Rick, you are a wealth of information! Thank you.
As far as the plastic, yes, we will incorporate some drain holes. My husband has experience in golf course landscaping, so lucky for me, he has a grip on the construction, water flow, and such. He was wavering whether or not to line the bed floor, but you have given us plenty of information to support it as a requirements and not just a maybe. No need to water the entire desert!
You are correct about the rains and the salt here. Not much rain, but when it comes - it comes in buckets! Everything just runs off - no absorption to speak of. The thunder and lightening storms in AZ are incredible. Until it's experienced, it can't really be understood. My sister would tell me, but still had no idea what the "monsoon" season truly meant.
You are also correct on the caliche. It would be virtually impossible to grow anything other than native desert plants without trucking in soil. I know once we get up and running, it's going to be a haven for all wildlife around and a headache for us. In fact, we put up a railroad tie and cable perimeter fence just to keep the cattle out. In AZ, they allow free grazing of cattle on federal land. Without a fence, they simply walk onto your property and eat whatever they want: gardens, livestock feed, trees.
We also have to combat cottontail, jackrabbits, ground squirrels, and moles, as well as various birds. All this without taking into consideration the snakes and scorpions. I have taken all of this into consideration with our design and planning, but my real teacher will be experience. Everyone I have spoken to in the state says, oh yes, you can garden here - it just takes a lot of work. But once it's done, we have quite nice grow seasons - or so I hear. LOL.
I will look for the flowers of sulphur to amend my soil quickly. Thank you for that. And, so far as clay on top instead of below, it does make sense to counteract gravity. We do plan on tilling the two types together as opposed to a definitive layering.
Thank you for the links. I have seen most of them and they are great resource for this area. Most of this is pretty new to me as my previous gardening experience consisted of weekends only with the basic mindset of plant, water, and wait and see. Desert gardening is just foreign on so many levels. Although, I look forward to the challenge.
And, now that I am retired and living in a less than ideal plant environment, I believe it is high-time I get educated on the complexities of gardening - not only for knowledge sake but because my nearest produce is a solid 30 minute drive. So, time to learn the basics, do the gardeners dance, and enjoy the fruits of our labor. Who knows, I may be a seed collector in no time!
I am so excited about my new journey. I so appreciate you sharing your knowledge, Rick. Thank you, again, for everything.
Gina
