Mequite Harvest!

It is time to gather some heavenly goodness that is the mesquite pods.  Mesquite pods are starting to drop now, maybe a week or two earlier than normal, but that is par for the course this spring.  I have many mesquites on the property and most of them are the native velvet mesquites.  There are also some hybrids that have volunteered, born of the inescapable pollen from South American mesquites that people have been planting in the region for years.  This means that while I have old natives, their seeds are probably hybrid. 

Regardless of native or hybrid, when harvesting mesquite, you will find a wide variety of pod styles.  Some are striped, some plain, some fat, some thin, some long, some short.  So how do you decide what pods will make the best flour?  (By the way, the main use of mesquite harvesting is making flour.)  If you read the book Eat Mesquite! A Cookbook by Desert Harvesters they recommend you try a pod or two from each tree to find the sweetest, and I agree! 

Two styles of mesquite pods, both from older native velvet mesquites.  The thick ones on the left are easier to bite and only a little less sweet then the thinner ones on the right.  This does not necessarily represent a norm.

Harvesting pods is relatively easy, you can pick up pods that have dropped or pick them off the tree.  If you pick off the ground, you want to make sure they are clean of dirt and that it is an area clean of pollutants like cat and dog poop.  If you pick off the tree, just lightly grab a tan cluster and if they fall off easily, great!  If not, leave them for now.  There is much more you can learn from Eat Mesquite! or the Desert Harvesters web page, http://www.desertharvesters.org, but this can get you started. 

Mesquite flour

In the past, I have saved my pods by freezing them to kill the bruchid beetles that burrow into the pods to eat them and waited for a milling time for my area by Desert Harvesters.  This year, I decided to process my own flour.  Because it is still very hot and dry out, I am able to pick my pods and immediately process them.   If they are moist however, they need to be dry or they will gum up any machinery used to grind them down.  I started with cleaned, whole pods and placed about a handful into a Ninja Pro to do the first processing.  I then poured the flour meal into a flour sifter to obtain the fine flour.  The remnants I than processed further by placing in a coffee bean grinder and sifted a second time.  The final product that did not grind, I will save and put in my compost pile.  If you use a true flour grinder, you will have very little that does not grind into flour.

Remnant seed hulls I will compost

Finally, I am saving the flour in the freezer at least for a week to make sure the bugs have been killed Processing this way allows me to manage my pods and flour so I may use flour sooner than waiting for a grinding event and I won’t have to process and store lots of pods for long periods of time.  I can hardly wait to make something yummy with the flour!

 So after all that, why eat mesquite?  Mesquite is not only a great native shade tree that provides wood for barbequing, but is a great resource for food.  Mesquite pods are gluten free, typically non allergenic, high in fiber, carbohydrates, and calories (the latter of which is not necessarily good in abundance for a diet, but was great historically for the natives who needed those calories,)  is often rich in phyto-nutrients, and has balanced amino acids.  It is also very tasty!  If you have mesquites around, you can harvest your own pods to make flour (easier than growing wheat on a small scale) and start your baking wonders.  

EAT LOCAL!

My contribution to the solar eclipse photos

The setting solar eclipse behind Picacho Peak, AZ

Solar Eclipse 2012

Notice two sun spots in the lower right

The setting solar eclipse behind Picacho Peak

Vegetable gardening timetable for the Tucson area

 Here is a timetable I created to help me plan for my vegetable garden that I thought others might appreciate.



My Favorite Flowering Smaller Shrubs

We last looked at my favorite trees and shrubs, so now it is time to look at my favorite lower shrubs and groundcovers.  Like the last post, I am focusing on regionally native and locally native plants that are beautiful, but have other uses as well.

1.     Blue mist or Gregg’s mist flower (Conoclinium dissectum): This low growing perennial has pale blue puff-like flowers that are great attractors for the Queen butterfly as well as others.  It is native to the Chihuahua Desert so does well on our local rainfall, although a little extra water will help it maintain blooms longer.  It also can slowly spread from underground rhizomes.  The stems are only a foot to a foot and a half high and form a nice looking ground cover.

2.     Autumn sage (Salvia greggii): This, too, is an evergreen perennial.  This woody plant grows about two and half feet tall and wide and usually has red, sometimes white, flowers punctuating the ends of the branches.  It blooms throughout the year except in the coldest times and hummingbirds absolutely LOVE them.  This is a great plant in a mixed border to provide not only color, but to feed your hummers.

3.     Blackfoot daisies (Melampodium leucanthum):  This somewhat dainty looking plant is a hardy perennial with white daisies similar to Shasta daisies.  This plant can be mixed in a border, but really stands out en mass and the flowers can be cut to bring indoors.  It is not often mentioned as a butterfly plant, but all daisy-like flowers will be visited by butterflies.

4.     Desert marigold (Baileya multiradiata): This is a widespread perennial wildflower in our deserts around here.  It only shows itself in the wilds after good rains and in the spring when the bright yellow daisy flowers pop above the low growing basal leaves.  However, in a landscape that receives some regular water, it will bloom throughout the year.  It makes a good cut flower, rare for desert flowers and the butterflies also like them.  It is definitely a ray of sunshine!  Reseeds easily.

5.     Sacred Datura (Datura metaloides):  This unusual plant grows in areas where it receives a little extra water (like along the edges of roadsides) and does not look like it should belong here.  It has large green leaves and large white trumpet shaped flowers that open over night.  The flowers are extremely fragrant and pollinated by Sphinx moths.  It can die back in severe frosts, but often will return; otherwise it is an evergreen perennial.

 

6.     Golden fleece (Dyssodia pentachaeta):  This small plant of less than one foot all around usually grows in large masses and should be used as such.  They make great understory to larger upright plants or in rock gardens.  They bloom throughout the warm times of the year and will often die back in the winter.  Reseeds easily.

7.      Penstemon (lots of types):  I have tried only two penstemons, firecracker and parryi.  Both have done well, but the parryi has stood out as more reliable year after year.  Penstemons are perennials, but the flowers only tend to bloom in the spring.  Still, they are quite striking and the hummingbirds love them.  They are best planted with other flowering shrubs that hide the main plant, but allow the flower spikes to stand out above them, in rock gardens, or en mass.  Reseeds easily.

I hope you have a great week and if you are interested in my favorite trees and shrubs, please see the previous posts.  There is more to come, so please stay tuned!

Desert Tested: Favorite Plants

There are a lot of native and regionally native plants to choose from that do well here in the Sonoran Desert.  But while there is great diversity, there are some standouts.  Today, we’ll look at my favorite trees and large shrubs (non cacti).

Trees

1.      Mesquite:  Mesquite, preferably velvet mesquite, is probably my favorite of the trees.  It can grow fast and tall with a little extra water and pruning; can look quite dead, but add water and viola, new growth; gives a woodsy feel with its dark trunk and deep green leaves; and provide a wonderful and nutritious food staple with its bean pods.

2.      Desert willow:  These trees, like all natives, will grow as large as the watering/water table will let them (within reason).  They provide large orchid like flower clusters and with breeding, now come in some real nice deep colors.  The hummingbirds will feed on the flowers as well, which is always a plus.

3.      Ironwood:  Ironwood trees are considered slow growing, but only to get established (2-5 years, assuming you bought and transplanted yours). Once they have accepted their new site they can grow at a decent rate.  They are almost evergreen as they will lose their leaves very briefly at flowering time.  Their seeds are also edible if you grind them.  The flower flush in early spring provides a smoky lavender cloud that can be eye arresting.

4.      Texas Mountain Laurel:  This small tree or large shrub has wonderful compound oval leaves that give an unusual texture in the desert garden.  They’re also a bright, dark green, which is unusual to see.  The show stopper, however are the panicles of purple flower clusters that remind one of wisteria, but with the most astounding fruit gum scent. It is a true slow grower and has large red seeds born in grey seed pods (seeds can be poisonous), but I still feel they are worth the effort.  With time and training, they can cover a wall or they can provide year round screening.

http://ag.arizona.edu/pima/gardening/aridplants/Sophora_secundiflora.html

5.      Catclaw Acacia:  This unusual native is not for most situations, but remains a favorite of mine.  It can get quite large, 20H’ x 30W’, but unlike most trees, it has the tendency to branch low and wide.  It is very difficult to prune for an upright stature.  However, with some pruning and some age, it can be quite a specimen tree with large twisting, low slung branches.  It also has recurved thorns along the branches and stems that are very nasty and therefore provide a great impenetrable barrier.

Shrubs

1.      Jojoba:  Jojoba plants are slow growing and are dioecious (sexes are on two different plants) making it necessary to get one of each sex if you want to harvest the jojoba nut.  Jojoba is used commercially for the oils found in the nut and can be used for homeopathy.  But the main reason I really like this plant is its color and texture.  It has a warm soft green tone to the leaves with hints of yellow and orange that gives it a sunset glow appearance.  The texture of the medium sized oval leaves is also outstanding in the desert garden.

2.      Ocotillo:  Although this plant leafs out only with good rains, or watering, its vertical, spindly branches provide a unique accent in the yard.  When the red flowers bloom, they are frequented by hummingbirds as well.

3.      Texas Ranger:  These have been widely used along freeways in the southwest for many years, which has made them a bit ubiquitous.  They also bear the unfortunate circumstance of being pruned into balls and squares, which reduces the flowering ability of these plants as flowers form on two year wood.  However, there is a large variety to choose from that takes them well beyond the freeway familiarity.  This group of plants can provide year round interest and stunning flushes of blooms related to the monsoonal rains.  They can get a bit untamed with time, but judicial and appropriate pruning will bring them back to glory.

http://www.public.asu.edu/~camartin/plants/Plant%20html%20files/leucophyllumfrutescens.html

4.      Baja Fairy Duster and hybrids:  The bright red flower ‘puffs’, actually the flower stamens, are the most outstanding feature of these shrubs.  They tend to retain the leaves and flowers longer than the native species and are one of the very top hummingbird flowers around. The plants do not tolerate freezes well, but they will recover with warmer temps.

5.      Chaparral Sage:  This is one potently and pleasantly scented plants, if you are into that kinda’ thing.  The approximately 5’ x 5’ shrub has scented foliage you can use similarly to lavender and has whorled purple flower ascending along a central stem.  Hummingbirds also love this plant.

http://www.naturewideimages.com/7.html

There are other shrubs I am still considering and researching.  The desert hackberry can be utilized as a large impenetrable evergreen barrier plant that the song birds and quail love while the Apache Plume I have heard many great things, but just recently purchased and planted (so far, so good).  There is also the widespread favorite, bougainvillea, which provides the most stunning block of color against a wall.  Some of the above mentioned plants are still not widely known to many, but I hope you will look into them further and see if any will work for you.

Living Aerie, Revisited

Sorry for not keeping my blog up more frequently.  I actually contemplated removing it altogether for a while.  But like most things in my life that bog me down, I know if I just wait long enough, things will be revived.  To get back into the swing of things, I thought I would write of some of the things that had been happening over the last six months and tie it into what Living Aerie means. 

For one, John and I have made the next step to getting married. Yea!  We have been planning it for a few years now, but both of us were unemployed for a while.  Now he works for the same company he use to before the economic down turn and I have started a business.  He brings in a regular, but not quite enough, income to pay the bills, while I bring in sporadic income through my fledgling landscape design business, Synergistic Landscape Design.  I tire of waiting for the stars to align, so I have gone to my first (and probably only) wedding expo and purchased my wedding dress.  No date is set yet, but it WILL happen this fall, even if it is on the doorsteps of the courthouse.

John and Theresa

The second thing that has happened recently was just mentioned, I started my own business.  I know a lot about master planning, water harvesting, and native plants, but running my own business goes way beyond that.  It involves marketing (with a VERY limited budget,) figuring out taxes and legalities (something I am still figuring out,) and figuring out the details of residential design that I did not learn in my masters program (things like building codes and furnishing details.)  I have been fortunate to have had 3 clients ranging in scale of difficulties.  Lots of learning going on here.

A planting plan using regionally native plants that attract butterflies and hummingbirds

The fledgling plants after install





We have also been raising our now 9 month old pup, Osa.  It has been a pleasure and a challenge; neither of us has raised a pup before.  She is a Sheppard mix and extremely intelligent, which is part of the challenge and of course pleasure.  She loves to eat wood and run through my gardens.  We have also had a stray tomcat adopt us a month ago.  He comes and goes as he pleases, which has taken some getting used to as my other 2 cats are mostly indoors and only go out when I am out.  I had an appointment set to get him fixed, but he disappeared.  I had kept him inside for 2 days to make sure he didn’t disappear, but he escaped the day before and now I have to reschedule.

Osa

Midnight

So now to tie it into Living Aerie.  As mentioned in the bio part of this blog, Aerie is the name of the five acres of lush desert that I live in – yes this desert is lush.  It also involves the ‘living’ part.  Living involves the humans’ needs and desires and how they interact with this environment.  So along with the development of outdoor entertainment areas, I have been preparing part of the property for a possible wedding site, even though John does not want to marry here it still remains a back-up plan.  This property also allows me to practice some of my design ideas that might get incorporated in a client’s plans.  And finally, I always thought I would be a good pioneer/homesteader, and so I focus a lot of efforts towards achieving a great degree of personal reliance.  In order to keep this blog from getting to long winded, I will take these concepts further in future writings.  Ta ta for now: keep your hands in the dirt, your face to the wind, and your mind turned on.





Determining your flood risk

With all the recent flooding happening both in the Midwest and regionally (due to recent wildfires), now seems like a good time to talk about the flood potential of where you live in the desert southwest.  When you live in the desert, most people don’t think much about flood preparation.  However, there are times when it can flood severely, typically in a floodplain like anywhere else. There is a second type of flooding that can affect more people – that of sheet flooding.  Sheet flooding is when enough rain falls on a gentle slope that it no longer sinks into the soil, but moves downhill.  This type of flooding can still build up a decent depth, and I am planning for six inches max on my property near the house(I do like to over prepare). 

When determining what potential flooding may happen on your land, there are several factors you must consider. 

1.       What is the lay of the land? Is it flat, in a depression or hill top, or on a slope?  Check your local city or county maps or codes to determine if you are in a known floodplain.  If you find you are outside of a floodplain, you may still want to look at your topography to determine if sheet flooding or large ponding may affect you.

2.       What is your soil like? Sandy soil will drain much faster than clay soil.  This difference can easily determine the flood potential of your land.

3.       What are the average rainfall and the historic greatest rainfall, especially in a shorter period of time, for your area?  I am rural, and I don’t have exact numbers for rainfall in my area.  I know Tucson averages around 12 inches a year, and that is a good start, but there are other ways of figuring my area out, as I will show you.

Ok, so you have these questions.  How do you find the answers?  As I stated earlier, you might find some relevant information from your city, town, or county land use maps and other related local websites and agencies.  However, if these are not available to you, than there are other governmental entities that can help.  For topography, you can explore your area or get a topo map from the USGS.  Getting a general lay of the land will help you understand the potential of water entering your site from the surrounding land.  To get a better understanding of all three questions, a great website is the NRCS website at http://soils.usda.gov/.  Click on the soil survey tab at the top and then the web soil survey link.  This site is a bit technical and difficult to run on some computers, but it will give you some of the best information out there.  If you are unable to use this site, think creatively.  Yes you can hire a firm to get you all the information you want, or you can save some money and hire a student in the geology, landscape architecture, or planning departments at a local college to look up this website for you.  Another website I use and is good for southwestern climate is from the Western Regional Climate Center at http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/ ; look at the historical information.

All of this information so far can only help you so much.  If you are like most people, a good example will go far in helping you understand things.  To this end, and because this blog is about where I live, I will use my property as an example. 

Lay of the land.  From looking out my window and from exploring the area, I can tell there is a general slope from east to west (Fig. 1).  I also know that immediately around me as well as at the larger scale, the topography is gently rolling with braided washes of various widths and depths weaving their way downslope.  I also know from my observations and from Google Earth that there is a slight hill to my east south east.  The hill blocks views of houses I know are there in the distance and the earth image confirms it with the darker lines created by denser vegetation at washes leading away from a central area (Fig. 2).  On the property, I have watched how water runs during rain to get a good idea of how the water flows across my landscape.  This information I than transferred to a drawing; (Fig. 3) a computer drawing in my case, but it could be hand drawn just as easily. 

So now I have the general lay of the land, let’s move on to the soils.  Again I know from experience through digging that I generally have loamy soils with lots of rocks.  Sandy areas exist in the washes and there are some areas of clay.  But more information would make me feel better, especially as the NRCS analysis will tell me of the greater picture surrounding me.  So what does this analysis tell me?  It tells me I live in the Bucklebar-Hayhook complex (a complex is two or more soils intricately mixed) with 1% to 10% slopes.  In general, these soil types are found from 2090 to 2990 foot elevation with an annual precipitation of 10 to 12 inches of rain.  They are formed on fan terraces and consist of mixed alluvium soil that is mainly sandy loam with some clay loam and are well draining.  The analysis also tells me that the depth to the water table is greater than 80 inches.  This confirms my analysis and expands it to the larger area.  However, I learned more about the rainfall and was reassured that long lasting flooding would not likely happen due to the well draining soil and deep groundwater table.

Finally, the rainfall.  We just learned that there is an average rainfall of 10 to 12 inches for this area.  We also know Tucson averages just over 12 inches.  But I want to know more.  I have kept inconsistent rainfall data in the 12 years I have lived here and found that I average around 10.75 inches of rain.  But if you do not have your own data, you may want to ask your neighbors if anyone has collected information over the years.  Also, if you are rural like I am, I live approximately 25 miles from Tucson; you can look for closer known data.  For me, it is the town of Red Rock found on the Western Regional Climate Center website.  Red Rock averages 9.78 Inches of precipitation a year.  I am upslope and closer to some mountains so I should receive more which aligns with my own tally.

Hopefully this will get you started on informing yourself of the flood potential you have.  Next time, we will look at the strategies I am employing to mitigate my flood potentials.

Fig. 1  North out the kitchen window

The slope flows from east to west and is between 3-7%.  This area is half way down a bajada or alluvial fan slope of the northwest part of the Tortolita Mountains.

 

Fig. 2  Graphic using Google Earth and Photoshop  showing the nearby hill and large scale water flow
You can determine high points on a topographical map or aerial by noting the layout of washes, highlighted here in grey.  The property is the dot on the left and the oval denotes the hill.

Fig. 3  Medium scale of water flow on the property using Google Earth and Photoshop
The larger blue lines show the locations of the current main water channels that flow only during heavier rainfall.  The blue swath is the potential flooded areas associated with the main wash during the most extreme events.  Finally, the smaller arrows show sheet flow with the only threat to the house coming from the drive parking area to the east of the house.

Photo Essay, Spring 2011

Well, this spring has been rather lackluster in wildflowers due to the extreme drought that continues.  However, that doesn't mean there isn't beauty to behold.  So I bring you a brief photo essay of this spring.

Penstemon parryi

Datura meteloides

Echinopsis 'LA' hybrid

Echinopsis 'LA' hybrid

Mesquite

Salvia farinacea

Desert spiny lizard

Wilson's warbler

Gilded flicker

Mourning dove

Beavertail prickly pear

Staghorn cholla

Musings: The desert waits

So it is early June and we continue to be under extreme drought conditions.  I sit on the deck reading a book called the Natural History of the Senses written by Diane Ackerman, listening to a very talkative bird.  The desert spawns small dust devils and the smell of heat vaguely reminds me of the California State Fair.  It is the mingled smells of hot wood and metal, but not so pungent since there is a distinct lack of humanity.  The trees have bloomed and started to set seed, but unlike last year, both are sparse.  Still I partake of some fresh palo verde beans at just the right stage of development.  Fresh palo verde beans are similar to fresh peas.  Both are legumes and I anticipate when I can harvest the dry beans to test cook to see if they can become something like baked beans.  It would be nice to learn how to use what naturally grows here, but I digress a bit. 

The breeze is dry and fairly steady and the one bird talks like a chatty Cathy; it is otherwise silent here.  The bunnies vie for water dripping from a hose, thrashers hop around looking for something to eat, and the trees look like they’re waiting.  They are green with meager fresh growth, but not the lush green that comes with monsoons. The desert is waiting, waiting for the next season-the one of rain and humidity.  The season of distinct temperature changes from the heat of the early day to the sudden cool that comes with the afternoon downpours.  The trees wait, the animals anticipate, and I look forward.

Desert homesteading

There are many ways to be self sufficient, and as time continues, you will see our unique ways of trying to be so.  We live in the very bio-diverse Sonoran Desert on the west facing bajada of the Tortolita Mountains.  What does this mean?  It means that traditional western farming, even small family farming, would not be very successful.  While we have five acres, about a third is occupied by a wash.  That, plus my love for nature and wildlife, limits the room we can use to grow food.  Furthermore, I am the main yardwork/gardener person and I am not the best with machinery, though I can do basic mechanics and use many machines.  I find I prefer handiwork to get things accomplish.  Thankfully, my fiancé John is better with maintenance and operations of the necessary machines we use.  So how can we grow enough to feed two people regularly?  As I just said, we live in the very bio-diverse Sonoran Desert.  That means ALMOST EVERYTHING IS EDIBLE.  So while we plan to grow some common food crops in garden beds (corn, tomatoes, peppers, squash, etc.), I also am familiarizing myself with the many native food crops that grow here naturally.  Some of these foods are: cholla buds, mesquite beans, palo verde beans, prickly pear pads and fruit, saguaro fruit, and several native leafy greens.  Add some traditional perennial crops harvested by the natives before this area was colonized by Europeans, like agave and yucca, and you can add some unique regional flavors to the daily cuisine.  Of course, this doesn’t even include animals.  While we are seriously thinking about adding some chickens, anything bigger is a little more questionable.  But again, nature provides.  We may not have much in the way of large game most hunters are familiar with, but we have numerous quail, cottontail and jack rabbits, javalina,  small varmints, and occasionally deer.  The goal is to live harmoniously within our environment while being as self reliant as possible.  We still have a lot to learn, but I will share this journey with you.

Observations: Spring 2011

This spring has been a good one.  Why do I say this?  It is not because of the spring wildflower show, which hardly happened this year.  It is because the weeds have stayed down and the temperatures keep bouncing back to cooler degrees after short bursts of unseasonable warmth.  Last spring was a great wildflower show, but wildflowers also mean weeds.  The fall and early winter rains that cause good spring wildflower shows did not happen.  So instead, this is the perfect spring to get a lot of yard work done.  Things we have accomplished so far are severe pruning (1/4 to 1/3) off of several mesquite trees, removing cholla, creosote, and bursage out of proposed gathering areas, and the building of two out of nine vegetable garden beds.  The lack of herbaceous weeds and the somewhat normal temps have been a big plus during all of this heavy yard work.

Much of this work has been done in the past; however, it has been a few years since some of the areas have been cleared and they had almost fully grown over with plants.  Since I plan to marry on our property and I now have larger gatherings thanks to John’s large family and many friends, it was time to clean out.  The tree pruning should be done every few years to help shape the trees and remove the weighty new growth.  Now we have gathering areas, camping areas, and shade trees to rest under. 

In conjunction with the clearing, I have put in many hours designing and implementing a kitchen garden south of the house.  I plan to use this not only to grow much of our food, but also to act as a test garden.  Below are some of the pictures and renderings to explain my plans.

Early stages of veggie bed build using reclaimed free brick and homemade compost.

Good luck with your endeavors!   I'll keep you posted with how this all goes.