Growing food in the desert is very hard. Between the hungry/thirsty critters, the summer heat, the brutal wind, the cold winters and the free draining sand, sometimes it feels like an uphill battle. I have been growing my own food in the desert for seven years. I have made countless mistakes and lost countless vegetables (and a flock of chickens) to weather, predators and more.

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Through all of this trial and error, I have learned so much. The most important thing is that you need to grow the right heirloom vegetables for your climate - seeds from plants that have survived intense heat and cold. Now, every year I save the seeds from my most successful vegetables and herbs. I also purchase seeds from heirloom seed banks with similar climates (Arizona for summer and Colorado for Winter). I start seeds early and sell them to my neighbors. Here is what they had to say about their experience: