In the face of a historic drought, gardeners and small farmers across Arizona are growing produce with a surprisingly scant amount of a precious ingredient: water.
And many are drawing on the agricultural knowledge of Native Americans, who thrived in the arid Southwest before colonization.
The Colorado River, Arizona’s largest water source, is so low that last month, for the first time in history, the federal government proposed cutting water allotments to three states that rely on the river, including Arizona. Climate change is parching soil and depleting aquifers already taxed by corporate agriculture. Large swaths of Arizona farmland are devoted to water-hungry crops like lettuce and hay, grown to feed livestock as far away as Saudi Arabia.
Janis Norton was also a gardening novice in 2016, when her family moved to their home in Peoria, about 15 miles northwest of downtown Phoenix. “These grapes are strategically placed to keep the afternoon sun off these young trees,” Norton said. “I take the leaves and give them to a lady four doors down. She uses them to make dolmas.”
About 5 miles to the north, Nika Forte uses compost donated by the worm farm to grow crops in an old parking lot next to a highway. It is one of three urban farms she manages for the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, a local charity. Founded in 2008 by Nina Sajovec, a Slovenian immigrant, the center teaches locals to grow food in desert conditions. Many have gone on to sell the produce and merchandise at farmers markets, which helps to fill a gaping hole in the community’s food resources.
Patricio dug shallow trenches and dropped tepary bean seeds into them. The legumes are a staple in the desert Southwest, where Indigenous peoples have used dry-farming techniques for thousands of years.
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