Jon Snow

I have a place in the Mojave. I have had success with palo verde and mesquite (native trees not bought from Home Depot etc) check out this site http://opuntiagardenfarm.com/

Another view of the ditch which leads to a wash. I also dug up a small swale and it collects water. Since I'm not there full time I haven't seen it fill up during a rainstorm. I know it works because when I arrive about a week after a storm hits, the swale will have a little water in it. Lots of grasses and weeds grow in and around the swale. I'm just experimenting at the moment. I'll post more pictures as I progress. Joshua Tree is a amazing place!

Nicholas Pulido wrote:Hey jon how is your property? If youve harvested any rainwater id love to see how. Visited joshua tree from apple valley ca.. we stayed in a air bnb tiny house. Coffees great

Whats up Nicholas, the property is doing well. I live in LA and drive to the desert on weekends. So far I am digging ditches to move the water away from my cabin to a natural wash. I started to plant mesquite trees near that wash. I figure they grow next to washes in the wild so it might be a good idea to plant them in that location. Even though it rains about 4-6 inches a year we get lots of water fast since we have a hill at our place. I've been busy planting native beavertail cactus around the entire perimeter of my fence. The rabbits dont eat them and I can get plenty of cuttings from the native  beavertails that grow on our place. After growing different types of trees I have had the best success with mesquites and palo verde trees.  Sometime in the spring im going to dig a pond to hold more water.

http://opuntiagardenfarm.com/author/damian/

anna-marie lorenzo wrote:some very detailed, informative articles here but no one mentioned if these windbreak trees are livestock friendly, i.e., sheep and horses.

I have a place in the high desert and have had geat success with afghan pine trees. They do well with minimal water. I also lobe native honey mesquite trees but they have thorns.

Trace Oswald wrote:My favorite part of this thread is the picture of the lawn mower in the desert :)

Those lawnmowers were there when we got the place. In the Spring believe it or not we do get green grass for a little while.

The fence has 2 walk in gates and 2 16 foot gates.

Update! I just hired a company to install a chain link fence. It would of taken me weeks what they did in hours!

Thats a cool house! I have a homestead cabin about 5 minutes away just north of Bodick right off the 247. We are thinking of moving to that area. We live in LA at the moment.

Hey Kim I have a little cabin near you, near Joshua Tree. I talk to locals about what does well up here. My neighbors say that a lot of things grow fine up here with water of course!!! First thing you have to do is plant some trees so they can provide shade for smaller plants. I love native trees like the honey mesquite and palo verde trees. Dont get the chilean mesquites they sell at home depot or other nurseries. I know a guy in Joshua Tree that sells them his name is Damian Lester. His email is lester.damian@gmail.com  My neighbor has a bunch of Afghan pine trees also called Eldarica Pine or Mondell pine. They do great up in the high desert. I planted one last year and it grew 2 feet!! I only water it once a month (deep watering). Have you been to Cactus Mart? They have a lot of cool desert trees its in Morongo Valley.