AZGuy Hatfield

countryraven wrote:
i'm tinkering with several computers and can't get any working 


third  is a dell from hell that wont recognize my hard drives 


I had a similar problem with a Dell Laptop. It crashed then wouldn't see the drives. I thrashed around for a long time until I found out that a setting has flipped in the bios. the drive type had switched. I think I had to select SATA, or maybe it was vice-versa.  Boot up your system, hit F2 to get into setup and check your drive type or controller settings and pick 'the other one'  Maybe it'll work for you like it did for me. once  I changed the type back, it booted right up like nothing had ever happened.

cheers,
AZGuy

mrchuck wrote:
That Groasis waterboxx seems like an excellent solution to the dilemma of "Its too much dam work to water my trees every day!" Watering once a month compared to once a day in the desert climate, man, that would make it possible to grow like 50 or 100 times the amount of trees you want.

Definitely sounds good for large scale "Greening the Desert" type things.   

It's not that I'm lazy, it's just that I only make it out to my property about once a month. I've discovered you can grow damn near anything in the desert if you can water it enough. We have a lush 33' X 35' garden in Phoenix but we have to water every day. If I was living on the property full time I'd set up a good drip system, like I have in Phoenix.

AZGuy

Off The Grid wrote:
Groasis Waterboxx.  Two words for you. 

Yes, I've seem them and they look to be very effective. I find them to be a little expensive, but in the end, they might well be more economical than the screwing around I'm doing now with the small pool.  It actually is working, but requires refilling every 3 - 4 weeks.  I have some Morninga trees growing on my land in the SE Arizona desert.  I hope they can handle the cooler weather of the winter.  I also have had to protect them from Jack rabbits which are prevalent in the area.

Regards,
AZGuy

oracle wrote:
Very useful info, thanks a lot. I am glad you mentioned the wind. How long does the wind usually stick around for and when? I would like a place where the wind would not get to crazy.

I'm also looking in Navajo, apache, pima, santa cruz, and yavapai counties. I like the mountain regions very much. Are you familiar or have you been to any of these counties?

Is opting out of the inspection just a way to save money?

I was also thinking of sand bag, cob, straw bale, adobe, or shipping container.

It's pretty much windy there all the time, and I think that's pretty much how it is all over the state. I think it has a lot to do with how much the ground heats over the day from the sun. I know they get nasty winds in the north east and north west. I haven't heard about the south west part of the state though.  The normal wind helps with cooling, but the strong stuff means you need to build tough, especially your roof.  Gardens have to be set up with the winds in mind too. you either have to provide some protection or pick your crops accordingly.

I'm going the no permit/inspection route because I'm planning to build an alternative home (earth bag construction, earth bermed) which I plan to build myself, and live in til death. the location is on 40 acres far from any large town so I'm not concerned with resale, I just want a sustainable home that's cheap to live in as I see hard times coming.

oracle wrote:
Yes the book also mentions this. Also one of the states/ counties I have looked into, about buying land. Also Greenlee county in AZ, has little or no codes.

How is Cochise? Could you tell me a bit about it and your experience living their? Are permits for building costly?

I was amazed to find that water is available there. My well is about 110 feet deep with water only 59 feet down from the surface. Most places in AZ the water is 170 - 700 feet down. There are many orchards in the area growing pecans, apples and grapes.  I have not started building yet, but hope to begin in the fall. Here is a link to info on the county and the fee schedules are listed here:
http://www.cochise.az.gov/cochise_planning_zoning.aspx?id=334&ekmensel=c580fa7b_182_0_334_9
single family dwelling, owner-builder permit is $355 + Plan Review fee, or if you opt out of inspection and plan review as I will likely do, the cost is $105.
The area is hot and dry, about 13" of precipitation a year, and it's windy most of the time.  The wind gusts can be pretty intense, so that has to be taken into consideration when building or planting.  Tumbleweeds are a nuisance and the Mohave Rattler lives there, a particularly poisonous creature that gives me the willies.  Everything has its pros and cons. Living there is cheap, the weather is generally good, water is available, and the land is cheap, often less than $1000 per acre.
Hope that helps.

azguy

In Cochise county, Arizona,  where my 40 acres is, there is a waiver you can use to opt out of inspection. You have to have at least 4 acres to use it, and you can't subdivide less than that.  I plan to build an earthbag home on my land and will use the waiver. I plan to retire there and am not concerned with the resale.

Try the old - fashioned fly traps you can get just about anywhere.  Pop the top off the little tubular can, the top has a little loop you can attach to a cuphook in the ceiling, then you gently pull down the tube from which a sticky tape uncoils as you pull it downwards. They may not be ornamental, but they are sticky as hell and the flies seem to love landing on them.  In our house they have tamed swarms of flies from the two nearby dairies, and they work well on fruit flies too.

Hi all, I'm new to the forum, having come over after hearing Paul's interviews with Jack Spirko at thesurvivalpodcast.com . Those were excellent episodes, and the whole aspect of permaculture and "Greening the Desert" has got me pumped. I have 40 acres of desert land in southeast Arizona that I want to turn into a retirement ( 5-7 years) property that my wife and I can live on, gardening heavily and raising chickens, rabbits and fish (aquaponics).  The land is dead flat, gets about 13 inches of rain per year (3600' ASL) and has been abandoned for years.

The good news? It is near a highway and small village, has electricity and a good well.
I would like to start building the soil, but can't be there more than one weekend per month for the next few years. I am experimenting with zero pressure irrigation to start growing trees/foliage and building the soil. I don't want to leave my well pump powered when I'm away, in case of leaks or vandalism that might cause it to run for weeks. 

I'm thinking of digging trenches and planting hardy southern trees in them, perhaps lucaena,  with ample mulch, and  hopefully some drip irrigation to help them along.

I'd appreciate other ideas, but please keep in mind that this project is powered by me and my wife, with no heavy power equipment available to start off with.  If I can arrange a backhoe later, I'd like to do some swaling and try to build a small pond that I could grow tilapia or channel cat in. Yes, I'm starting with aquaponics now, but if aquaculture is doable, (and after hearing about Sepp Holzer, I believe almost anything is possible)  then I would like to make that a goal too. 

I live in a cubicle 9 hours a day. When I'm outside, working in our garden (1.7 acres near Phoenix) the stress disappears and I am happy.  I'd like to retire to a sustainable lifestyle. Thank God my wife feels the same. We have a great piece of land, but due to the housing downturn, we will not have enough equity in our home to be able to afford to keep it once we retire.  It is sad, because we have over 65 trees growing on it. Pecan, apple, peach, plum apricot, olive, mequite, oranges, grapefruit, etc.  we're really treating it as a homestead, even if we can't realistically stay there past retirement. It will be our way to learn the skills we need to take with us to our 40 acres. Gardening the desert is a lesson built on many mistakes. We're starting to have some success and are encouraged.
sorry for blabbing on.  It's just great to be here on the forum with other people with similar interersts.

Thanks Paul, for all the great things I've heard and read from you.

Regards,
AZGuy

Paul, that was a great Podcast with Jack at TheSurvivalPodcast.com Awesome info. I am trying to learn what to do with my 40 acres of land near Tombstone, AZ.  I plan to retire there in about 5 years, if the shite doesn't hit the fan sooner.  It is pretty much dead level and lightly covered with scrub. I do have a well and electricity, but can only get out there about once every 6 weeks.  I'd like to apply some permaculture principles to try to get the soil built up and some trees in place, but I won't be able to water except sporadically. The land gets about 12" of precip per year. Any tips on how I could start on this project, or can you point me to a forum or link that might help? Because the land is so flat, I don't know if swales would help.  I plan to put a tank with a gravity fed drip system, but that will only go so far. I don't want to leave the well pump live when I'm not there for 6 weeks. I wouldn't want to flood the desert! 
Is there a list of your 14 ways to eliminate irrigation, with more detail?

Keep up the great work, love the podcasts and Permies forums. Thanks!!