bait or explosives?

We fish with bait.

9. How much space/land do you have or rent? City? Country?

I live in the big city and have a corporate job. We have a typical 1/5 acre city lot. The good news is there wasn't much to take out. The bad news is the soil is terrible and needs a lot of work.

10. What is your self sufficient specialty? Or what one would you like to learn?

I'm a jack of many tades but master of none. Gardening is something I want to master, creating a beautiful and productive space in an otherwise barren place. Seed saving is a part of that and I haven't had a lot of success yet.

12. Are you interested in herbal medicine?

Yes, I've been learning about medicinal plants in our desert and their identification.

13. If you could live any place you chose, where would it be?

I don't know. Not in the desert, not in the snow, not in CA or FL. Some place with more rain and more greenery.

14. Do you use a wood stove for heating or cooking?

No, and we often have no burn days. We have a bbq and a sun oven we use a lot for cooking.

15. Do you like to cook? Are you interested in whole foods and natural foods? Raw milk? Farm fresh eggs?

Yes, I enjoy cooking (when I feel like it). We have fresh eggs, and I buy from the edges of the grocery store. I like raw milk, but it's very expensive so we don't buy it often.


16. Do you forage or hunt for part of your food needs?

We fish. Hubs is no longer able to hunt except birds with a retriever.

17. What skills do you have that help you be more self sufficient?

Fishing, hunting, gardening, mechanical, electrical, welding, sewing. I read a lot and am a collector of information and how to. Hubs can fix or build most things we need and we recycle a lot of our own discarded stuff to make what we need.

18. Do you have solar panels? Plans to use solar energy?

No solar, no plans for now. House doesn't have the right orientation.

19. Have you ever lived completely off grid? Would you like to?

No, I would love to.

20. Do you make things yourself to save money?

Yes, many things.

21. Has trying to be more self-sufficient changed your attitude or habits about money/spending?

Definitely. I buy for quality most of the time and don't think cheaper is always better. For instance, I own 3 pairs of shoes. My flip flops were $10.00 for the pair, which I've had for two years and wear almost every day. It's worth the expense to get get them because they last forever. After a couple years I wear them as yard shoes. I could get the $1 pair and replace them several times in the time it takes to wear out the better quality shoes.

Thanks for taking the time to read my intro. I look forward to learning a lot here.

 

[sumi]

Welcome to the forum and thanks for taking the time to write out a good introduction @Beekissed and @baymule can give you some ideas on soil improvement. Bee actually has a great thread on Back To Eden (BTE) gardening that I think you'll find interesting and informative.

https://www.sufficientself.com/threads/back-to-eden-gardening-thread-note-pic-heavy-thread.15187/

Enjoy the forum!

 

[baymule]

Welcome to the forum! I live in northeast Texas, average rainfall in the 48-52 range. We have sand for soil, like beach sand without the ocean. So I feel your gardening pain. LOL Since you have chickens, use them to make your compost. I put bags of leaves in the coop and they shred them, poop on them and in a few months, turn them into rich compost. Since you probably don't have neighborhoods where people rake up leaves and leave bags on the curb, you could use hay or straw.

I am using chicken compost, horse and sheep manure in the garden, along with wood chip mulch. Use whatever organic materials you have in your area. We have hot dry summers and we cover the soil with cardboard to hold in moisture and keep down weeds. We've been here 3 years next month and the garden has been a challenge.

You grew artichokes? I bought seed this year. Any pointers on growing them?

 

[Chic Rustler]

Hello! Welcome aboard.

Look into cover crops like legumes for soil building. Just mow them down or till them in when they flower. Mulch and compost are your best friends.

 

[igorsMistress]

Thank you @baymule I appreciate the info. It's sand or clay here with caliche underneath. Terrible stuff! I have found that aloe and gypsum are a huge help with our clay, but it takes a few years.

I started keeping chickens because I want a garden so will surely use the litter from the coop. It's just a year now and we have deep litter so working on that.

I have a decent stack of cardboard and feed bags that I hope to put down within the next couple weeks but that is a constant project it seems.

I have grown artichokes. In the desert even. I purchased 2 plants rather than seed though. After the plant flowers, artichoke season is usually in February, it goes dormant and the leaves die off. Mine came back with our monsoons in July or August each year. I watered them pretty well every 3 or 4 weeks when they were dormant. I also found that a regular feeding schedule throughout the growing season helped get bigger flowers with more tender leaves and hearts. Start that each year as soon as you see leaves and give 'em a good layer of mulch after you harvest each year and you should be good.

@Chic Rustler thanks, I've been reading about cover crops a bit. I'm in the getting restarted phase and am planning this for next winter. Is there anything in particular you would suggest?

 

[igorsMistress]

@sumi thank you for the link. I found that thread, and this site, looking for gardening info. Very helpful information there.

 

[Chic Rustler]

www.groworganic.com/soil-builder-mix-raw-lb.html

here's a link to a good seed mix and a video on it

 

[baymule]

Do you think artichokes will overwinter in my area? We just completed a week of below freezing weather with a dip to 11F.

My first year garden here was a total bust. Second year a little better, third year was a lot better. Seriously that first year I felt like walking behind the horses with a basket! LOL Really looking forward to garden #4.

Our soil.

 

[Chic Rustler]

"Soil"

 

[igorsMistress]

@baymule that doesn't look like soil, worse than mine! Sheesh.
I think if you give them plenty of mulch and cover when it's that cold they might do ok. It doesn't get that cold here, maybe into the 30s for a month and not usually a hard freeze. It doesn't hurt to try and see what happens if you have the seed. Gardening is a lot of trial and error isn't it?
If you plant them let me know how it goes. Good luck