Basin Observations from a Would-be Citizen Scientist

The nurse tree mesquite provides shade and nitrogen for the baby saguaro and hackberry

It's been a while since I've blogged about my beloved front yard basin. But I figured this was a great time to celebrate our basin with a new sign! Thanks to Abril for making it! #lovemyrainbasin

During these trying times I have found solace in tending the new pollinators I planted, watering them daily with rainwater from our cistern. All the while I have been recording the progress with pictures. Scrolling through google photos over the past nine months, I felt like a citizen scientist observing how our unpredictable, fluctuating weather has affected the plants and soil in our basin. 

The first thing I noticed was that through the extreme heat and long periods without rain our native trees (mesquite, acacia, and hackberry) thrived - even as our prickly pear cactus shriveled and drooped.

Our jujube trees did incredibly well too with just the rainwater from the roof that sunk into their basin. Rainwater flowed off of one side of the roof into the gutters and downspout then into the long basin. The trees grew 3 feet and produced an abundance of fruit. The waxy leaves stayed green until recently. Now they are showing their fall colors - which is kinda nice. 

You might be wondering about the dead "weeds" in the basin. But the reason the jujubes did so well was that I kept the native plants and grasses in the basin long after they turned golden brown to retain the moisture longer and to provide nutrients to the soil.

The dry grass and globe mallow slow down the rainwater so it can sink in rather than leave the basin.

I planted a desert senna plant in the basin last January. It struggled in the freeze, but the mulch helped keep its roots warm. 

It came back in August along with horse purslane that acted as living mulch to nourish the soil.

Look at that senna now! It seems confused by the warm weather and recent rain. It is starting to bloom!

When we first put in our basin, we filled it with mesquite chip mulch. But as that has been breaking down into soil, we allowed the basin to be covered with a living horse purslane mulch. 

As the horse purslane died, I broke it down into straw-like mulch. Here I am showing some to my son's girlfriend. She looked a little concerned about the dry grasses, but I reassured her that native bunch grass was a part of a working basin.

We were delighted when Arizona poppies popped up in that same area in March. 

When those poppies died, I also broke their stems into a straw-like mulch. I even gathered some extra from a neighbor and spread them in the basin. I saved 6 buckets full from the landfill! 

Check out how the poppy stems floated when the basin filled with the June rain...

When the water sunk into the basin, the poppy stems settled back down and the doves enjoyed evaporative cooling!

All that mulch created richer soil...

So I could plant more pollinators in the basin... And the cycle goes on.

Have I mentioned lately that I love my rain basin? 

How about you? Share the love by posting pics of your basins on your social media pages with the hashtag: #lovemyrainbasin.  

Read more about the campaign here: 

Love my rain basin campaign

More stories about our front yard basin here: 

Our Yard the Bird Feeder

Create your own Sonoran Desert Food Forest

What to do with all those dried poppies

A few days ago I noticed a bunch of dried poppy plants in a neighbor's yard. We were already using our dried poppies for mulch since most of our woodchip and horse purslane mulch had broken down into soil or was taken away by some productive ants. We love to keep as much organic matter as we can in our basin. This time of year it helps to protect the soil from the harsh sun. And the birds and native bees appreciate it too. Also notice the dried native grasses that we keep for food for birds and bunnies. 

So the next day I ambled up to the front door and asked if I could grab their dead poppies to use for mulch in our basin. I had a nice chat with our new neighbor. I found out that she had been leaving them there for the birds, but thought that some other neighbors didn't appreciate it, so they were planning on doing some yard work on Saturday. She said I was welcome to take them before then. So I was out this morning at 7 a.m. (before it got crazy hot) gathering dried poppies. After the first load I put on my straw shade hat and got a drink of water. I was quiet as a mouse so I wouldn't disturb them. Well...until I sat down on a rock covered with ants! But I dusted the ants off and went back to work.  I gathered six plastic buckets full! And pulled some other weeds for them for good measure. I made sure not to include any foxtail seeds in my buckets. 

I broke the poppy stems into smaller pieces and spread them in our basin.

When I got back to my computer I noticed that there was a warning of strong wind today at 2! Doh! My timing! I didn't want them to fly away in the wind so I wet them down to make them heavier. (I figured it would be good for the soil underneath anyway.) 

I hope that will keep them from flying away in the wind. But if you see few straw-like stems in your yard, consider leaving them. It's good for the soil. Your plants will appreciate it.

While I was out there, I went ahead and put some more water out for the critters. It's hot out there! 

Helpful Hint: You can also put dried poppies in your compost pile or use them as mulch in your garden.

More information:

Our Yard the Bird Feeder

The life cycle of a Mexican poppy

UPDATE June 22, 2024: Poppies in flooded basin during first monsoon rain...

June 24, 2024: Doves cooling off in the poppy stem mulch a few days after the rain.

#lovemyrainbasin