Jess Kennard

shauna carr wrote:
Another neat little plant that I have with some of my tree guilds, on the edges where they get a little water but not much, is Mexican yellowshow. It's only native to AZ and NM here in the USA. (http://southwestdesertflora.com/WebsiteFolders/All_Species/Bixaceae/Amoreuxia%20palmatifida,%20Mexican%20Yellowshow.html#:~:text=Recorded%20Range%3A%20Very%20rare%20in,in%20extreme%20southwest%20New%20Mexico. )  It only comes out when it is hot, in mid-summer, when the monsoons come. It makes a low level bush that attracts pollinators, and the leaves, the seeds, and a tuber (when you have enough you can dig it up) that are all edible and mild tasting and don't have thorns. Then after the summer, it dies back so completely you can't even tell it's there, which can make it nice for the rest of the year if you want to plant native herbs or something in the same areas. It's been a great companion plant so far -doesn't seem to outcompete anything, just does its little thing for a short period every year.

Hi Shauna!

Thanks for sharing about this little beauty. I’ve never heard of Mexican yellowshow and she’s beautiful. I’ll keep an eye out for her at the local flora nurseries.

As for water, being so close to the river and with heavy clay soil, we actually have more moisture than you might think. And it’s both hotter on summer and colder in winter than just a short ways away in uptown and the heights. And I’m working on companion planting where higher water needs go together. With heavy mulching and shade, our garden holds on to a lot of moisture. So we can accommodate some of the more moisture loving plants in certain nooks.

Also, we grow native melons in basins that do really well with minimal water and still create an abundance of foliage. Which reminded me that coyote melon might be a great mulching plant in our native garden towards our zone 4/5.

Hi y’all.

Albuquerque, NM, USA here. Zone 7b, mile high, in the river valley with the water table about 10’ (3m) down.

I’m turning my urban backyard into a food forest. So far we have apricot, pomegranate, peach, apple, jujube, wild plum, currant, and sand cherry. I would love to know, from folks’ personal experience, what are good companion plants in the fruit tree guild in the high desert.

MY QUESTION:

What are good mulch plants for the high desert? What have others used with success?

I’m thinking about hollyhock, mullein, artichoke, and winter squash or summer melon.

Anne Fletcher wrote:Hey all!  I'm adding an update to my post above.

Last week we had one of the hottest weeks ever here in California.  It was HOT!  We went to the mountains overnight to escape the worst of the heat and I expected to find totally dead lettuce when we returned.  But the lettuces I had planted around the new ollas (pictured above in the first post) were totally fine, perky even!

It also helps that these are heat tolerant varieties, Australian yellow (https://ortakitchengarden.com/products/australian-yellow-lettuce-seeds) and Brown goldring (https://www.wildgardenseed.com/product_info.php?products_id=84).

Here are pictures of my lettuce (watered by ollas) after 2 really, really hot days:

Aaaahhhhh, thank you for this info about your lettuce. I figured I just couldn’t grow lettuces during the summer in New Mexico but this gives me hope. I’m totally ordering those lettuce seeds!

Gray Henon wrote:I think they taste best right off the tree.  If I had to preserve them I would probably try treating them like apples which we mostly peel, slice, and freeze for pies and stewing later on.

They do taste amazing fresh. I went on a gleaning/harvest tonight and the homeowner gifted me a baby jujube tree. I’m so excited!

But I also have a small pile of jujubes for drying. I might preserve them. Maybe stuff them with walnuts and goat cheese later on.

Alice Fast wrote:How do you plan to be getting water? Especially in a place only reacheable by burros, where truck can't haul it to.
Water is a huge problem in the Southwest.
Healthy nutrition in this kind of arid environment will require watering of gardens.

I suggest you watch this video. It’s incredible!

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=1I-Et4FnEvA

Hi Tish,

I’m wondering how you’re doing now that it’s about a year out from your original post. I’m an urban permie down in Albuquerque in the valley, so quite a bit different from you… but also uniquely challenging. I’ve got a wind problem, too, and am using fencing and native species for windbreaks.

I also second the recommendation about Zuni Waffle gardening for your kitchen garden, at least just to get some success to help bolster your motivation. Waffle gardening has helped me grow so much here.

Also, New Mexico is rich in permaculture resources. They just tend to fly under the radar. I would visit the following websites:

Flowering Tree Permaculture Institute (https://www.floweringtreepermaculture.org/)
Good Earth Medicine (https://goodearthmedicine.com/)
Ampersand Sustainable Learning Center (https://ampersandproject.org/)
Zia Energetics Permaculture (https://www.ziapermaculture.com/)
Santa Fe Permaculture (http://www.sfpermaculture.com/)
San Isidro Permaculture (https://www.sipermaculture.com/)
Four Bridges Traveling Permaculture Institute (http://www.4bridges.org/)


These projects all offer different info and services, but they are a good start for getting local information. New Mexico high desert is like few other places in the world, so unfortunately, much Permaculture advice doesn’t suit us here. What’s helped me the most is to actually go look and see what is working for other people in my area.

Also, if you haven’t looked at Brad Lancaster’s water harvesting books yet, they are bibles for those of us growing in the high desert.

And a fund for Permaculture projects… maybe they could help you get some of that big equipment. We’re considering applying next year for our little urban food forest project. https://www.newmexicofoundation.org/permaculture-fund/

Wishing you the best and would love an update. 😊

Hello everyone,

It’s jujube season in Albuquerque, New Mexico. I’m going to a jujube harvest later today with my local Food is Free project. I’ve never cooked with jujubes before and am wondering what folks make with these little sugar fruits. I’m hoping to get a better idea of I want to plant a jujube tree in our garden from the fruits of this harvest.

What do/can you make with jujubes?