Your slug problem is an untapped business opportunity. High agency gardeners see slugs as free protein feed for ducks. 4 ducks = 1,000 eggs annually automatic slug control premium fertilizer. Transform time-and-money expensive pest control into profitable livestock management. The problems are the solutions if you know how to design for it.

4 key Permaculture goals for water catchment: 1. Store fresh water for drinking, cooking, and household use 2. Direct rainwater, runoff, and greywater into productive gardens 3. Increase water infiltration, building healthier soils and more plant growth 4. Slow down rainwater runoff, giving it time to soak into the landscape Water can be a resource or become a problem. Good design makes sure it becomes the former.

Compacted soil is hard, waterlogged, low in oxygen, and difficult for roots to penetrate. No plant thrive in these conditions. Avoiding soil compaction is just as important as preventing soil erosion. Fortunately, compacted soil can be regenerated through soil conditioning: techniques that loosen the soil and bring life back into it. Masanobu Fukuoka developed a method using daikon radish and white clover to naturally open and restore compacted soil. P. A. Yeomans developed Keyline cultivation, using a chisel plow on contour to rip the soil with minimal disturbance. Both methods worked remarkably well. Fukuoka even restored land that the previous owner had unsuccessfully tried to loosen with dynamite (!). Conditioned soil is one of the greatest assets in a permaculture garden. It stores water, supports biodiversity, and builds long-term fertility.

Stop buying seedling soil filled with mystery ingredients and plastic packaging. Good compost and properly prepared seeds are all you need for strong seedlings. Know what’s feeding your plants.

In natural desert conditions, 88% of rainfall either evaporates or runs off unused. Only 0.8% infiltrates deeply enough to recharge aquifers. One could say "water is scarce". A high agency gardener sees something else: the greatest untapped resource in the entire system. The goal is not to find more water, but to capture the water that is already falling from the sky. The difference between a barren desert and a thriving oasis often comes down to knowing where to intervene.

Your composting problems disappear when you realize chickens can make 12 cubic meters of black gold for you every year. Here's how (link in comments):

Essentials of a productive desert garden 🌵🌱 • Small raised flooded beds, thickly mulched • Permanent hardy trees on leach fields or in swales • Hardy bulbs, tubers, and yams in selected sites • Every bit of waste water directed to leach fields, also surplus from roof and run-off • Vines in every wall and roof And: • Mulch, mulch, mulch • Careful watering • Sound organic approach to soil In dry climates, success comes from treating water as precious and soil as your most valuable asset.