Water Conservation

Water is catched from the cabin roof in 6,750 gallons worth of tanks. There are also buckets catching water from the big storage trailer. Almost all water is used at least twice - first when clean water is needed and second when it does not need to be clean. We are also using a composting toilet.

Organic Gardening

Successfully grown produce so far include zuccini, spagetti squash, kale, many varieties of lettuce, green beans, anasazi beans, melons, tomatoes and corn. The soil is alkaline and clay-like. It gets very hard when dry. There has been a lot of horse and cow manure ammendments, though it's still possible that the soil needs more nutrients. Another issue is the extreme of temperatures and relatively short growing season.

Solar Power

The ranch is entirely solar-powered. There is plenty of electricity to run power equipment, vacuums, even toaster ovens, air compressor's and a small welder.

Potentials

There are a number of things that could be done to make the ranch more sustainable. The cabin roof faces south and could easily hold a hot water heater. Also the land is shaped like a cone so a water retention pond and/or burms, etc. could be made to retain more water, along with gutters on the rest of the buildings. We have found red clay, so adobe structures could be built. Also for food, some of the native foods are pinion pine nuts, agave plants and prickly pear cactus. If started and nurtured in the beginning, these plants could eventually grow without needing to be manually watered. Local people have successfully grown many other foods, including fruit trees.