Thank you for this! This is something that I needed to see. I caught some flack after posting a picture of my first tree that I planted in my backyard. They were saying that I shouldn't be planting trees because we are in an extreme drought. Really made me second guess myself, and that really got to me. Thanks again man :)
If you want to do a food forest I had an idea where you start by growing a canopy layer of morringa and use them as much and because they are a nitrogen fixer they better the coil from there u plant your less hardy trees or your understory layer
Thank you. Growing here in Coolidge. Still have the big river toads hopping around. They've shut off a lot of the farm irrigation water here (including ours). Everything coming out of a hose. I think the uv index has been extreme, resulting in strange scorching of some of my plants this year vs previous years. We have some big mesquites for shade. Most of my tropicals are in pots for now under those trees. I'm worries about water limits coming. More watering and drip irrigation videos would be appreciated.
Hey Jay. I too am in Phoenix and I have also recently discovered Geoff Lawton. Because I realized how desolate it really is here, I really wanted to start creating shade in my backyard. This desire then became an excitement of creating a food forest. I hope to start it soon. Thank you for your videos, they really inspire me!!
Good luck in your projects. I am about 1.5 years into creating our food forest and it has been an interesting and educational endeavor. My advise is to get your larger fast growing tress in ASAP (Mulberry, Moringa, perhaps Jamaican Cherry). These trees are easy to grow while also being beautiful and beneficial. Use a well made planting soil to ammend with when you plant your trees, and mulch as much as possible.
Hey Jay! Good video... It would be nice if people like you were influencing city councils & planners. Maybe you could approach them about water harvesting, planting trees and Permaculture for future growth? Who better than a master gardener to teach them? Your yard is the perfect example. Take care...
People like Jay (and you and I) need to all try and influence more people with these ideas. Council planners and stuff are typically not interested in this but the more people we can Inspire the easier it will be
Thank you very much for sharing, it's a very inspiring food forest in the desert. Looking forward to your in depth video about how you live without an air conditioner in the valley!
Think very highly of Jay...but I might augment this with just a couple thoughts: 1) we have a serious drought period overall, but not the worst in history 2) We shouldn't be building a "rainforest" anyway. I have followed permaculture & rain harvesting since '2006...It was then I joined the now defunct Phoenix Permaculture Guide (Trees Matter is the ultimate truncated result of that, generations later) & back then, I routinely attended classes & events. Unfortunately, I had already started the design of my yard & completed the bulk of garden layout back to year 2000 to incorporate many of the systems I would like to have. But I would expand the concept of food forest to highlight & include a more inclusive native habitat forest. Very important for MANY Reasons--water conservation is just one, though it should be emphasized. There are SOOO many edible natives that we can include or incorporate that we don't. Some of those are fascinating. Our weather has changed. Though not quite that dramatically. Mostly, the lows have gradually increased (and thus the median temps as well). For nearly 2 decades, I daily tracked the weather, including highs & lows. We have more of a heat island effect--which has made it a little more difficult for heavy storms to penetrate. Having said that, the changes are less dramatic than we may think. There are several organizations that are trying to address this...that I have also been a part of---Arizona Forward is one large one. But there is not enough emphasis on mitigating the heat island, temperature & other effects here like there should be. Anywhoo, good to see Jay emphasizing water utilization more. None of us are perfect, but we can collectively do so much more. 'Cause If we don't--of our own volition--we can certainly eventually expect "more" government-imposed mandates.
Hi from surprise! Long time fan of you and totally inspired from our other valley plant grower RU-vidrs as well. we are on our way with our food forest. over the past 6 years, we have over 40 fruit trees, grape vines, garden variety vegetables and berries. we also collect over 400 gallons of rainwater and reuse it all for our pond fish and plants in our front and back yard. ALL of that while still living in an HOA! yes its possible for absolutely anyone living here in the desert to grow their own food forest. cheers!
You are right on this subject. I'm in florida and have a one acre food forest . I keep trac of the rain here. And the past 3 years I have not been getting the rain I use to get. It's gotten a lot dryer. No rain.
I'm in Wellton AZ and we have just under 2 acres that's just dirt, I really want to do a food forest. So overwhelmed with were to start. So I'm really looking forward to your video's on what to do per year!
The reason I hate swamp coolers besides having to work on them is they destroy roofs and ductwork like nobody’s business. They are obviously perfect for greenhouses though
something also to note that isnt touched on here: Megadrought is more a matter of snow pack in the mountains feeding major rivers, such as the Colorado. Phoenix area/Central AZ has been extremely wet the past several years, all of our local reservoirs are full and at capacity. We may have had mild or light monsoons, but the extremely wet winters with massive flooding has kind of made Central AZ a bit of a standout within the larger region. A great example is within the sonoran desert where we are, we get between 7-9 inches of rain per year. Since around 2019 I've seen areas, especially out by me where we've had 15-18 inches of rain for the year. Similarly that trend has largely kept up through the this past year. As our winter kind of stayed warmer and dryer, we got a closer to normal monsoon in 2023. The bigger issue is the heat that we keep seeing.
Hi, I am inspired by your videos. I am gonna give it a shot. I live in Phoenix so ill keep watching your great videos, soaking up that knowledge. I had no idea fruit trees like yours grew in the valley.
I think he would discourage this extensive use of exotics, rather would encourage mostly native trees/shrubs and the foods they produce, "exotics" only to the extend that you can support primary with the water harvested on your property and/or gray water.
I live not too far from you, North of AJ, up next to the Tonto. Since I started planting fruit trees and mulching every tree, including the desert trees, those frogs and toads have come back. There are toads living in my munched bed around a guava that I water alot. So those animals are still in the wild places and will visit. But not the suburbs. Also if you like quail in your yard you want mulch and not quail blocks of bird feeders. Quail are like little chickens and want high quality insect protein more than bird seed. Mulch and compost for your trees means crickets, pillbugs and wood roaches that birds love. I would like a video on swamp coolers. This house I'm in used to have one, now it has two air conditioners. I am part of the problem.
I thought for many years it would be cool to build a skyscraper swamp cooler downtown and recycle the water, and maybe it would help Bring the monsoons back closest to where it's the hottest.
Thank you!! Trying to turn my xeriscaped yard into something green. Planted 22 trees, killed 4. Everything is struggling except my mulberries. My citrus is sorta in stasis. You're videos give me hope! That we can make this barren city into something beautiful. I won't give up!
Thanks jay. Great as always. Please keep the content coming. I watched most your videos multiple times, constantly go back to them for reference, and would watch an hour of new content everyday if you posted it.
I want to mulch!! I am a native, i am afraid of crazy people fireworks, and fire. Mulch and fire what do you think. People do not want to do yard work, so they rock or cement.
Just started following you I live in the Las Vegas area also very hot in the summer looking for Keffir lime trees , do you sell those particular ones if not do you any ideas to who carries them
Hi Jay. You mentioned at around 19:00 that watering when the tree is awake and ready to use water will create moisture that will humidify the climate in a way that cools the trees down. But then you said it's the humidity that kills avocado trees? Did I misunderstand? I'm confused.
I’m in San Antonio Texas I had some fruit trees 3 that have been in ground for about 5 to 7 years this past year I’ve decided to turn my dream of a fruit forest in my back yard I have 1/2 acre on my south & SW area it’s schorching hot burning your feet I’m outside every day from 7am to 9pm digging holes pulling weed removing grass from around the existing trees I got 5 yards of compose large shade cloth mycorrhiza & manure only god knows how I’m managing to do this I’ve planted,plum,lemon,apples,persimmon,loquat,avocados,bananas,papayas,basil,Barbados cherry,star fruit,comfrey,Turk cap,guavas,peanuts,lemon grass,citronella,pineapples,chiles,tomatoes,ginger,dragon fruit,strawberries,goji berries, raspberries,blueberries,grapes,mint and I’m still going but I found that the shade cloth, mulch,manure, mycorrhiza are the ones that are helping these plants and trees beating the scorching sun and heat. I also have 4 Texas oaks and 1 pecan tree that are 26 years old and are planted close together that they created a large umbrella of shade on a good 60’x40’ area but they face the N&NE which will not help with our freezes so I have to be careful where I plant my more sensitive plants. Videos like yours inspire and help with plant knowledge and ideas.
