Staple crops that do well arizona/ NewMexico border

I am just now putting in my garden there’s so much sun all the time I’m at a loss. Sandy soil.  the places around me grow alfalfa commercially, and pecan orchards. Just got here and no one I’ve met yet gardens. Suggestions would be appreciated.
Cheers

The next two months are the hardest in your area for getting anything established. If I was in your situation, I'd work on getting a plot ready for when the monsoon arrives. Corn, beans, and pumpkins are all well suited to growing in the summer and if you select varieties that are adapted to your region, you can get away with little or no irrigation. Check out Native Seeds/SEARCH for lots of heirloom seeds that fit your ecoregion.

I would look into the species and varieties grown by the Native people in that region.  Some of them, at least, grow corn, beans, and squash just as other tribes do further east and elsewhere.  But they have been selecting these for their climate for millennia.  I lived in California for some years, and while there I made trial of the Hopi blue corn, grey squash, and tepary beans.  Each of these thrived on about half the irrigation needed by other varieties of corn, squash, and beans I grew there.