Get a copy of the Sunset Western Garden Book, 52 Weeks In The California Garden by Robert Smaus, and Southern California Gardening by Pat Welsh. They'll be very helpful in understanding your new gardening conditions. You don't want to spend a lot of money on plants that will not survive your conditions.

What's far more important here than the USDA zone is your Sunset Zone, which really helps in determining what you can grow successfully. Yucca Valley appears to be Sunset 11.

With regard to your concrete...uh, soil -- compost, compost, compost! All that clay needs is a heapin' helpin' of organic material. LOTS of organic material. I recommend raised beds, framed or not; it's going to take a lot of effort to dig in that compost, so you don't want to do the whole yard all at once!

My Sunset Western Garden Book is the best resource I have.

For cheaper organic matter check out the cubic yard prices. Here if we buy $100 worth the delivery is free. A florist shop should have someone knowledgeable if there is no nursery in your area.

Here are some things I found on the internet:

Cactus Flower Florist & Farms
Tom or Kathryn Kenny, Partners
57434 29 Palms Hwy.
Yucca Valley, CA 92284
(760) 365-3323 Phone

Hoov has found your Sunset zone but you may be interested to look
http://www.sunset.com/sunset/web/Sponsors/Garden/sunsetmonrovia_r1/htmlfiles/zone_map3.html

This site has some links to plant lists, etc.

Here is a link that might be useful: http://www.garden.org/zipzone/index.php

One piece of advice,observe what is growing around you. No citrus or Mangos? then maybe they are difficult(nothings impossible)Look into fruit trees that thrive in heat and take cold-like Figs..Ok,that's two pieces of advice-wink..

That's typically a good area for stone fruit and nut trees. Look to the hardy sages, the toughest ground covers, redbud, mazanita, flowering dogwood and other Sierra foothill natives for succesful plants. Look at your neighbor's yard and consider growing some from seed, as it can get expensive to keep losing plants to experiments.

One mistake people from back East make here with alkaline soils is adding losts of gypsum to try and penetrate the clay - don't bother, it doesn't work on our soils. Dig when the soil is moist and try and build up with organic matter - the only thing that really creates drainage in the desert hardpan.

In addition to all the above excellent advice, consider joining a local garden club. It's a great way to find out about what grows in your area and to meet other gardeners and learn from them. Don't be afraid to ask lots of questions and tell people you're new to the area.

Don't think that you need to have your entire garden done at one time, either. Take one very small area and work on it, then another, and another. You can create great gardens in pots, too, and there are a number of good books out there about container gardening.

Good luck!

Thanks everyone for the GREAT advice and direction. I've never heard of "sunset zone", so this should help. I will get the book that was advised as well. I am of the belief that "nothing is impossible", but I also want to keep within reasonable expectations. I also enjoy buying "rare" seeds that may survive in certain growing zones, and trying them out for size. Who knows??

Irrigation does pose a problem....availability isn't the issue, it's the cost. Yikes!!! So we're considering several options in the coming years, as this will be a very long work in progress. I can water trees immediately surrounding my home with no problem, but it's the bigger picture....what comes first, the irrigation or the trees? LOL

One option is to have a well installed. Another, which I have had zero luck in finding irrigation "experts" who know what I'm talking about let alone want to do it, is to set up a rain harvest system with a 20,000 gallon underground cistern. One inch of rain on a 2,000 square foot roof will yield 10,000 gallons of water. We get anywhere from 3 to 5 inches of rain a year, and would yield 30,000 to 50,000 gallons of water. This is a viable option if I could just find knowledgeable people, who aren't rude. (Long story, but holy cow this one man was really rude on the phone and wouldn't let me tell him what 'I' wanted, then after a 15 minute rant about what he expected from his customers, he finally told me he's never done anything like what I wanted. Whatever...we won't be hiring him, needless to say...I think his 40 years of service have jaded him into a cranky old man!)

I have noticed some of the nurseries in town, and will be visiting them soon. I didn't think to ask them about truckloads of compost. I've never had to purchase something like this, so it's amazing how something so simple seems like such a huge hurdle to me. I want to terrace the yard to help with the runoff....yet another large expense, and lots of time! But I do want to fill it in with compost. (I guess I'll also be a self-taught mason when all is said and done, as well!) One of the biggest hurdles is the fact that we have to clear the lot of the cactus and other vegetation we don't want. Yuccas have to stay, obviously, but the cactus have us stumped as to how we are going to approach having them removed.

I honestly am looking at my property and can see what I want it to look like, but have no clue as to where to begin. Clearing it seems like the logical first step....it's free but back-breaking. I figure, even with the rediculously strigent "rules" about garbage disposal, we could easily remove one large bush a week, or so, and chop it up and stuff it in the garbage can.....for free, of course, because everything in California has us in financial shock right now. Sigh...

One tiny step at a time, right? Any advice on the best lawn grass for the desert? I've heard Zoysia is good. I figure I can get my green "fix" on a small mini lawn...that'll last me a few years until I can do more! hahaha!

Thanks a million,
~ Erin

Hi Erin,

Since you'll need lots of compost and mulch, check your local green waste facility to see if they provide either for free or low cost.

Consider french drains if you have gutters - there are posts in other forums. I dug and installed a 50' loop, with overflow vent, in a day.

Irrigation is only one factor in your garden's description - acid or alkaline, good/bad drainage, composition (do a simple 'jar test'). Take the time to prep, and do the research on natives, wildlife attractors, and the terrific suggestions for visits. If you want to grow unusual plants from seed, match your soil's characteristics to plants from South Africa and Australia. I've grown some from seeds (many need smoke treatment) bought from ebay.com.au.

It took a year of research before I planted, and I used that time to get rid of bermuda, amend like crazy, and start plants. Although I'm in a very different zone, you are welcome to my extensive notes and plant list - just pop me an email.

=^,,^= diana

You might be better advised to seek your green fix from appropriate desert plants, and the native Creosote can be quite vividly green and has a wonderful fragrance after it rains as well. I would also suggest you live with your lot for a full year before you clear off all the cactus, as they can be beautiful when in bloom, and certainly may have taken decades to grow to full size, it seems a shame to wipe that all away, and then perhaps discover that your intent for the lot is not going to be able to be maintained over time. If you really wanted back east green and lawn, why did you move to the high desert?(I can guess at the reason, as this part of California is among the cheapest of areas for new entry level homes, and the population growth in southern California is pushing people who can't afford living nearer the coast to move to the desert). Collecting your roof water and storing it in a cistern may very well be a practical idea, but I can tell you for a fact that rainfall is not regular or reliable in your area, and you can't consistently count on even one inch of rain with any frequency. And if you think 1000's of gallons will last any length of time with trying to grow non desert plants in a high desert climate, you will soon learn otherwise.

I'd suggest starting very slowly, not razing the entire lot before you know what you can really accomplish, and visit the local water district conservation gardens and botanic gardens in your area, as suggested by other posters. The high desert is not an easy place to garden in, and the existing native flora deserves some respect for its ability to survive the conditions before you replace it with lawn and attempts at Mango trees. Neither is a very realistic option in your situation, but might be if you lived in Palm Springs where underground water is plentiful and the subtropical climate does allow for indulgences such as Mangos for the determined. Your climate is more akin to the situation in Las Vegas, and the water conservation district garden there would be an excellent guide for what is more appropriate to your climate and soils.

Well, the military brought us out here. Vice living in base housing, we opted to buy. So that's what brought us away from the east. Home is where my family is! :)

As far as the cactus goes, there is one that is ugly and very painful...and LOTS of it! It disgards golfball sized balls of needles...EVERYWHERE! It's worse than a shedding dog in summer!! Speaking of dogs, mine can't go out into the yard without constantly getting needles stuck in them from these things laying all over the ground. It's a daily event. All of my neighbors, who are long time residents of the area, agree that these particular cacti are not missed on their own properties and agreed that they make the yard far more useable once removed, not without much difficulty though. I don't mind cactus....I just prefer to plant them strategically and decoratively. Plus, having a variety would be nice!

I see many houses in the area with fruit trees, nut trees, grapes, various pines, cedars, palms, and even grass. So, with irrigation, I know it's possible. As far as water harvest goes, I probably would have to rely on storm drainage as well. We get nasty flash floods, so my thought is, "why not try to put it to good use?" 20,000 or 30,000 gallons may not last me through the dry season, but I would certainly rather have that 20 or 30 thousand for free, rather than pay for it. :) Then there's the well option, which I believe will likely cost the same as the rain harvest system. That's probably the most reasonable option.

We have a natural water resource right below us. By the looks of the size of the "washes" that run through the area, there is an enormous amount of water that surges through from the mountains when it rains. I've lived in areas that had flash flood management, so I'm in shock over the lack of drainage control and/or conservation here. Apparently, the fires that swept through last year has aided in the flash floods. I'm also in shock that there is no conservation effort in place to help replace the watershed. Sigh...but I digress...

Anyway, I'm planting medjool date palms, italian cypress, two varieties of fishtales that are cold-hardy (not sure if these will survive, but we'll see), some mexican fern trees, and a few others that I can't think of the names right now. Oh yes, and some fig trees. I haven't spent that much on the seeds and seedlings, and the electric company highly suggested that I plant items around the home to increase my energy savings. So there you have it.

I have ordered the big book everyone mentioned, so I look forward to getting it in the mail. Ultimately, I think I'm going to have to just suck it up and save up to have a professional come in and draw up a master plan for everything. Ouch!!

Thanks again everyone,
Erin

Well, you have gotten many different kinds of advice!! The California desert is full of its own beauty, and I think as you have a chance to settle in and connect with others that are dealing with the same climate , you will find a way. I think that your idea of collecting run off is great, unfortunate that you can't yet find a competent contractor but keep looking! Everyone in California should be collecting rainwater for their landscaping, but that would be in a "perfect world"
As for the nay sayers who suggest desert gardening is hopeless and that you should learn to live with your cactus , lol ! Here's some gardening history. The first "gardens" were built in arid climates, such as Mesopotamia, and the idea of having formal gardens was spread from there to the northern climes. Those early gardens were either built in natural oasis, or created with irrigation and cisterns!
I think you have started off well with the date palms, and when you get your water system organized, make you own little oasis. I don't know why you wouldn't be able to grow citrus and mangos, some of the best are grown south of you in Coachella and Anza Borrego. I know a Mango grower that sells at the Santa Monica Farmers market, and she has an orchard out there somewhere!
For growing vegies, tomatoes, melons, I would put in raised beds and fill with good amendments on top of that gravelly stuff. Manure! Make friends with someone who owns horses! My Grandfather moved to the high desert when he retired, ( after farming here in LA for 30 years on an acre in El Segundo.) He was even higher elevation than Yucca Valley, and nothing but municiple water, and he was able to grow melons, strawberries, apples and indian peaches that were amazing.You can also look into the types of heirloom vegies that grow well in the Southwest. Native Seeds is a good place to find these:
http://www.nativeseeds.org/v2/default.php
And don't overlook that, unlike those prickly cactus you have now, there are beautiful cactus and other natives that can be enchanting when used in a lovely designed garden. This is one of my very favorite flowering trees, maybe more beautiful because it grows in harsh and unforgiving situations and still manages to bloom with such vigor! It is called desert willow, here's a photo:
http://www.livingdesert.org/plants/desert_willow.asp
Living Desert is an inspirational garden you should check out, and the Cactus garden at the Huntingdon Botanical Garden in Pasadena , about a 2 hour drive North of where you are, but would make a nice exploratory trip.
Good Luck!

I too live in Yucca Valley, CA.

This winter there were 3 contiguous days at about 7 degrees. Last winter 12 inches of snow was on the ground for 3 days. the Winter before that we had 24 inches of snow dumped in 6 hours. A few weeks ago we had 105 degrees in Yucca Valley proper.

Winds in Yucca can easily reach 90 miles an hour.

You can drill a well if you like, however, you will still have to pay to have a meter installed and you will have to pay for the water. Ummm...the West was settled by water rights law more than by gunfire....water is owned by the public out here because....get this....it is the DESERT! There is not that much of it! Yucca Valley's water supply is no longer the natural aquifer, it is piped in and recharged.

A nitrite plume is now form in the aquifer from the septic systems and, get this, GARDENING being introduced into the area.

Those cactus you are so worried about are cholla. And they are extremely painful to remove. Best to clear an area for your little fella and put in a fence for him whether he be canine or humanoid. Oh yeah, speaking of fences, the rabbits, jack rabbits, birds, and other wildlife are very good at spotting a green anything and baby fruits. You'll like need a fence around almost any young plant and most of the vegetables etc.

Yucca Valley has a native plant ordinance in place so check with the Town before cutting as the fines can be substantial.

One *extra* Unit of water costs a whopping $2.80. A Unit = 748 gals. 20,000/748 =* 26 x 2.80 =* $72. My neighbor is a desert rat who grows his own vegetables, chickens, eggs, flowers, etc. He uses about $100 per month in the summer.

Those 5 inches a year a rain come 4.75" in one day and the rest over the year. Better have a 40,000 gallon tank and system that costs less that $72 per year. That's about $7500 I guess - good luck on that.

Scraping the land here to clear the native plants is the cause of the sandstorms now experienced in Yucca and Joshua Tree. They were not here 10 years ago, but arrived with the exotic development techniques imported from Orange County and ultimate Levittown, NY.

Garbage that includes non-allowed items tends to ummmm...get this...pollute the natural water aquifer.

Yucca Valley is littered with gardens such as you are planning that have been abandoned and are now simply dried sticks. Entire orchards have been planted further out at great expense only to collapse due to very poor regimented planning on exotic ( non-native ) gardens.

I suppose if one has use of 20,000 slaves and a river to divert one can create the gardens of Babylon. But people have not yet figured out how to feed them here in Yucca Valley.

There is one possible solution for your green desire. Greenhouses do work up here, if they are sturdily built. Call up Gubler Orchids and see when they can show you the place real quick like. They have a retail area and at least an acre of orchids for wholesale.

As for contractors, you are lucky that grouch even spoke to you at all. They are very rude, unprofessional, and sometimes just complete crooks up here. Been here 3 years and have fired many.

Unique Garden Centers does a radio program on 107 on Saturdays I think at 7am. The other garden center towards Joshua tree has some nice greenhouses and nice landscapers too. A few hundred dollars paid to them for advice would be well worth anyone's time.

I am glad to see that someone local is responding to this post, and Fritz seems to confirm my own thinking on what is possible there. I knew that high desert location means occasional extreme winter cold, and it sounds like even Date Palms would not survive what you have had for winters these past 3 years. The case for not scraping off the existing landscape because it contributes to dust storms, and often ends up in abandoned gardens that are no longer watered is similar to what is happening in deserts all over the world.

The point about the rains coming all at once in one storm is also a valid point, and those arroyos are not damned up to contain the water, mainly because they couldn't stand up to the rapid runoff unless really overengineered.

I do have sympathy over the conflicts with the Jumping Cholla cactus, which are not pleasant to have to deal with, but they are also keeping the soil in place, and probably are ancient as well. The advice to clear and fence a dog run area makes good sense, rather than clear the whole area.

Living in the high desert is a whole other world, and one can't simply impose their will on it and expect to succeed. The desert will win out in the end. I hope you do manage to do something with your yard, but will also think about the unintended consequences of some of your proposed ideas. At the very least, it doesn't pay to plant things that aren't actually hardy enough for your climate, and the high desert will never support subtropicals and tropicals like Mangos which can be grown in Palm Springs, although even there it is always a risk between too much heat in summer and the occasional bad winter which can even kill the trees.

Ok Fritz, I know you are poking fun at me with the 20000 slaves reference, and rereading my post maybe I am being too optimistic, as Bahia points out, Yucca Valley is High Desert, unlike Palm Springs ( almost sea level) So mangos may be out of reach :-)
But the OP is trying to work with her assets by thinking of collecting runoff in some way. California is so far behind in this sort of thinking, some places you can buy subsidised rain barrels from municiple organizations just like composters and other useful Green tools. Graywater systems are another underutilized technology I have been reading about, someday these sorts of ideas will hopefully be more developed.
My point about traditional desert gardening is to say that, instead of a "golfcourse" mentality, maybe "green" can be a small oasis within her otherwise native garden. Not scraping away the soil, but by creating beds, arbors, trees, as windbreaks, maybe a partially enclosed courtyard garden area, with some citrus in tubs etc she can possibly have some of what she envisions. I am totally opposed to the whole lawns and shrubs track home-ization!!!
How does your desert rat friend do his vegie beds? What shade trees ( if any ) has he had succes with? There is a nice garden at the 29 Palms Inn, that is about 3000 elevation and they grow " Tomatoes, Lettuce, Spinach, Asparagus, Japanese Egg Plants, Okra, Zucchinis, Artichokes, Armenian Cucumbers, Apricots, Figs, Grapes, Sunflowers, Cantaloupes, Pomegranates," ( Of course they have a great water supply, but does give an idea of what would survive at the elevation if you did have enough water)
I agree that natives and hardy desert varieties should predominate in any garden/landscaping that one attempts in such a climate, I don't mean to sound like a lawn-lover!!!

Maybe a cistern is a little overkill, but gray water systems do exist. So if you plan on taking showers and doing laundry you could generate some extra water for the garden. I am sure that you could google a lot of helpful information regarding DIY gray water systems, what detergents to use, etc. You sound like a can do type of person. Have some fun. And at least consider "researching" until fall so you don't die of heatstroke.

Again, I thank everyone for the advice. I tend to be on the more optimistic side. I am well aware of the protected species which I am not allowed to touch, versus the ones I can. Furthermore, what's the point of purchasing land if I'm going to just let it sit, unloved? I prefer to enhance its natural beauty, not destroy it. Every breathtaking garden in existence required the human touch in some form or fashion...it didn't just exist that way.

I have a little over an acre which I would love to terrace according to it's natural slope, then fill it with compost. Having the irrigation system on automatic drip is what I had in mind. But I will say this in my own defense...many, MANY yards in my travels across the US have the same problem that was described earlier...if left alone, unsupervised, most vegetation in the yards will die, leaving the hardier weeds and deeper-rooted trees to grow wild. MOST grasses are not indigenous to the region in which it is being grown. Any garden eventually dies away without its caretaker loving it...period...desert or not. I plan on being here for at least 8 years! Perhaps longer, but my longing for genuinely nice southern hospitality may get the better of me! LOL!

I am inspired by the seemingly impossible, and I do see properties every now and again with beautiful landscaping and gardening, so it is quite possible. There are two varieties of avocados and several varieties of mangos that COULD prove to be hardy in this area. I may have to step in with a cold frame and utilize some creative espalier techniques to make it more manageable. Who knows? Again....I am determined! :) I have seen a few date palms around, so they must be some tough cookies to survive the drastic temp changes. I don't know what variety they are.

Raised beds...YES!! I'm all about this!! It just seems far easier to build raised veggie beds than to try and amend the "concrete" that is present. And the rabbits...well, I plan on fencing in the yard, so that helps. The chipmunks are adorable, and they are easier to negotiate with! LOL! The birds too! I definitely work with the wildlife rather than shove them out of their homes and curse at them when they take up residence again. In fact, this is one of my favorite things to do, and I've already made friends with the birds, hummers, rabbits and chipmunks. The chipmunks come up and tap on my front window when they are looking for a treat...usually fresh fruit or nuts. I'm not one to complain over the raiding of my fruits and veggies....if they raid them, then I'm obviously not providing enough of a "peace offering" in exchange! LOL! But this is something I've experienced no matter WHERE I've lived, desert or not. It really is OK, because I don't know what I love more....the gardens or the animals! To me, they are one in the same and shouldn't exist without the other. But that's just me! :)

Back to the rain harvesting....we just had some nice rain yesterday and today. All I kept thinking was, "man, look at all that water running off the roof!" I do hope to find some credible, experienced, NICE professionals who care about conservation. So far, no luck, but I haven't thrown in the towel just yet! 5 inches, no matter when it comes, still gives the same amount of yield whether its spread out through the year or dumped in one big bang. It's the size of the cistern that matters. So, if and when I finally get what I want....and I feel I will eventually....I'll let you all know how it's going! Until "they" perfect water extraction from the ambient air in consumer-affordable ways, I'll be sticking to my rain harvest ideas! Even if I use 2,000 gallons a month, a 30,000 gallon tank will still leave me a reserve....more if I get a larger tank!

Thanks for the head's up on the well water. Although the Hi-Desert Water District gave us lots of pamphlets and info about the water, the one with the info on the well installation did NOT mention a meter!! What's the point of putting in a well if you're still going to pay??? That's the most assanine (sp?) thing I've ever heard...almost! Chalk it up to yet another crazy thing about this place! LOL!

Greywater usage...well, in theory it sounds good, but I'm more inclined to organic gardening, so that's no good for me. Besides, I wouldn't want to eat fruits and veggies that had been grown with greywater, knowing where that water came from! Yuck!! I can control the toxins that go into my septic, but still...it just doesn't sound safe to me.

Well, sorry for the length! I will check out the link to the cactus....thanks! And the cholla cactus....we haven't made friends yet! LOL! I will pray for forgiveness every time I dig one up, and I imagine it will punish me many times over for the attempt, but they will not come up without something else replacing it. Make no mistake...there is absolutely NO DANGER of it going extinct around here.

Who knows...this whole "global warming" thing may just turn this place into the tropical forests it use to be! Hahahaha....don't worry, I'm not banking on that any time soon!

Thanks again everyone,
Erin

Erin, I just saw the post below on the Ponds forum, and I thought you might be interested. Chris just installed a cistern, and even though he's in PA, and he'll only be using it to top off his pond, he may be able to give you some pointers. :)

Brenda

Here is a link that might be useful: Last post on this thread

Erin,
You have really filled in alot of the blanks with your most recent reply, and it gives a much better picture of what you are trying to do and what your circumstances are. I definitely agree that the metering of well water seems rather assinine, but does probably make sense in your water basin, where water is very limited. It would certainly cut down on people doing their own wells, assuming they do it legally with permits and meters.

It doesn't sound like you have spent a winter in your new home yet, and let me tell you, that even along the coast it is not a sure thing with avocado trees, they don't like it at all when it regularly drops below 25F in winter, and mango trees are simply out of the question unless you can put them indoors in a sunroom or greenhouse in winter. Also, the water quality, if you get your water from the Colorado River, will be really hard on both these trees even if they do handle the cold,(which they won't, but you can go ahead and try them anyway, and learn your own lessons...). Stick to stone fruits and things that your local nursery can recommend that do well there.

I also think that gray water will be alot easier and cheaper to use, and especially if you are just recycling shower, sink and laundry water then the health hazards are not that great, but just don't use it on root crops or low to the ground plants that you eat the leaves, such as lettuce, etc.

I would suspect that you will ultimately find that trying to install a large cistern to capture rain water, and use this for a garden will prove too expensive in the long run, but more power to you if you do succede with this. I am also thinking that if droughts and water rationing become regular events here in the San Francisco Bay Area, I will look into hooking up my downspouts into a cistern with pump and locate it under my small front lawn, but don't relish the thought of the expense to do this... In my case, I could easily lose the lawn completely, as it is only 15 foot by 10 foot deep, and doesn't use that much water anyway.

Good luck with gardening in the high desert, and I hope you do get a garden you can enjoy and manage to keep going. Further to the idea of how many desert gardens end up getting abandoned, drive on down to the Salton Sea some weekend and check out the intended resort towns and subdivisions that were built when the Salton Sea was still swimmable and people used to fish and water ski there. The issues around the Salton Sea are abit different than your area's, as the sea is getting more and more polluted from heavy agricultural runoff and ever more salty water due to high evapotranspiration, but it is a great example of man's folly when working with desert conditions, and not believing in the force of nature to pursue its own course.

Your part of California is one of the most rapidly growing areas in the state, along with Imperial, Riverside and San Bernardino Counties, yet has the least water sources within the state. Also, California is already drawing more water from the Colorado River than it is ultimately entitled to, and Arizona and Nevada is wanting their full share, and there is insufficient water to meet existing demand, let alone provide for more people. It would appear that gray water recycling for landscape and agricultural purposes is the wave of the future, or desert agriculture will be phased out entirely if the cities like Phoenix, Las Vegas, Los Angeles and San Diego are to keep growing. I also suspect that desalinated water is the future for coastal California cities. The cost and availability of fresh water will eventually get so high, that desal plants will be used. You might be interested to know that Santa Barbara has an existing desalinization plant they installed during the 1970's drought, that they don't use, as it proved cheaper to extend a connector to the California Water Project to bring in northern California water. Residents of SB County had resisted doing this for years, thinking it would induce Los Angeles like growth in the county, and it has, except it has been directed to less toney parts like Santa Maria and Goleta. One day soon, northern California water may also be in too short supply, especially if global climate change results in less winter snows in the Sierra, and less snow pack to fill reservoirs in spring. California may be forced to figure out how to store increased rapid runoff from the mountains to fill our water demands, yet not be able to store it in exisiting reservoirs because they can't handle the more rapid runoff...

Hi Erin
I used to live 'up the hill' in Landers, so I know what you are going through. I would suggest that you take a drive down to Palm Springs and talk to the nurserymen, they may be able to help you even though they are low desert. And as previous mentioned Grubler Orchids n\may help.
I found a lot of 'grumpy old men' contractors in Y.V. and not worth wasting my time with them. (oh and the doctors are even worse!) I hope you use the base branch hospital. I was a civilian employee in Disbursing on base for 12 years until 1996.

Hi Erin,
I can see by the dates that I'm arriving to this thread late. Anyway, welcome to Yucca, I live here too. I consider myself a novice gardener as I've only been into it about ten years. I'm using gray water (from the washing machine only) to water my garden. I was very weary about it at first, because I don't want to poison my family. But, after research I've found the plants really like this water. The big bonus is that it does not cost me much more money to irrigate my plants. I've found that almost all soap is biodegradable but as an extra precaution we use simple green to do our laundry because it is the only soap that I know of that is non toxic. I have not tried it but supposedly you can drink this stuff right from the bottle and it won't hurt you. If that does not offer you comfort, you can also add a constructed wetland. These have been proven to be so effective that you could introduce black water (toilet water) in one end and once the water passes through the system it is white water (clean enough to drink). I've also found that you can grow just about anything you want here, but few things can withstand both our summers and winters. I think the most important lesson I learned was to be patient and only plant a few things at a time. The first few years I lived here I spent hundreds of dollars on plants and shrubs only to lose every one of them to one thing or another. I've had far better luck with planting only a few things at a time and concentrating on helping them become established before I move on to new plantings. Also, taking cuttings or starting plants from seed is a good way to save money as it is not a great monetary loss if the plants don't make it.
It's unfortunate that you've had bad experiences with some of the locals but don't let that deter you as most people here are good people. If you see a plant in someones yard that you like, then ask them if you could take a cutting. You'll be surprised most people here will be happy to give you a cutting and you might even make a new friend.
Here are a couple of tips that I did not read in the other posts: Don't turn the soil here before you plant, that concrete that you speak of actually serves to hold moisture in the ground. Turning the soil promotes evaporation. Instead dig a hole appropriate for the size of the plant you are planting, amend the soil with compost and mulch around the area when your finished. The mulch will help retain moisture in the soil and it also helps the soil to stay cooler. Pay attention to the temperature more than the seasons. We get lots of sun year round so plant cool temp. loving plants like lettuce in the early spring and late fall. Heat loving tomatoes and corn can be planted in Mid to late Feb. Want shade? Fruitless Mulberry trees do great here. Their leaves fall off during winter months allowing more sun to reach your plants and your house when you need it most. Once the tree becomes established you'll only need to water a couple times a year. I don't water mine at all the gray water system takes care of that for me. Roses and conifers also do well here. Again they only need to be heavily watered until they are established. How do you know when they are established? If you plant in spring and the plant is still alive the following spring it's established. The recommendations on plant tags or seed packets don't apply to us literally or at least they need to be downgraded a little. For example, something that likes full sun will do well if it receives filtered sun in the afternoon hours. Part shade or filtered sun plants do well with direct sun for only a few hours in the morning and must have shade for the rest of the day. Full Shade = House plant in bright window. Be careful though, most people here leave their window blinds closed all day to keep their house cooler during the summer months. Good luck to you.

7.48 gallons of water is one cubic foot. One inch of rain on a 2000 square foot roof is (1/12)(2000) = 167 cu.ft. So the total amount of water collected is 167(7.48) = 1247 gallons, not 10,000 gallons (if I did the math right). 1247 gallons is less than 200 cubic feet (2 ccfs) of water. At $2.80 per ccf, 1247 gallons (167 cu.ft.) would cost $4.67. How much will it cost to install your collection system? Let me guess: $3000. It doesn't sound like a good investment. If anyone sees a math error here, please point it out. I won't be traumatized.

I wish that someone with a mathematical bent would take up the challenge of figuring out the size of their on site storage tank requirement, when the last rainfall is in May and the water will be used to irrigate until November when it next rains. Saving the water to be used in the winter when it is raining,does not seem necessary or cost effective. Al

I don't think your rainwater collection idea will work. I live in an area of California that gets about two or three times the rainfall you do. If I consider my whole 50 foot by 178 foot lot a giant rainwater collection system I still have to use supplemental city water 8 months of the year, sometimes more during drought years. I do collect rainwater, but it lasts about a week. It is actually bad for the environment for you to try to grow plants not suited to your area and have to use large quantities of scarce water to keep them alive. Thats one reason for the push to do away with lawns. And let you go on vacation for a few weeks one year and not have anyone to water your plants for you and come back to find them all dried up and dead. You may be able to maintain a few patches of green but forget keeping a whole big yard green like it is back on the east coast.

To figure out the irrigation storage requirement, I would need to know how many acre-feet of water Erin would use per season. Let's assume her garden is exactly the same size as her roof: 2000 sq. ft. If that was a square, it would be 45 feet x 45 feet. If she collects 1 inch of rain on her roof, she can apply 1 inch of water to a 2000 sq.ft. garden. Let's say she wants to do that 10 times a year. She will have to collect 10 inches of rain. We already figured out that 1 inch of rain gives you 1247 gallons of water off the roof. So 10 inches is 12,470 gallons. That's an expensive storage system. If she doesn't get 10 inches of rain per year, some of that water will have to come from the water company. Erin, you can scale this example up to your actual situation.

Calistoga the rain in the desert comes any time of year I believe. About as much winter Pacific storm rain makes it past the mountains into the rain shadow of the desert as they get in summer from monsoonal tropical moisture T storms.