Steve Farmer

Floris Assies wrote:Hello! Anyone in this thread still active?

I'm still alive if that counts

I've found a key technique is planting the right selection of trees and plants. A very useful search term is "drought tolerant".
Although it is possible to shape your plot and tame the environment so you can plant more or less what you like, when you are starting in the desert, it's really important to just plant anything that will grow, to get some shade, windbreak, and to get a root network going. Put as much drought tolerant stuff in as you can, especially fast growing and nitrogen fixing, then grow the good stuff in its shade, downwind, nearby.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/264252183951

Ticks one of your boxes

Corn, peas, blackberries.

General rather than grape-specific girdling comment: My understanding when girdling is to not completely circle the trunk but to leave part of the bark intact so that water may still move upwards. When animals completely girdle a tree, a common result is death of the tree.

You don't need to prune roots. Prune the above ground portion of the least favoured competitor, and that plant's roots will die back to match, releasing organic matter to nourish the most favoured competitors.

How about using photosynthesis to convert sunlight, water and carbon dioxide to biomass eg a tree. The wood makes a great storage medium and can be burned when the energy is needed. Also carbon neutral if you're worried about that sort of thing.

Your highs and lows are about 4C higher than where I am. We have no problems growing olives.

I didn't do anything with that elephant garlic in the pic above from last june. Nearly a year later, here is what i have...

I'd have just used V instead