So you wanna know why people actually choose to garden in the desert?
It's a legit question, and one I completely understand you having.
We might seem crazy, and we desert growers are a little crazy, but there are plenty of reasons to do what we do!
![super sugar snap peas white flowers on trellis left and right looking down sandy path in middle desert organic garden](/media/photos/super-sugar-snap-peas-white-flowers-on-trellis-left-and-right-looking-down-sandy-path-in-middle-desert-organic-garden.webp)
365 Day / Year Growing Season
Did you know that here in the Sonoran desert of southern Arizona, we can actually grow our gardens 365 days a year without any off-season? That's right! When you live in the Sonoran desert low lands, you never have to spend the winter trapped indoors, waiting until gardening season.
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Been there, done that, I'm over it. I don't want to stop gardening for months out of the year, so I live in the Sonoran desert.
Increased UV Means Faster Production
Did you know that most plants grow faster when the UV intensity increases?
If your plants can survive the heat, and you can provide them enough water, they can often thrive in the desert with our increased sun intensity.
My packets of zucchini and yellow straightneck both say 65 days from seed to harvest. In Tucson, I've grown both of these in 47 days from seed to harvest. That's only 72% of the standard time required for summer squash!
When you get your seasons, water, soil, and timing, all dialed in-the increase UV can push your crop production over the top.
Reducing the time requirements for each crop cycle can have a tremendous effect on production and profitability. Combined that with the 365 day per year brewing season mentioned above, and you can see how desert gardeners are often able to get 5 or 6 full crop cycles in per year.
Soil-Building From Day One
This one is a little counterintuitive, but bear with me.
If you start your garden or farm on the richest, fluffiest, most nutrient, dense soil end, there's a pop-up possibility that you'll take that soil quality for granted and neglect improving it.
In the desert, our starting soil has less than 1% organic matter, is heavily compacted, and is extremely alkaline and sandy. It has practically no moisture retention property, and the moisture infiltration rate is terrible.
![desert sand native soil cracked dry barren dead gardening soil building](/media/photos/desert-sand-native-soil-cracked-dry-barren-dead-gardening-soil-building_820w.webp)
I treat starting with horrible soil as a benefit. This may seem counterintuitive, but when you start out behind the pack, you need to learn how to catch up. When you start out in front of the pack, it's easy to take your lead for granted and neglect improvement.
The desert is where I learned soil-building, and I think it's the perfect place to go to learn how to improve really crappy soil.
To me, soil-building is one of the most fundamental parts of regenerative gardening, and I strive to be improving my soil as much as I possibly can every year. The desert taught me this mindset.
My East Coast gardening experience in richer soil did not teach me this mindset. The desert made me a better gardener. This is much of the reason why.
I believe that the person who starts with terrible soil, is more likely to have incredible soil a few decades from now. And that the person who starts with a better soil is more likely to take it for granted, and deplete it overtime.
These don't always apply, but our generalizations based on how much the desert taught me about building incredible soil from day 1. Take them with a grain of salt (or sand!)
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