How to Create a Regenerative Tucson Garden

Soil-Building

The foundation of any successful organic garden is healthy soil. Without that, plants can't be healthy and the ecosystem as a whole can't be healthy. It all starts with soil!

In the regenerative mindset, the soil-first focus is the cornerstone upon which everything else can be built.

This is doubly-true in Tucson, where soil quality ranges from very poor to absolutely abysmal.

High salinity, high alkalinity, extremely low organic matter content (<1%), and compaction all lead to extremely difficult growing conditions.

Most of your effort as a Tucson gardener must be directed at remediating the soil. This is not a climate where 1 or 2 bags of compost or manure will make any noticeable difference in your garden. Instead of bags, think in terms of truckloads.

Free wood chip deliveries from local arborists or from Chip Drop are a great start. Amass as much organic matter as you possibly can if you plant to grow in the desert. Your soil will need it.

Chop and Drop

Building on the soil-building focus above, chop and drop helps you to build soil faster and cheaper, while also suppressing weeds.

The idea here is to treat your garden beds and plots as their own compost heaps. Afterall, leaves, stalks, stems, and branches in forests are not carried off to some compost pile and only brought back after being broken down - they compost in place.

Chop and drop seeks to mimic this natural process simply letting dead leaves and plants compost where they fall.

This directly feeds the microbiome in your garden soil, where the prunings and stalks from past cycles are broken down into a new layer of soil.

Improve Soil Structure

Stalks and stems also help to provide structure to soil layers as they're being built, preventing compaction and improving drainage.

Protect Seeds

Chop and drop can also help to cover and protect seeds after planting or scattering, to reduce birds and critters from accessing them before they sprout. Toss seeds around for the new season, and then chop down the old season plants and lay them on top of the seeds to protect them while they germinate.

To dig further into chop & drop, check out our Chop & Drop Guide.

No-Till

No-till gardening is a way to preserve soil structure and promote a healthy soil microbiome.

Cover Crops

Cover crops are crops that are grown specifically to improve soil health. Cover crops

Some popular cover crops for Tucson gardens include clover, vetch, and cowpeas.

Irrigation

Water is scarce in the desert, so it's important to use water efficiently. One way to do this is by using drip irrigation.