Heart Diamond Ranch HQ

Improving the landscape around a rural ranch headquarters using include passive water harvesting and edible perennials using permaculture principles. The ranch house at the Heart Diamond Ranch has been added onto and repaired over the last 50 years, remaining inhabitable in spite of nature's efforts to return it to dust. The soil around the house, however, has been ignored and neglected, only to have the occasional chemical herbicide sprayed on it to kill the tireless pioneer plants. Now, it's time to put in the time, planning and effort to let mother nature's power work for us instead of against us. Over the next several years, we will be planting native shrubs like desert sumac and even some mesquite to start the strategic soil improvement and stabilization process. Some preliminary earthworks will include small swales and berms to stabilize water flows and encourage pioneer plants to do the rest. Eventually, larger earthworks will be implemented further up the watershed to extend the availability of water both in the soil and in the small water hole behind the house.