Many people think of the desert as a harsh environment where lushness is impossible without heavy irrigation. Here’s the thing about heavy irrigation: It leads to sky-high water bills. And those can really lighten your wallet. Fortunately, there are plenty of water-saving alternatives to heavy irrigation, and I discuss them in this episode. Transcript INTRO:…
I like to look at water harvesting as a decades-long experiment. In this episode, I’ll take you back to my 2004 home purchase, when this place consisted of a bare lot in front and out-of-control Bermuda grass in the backyard, and I’ll describe my landscaping successes and failures in the urban Tucson environment. Transcript INTRO:…
Now that you’ve done the work, it’s time to enjoy the rewards of water harvesting. In this episode, I’m looking at them via the three activities of water harvesting. I’m also offering a bonus reward: Photo op! That’s because water harvesting-fed plants, like the hesperaloe flowers and mesquite leaves shown above, make great photographic subjects….
The National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center just released the winter forecast for the American Southwest. And it’s looking like a warm and dry winter. Not the sort of prediction we water harvesters want, especially during drought conditions, but here’s how I’m handling it at my place. Transcript INTRO: From Tucson, Arizona, welcome to the…
Wrapping this three-part series with the third activity of water harvesting, recycling “used” water. You can certainly use this one for gardening, and I do so with container gardens and in-ground plants like fruit trees. This episode includes recommendations of raised beds from Greenie’s Garden and vertical planters from Greenstalk. Transcript INTRO: From Tucson, Arizona,…
Let’s look at the second activity of water harvesting, storing rainwater for later use. This one’s tailor-made for backyard food production, especially if you have a cistern. However, cisterns have limited capacity, so you’ll need to carefully allocate that water within your growing space. Transcript INTRO: From Tucson, Arizona, welcome to the Water Harvesting 101…
This episode marks the start of a three-part series on growing your own food with water harvesting. I’m covering this process via the three activities of water harvesting: This week, I’ll talk about how redirecting rainwater can indirectly help you grow food, and I’ll explain what I mean by indirectly. Transcript INTRO: From Tucson, Arizona,…
In this episode, we’re talking about a creature that one doesn’t often associate with the American Southwest. We’re talking about beavers! This keystone species is every bit as industrious as you’ve heard, to the point where beavers are called ecosystem engineers. But a quick pro tip: In order to thrive, beavers need year ’round flowing…
Now that the five-month inferno called summer is over, it’s time to for fall planting in the American Southwest. Perfect time to get landscape and garden plants established before next summer. My favorite sources for landscape plants and seeds? Here goes: Links are in the transcript. Transcript INTRO: From Tucson, Arizona, welcome to the Water…
My backyard fruit trees are officially confused! After an epic October rainstorm that dropped 1.85″ over the course of three days, combined with our above-normal temperatures, the lemon tree is flowering again. So are my pomegranate trees, like the one shown above. Such is the life of a desert gardener. When my garden isn’t parched…
Are you harvesting rainwater? Storing it in a cistern like the one shown above? Congratulations! You’re now the CEO of your own water utility. As CEO, you get to decide what to do with the water in your cistern. You’ll also need to figure out how to handle cistern overflow when rainfall is especially abundant….
Sorry to say, but Tucson’s 2025 monsoon season was a bust. Started with high hopes, then it fizzled out. However, a series of Pacific storms is reducing some of our summer rain deficit. The most recent of these was a combination of two tropical storms, Priscilla and Raymond. In three days, this soggy couple dropped…
I have a confession to make: I need help. As a water harvesting and gardener, I simply can’t do everything myself. And I’m also finding that there are limits to my knowledge. Here’s an example: Since 2017, I’ve been happily raising a black mission fig tree in my backyard. It’s in a container for many…
If there’s one thing to know about hurricanes, it’s this: They’re hard to predict. For example, Hurricane Lorena was predicted to visit the western coast of North America, and she certainly did. She caused major flooding in western Mexico, then headed back out to sea. Despite her avoidance of the United States, the weather forecasters…
Rain! In the garden! It’s time for a photo op! Now, do I take my cameras out in the rain? Sure, why not? My Nikons have excellent weather sealing, and, yes, I have tested it during heavy downpours. Then there are those nighttime rainstorms. Too dark for photography. Best to wait until the morning after…
I’m writing this post on the first day of fall, so Happy Autumnal Equinox! During the summer months, I had a problem that really smelled! My cistern started reeking like a sewer! Ugh! Okay, that’s enough exclamation points for one paragraph. Let’s get to work on solving the problem. First thing I did was to…
Want to make your digestive system run in reverse? Drink your cistern water, straight out of the tank! How can you avoid this calamity? By filtering your water. Have I enjoyed filtered cistern water? I sure have! There’s a local organization called the Watershed Management Group (WMG) that offers frequent events featuring rainwater drinks. Matter…
Since the summer heat is on blast and the monsoon rains have been paltry, it’s time to cut back on water use. Here’s how I’m doing it. First thing is cutting back on my own consumption. That means shorter showers, and I have a timer that makes them easy and fun. It’s a five-minute hourglass,…
This backyard scene shows good news — rain on July 22! — and bad news. See that brown trailing indigo behind the flower pot with the ceramic flower? That indigo might be viewed as the bearer of bad news. Let me explain. We’ve been in drought since August 2024 and guess who should have been…
There are few photographic topics I enjoy more than rain in the Tucson desert. Know what I’m really enjoying about this photo? The rain that’s been collected in my gauge! In this post, I’m offering tips on how to clean a rain gauge so you can keep enjoying scenes like this. I like to keep…
If you’re a rainwater harvester, there’s nothing like the sound of rain on the roof. Being the quantitative type, I’m not content to just listen to the rain. I want to measure it. That’s why I keep a rain gauge on duty in my backyard. It’s shown in the photo above. This is the gauge…