Why Native Plants?
Plants that are adapted to our desert are much easier to grow than ones that aren't. They thrive better in the heat and their life cycles are adapted to periods of extreme dryness, so you won't need to water them nearly as much as non-natives. We offer a Cultivating Native Edible Plants class several times a year, so keep an eye out for it. In the meantime, check out some of the info below to get you started.
Visit Our Sonoran Food Forest
Have you seen our Sonoran Food Forest? It’s an edible landscape irrigated by gray water, rainwater and storm water. It’s fed and fertilized by humanure from our composting toilets and urine, which is chock full of potassium and nitrogen, from our urigator. Our nearby chicken coop also adds nitrogen in the form of chicken manure.
Food forests have different layers that together make up a productive landscape enjoyed by wildlife and humans alike and are a great way to grow food for all!
Plantas Nativas en Jardines de Lluvia
Christian nos platica de la importancia de tener plantas nativas en nuestros jardines de lluvia, y cual es la manera correcta de ubicarlos en y alrededor de las cuencas. Los jardines de lluvia tienen la caracteristica de retener el agua de lluvia para asi poder alimentar a las plantas y mantener la humedad en las raices por mas tiempo. Es super importante tener plantas nativas en estos jardines porque estan adaptadas a los tiempos de lluvias, no requieren de irrigacion (solo para establecerlas), proveen alimento y refugio a los animales silvestres, y a nosotros nos regalan sombra, belleza, reducción de ruido y demas.
Collecting, Saving, & Germinating Native Seeds - Bilingual Event
(1 hour 23 minutes) Instead of buying seeds, you can collect and save your own! WMG teamed up with Borderlands Restoration Network to offer you a virtual, bilingual workshop on native seed collection. Collect seeds to germinate in your own yard, or pass on seeds to friends and family. May is a great time to collect seeds from spring wildflowers. This class focused on how to steward and protect our native Sonoran Desert and help native plants reclaim our urban landscapes. This virtual class was taught by, Cindy Hu, WMG’s Community & Youth Engagement Manager, Christian Aguilar, WMG Docent, Francesca Claverie, Native Plant Program Manager, and Perin McNelis, Assistant Native Plant Manager from Borderlands Restoration Network.
Want to learn more?
We can't possibly cover all the amazing plants--edible and non--that grow well in our region. We profile a few native favorites in the videos below. But you can find out much much more through some of the Tucson non-profits that specialize in the heritage seeds and agricultural practices of our region.
Cactus
Few things grow in our desert as reliably as cactus! And there's lots to enjoy and eat.
Prickly Pear (Nopales)
Prickly pear pads and fruit are staples of a Sonoran-desert based diet. There are hundreds of different varieties, all of which are edible. Young pads, which are best for eating, are available from spring through summer. Fruit ripen in late summer.
Saguaro
Saguaro fruits are a summer feast for all sorts of animals and for humans. The saguaro harvest is a major annual community event in Tohono O'odham culture. Saguaros are protected, so you should only harvest them from your yard or another space where you have permission to do so. Planting some in your yard is a great way to ensure that future generations can continue to celebrate the abundance of the summer harvest!
Cholla
Yes! Cholla buds -- particularly from the staghorn and buckhorn chollas -- are delicious! It takes some care to harvest the buds without getting stabbed, but once you have eaten them you'll look forward to spring when you can harvest some more. Add them in the dryest areas of your yard, away from pets, kids, and pathways.
Saguaro Fruit
Hydro Local means using less energy over all and eating the local foods of our region. The Saguaro fruit harvest is a historically significant time for the Tohono O’odham.
Saguaro cactus are protected and so you should only harvest from cactus that is located on lands where you are connected to the landholder. And if you have some land, planting saguaro babies is a great way to help ensure future generations can enjoy this true desert delicacy.
We used the solar oven for even more of a passive heating effect and the result was really delicious!
Prickly Pear Pads: Part 1
Join us as we explore the tools and techniques for picking fresh prickly pear pads. Learn how to avoid those pesky big spines and tiny glochids while harvesting this delicious desert treat!
Prickly Pear Pads: Part 2
In this episode, discover the best methods for washing and scraping prickly pear pads clean of spines and glochids. Learn how to safely prepare this nutritious desert ingredient for your favorite recipes!
Barrel Cactus Fruit
Barrel cactus fruit can be eaten raw in chutneys and salsas. The seeds can be toasted and used like poppy seeds. Candying the fruit makes it a great additions to sweet and savory baked goods.
Trees
Not only are native trees great for shade, they also provide habitat and food for wildlife and humans. Many of our native trees are legumes -- they're bean trees! Once established, they can thrive around a rain basin with little to no supplemental water.
Palo Verdes
The foothills & blue palo verde are both native to the Sonoran desert. Their glorious yellow flowers are not a significant allergen. Because they are insect pollinated, not wind pollinated, their pollen granules are too heavy to go airborne and wind up in sensitive noses. Both varieties have edible flowers and beans.
Mesquites
The honey, velvet, and screwbean mesquite are native to our region. All three are fantastic habitat and shade trees, and their beans can be ground for flour.
Ironwood
Ironwoods are slow growers, but well worth the wait! They are evergreen and in the spring bust out in purple and white blooms. Their beans are also a food source.
Weed & Eat!
When all those palo verde and mesquite sprouts start springing up in monsoon season, pick them, rinse them, and pop them in your mouth. The dicot leaves are tasty greens: great on a salad, eggs, or just fresh out of the yard.
Snack safely! Gather your sprouts away from roads or areas that may have had herbicides or other toxins sprayed on them.
You can also gather mature palo verde seeds and sprout them in your kitchen.
Foothills Palo Verde
The Foothills Palo Verde is an excellent smaller tree that uses very little water and puts on a stunning display of springtime blooms. Contrary to popular belief, it’s not highly allergenic and is a wonderful pollinator habitat.
It doesn't grow as quickly as the blue palo verde and tends to be shorter and bushier than the blue is.
The flowers and the beans are both edible, with a sweeter flavor than the blue palo verde beans.
Mesquites!
Introducing the marvelous mesquites!
Velvet Mesquite
The versatility of mesquite is surprising! This wonderfully productive bean tree can be used to make flour, broth, atole, meal and then these different products can be used in dozens of recipes. One simple way to dive in without making flour, is to simply simmer the pods in hot water for about an hour. This results in a “broth” with a tangy, sweet flavor that can be used as a base for baked goods, soups, lentil, bean or rice dishes, dressings etc. Grab some pods and start experimenting!
There are no mistakes- only happy little accidents.
Milling Mesquite Pods
We went to get our mesquite pods milled at Mission Gardens- it was such a great experience! From collecting the pods off our trees at the Living Lab, to cleaning them of twigs and leaves, drying them out and seeing the small beetles exiting the pods (normal and healthy) and then participating in a community milling event- likely in an area where community milling was done thousands of years ago, every step was enjoyable and connected us to place and food in a way that few other experiences have.
Mesquite pods and their flour are a major crop in our area and are undoubtedly one of the reasons that the Hohokam and Tohono O'odham were able to settle and thrive for thousands of years. Mesquite flour is an excellent baking ingredient and well worth sampling and experimenting with!
Desert Ironwood
Desert Ironwood trees are evergreen trees that bloom in the spring with purple and white flowers. Their beans are edible and particularly good when toasted.
This shade tree functions as a nurse plant for many other plants. It’s a little slower growing than mesquite and definitely slower than the blue palo verde, but well worth including in your landscape for its value to pollinators and other wildlife.
Elderberry Trees
Have you seen elderberry teas in our grocery stores? What about seeing elderberry trees along one of our creeks?! These riparian plants are thriving near the Tanque Verde Creek and near the Rillito and Craycroft Rd, it’s a magical site to see!
Curious what else you can eat in the landscape?
We hope this got your taste buds curious! You can learn a lot more about native edible plants through Tucson non-profits that specialize in our regional foods.