Hello all,
I have some questions about the possibility of homesteading in the desert. I have this fascination with arid land and it's a real dream of mine to be able to own a little plot and start building something out of nothing. But, I currently know next to nothing about how to start.
For some context, I'm interested in getting a little plot something like this: https://www.landwatch.com/Colorado-Land-for-sale/pid/37001550. I think of it as "scrubland" or "semi-arid" but it's probably fair to call it the desert. My questions are pretty basic:
- How do I find what kinds of crops I could plant? I know that I associate certain kinds of fruit trees, like dates, or certain crops, like millet, with being able to grow in the semi-desert, but how can I figure out what would actually work where I am? Should I be focusing on goats or some other animal instead?
- Should I be concerned that there are no trees where I'm looking? I've read a lot about how they get trees to grow in places like the Sahel in Africa by building holes and burns to manage the little water that's there, but I have no practical knowledge.
- What's the best way to look to find the best land? How can I tell if land is good without seeing it.
- What are the major costs I'm not necessarily thinking of?
I would appreciate any help and advice!! I've been reading all I can on this site, but please please send as many useful links/guides as you can.
Also, I tried to search to see if someone else posted the same thing, but there's a lot of threads to go back through. If I'm duplicating another post let me know!
Edit: For what it's worth, I think this would be a part time situation for the first few years. I would enjoy going out for a month or two a year to begin work, but don't worry, I wouldn't quit my day job.
I have some questions about the possibility of homesteading in the desert. I have this fascination with arid land and it's a real dream of mine to be able to own a little plot and start building something out of nothing. But, I currently know next to nothing about how to start.
For some context, I'm interested in getting a little plot something like this: https://www.landwatch.com/Colorado-Land-for-sale/pid/37001550. I think of it as "scrubland" or "semi-arid" but it's probably fair to call it the desert. My questions are pretty basic:
- How do I find what kinds of crops I could plant? I know that I associate certain kinds of fruit trees, like dates, or certain crops, like millet, with being able to grow in the semi-desert, but how can I figure out what would actually work where I am? Should I be focusing on goats or some other animal instead?
- Should I be concerned that there are no trees where I'm looking? I've read a lot about how they get trees to grow in places like the Sahel in Africa by building holes and burns to manage the little water that's there, but I have no practical knowledge.
- What's the best way to look to find the best land? How can I tell if land is good without seeing it.
- What are the major costs I'm not necessarily thinking of?
I would appreciate any help and advice!! I've been reading all I can on this site, but please please send as many useful links/guides as you can.
Also, I tried to search to see if someone else posted the same thing, but there's a lot of threads to go back through. If I'm duplicating another post let me know!
Edit: For what it's worth, I think this would be a part time situation for the first few years. I would enjoy going out for a month or two a year to begin work, but don't worry, I wouldn't quit my day job.
