Plant by Plant: Your Gateway to Traditional Food and Healing Plants
home  more articles

Desert Gardening: Go With the Flow  - Gena Fleming  

Water runs down hill.  A lot of people know that; but in the drier parts of Texas, it behooves us to hold the thought.

Native peoples in dryland areas, where irrigation is a limited or nonexistent option, have traditionally prepared garden beds using a sunken basin approach.  The primary purpose of gardening in basins is to entrap as much water as possible in the immediate root zone.

Sometimes the gardens are situated in arroyos to benefit from the natural run off of larger areas.  Weirs constructed from vegetation and positioned in the runoff path also serve to slow the currents, and allow silt and eroded topsoil to fertilize by settling in the garden bed.  Irrigation may also be accomplished by flooding the area with water, diverted through canals to the garden basin.

Basin gardening offers other benefits besides water retention to the desert garden, The raised berms surrounding the garden offer protection to seedlings from strong winds.  Also, dried plant material can be laid across the berms, partially shading tender seedlings until they are strong enough to take the heat.  Since walking occurs on the  raised ground surrounding the beds, soil compaction is avoided in the root zone.

To prepare a basin garden, a basin is dug about 1 1/2 feet deep.  The topsoil is first shoveled  out and laid aside.  Soil from the lower, less permeable layers is then dug out and used to build up a berm around the perimeter of the sunken bed.  The topsoil is then mixed with compost or other organic matter and returned to the basin.   A good mixture  can be accomplished by returning the topsoil in layers, alternating with layers of organic material, such as dried leaves, grass, and vegetable discards,  and layers of a nitrogen source, such as  animal manure.    Mix lightly with a hoe as you go along.

It’s important to note that improving soil quality is common to both raised and sunken gardening.  Organic matter improves both drainage and moisture-holding capacities of soils.  Much of the success attributed to raised beds is likely due more to soil enhancement than bed level.  But, even in clay soils, raised bed gardening in the desert provides cure for nonexistent illness.  It doesn’t rain enough for drainage to be a problem.  Raised beds, in fact,  promote evaporation from the top layers of the soil, resulting in increased salt and mineral accumulation. 

The design of the basin garden depends largely on soil properties.  Sandy soils drain more  quickly, and therefore less depth is required in order to retain water.  The basin must also be smaller in areas with sandy soils, otherwise the water infiltrates before spreading over the entire area.  

Large gardening projects may be divided into many small basins, creating a waffle pattern.   Because water drains more slowly through clay soils, the gardens may be both deeper and larger. 

The method of irrigation also factors in to figuring basin depth and size.  Obviously, an influx of water at high speed will be able to fill a larger basin before infiltrating than a slow influx will.

To maximize irrigation efficiency, it’s important to have a level bed and uniform soil texture.  Otherwise, water will not penetrate the soil to a uniform depth throughout the bed.  When a slow influx of water is to be used from a single source, furrows may also be used to route the water throughout the basin beds.

Basin gardening is traditional in parts of the world where modern irrigation methods are too costly to be an option.  However, the modern home gardener may wish to integrate the sunken garden technique with simple watering devices in order to make maintenance  easier.  When watering from a garden hose, be sure the size and depth of the garden allow water to cover the entire basin area before filtering down in one spot.  Otherwise, soaker hoses or drip irrigation may be used. 

At Buena Vista School in Imperial, TX, where I taught horticulture in our Outdoor Learning Center, we cheated on tradition while otherwise respecting the wisdom of recessed gardening techniques.  As our garden was a student project (and not located in an arroyo), ease of maintenance was mandatory during the period when school was out for the summer.  Here we substituted 3-foot-wide winding furrows for the basin.

The furrow design allowed us to snake continuous “leaky hoses” over the 16-foot by 32-foot garden.  A thick layer of hay  was placed over the hoses to further conserve moisture. 

The leaky hoses were connected to two faucet  connections by accessory hoses.  All that was required for watering was to turn on the faucets and return several hours later to turn them off.  Eventually, we put them on a timer.

Planting at a lowered level, of course, also diverts more rain water to the plants.  With minimal effort, the students were able to return in late summer to a garden that resembled a rain forest more than a West Texas desert plot.

Basins can be used for composting as well as planting.  However, we had difficulty turning the mixture for proper aeration in our 3-foot-deep compost basins.  Composting in furrows, however, proved easy and effective.  Keeping most of the compost below ground level and covering it with a thick layer of hay or other mulch material helps maintain the moisture needed for organic breakdown.  Best of all, you can leave most of the compost right where it is for future planting.  For continuous mulching, just slip organic material into the soil of the furrow and recover with mulch.  The castings from worms and  bugs that come to the feast on the discards further enrich the soil, and their pathways provide soil aeration.

Basin gardening is best incorporated with other desert logic.  Close planting and heavy mulching (2-3 inches thick)  minimize water loss, as well as discourage weeds.

Vertical mulching is another traditional method of assisting water infiltration.  This makes great use of fibrous stalks that are troublesome to compost.  Push the dry stalks vertically deep into the ground between plants, but far enough away to avoid damaging established roots.  This helps water percolate into the root zone.

In the desert, it is also important to plant native crops or other desert-apt varieties.  These stand a better chance of surviving under drought conditions and will generally thrive with a little additional care.  It’s also good insurance for the future.  Planting native crops helps to maintain genetic diversity.   Selective propagation over a thousand years was required to develop some  varieties.  Unlike wild plants, crops depend on people for propagation and  renewal of seed sources.   Due to disruption of the cultures which developed them, many native crops are at higher risk for extinction than endangered wild plants.    Unlike modern hybrids or genetically engineered crops, however,  native crops are stabilized hybrids and produce reliable seed.   This eliminates dependence on corporate technology, because each crop generates seed which can be used for the next year’s planting.

Preparation of basin beds is fairly labor intensive.  However, careful garden design in the beginning will save on labor and water down the line, and may well make the difference between crop survival or failure.  Gardening always demands a sense of place.  In the desert, nature constantly reminds us exactly where we stand.

References: 

Cleveland, D. and Soleri, D.  “Food from Dryland Gardens” (Center for People, Food and Environment, Tucson) 1991, 387 pp.  The ultimate reference book on dryland gardening techniques for amateurs or professionals.

Nyhuis, J., “Desert Harvest, a Guide to Vegetable Gardening in Arid Lands.”  (Meals for Millions/Freedom from Hunger Foundation, Tucson) 1982, 63 pp.  A concise, empowering manual on desert gardening techniques.

Native Seeds/SEARCH.  Non-profit organization.  A source of publications and native seeds originally gleaned from Native Americans and traditional farmers of the southwest United Statess and Northwest Mexico.  Their seed bank contains over 2000 varieties.  Semi-annual seed catalog and excellent quarterly newsletter.  Write for catalog and membership information. Native Seeds/SEARCH, 526 N. 4th Ave., Tucson, AZ. 85705, 520-881-4804 or visit their website:  http://www.nativeseeds.org.

Plants of the Southwest, locations in Santa Fe and Albuquerque, New Mexico.  A source of southwestern vegetables, herbs and ornamental seeds.  Website:  http://www.plantsofthesouthwest.com.

Seeds of Change.   Located in Santa Fe, New Mexico.   Excellent source of organic seeds including herbs, heirloom and native crops.  Free e-newsletter!  Great articles on a wide spectrum of topics.  Phone:  1-888-762-7333.   Website: http://www.seedsofchange.com.

top of document