Why We Love Our "Weeds"

When we came home after an 11 day vacation we were amazed how all that rainwater had transformed our front yard into a glorious habitat for pollinators and birds as well as a productive edible forest! 

The moringa trees  in the street side basin were HUGE - even the one that we thought had died in the freeze.

native trees: acacia and desert hackberry 

Our native trees - that we didn't water during the excessive heat warning -  had not only survived but were full and leafy.

The desert hackberry had lots of berries on it for the first time ever.

The small jujubes in another basin were twice their size and the big one was loaded with fruit, some of it ripe and ready to enjoy!  

The whole yard was covered by beautiful horse purslane and native grasses. (I had long since eradicated all the goat heads and other sticker weeds.)   I was concerned that some neighbors with gravel covered yards might call it a "jungle" overgrown with weeds. So the next day I was out there pulling the purslane and the poisonous spurge covering our walking trail.   I wanted to send a message to the neighbors that we had left those weeds there on purpose. I also uncovered some decorative cactuses and wild flowers. I pulled any weeds that were encroaching on the neighbor's yard or on the sidewalk. We try to be good neighbors. 

While I was out there, I saw pollinators flying around (lots of butterflies, a spectacular moth, wasps, and ants.) As I pulled out some yellowing purslane, I discovered a caterpillar on there. 

It was loving the purslane. When I was pulling out the spurge, I saw a trail of little ants going after it. I considered leaving it for them. After all...isn't it better to have them go after spurge than my trees? 

I inspected the soil under the purslane by the butterfly bush and I found a little caterpillar and the mushrooms! I was pleased to see that the weeds were nourishing the soil!

Just when I finished posting the caterpillar pic, a storm raged in. 

This development changed the direction of my story from the frustration I felt when two neighbors sprayed roundup this afternoon. Though I did watch water flow from one of the sprayed areas into the little patch of land where Dan likes to plant a three sisters garden.

And rain from the yard pictured on the left flows all the way down the street to the median where Dan wants to organize a neighborhood garden. The landscaper got the Roundup sprayed just in time to share it with the whole neighborhood. Yeah, yeah...I had to say something. 

But I'm excited to transition to a happier ending.  Documenting the effects of the raging storm on our catchment basins is a great chance to show how the native grasses and horse purslane help prevent flood damage. Check it out! 

See how the native grasses slow down the water to prevent erosion and hold in the water in our street-side basin that is home to our precious moringa trees. 

This picture shows how the native grasses slow down the roof water rushing from the downspout before it hits the smallest jujube tree. Then the horse purslane slows down and sinks in the water before it hits the last two trees. Those so called weeds help nourish the soil and attract pollinators to the flowering trees.

Clearing out the horse purslane on the path allows us to see how the water pools in around the path and then how well it sinks in soon after the rain stops. Dan dug the shallow basin so it slows down, spreads out and sinks in the water (a rainwater harvesting principle). The native grasses and purslane help it slow down and sink in too! 

So you can see why Dan and I love our "weeds." They help to make our basin work properly. And we think they are beautiful. 

"Finishing" Our Catchment Basin: Observing and Re-shaping

Yay! Our neighbors finally get a glimpse of what that "River Run Network" sign refers to. We just had our first downpour right after Dan "finished" our catchment basin!

As anyone who has taken Watershed Management Group's Water Harvesting rebate class can tell you, the first thing you do when you're gonna start an earthworks project is to observe where the rainwater naturally goes in your yard and where it puddles.... 

You can see from the photo (below), that rainwater comes down from the roof and puddles by our front door patio.

Notice: the scorched shrub in the middle. Since we are transitioning to a native food forest, we are replacing non-native shrugs with native ones. Our policy is if the shrubs make it through the hot summer without extra water, they can stay. This one did not.  You can see the durable Texas Sage to the right is doing well (partially due to getting water from the roof.) 

See how the water from roof has dissolved the patio. A reminder that we need to put in some gutters to redirect that rainwater where it can be used. 

Previously... Dan had removed A LOT of gravel and plastic so the water could penetrate the ground. 

He noticed that there was a subtle slope in the yard that was directing the rainwater towards the foundation of our house.  Not good!  But look how green the Cat's Claw  and bougainvillea are! 

He had to use a pick to get through the hard clay. 

Checking out the shallow basin. 

Dan got to use some of the red gravel he dug out of the backyard to make a decorative trail...

After putting in a path of red gravel, Dan saw that the basin still needed more shaping....

Hey, it's a process! A process of observing and adjusting to make the best use of the rainwater.

Dan used some of the gravel he had previously dug up to build a mound protecting our foundation with a gravel trail. 

While digging the basin by the little sage (and a dead native plant), we probably overdid it a bit...

Looks like we need a thirsty shrub in that basin! 

NOTE: You should never plant a native tree (like paloverde or mesquite) on the bottom of a basin that holds that much water. They could get root rot and fall over. 

So when shaping your yard to use rainwater, it's good to keep observing during the monsoon rains. (One of our favorite things to do anyway!)  

You can see from this video taken on Sunday, July 14th, that a lot of water is coming down from the roof over our carport. That water should be rushing out of the downspout. So we either need to clear out the gutter or install a bigger one.  Another project! 

A row of  edible jujube would go great where Dan removed the non-native oleanders! Mo' projects! Mo' projects! 

Our "finished" basin...

Well... until the next downpour informs us.