Thank you for joining our journey of building a small farm in Tucson’s Sonoran Desert! It is such a beautiful place to live but it definitely has its challenges when trying to grow a garden and raise animals. I hope you will find inspiration and tips that will be helpful to starting your own garden and tending to farm animal here in our desert.
By choosing the right varieties of plants and growing them in the right season you will be well on your way to successfully growing in our desert!
The same goes for animals, by choosing chicken breeds that do well in our heat will make a big difference to getting through our very hot summer.
Now going into our 4th year of growing a small farm in this location, we have learned so much. I’m so excited to share this wealth of information with you.
For those last 4 years I kept a journal. I have notes about the garden, the seasons, egg production and how everything fared. I also took note of how the trees produced and when.
Now looking back I have this rich knowledge that is just waiting to be shared!
For Example … timing is so important!
I would have such a hard time pulling out the winter garden that was still looking so good in March … I needed to make way for the summer garden. Because of this I planted the summer garden way to late. The heat came early and my crop suffered terribly.
Now, I must make choices of what can stay a bit longer and what needs to go so that the next crop can flourish.
If you get the timing right you can actually eat a salad with cherry tomatoes right out of your own garden. These two veggies are grown in different seasons but with careful planning it’s so possible!
Our ultimate goal is to be as self sufficient as possible. This is no easy task but sure is fun to try. From rainwater collection to even using our surrounding desert for food … think mesquite pods for flour and cactus tunas for jelly!
Our ideas are endless but it all takes time ….. and money.
It is the journey that matters the most!
So we will take our time to get it right and do it ourselves with our family and enjoy this simple lifestyle that we have chosen.
I will post about each season, what to grow and what can be harvested. My goal is that I ended up with a design that has plenty to eat in each season. From our chickens, the garden, berries/grapes, the trees and the surrounding desert.
I hope you will read our story and be inspired to grow a farm & garden here in our beautiful desert and feel the rewards of working hard and seeing it all pay off!
The link below will take you to an in-depth growing guide to our desert seasons!
Fest Farms Handmade + Homegrown 