Permaculture attempt in high desert of California

Oaks breaking the sand surface

Goji berries with lady bugs

First moringa sprouts!!

My cat has been helping deter the rabbits this year to bad her sister got eaten by coyotes😭 she was a better hunter too!

Hi Sam,

Wow! You're diving in with both feet! Looks like Barstow Desert Discovery Center is having an Earth Day event with plants for sale. Local garden clubs, etc. are the best way to find people /plants already acclimated, plus outlets for your future bamboo sales, etc.

https://www.facebook.com/237456329620506/photos/pcb.1542005615832231/1541986402500819/?type=3&theater

Sam Fel wrote:Hello all!, I've recently began renting 30 acres in barstow. Looks like it was farmed for alfalfa grass in the past and all soil has been degraded.. What's mostly left is large patches of almost all clay ( which I may use to make a pond) and some sand dunes scattered across the property. Winds get up to 70mph constant with up to 80mph gusts as of last year!! Wow who left the jet engine on!! Winter record low is 10 degrees and summer is 100+ degrees for 3 months.

Here goes, I have established a well which I power on a generator for now.. I have been planting things the last 3 months and this is what I have so far..

Brown Turkish figs, pear tree, goji berries, grapes, blueberries, blackberries, Chinese wisteria vine, weeping willow, sycamore tree,
To establish a windblock, add organic matter, help fix the soil and also as a food and building material I'm planting various types of the phyllostachys bamboo so far I have,
Black bamboo phyllostachys nigra  & Japanese arrow bamboo(which is doing the best so far)
Japanese timber , Incense , golden , yellow shoot, green shoot, golden goddess, Alphonse karr and vivax
All the bamboo are doing well except the golden bamboo it seems to not like the intense sun.

I'm working on getting cats claw,mesquite, white thrones acacia or florida blue palo verde trees or seeds. I'm looking for legume trees to plant to start enriching my soil for my future fruit trees and more bamboo cultivars I plan on planting. I want to turn this patch of desert into a lush food forest and encourage my neighbors to do the same. I'm hoping this bamboo will keep me cooler, block sand storms and clean my soil of toxins as well! 😍

Looking for some help from a few travelers? Beginner permie couple here... Looking to chip in where ever needed.

Thank you for all you are DOing on our Southern California high desert, brother Sam!  I AM a Southern California native who has just recently began looking for Land to Permaculture develop on the Antelope Valley area of Los Angeles County.

Are you open to having visitors and/or volunteers come and stay on your site and assist temporarily?  If so, I would be open to sharing briefly in your experiences there on Barstow.

Well,  I just received word that the Vacant Land Purchase Agreement has been accepted and signed into escrow today for 2 acres on the Los Angeles/San Bernardino counties line, Lancaster [Butte Valley] as a new southern California high desert Permaculture Demonstration Learning Homestead.  I look forward to playing together with the rest of us in this area of the California Republic and all of us in cyberspace.

Guadagno Attilio-Cesare wrote:...2 acres on the Los Angeles/San Bernardino counties line, Lancaster [Butte Valley] as a new southern California high desert Permaculture Demonstration Learning Homestead.  I look forward to playing together with the rest of us in this area of the California Republic and all of us in cyberspace.

https://m.facebook.com/attiliocesareguadagno/posts/pcb.10213241591252872/?photo_id=10213241588412801&mds=%2Fphotos%2Fviewer%2F%3Fphotoset_token%3Dpcb.10213241591252872%26photo%3D10213241588412801%26profileid%3D1189224828%26source%3D49%26refid%3D17%26_ft_%3Dtop_level_post_id.10213241591252872%253Atl_objid.10213241591252872%253Athrowback_story_fbid.10213241591252872%253Athid.1189224828%253A306061129499414%253A2%253A0%253A1498892399%253A-8056894291355089218%26cached_data%3Dfalse%26ftid%3Du_0_2n&mdf=1

I live in Arizona and am trying to grow food in the desert as well.  Your project in Barstow is fascinating!  I am familiar with that area an it is indeed challenging.
I look forward to your progress!

Hi Helen,
Are you north or south Arizona?

I'm in NE Arizona. Once I controlled the critters with chicken wire I had better growth.

I have a pit greenhouse with a shade cloth roof. On my next trip I'm going to look at building an above ground hoop greenhouse where the hoop legs are fastened to the hydroponic trays. ( big winds).

Sam

How are the seedlings growing?
I plant 100 mesquite and I'm lucky to get 12 growing.
Out of 60 palu Verde I have 2.  
Maybe the seeds I've been ignoring in the desert fare better.

John snow

What about that handful of mesquite seeds you showed us last fall?

I got cork oak acorns from a target parking lot in Moreno valley. I come across live oak acorns in Riverside county and collect bags of them. I have grown hundreds of seedlings and give them away. In a month I will have hundreds of moringa seeds you can have.

Some permies in the UK had a place located very near the sea and had much trouble starting trees, shrubs, and annuals due to constant wind.  They solved the problem by surrounding their seedlings with straw bales, stacked one or two bales high.  This protected the plants till they were well rooted and stems were sturdy.  The bales were used again and again.  When they fell apart they became mulch.

kevin stewart wrote:Hi Helen,
Are you north or south Arizona?

I'm in NE Arizona. Once I controlled the critters with chicken wire I had better growth.

I have a pit greenhouse with a shade cloth roof. On my next trip I'm going to look at building an above ground hoop greenhouse where the hoop legs are fastened to the hydroponic trays. ( big winds).

Sam

How are the seedlings growing?
I plant 100 mesquite and I'm lucky to get 12 growing.
Out of 60 palu Verde I have 2.  
Maybe the seeds I've been ignoring in the desert fare better.

John snow

What about that handful of mesquite seeds you showed us last fall?

If you have the afternoon wind like I do, don't play around and go straight to tree tubes for your saplings.

Sam: Do you have a signed rental contract/option to purchase? Why else would you put so much time/labor into the land? Alfalfa is a good soil builder if you use "chop/drop". Read: "The One Straw Revolution" or "The Natural Way of Gardening" by Masanobu Fukuoka.

Hi Sam. Just wanted to thank you for writing your fascinating story and look forward to your future updates.

Hi Sam,

My name is Simon Luckinbill. I am an artist and sell art in Palm Desert in a gallery (my acrylic paintings). I am buying 2.5 acres in Landers which is not too far from you and trying to do a bunch of different permaculture projects. I want to get into aquaponics and build an earthbag home and an aircrete dome. I was wondering if you might have anything at all that you might not want that you think I could use. I am pretty broke but am trying to do this anyway. I do know what I am doing when it comes to permaculture though, but just from intensive studying, not hands on experience. Email me and we can get together if you like. I really appreciate what you are doing. I am living in Yucca Valley now but will be on the land Sept 1st. My email is    matrixministries@yandex.com      760 910 5083       Thanks

My wacky idea on facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/Kung-Fu-Christians-Aquaponic-Jungle-941633469310697/  (I still have to update the site because it says my land is in Texas but my new land deal is in Landers, Ca)

Hello,

I read one of the first posts about Burkina Fasso and Yacouba Sawadogo. You can find about him in Youtube, especially this film here https://youtu.be/xMWPsVkW2TY and many more in the sequels of youtube as you know..

LDC is the name of the technique in Sahel, where I shall be moving soon I hope, and will feed you more information. Ciao, Riccccardo

Hi Sam, you might check with the county about again rain water you can get. If you can you can make a on the ground roof to catch rain water. Go to youtube and check out living in a tiny box. He used four 2,500 gallons (news one ) but you can find them used on Craigslist. I live in golden valley,az, there some for sale for as little as $400.00. If you look around and on Craigslist you could find the sheet metal. You could also sink a aboveground pool for water storage, a 15 foot pool holds up to 4,400 to 5,000 gallons. You need to keep it covered. Also you could use a pond liner and keep that covered. Pond liners are about 18 to 20 mill, pool start at 25mill. Again you can find used pools at the end of summer on I know, I know craigslist.but first get to know the lay of the land. Do you have any washes on your ( more free water ) , I have a wash that gets about 3 to 5 million gallons of water each year , free! And that in the desert. I'm only asking for 30,000 gallons. Even I could say what desert.

I finally got some Honey Mesquite seeds. I planted them in my home in L.A. I took a small seedling to my cabin in Johnson Valley to use with my Groasis Desertbox. While I transplanted the little mesquite seedling it went limp. I thought it would die. Surprise surprise I went back 3 weeks later and the little seedling did die BUT grew back! The Groasis Waterbox really works!

In the pictures you can see I have a California Incense Cedar (Left) and a Afghan pine (Right). Both are doing great but the Afghan pine (also known as Mondell and Eldarica pine) is doing really good. If you need a cheap hardy desert tree Afghans pines are the way to go. Home Depot sells them. During Christmas Home Depot Sells them as small Christmas trees. If you wait after Christmas they go on sale. Good way to buy a bunch for cheap.

Simon Luckinbill wrote:Hi Sam,

My name is Simon Luckinbill. I am an artist and sell art in Palm Desert in a gallery (my acrylic paintings). I am buying 2.5 acres in Landers which is not too far from you and trying to do a bunch of different permaculture projects. I want to get into aquaponics and build an earthbag home and an aircrete dome. I was wondering if you might have anything at all that you might not want that you think I could use. I am pretty broke but am trying to do this anyway. I do know what I am doing when it comes to permaculture though, but just from intensive studying, not hands on experience. Email me and we can get together if you like. I really appreciate what you are doing. I am living in Yucca Valley now but will be on the land Sept 1st. My email is    matrixministries@yandex.com      760 910 5083       Thanks

My wacky idea on facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/Kung-Fu-Christians-Aquaponic-Jungle-941633469310697/  (I still have to update the site because it says my land is in Texas but my new land deal is in Landers, Ca)

Im in Johnson Valley, right next to Landers.

kevin stewart wrote:Hi Helen,
Are you north or south Arizona?

I'm in NE Arizona. Once I controlled the critters with chicken wire I had better growth.

I have a pit greenhouse with a shade cloth roof. On my next trip I'm going to look at building an above ground hoop greenhouse where the hoop legs are fastened to the hydroponic trays. ( big winds).

Sam

How are the seedlings growing?
I plant 100 mesquite and I'm lucky to get 12 growing.
Out of 60 palu Verde I have 2.  
Maybe the seeds I've been ignoring in the desert fare better.

John snow

What about that handful of mesquite seeds you showed us last fall?

I planted about 8 Mesquite seeds. Only 2 sprouted. I transplanted one to my cabin and its still growing and doing well. I will transplant the other in the Fall.

Hey, Brother Sam!   It has been quite a while since WE have seen any update from you here...  I trust, and it is my intention, that all is going perfectly well with you and for your high desert site.

I have not been back on California, myself, yet since escrow closed on the Land which I will be returning to steward following the RMH Jamboree of workshops being held here at Wheaton's World on Montana, where I have been living and learning as "A Boot" for the past 50 days.  I look forward to collaborating once I DO return to my native Mother Country/County (if you are open to such a proposition).

Continue to BE well and stay STRONG!

Attilio-Cesare. 👑😏✌🏼❤️🌈🌹🌲🍄

Hey everyone! Sorry for such a large time without an update but I'm back!

Everything has been doing much better this year even with record high temperatures and wind! My biggest enemies this year were the rabbits! Many of the moringa grew about 8ft tall only to be chopped down to ground level by rabbits! Luckily the moringa is able to recover from such a harsh chop! They even attacked palo verde trees, mesquite, oaks, even my peach tree! I've begun putting up chicken wire around my plants and was getting good success as long as it's not a sapling. Kangaroo mice have been digging under the chicken wire and getting young plants or moringa shoots off a recovering rabbit attacked plant. Due to the kangaroo mice I've decided to establish most long term trees such as oaks etc in pots and fast growing trees down straight in the ground with a two litter bottle as added precaution.

My solution to wind & critters. This is a small part of zone 5.

Shade cloth for the summer, chicken wire added to the heavy wire for delicate trees and a dollar store solar light in case they are afraid of the dark.

I lost about thirty Siberian elm saplings last year. I will leave their roots and stumps in the ground through next year in case they decide to grow.

In the Caribbean lizards are the nightmare pest. They can climb anything.

Oops, the picture is Arizona at 6000 foot elevation.

The Caribbean problem is for a later date.

I think you got the right idea Kevin! Only thing is I recommend chicken wire because when the rabbits get hungry they will squeeze thru that mesh wire and get the plants.

Mesquite seedlings that rabbits didn't get

Sam
I just spent a week at my place, as I drove through Barstow I waved, did you see?

I am using the heavier wire because I plan on using these critter guards for the next twenty years. I will always be planting trees. When I felt it was necessary a added smaller chicken wire to the framework.

The rabbits are now eating thorny pad cactus and yucca.
I wonder if there will be any time left by may.

My pit greenhouse is just too close to critterdom. I built an above ground greenhouse two months ago and the four trays (4'×8') are bolted to the hoop legs. It's not going anywhere in the wind and is hopefully high enough to be critter free, though I have added a wire edge. Nothing will be growing till the seeds sprout in spring.  You notice it has shelves? I love shelves.

I'm not at my place enough to try this but I'm wondering if the bitterness of a Mongolian gourd water sprayed on plants would protect them?

A few years ago I was growing thousands of papaya seedlings in a leaf mulch that also had neem seedlings growing. Lizard would eat the papaya but not the neem. I wondered about making a neem leaf water solution that (maybe) would become part of the papaya seedling flavor. I had to leave and did not get a chance to test it.

Hi Sam , I'm happy to see this thread is still going . I'm inspired to try some Goji berries here after reading your posts . we are finally producing fruit ,and I had lost interest after so many failed attempt's . I am thankful my wife didn't give up . apricot,fig ,pomegranate ,grapes, mulberry , peaches , asparagus ,blackberry ,and pistachios have all survived to produce fruit except pistachios ,they are only 3 years old now . I will be attempting cutting from a pear in spring from my sister's house, it has the most sweetest juiciest fruit . now I need to come up with other solutions for the critter's who took alot more than their share . Thank's Sam ....happy holiday's

Hey congrats! There's nothing more rewarding than eating your first batch. What you sow you shall reap! So keep sowing!!! I would recommend air layering the pear tree, I find that air layering developed vigorous roots and minimal stress on the clone. 4in 1 grafted trees are also fun to plant too! Best wishes and blessings to you and your family! Merry Christmas to everyone.

Well I guess this adventure has come to an end or being postponed. Got sick during winter had to leave property for a month. Came back to everything I had built being stolen, tent destroyed and even plants ripped out of ground. Not sure why people do these things but it has hurt me financially. Will be unable to stay this year. Hopefully I come visit and see some mesquite trees etc established themselves.

Hi Sam. That just sucks. If it isn't rabbits then it's your neighboring asshats.

As you know, I'm always looking for seed sources. I always overdo it so I'll have seeds when you're ready.

Don't let them win. Get back on that horse.

K

Sam Fel wrote:Well I guess this adventure has come to an end or being postponed. Got sick during winter had to leave property for a month. Came back to everything I had built being stolen, tent destroyed and even plants ripped out of ground. Not sure why people do these things but it has hurt me financially. Will be unable to stay this year. Hopefully I come visit and see some mesquite trees etc established themselves.

Wow. I'm really sorry to hear this news. But if you do feel like restarting I would be more than happy to help out with any labor. I don't know much about agriculture however I do have interest in learning. I stay in the city of Barstow so please let me know.

I have almost 40 acres in the desert of Cuyama Valley south of Bakersfield in California. how do I meet folks who would like to come out and share the land ?

Hey sam its Nick from the high desert.. did you ever go back? Hope all is well. Happy new year.

I am sorry to hear about your misfortune, but admire your attempt. When I worked for the Student Conservation Association's Desert Restoration Wilderness Crew, I had a girlfriend on the Barstow based crew. She was once pelted with stones by local Barstow kids on her way home from the grocery store to the crew's house. She got away but her head was bleeding badly and she likely had a concussion. When she called the police their response was an adapted quote from Apocalypse Now, "Welcome to the asshole of California."