The Big Fat Thread of Dryland Farming Ideas!

Thank you Tracy for a very comprehensive list and for the suggestion to google "bunds" really informative and helpful -fell down a rabbit hole of info to keep water on my almost flat land.

Thank you Tyler! Ihave been racking my brain for a method for market gardening dry land planting that I can use on my wind exposed, depleted, sandy soil!

I'm planning to try Zai Holes next year to grow corn, beans, millet, and squash with no irrigation:  https://c.ymcdn.com/sites/echocommunity.site-ym.com/resource/collection/27A14B94-EFE8-4D8A-BB83-36A61F414E3B/TN_78_Zai_Pit_System.pdf  

I shall be trying tomatoes and squash.

Ah, thanks for bringing this back up, Sarah! It's that time of year again, and I'm going over this to put my garden experiments together for this year.

My first 80 foot buried-wood garden bed is going into its second summer, after one winter of soaking up rain (and snow!). So it will be interesting to see how it does with water this year. There is another 80 foot bed that was built late in the fall, so it should have soaked up quite a bit as well. The next two beds will be built in the next month, and so will have less time to soak up water. So it will be interesting to compare the second year beds with the first year beds, in terms of water consumption, plant growth, weed pressure, and general healthiness.

There will be an area at the back of the garden that is going to be the start of the food forest, but this year I will be planting lots of different things in there - annual and perennial - all mixed together, just to get some stuff growing, build up the organic matter in that area, and provide nurse crops for the trees and shrubs. I am going to irrigate half, and let the other half fend for itself. This will only happen if we get the fence up, as there is really no point in planting anything outside a fence here - the deer will just enjoy a smorgasbord, and I'll get nada.

So many plans, so little time . . .

What a fantastic thread that I never saw before.
We have a rainy season and a hot, dry season.

We use zai holes especially for starting bananas and trees.  We dig them before the dry season, fill them with whatever organic goodness we have on hand, let them sit through the dry season, and then plant the banana suckers or whatever else once the rain starts.  We keep dumping mulch, weeds, manure into the depression.  By the time the next drought hits,  the banana is well established and has a spot of happy soil.  It weathers the dry season with no problem.  

Some crops, if well rooted and established in the rainy season, can continue to survive the drought.  Sweet potatoes and cassavas keep doing their thing, and stay lush and green even when the weeds around them are totally dry and brown.  Somehow the tubers keep working, even though the soil is baked like a brick.  

I dug a "rippled" garden of something like mini swales and berms down in the wettest part if our property.  During the wet season I plant on the high parts, and put the mulch and organic goodness in the trenches.  During the dry season I plant in the trenches and mulch/fertilize the hills.  This has worked fabulously to keep my annual green leafy veggies going through the seasonal drought.  Especially if I get the seeds in the ground before the rains stop entirely.  I was late this year, thus I watered it only twice, by hand, with a watering can.  That was enough to get them through.

I think this stuff is super important to learn, study, and experiment.  Kenya is becoming hotter and drier, and this year the seasonal rains failed in some parts.  Better to have some skills before the well runs dry.

Tracy Wandling wrote:Rules of Engagement for this thread:

The purpose of this thread is to get a whole bunch of possibilities and ideas for dryland farming (no-irrigation gardening, dry farming, or whatever you want to call it) together in one thread. There are a squillion different gardening systems, conditions, and preferences. So, maybe lots of these ideas will work for you, maybe some will work for you, and maybe only one or two will work for you. That doesn’t mean that the ideas I have put forth, or the ideas that other people will hopefully post to this thread, don’t work, at all, anywhere; and it would be great if we didn’t derail the purpose of this thread with all kinds of ‘discussions’ about why something doesn’t work, and what works the best, and asking for citations and proof. These are just ideas. They will all probably work somewhere, sometimes, for somebody.

These are just ideas to get the ol’ creative juices going, and help people start to think about how they might be able to cut down on watering, or eliminate it completely. This is not a recipe, or a tried-and-true method, just ideas.

If you feel the need to pontificate about your personal feelings about a particular topic that is likely to derail this thread, and lead to silliness, then it would be awesome if you started a thread of your own, so you can get specific about a certain thing that you are feeling passionate about. Then we can keep this thread as a place to put forth ideas that might help somebody somewhere who is trying to grow without irrigation, or at least lessen their water consumption in the garden.
Cheers
Tracy

Some time, folks need to look at their property with fresh eyes:The idea that surrounded by water you could need to have a 650ft well was the first thing that intrigued me about your post. Congratulations on having thoroughly researched your site and putting forth so many ideas, by the way. I printed out your whole post as I'm sure there will be more ideas that I can use. From the cold hardiness map, you look to be in a zone 7+, which was also a surprise to me. I knew that the gulf current brought the temperature up, but zone 7? (I wish!) in the central sands of Wisconsin, I am in a very cold zone 4. We have 35 ft of sand under our feet. Pure sand. and we get an average of only 34"of rain/ year. What you said about getting prepared to be water deficient also hit a nerve: We have a CAFO ((Confined Animal Feeding Operation) that wants to settle very close and with their High Capacity wells dug at 175 ft, (My well is 28 ft, with first water at 10 ft) we fear that they will leave us high and dry, or with polluted wells, so I'm with you in thinking "water scarcity" coming!
Since you are on an island, is the water around you, (with the some rivers nearby) have you checked the salinity of the water and could you be close enough to pull fresh water at lower tide? There are system to desalinize water, and some may be affordable since they must use something on ships on long voyages. With Vancouver nearby, someone might be able to hook you up with a refurbished machine? As you describe your soil, Yikes! my soil is poorer than "dirt poor" since we essentially do not have "dirt" in it, but at my age, I'm not sure I'd want to essentially clean a soil of rocks. What kind of natural vegetation do you have there? If you want to minimize your fight with rocks, you might have to build beds. You did mention Hugelkultur and indeed, that may be your best bet. the other thing I noticed is that you receive 58"of rain/year. Do you have a large roof from which you could catch water? It is amazing the amount of water we can catch with just 1"of rain.
Figure out the total surface of your roof from gutter tip to gutter tip, all round. A regular home around here maybe close to 2,000 square feet. Pour 1" of rain on this and you get about 1200 gallons. X by 58 and you get...69600 gallons of fresh water/ year... Not too shabby if you can direct it to your crops or in a cistern. Here is a link:  http://www.rainbarrelguide.com/how-much-water-can-you-collect-in-rain-barrels-during-a-rainfall/  
With sandy and rocky soils, our best option maybe to make piles of mulch and grow stuff into them. There are sawmill nearby? could they deliver sawdust/ bark etc.? I prefer to use stuff that is already on my property, but adding a one time large amount and sprinkle it in raised beds may be an option. I have a horse farmer across the road. We clean their barn once a year in exchange for the free manure. If you can find one nearby, they could help you too. We are not islands, right? (haha, could not resist). I'm pulling for you and hope that all you dream comes to fruition. You certainly have done a lot of thinking on your project already./

I live in a city called Sandy, and yes that describes it. The soil is sand and rock. We get about 12 inches of rain per year but mostly between September and May.

I started a dry garden last year with various squash--more than fifty seeds planted, 3 grew to maturity and fruited. It wasn't (and isn't) technically dry farming as I watered between two weeks and a month apart last year. The seeds germinated on 1 gallon of water, and those that survived the earwigs, slugs and other bugs got watered when they were showing serious drought stress. I used deep (leaf) mulch and planted in pits for additional protection. I also provided shade for the later part of the afternoon. The zucchini fruited the best, small and fast, coming on in flushes of 6-8 rather than 1 or 2 at a time.

This year I planted the seeds of that dry garden survivor (zucchini) and tepary beans. The tepary beans have not been watered yet and show no signs of water stress. The zucchini were watered the first time this week because I needed to kill the squash bugs that had taken up residence. The plants were not showing any signs of stress but there's also no sign of blossoms yet. Over time I will test other plants and gradually expand the dry garden into the main garden as I find or develop varieties that can survive.

In the meantime my grapes have been growing with no additional water for the last two years and they're doing amazing. I'm testing the plums and almonds this year and so far it appears that there's just as much fruit but it's smaller. Just like the grapes.

Here is my challenge.

I can toy with a garden with 800 sq meters in a Mediterranean climate (not a single drop from June to September, no freeze either). This garden has no water at all. There might be some runoff water, but I am not allowed to divert it, neither allowed to dig a well. Only rainwater. We run a NGO with no money at all, only hand work. The city hall allowed our asociation to manage the site, but they don't help much.
The garden is mostly flat, but it has some slope in the west side, where we have planted lots of fruit trees. The flat side has a few grown fig tress, olive trees and we planted a lemon tree and a banana tree that is dieing. The perimeter is fenced, with some vines holding on the fence giving a scarce protection against winds.
Initially we stole water from the municipality allowing to irrigate dezens of beds, and all the baby trees, but they shut the valve and now we can only maintain one bed irrigated during summer, our dry season. So this is a case of a dryland gardening, in a semiarid mediterranean region, with no irrigation at all.

I've tried to make a swale and divert (illegally) some water from a nearby dirt walkway, but so far the results are not spectacular. So I've decided to turn to water microcatchment for the area. I've dug a sunken bed, half of the earth is now on the berm who also acts as water catchmen area, and creates a cooler microclimate, the other half is mixed with some mature manure we happened to have. The bed is only two months old, but it is already looking promising. There were no flooding that could suffocate the plants, and even with the most intense rain, there was no runoff water that could ruin the berms. From observations, I've decided to try a new kind of sunken bed.

Next one will be more square, using buried hugelkultures in equilateral triangles. I'll mark a 2,50 m side triangle. Within it, I'll dig a 1,70 m side triangle. The dug triangle will be filled with branches from our last prunning, mixed with the same earth from the hole and some worm compost, the excess earth will go to the outside triangle to form a compacted berm, which doubles as pathway and water collecting zone. The center of the cultivated area can be reached within arm distance, 50 cm, I need it shorter than usual since it is below ground and working with it is difficult from above. The berm will create a nice microclimate protecting from some wind and cooling the zone. Being below ground level will also retain more moisture. Buried logs will be in contact with humid earth for longer, allowing them to decompose faster, and the increased organic matter in the cultivated area will increase water retention. In summer there is little risk of overheating since the terrain becomes completely dry.

Repeating this triangular pattern will produce a few long longitudinal pathways (the garden is longer than wider), and several angled pathways to the sides. Some of these triangles cannot be cultivated since the zone will be occupied by small fruit trees. This shape will also help to prevent the garden from looking like a farm (rows and rows of beds), which is something we want to avoid, as it is now publicised as a public edible garden and we would like it to look more like a flower and edible garden.

As for the cultivated species, we are still working on acquiring seeds from local producers, but I am afraid that none of them are really suited for no irrigation dryland farming, so we'll have to work on evolving our own seeds. The only vegetable that seems to fare well is the dandelion, who is a weed here, but I love it in my salad and purslane that is also a weed, and it does not taste bad. Asparagus in spring. So far, only radishes have grown from seeds I poured, but they grew huge.

I am torn in whether using mulch or just intensive planting. The problem with mulch is that it does not allow the seeds to grow, we don't have too much mulch and it is labor intensive. I think I may mulch around grown vegetables starting May, to help them stand the dry season, where the soil is bare. Until then, I'd rather use shallow hoeing and fill the bed with plants, cutting a few of them whenever they are too crumped, or if they are undesired weeds.

EDIT. This soil is pretty good, mostly silty, but it does not flood. Organic matter is of course low, but wild local plants grow without much effort. There's nothing wrong with the wild plants, but they are not much nutritious and people dislike to eat them. Currently we are five, maybe six people, involved with the daily care of the garden, and ten to fifteen people that come sporadically to help. Not having fresh water was a big deterrent.

Abraham Palma wrote:Here is my challenge.

I can toy with a garden with 800 sq meters in a Mediterranean climate (not a single drop from June to September, no freeze either). This garden has no water at all. There might be some runoff water, but I am not allowed to divert it, neither allowed to dig a well. Only rainwater. We run a NGO with no money at all, only hand work. The city hall allowed our asociation to manage the site, but they don't help much.
.......

As I see it, you have one major problem, which is 1/ your City Hall's refusal to help provide life saving fresh water. You may want to get politically involved in removing the most negative members of that outfit: You cannot be the only one in our situation. You don't indicate the type of soil you have or if it would retain water with serious help/ mulch. You may not be allowed to dig a well [and how deep is the first water anyway?] but building an underground cistern [in a clandestine manner if need be], may be allowed [?]
2/ Your second problem is your climate, which just doesn't provide enough fresh water to sustain your crops. I will just assume that the price of fresh water in your community is financially out of reach.
One huge saving grace is that you live on the Mediterranean coast, with an abundance of salt water. There are ocean-going vessels that have on-board a means to desalinate water for human consumption. Here is an example:
https://www.bluewaterdesalination.com/
That too may be out of reach for now. However, don't lose hope: Where there is a will, there is a way. On a personal level, you seem isolated, although you mention an "Association". [could they help?] which makes it difficult to find solutions you can use. "L'union fait la force" as we say in French [there is strength/power in uniting with others]. You may be able to unite with a fisherman's union, as in the Mediterranean their numbers are dwindling and it is harder and harder for them to eke a living:
https://sevilla.abc.es/economia/sevi-andalucia-acuerdo-pesquero-union-europea-reducira-20-por-ciento-facturacion-sector-andaluz-202012172032_noticia.html?ref=https:%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F
Your support of THEIR plight might help them support YOUR plight. Supplying people with fresh water sounds like an easier way for them to make a living than catching these elusive fish as the Law now restricts them. If you were to invest in a desalination effort on their boat, they might be able to provide you with a harvest of fresh water that you could use. You could drive to their dock in the harbor and with the help of a transfer pump collect the water they harvested for you and pay them by the container? You would have to guestimate how much water that would be per week for the surface to water, then go for it.
Malaga also seems to have a fair number of pallet producers, which may help you get to a source of woodchips for mulch[?]
https://www.suppliersof.com/wood-container-pallet-manufacturing/es/Malaga/80378614
If you cannot work with fishermen losing their jobs, you may be able to work with a larger outfit, like Club Med: they go in the ocean all the time and they have to have a desalination process on board, already built.
At present, you are doing a back-breaking, herculean job to transform your property into a place where you would be able to grow more crops. Perhaps building a cistern [which should be out of view/ prying eyes] could be part of your solution.
Let us know how things are progressing, and good luck on your project[s]

Cécile Stelzer Johnson wrote: 2/ Your second problem is your climate, which just doesn't provide enough fresh water to sustain your crops. I will just assume that the price of fresh water in your community is financially out of reach.

I don't agree. With 21 inches of water per year there should be plenty as long as it's used properly. Under deep mulch, I am able to grow a number of different crops on 12 inches (apx 305 mm) with no supplemental water at all. And this is in a similar summer climate--brutal sun, heat, very little water May to September.

With an average minimum of 45 degrees F, or 7 degrees C, he could even grow/plant a lot of things during the cooler season without much risk of freezing, and when the water is actually falling on the land. Let plants get established during that period so that when the water stops he doesn't lose as much.

Abraham, you need to observe where the water runs and falls and pools, taking into consideration that any change you make is going to affect the water flow. What you're doing is not at all impossible, although it may be difficult. At this point, build on what you've already done. You have a good plan in place, which will improve your soil and the soil's water holding capability over time--run with it, do it.

During the cooler season, if you can't do your major plantings put in annuals with a deep root system to get water pathways down into the soil. Water is truly your Achilles heel, but it can be done.

Come back and give us updates as well. I'd like to see how things progress over time.

Abraham Palma wrote:Here is my challenge.

So this is a case of a dryland gardening, in a semiarid mediterranean region, with no irrigation at all.

Dryland farming is tricky as a person needs to use lots of tricks to get water when there is none.

This thread has a lot of the tricks that are available:

https://permies.com/t/138768/Water-Plants-Trees-Drought-Conditions

It has been a long time since I read "The Big Fat Thread on dryland Farming" so if these were mention this is an update on methods.

This thread mostly covers using Mulch:

https://permies.com/t/89965/dry-climate-leads-sustainability-mulch


This thread has some information on Zai Holes:

https://permies.com/t/96852/permaculture-projects/Starting-Food-Forest-soil-crazy

This thread is about Air Wells - collecting water from the air

https://permies.com/t/airwell


This thread is about Wicking Beds:

https://permies.com/t/134410/Wicking-beds-Texas

This thread is about Clay pots or Ollas

https://permies.com/t/56986/Clay-Pot-Irrigation-Experiment

This thread is about Keyhole Gardening:

https://permies.com/t/68883/permaculture-projects/keyhole-garden-summer-drought


Some information on Rainwater Catchment:

https://permies.com/t/36676/Brad-Lancaster-Waste-Transform-waste#285925

https://permies.com/t/127073/store-water#1040876


This last thread is about Dryland Farming:

https://permies.com/t/58559/permaculture-projects/Big-Fat-Thread-Dryland-Farming

I would also suggest a rain catchment for the garden like this guzzler:


source

I just found this thread and will read all of it when I get a chance, but I will share here what I just posted in Front Porch Chat because I think it is appropriate for this topic.

I live in a desert area of Southern Utah, about 5300 foot elevation on the side of a mountain where there are Juniper and Pinion Pine trees to provide some shade.  But the total annual precipitation is only about 20 inches of precipitation per year.
After a winter of 4" snow falls that would mostly melt before the next 4" snow fall, maybe every other week or so, the ground here got a good soaking. The last big snow fall maybe 6 or 8 weeks ago melted real slow and soaked in well. Last week we had several days in a row with a few inches of snow that melted just in time for more snow, so that was well needed. Saturday morning there was 9" of snow that mostly melted by sunset and finished melting and soaking in by Sunday afternoon. This evening we had about 2 hours of steady rain (probably a light rain for those of you who don't live in a desert) and it soaked in well with minimal puddles and no runoff.
I think I finally have the property terraced and mulched enough to properly allow the water to soak into the ground. I guess that means I can continue scattering mulch and compost, because it is obviously working.
And now it is snowing again and there is already an inch of snow on the ground.  With the extensive use of wood chips all over my property I suspect the moisture will remain in the soil for quite some time, unlike previous years where the exposed soil would dry out within weeks of steady sunshine.  Mulch, compost, wood chips, and more compost will retain the moisture and nourish the soil, and each successive year will be better than the last.

Hey guys, here I'm sharing my understanding of drylands-sandy soil farming techniques and approaches. Conceived in the interiors of the Kenyan coast.

Water retention
Rainwater harvesting earthworks: swales, stone lines, dams, diversion drains, smile berms, roadside runoff harvesting, etc..
Organic matter in the soil
Mulching, cover corps
Crust disruption: initial deep digging, taprooted plants
→ Greywater recycle: simple banana circle/pit

Create the succession: start kidogo planting only drought-resistant, local, fast growing, pioneers, nitrogen fixing grasses and trees to create the conditions for future planting of more demanding crops (vegetables and other fruit trees):
Developing a canopy that provides shade and humidity for crops to grow protected. It could be substituted later on by nuts, timber or big fruit trees (shade, humidity and biodiversity);
Water retention and soil building through root systems, beneficial microorganism and biomass production;
Chop and drop (cutting the grass at the base and the branches of the trees) through the whole process after the first years growing in height (prune the lateral branches of the pioneer trees to make the tip grow high faster).
Evolution in a forest: stability, resilience and high diversity

When planting trees:
Dig deep holes, keeping aside the topsoil
Incorporate from the bottom lots of organic matter, manure, charcoal dust, kitchen waste, chopped aloe leaves, etc..
Put back topsoil
Plant the tree in a sunken bed
Seed a few beans next to the tree for nitrogen fixing
Mulching
Watering
Create a small berm downslope with the subsoil (smile berm)

FARMING TECHNIQUES:
Always plant on contour.
Build sunken beds, using the "zai pits" / "Deep Soil Farming" techniques with lots of organic matter, and keep raised paths.
Build kitchen-garden permanent multilayered beds (hugelkulture) to ensure moisture and fertility through the dry season. In order:
Dig deep, loosen the bottom
Dry organic matter
Fresh organic matter
Manure
Fresh organic matter
Dry organic matter
Topsoil/charcoal dust/compost
Plant and mulch
Build wicking beds: self-contained raised beds with built-in reservoirs that supply water from the bottom up https://www.resilience.org/stories/2011-05-31/bottom-diy-guide-wicking-beds/
Keep garden beds permanent!
Value the species that do well, but still maintain the diversity. Plant densely. Grow perennial plants.
Pre-soak seeds to make them germinate at home in a bucket, then plant them in controlled areas where you know they will grow. Seedlings work too in this situation.
Outside the vegetable garden beds (on the grass lines of the syntropic agroforestry system or under a fruit tree orchard) keep weeds as living mulch/cover crop, slash periodically and use them as mulch; otherwise, seed nitrogen fixing legume crops or local grasses and do the same.
Plant windbreaks around and within the shamba https://treeyopermacultureedu.com/chapter-6-trees/windbreaks/

FMNR (Farmer management natural regeneration)
Select species and stumps: for each stump, choose a number (2-5 depending if it is a shrub, low tree or tall tree) of the strongest, tallest and straightest stems to leave.
Prune and manage: remove unwanted stems and tree branches, protecting the remaining from livestock.
Smile berms: dig a flat surface around the base of the tree, placing the soil downslope creating a berm that retains water and fertility.
Cover the soil: use the prunings for mulching or sow local grasses in the basin with the tree at the centre.
Maintain and utilise: return to the trees and keep removing new stems and side branches; enjoy firewood, fodder and mulch productions.

Build Air Wells (condenser):
a structure or device that collects water by promoting the condensation of moisture from air.


Crops doing well in dry climate, sandy soil:
Annuals and biennials:
Groundnut
Cassava
Okra
Cowpea, green gram, lentils, lablab beans
Sorghum, Millet, Quinoa
Sweet potatoes
Fruit trees:
Mango
Cashew nut
Coconut
Moringa
Pomegranate
Guava
Paw paw
Custard apple
Pidgeon pea
Castor

I think that zai holes are too much work and your digging below the rich topsoil. They fill in as you do the weeding. They are definitely good for moisture retention and blocking the soil surface frome wind. I wish a regular tractor could make zai holes.

Jeff Hodgins wrote:I think that zai holes are too much work and your digging below the rich topsoil. They fill in as you do the weeding. They are definitely good for moisture retention and blocking the soil surface frome wind. I wish a regular tractor could make zai holes.

I feel "dryland farming" is a lot of work too.

What is easier than zai holes?

Does your tractor have a post-hole digger?  Would that work for making zai holes?

After my initial comments I started to think about how it could be done with a regular tractor. You could put a scoop on kind of like a cam wheel and that's scoop wood create a ridge in the row to stop the flow of water downhill. In the past we have used the shovel to stop runoff in problem areas where it travels down the row causing erosion. In my situation I think key line plowing or terraces or swales on contour would have been best but I have already planted the trees in rows which are not on contour. I thought initially that the shorter rows would mean more turning and less efficiency but I realize now there are a lot of downsides to the erosion the seed can even be washed down the row leaving an area with no crop and another area over seeded. Also the nutrients get washed from that area down to the other area. In the end I might have to cut some trees out and make the new rows on contour. I should probably start converting areas as trees die or cut a few and make a few new rows every year.

Zai holes are good if you don't have a tractor or in areas like tree rows where you can't use the tractor. One problem I've had is the tractor getting too close and filling them up and putting a layer on the whole tree row and burying the roots too deep.

I am sure everyone's situations are different.

Have you watched what happens when it rains?

To me, going out after a rain with a shovel and finding those areas where a small wall or berm can be made to sho the seeds from washing or even used to stop erosion works.

I also feel that picture of the Zai holes shows that they were made when those plants were planted.

If you have more tree planting in the future this thread might offer something worth trying:

https://permies.com/t/160325/Ellen-White-Method-tree-planting

For those living close to a seashore.
https://seawatergreenhouse.com/

For those living in cold climates.
http://icestupa.org/

I am intrigued by making an ice tower that will slowly melt in spring and provide a slow release of water.
Of course the ice can be made in an old bathtub and placed where you need it such as the inside of a swale, basin or a terrace.
My property is highland desert at 4000ft elevation. The growing season is 80 days. Seven months of the year is cold to freezing. Rainfall is 1 to 10"/year. Snowfall is 24"/year on average. Currently my strategy is to make as many large ice blocks as possible during the winter as temporary water storage. I will also be building a Chinese style greenhouse to extend my short growing season.

My neighbors thought I was absolutely NUTS for shoveling the street to put the snow on my property. : )

Not sure this is the right thread. But:

I found this article on the resurgence of waffle gardening in dry areas, with a food security slant, and found it interesting.

https://civileats.com/2021/10/26/resurgence-waffle-gardens-helping-indigenous-peoples-thrive-amid-droughts-grow-food-less-water/

This technique wouldn't work for me exactly, but since I moved onto a sand hill I found that planting in trenches and holes was helpful in capturing rain showers and retaining moisture. I suppose it's a variation on the theme.

Grow stuff in drylands WITHOUT irrigation? Only one solution: native crops in the native season.

And there are a COUPLE exeptions, like moringa and pigeon pea. But they still have to get a start in the more humid season.

Waffle Gardening reminds me of using swales and berms on a smaller basis.

Which will help some of our reading understand these principles.

And what Nathanael said:

Only one solution: native crops in the native season.

... But they still have to get a start in the more humid season.

One way that not irrigating helps a crop is by reducing weed pressure.
Ideas for growing without irrigation

Drought resistant plants (corn,wheat)
Use cacti to store watering an organic form. This material can be fermented in a closed vat for a few weeks to liquify it and make it's water soak into the soil.
Banana is another common option for solid water storage.
Pit or trench planting.(walipini,zai holes,waffle garden.
Decomposition or digestion. This process creates water from CH²O²∆ CO2 H²O. The trick is keeping the process going in cold or dry times and I guess the reaction has to happen near the plants root zone.

Nathanael Szobody wrote:Grow stuff in drylands WITHOUT irrigation? Only one solution: native crops in the native season.

And there are a COUPLE exeptions, like moringa and pigeon pea. But they still have to get a start in the more humid season.

In my experience, native or non-native hasn't been the factor - just drought, wind and heat tolerance. For example, the Mediterranean plant Vitex grows well here, it even was growing without irrigation on some years that were really hard on the natives here.

Food plants growing here without irrigation include some handsome and not-native mulberry trees, as well.  Native plants of course do fine most year, but the past years of drought have even been hard on them. While the big mulberry still grows and produces lovely fruit, to my surprise.

Get some shade and ground cover using RGGS and wicking beds. These are very efficient with water and slightly less complicated to build than hydroponics. You need to do whatever you can to grow something so you can get started with some biomass. The RGGS/wicking output (branch trimmings, leaves etc) can get you started with material for mulch, compost to build your sand into soil.

For folks that don't know what RGGS stands for: Rain Gutter Grow System.

This might work with a rainwater catchment system.





I found these ideas on Pinterest:


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What an amazing thread! Here in Fresno Zone 9 b once summer really gets rolling rain is such a rarity that my daughter and I  rush outside to dance in it… usually have over a month of 100 + degree weather … once hit 112. Anyway, what we have found to be profoundly drought tolerant are white sage nd cherry tomatoes.. The tomatoes reseeded themselves and survived off any incidental irrigation we were doing for other trees/ plants and they grew into a large thicket.. tons of tomatoes!! So many that we started to view them as weeds.. We almost never water our crepe myrtles and they are actually edible:) Most of our larger trees rarely need watering as well although it does help them get through our summer. Pomegranates do much better for us in the heat than figs do. Herbs go nuts here , grow into giants … lavender, rosemary and oregano especially. We do tend to plant in shallow holes, unfortunately our waffle garden was a bust. Ground cover is a must. Our best fruit trees, plum, mulberry and pear are so far thriving the most . Oregano took it upon itself to become a nurse plant, completely surrounding our pear tree and mulberry which seems to help them be the happiest of all our trees.

I do two main compost systems:
My general compost that the chickens work over

And my "gut pile" where butchered birds, cull animals, guts from slaughter days, dog manure all get put, basically anything that I consider to be a higher biohazard risk than I want in my main pile

This gut pile is destined for one main use,  to fill a trench dug by a power trencher on contour as a large "zai trench" for future trees when those are done ill probably look at using post hole auger on the tractor to dig holes and fill those with the material

I'd like to add an observation.

Arid / semi-arid / wet, refers to the amount of rainwater.
Arid, below 400mm per year, orchards without irrigation are not possible. We may have the occasional fruit tree which collects rainwater in some good spot, but not an orchard. Semi-arid, between 400 and 600 mm per year, allows orchards for a few selected species, like olive trees, almonds and plums, without irrigation.
But heat and wind are also factors. 500 mm per year might not be enough for an orchard if it is too hot or too windy.

Mediterranean / Continental / Tropical, refers to the rainy seasons. For example, Mediterranean means raining in fall and spring, very little in winter and absolutely nothing in summer.

Desert / rainy. refers to the way it rains: soft and frequent, or in a flood-draught cycle, and depends on the existence of large forested areas nearby. (The scientific term is biotic / abiotic regime).

The strategies vary depending on what is affecting the things I want to grow. If it was just the amount of rainwater, then I just need to increase the catchment area (spacing my crops). Near the home, I may reuse graywater or collect rainwater from the roof, for a little extra water. If it is heat or wind, I need to prevent evaporation (mulch, mulch).
If the problem is that the plant requires different amounts of water in different seasons, then I need to store water and irrigate when it needs it, or make the plant adapt to the local seasons (by landracing o switching to other varieties).

If the problem is a desertic regime, then I need to prepare for the flood. Vegetation must stay in place as long as possible, the soil must be covered even by dead plants to prevent further erosion, and runoff water must be checked, by landscaping, check dams, k-line planting, etc.

We sort of do dryland farming here already.  It is a quarter acre urban farm.  Primarily rain watered, but we had two, now four 300 gallon rain barrels.  The stacking of layers is extremely helpful in preventing runoff, providing some shade, taprooting water.  We woodchip  (free!  And free gym workout to move it where you want it!) all paths in the garden and it has cut down tremendously on watering needs by soaking up the rain and trickling it over to the plants.   We move more and more to perennials as they need far less of my hand in watering.   In our recent 3 weeks of no rain and lots of heat I only had one black cohosh succumb and a few perennials start to look wilty.  The annuals on the other hand (except potatoes,  which never needed me to water) required carrying of buckets, about 75 gallons a day, by hand.  As we only had 2 barrels up at beginning of season, we soon had to revert to using city water.  Picture is mid dry spell.

Barsha pump provides irrigation water, but doesn't need fuel - New Atlas, November 04, 2014: https://newatlas.com/aqysta-barsha-pump/34588/

Thank you Tom for sharing about the Barsha pump.

The problem I see using it for dryland farming is that a person needs a water source like maybe a pond which mine is empty.

Anyway, this was a nice learning experience:

Partial list of “water use efficient” plants.
(Data pulled from various science papers. )

Note: These numbers vary widely…I’m posting here only to offer a general indication to some types of plants that might be worth a further look.

(Listed in order from highest water use efficiency to lowest WUE.

WUE units: (Kg ha-1 mm-1) ,
(or 10*Kg/m^3)

Table:
Common name, low WUE, mid WUE, high WUE
Eggplant in G.house, , , 629
Eggplant in field, , , 417
Melon (type?), , , 400
Cucumber, 42, 250, 323
Lettuce, 120, 230, 300
Dragon Fruit, 217, , 294
Pepper, , , 248
Peruvian apple, 160, , 210
Squash, 22, 55, 200
Tomato, 25, 46, 167
Prickly pear cactus, , , 120
Potato, 16, 50, 100
Onion, 24, 50, 99
Strawberry, , , 80
Amaranth, 30, 50, 70
Watermelon, 0.3, , 66
Citrus various, 35, , 65
Pear, 21.8, , 51
Garlic, 22, 30, 50
Cauliflower, , , 51
Pomegranate, 31, 40, 50
Peach, 20, 28, 49
Artichoke, , , 46
Miscanthus grass, 15, 24, 45
Cabbage, 29, 35, 42
Green beans, , , 41
Jujube date, 20, 30, 40
Fig, , , 40
Olive Koroneiki, 28, 33, 38
Mandarin ortanique, , , 38
Mesquite, , 29, 35
Banana, , , 33
Plum, , ,33
Grape 14, 20, 30
Pineapple, 10, 20, 30
Orange Valencia, , ,31
Carob, , , 26
Orange Monkey, , , 25
Guava, , , 25
Avocado p.Americana, 12.7, ,21.2
Alfalfa, 11, , 21
Mango, , , 21
Lentil, 2, 5, 20
Basil, , , 20
Walnut, , , 20
Sorghum, 5, 10, 18
Maize, 2,10,18
Millet Proso, ,17.6,
Millet Finger,  , , 16
Pea common, 5, 8, 16
Barley, 12, , 15
Almond, 2, 3, 14
Tomatoes, , , 13
Eucalyptus, , , 12.7
Bean Faba, 1.7, , 12.5
Wheat, 10, 11, 12
Dry Bean, 2, , 11
Cilantro, 1, , 10
Pea pigeon, 3.4, 5, 7
Rice, 1, , 7
Canola, , , 6
Goji/wolfberry, 4, , 5
Sunflower, 3, 4, 5
Millet pearl, 2, , 5
Agave A.americana, , , 5
Mustard , , 5
Chili , , 5
Groundnut/Peanut, 4, 4.5, 5
Chickpea, 0.1, 2, 4
Clover White, 2, , 3
Clover Red, 2, , 3
Soybean, 1, , 3
Cowpea, 0.1, , 0.2
Groundnut Bambara, 0.1, , 0.12