I currently have two spaces that I have established to try to take advantage of this low water use method. One is a keyhole garden [1] where I currently have a bunch of strawberry plants growing. This is the first time in 20 years of living here that I have strawberry plants that are still alive after summer heat is done. Something is working right.

The other space is one I just completed constructing last week. It is an orchard space using hugelkultur concepts of mounded compostable debris. I don't yet have any idea how that will work but hopes are as high as the summer temperatures in Texas.

I had a lot of logs, branches, limbs, and twigs from various weather events and several piles of composted wood chips and composted yard waste that I used to build the mounds. I had to buy some topsoil since that is in short supply on my place and I bought some composted manure too. I rented a skid steer to manage the construction so that part was easy. Doing what I did with a wheelbarrow would've been a huge job or one requiring multiple weak minds with strong backs or maybe promises of lots of free beer and smoked brisket.

I have a variety of fruit trees planted (avocado, plum, pomegranate, apple, moro orange, lemon, fig) and will be covering the mounds with various deer-resistant plants. Some of the plants will be garden plants - onion, garlic, etc. Others are herbs for home use - mullein, saffron crocus, yarrow, hollyhocks, hyssop, and others.

I chose this method since it seems well adapted to the challenges of growing in rocky soil in an environment where temperatures can get high for extended periods of time, like North Texas. I live on a rock outcrop and nothing grows unless it is in raised beds or heavily irrigated. I get all my potable water from my water well so I'm not inclined to waste it and very much prefer to plant things that are adapted to the area. I have killed off many non-native plants and invasive weeds since I moved here and allowed native grasses and flowers to take over. This saves a huge amount of maintenance since I don't water anything water the first year. It either lives with what the sky gods provide or it becomes a dry twig. I've had my share of dry twigs.

My greenhouse and garden area use rainwater harvested from the greenhouse roof and collected in a tank. The pump we use to fill water buckets is powered by a solar panel with a battery backup. The greenhouse itself is my kids' enclosed sandbox building (I built that a long time ago) modified to a greenhouse since the kids have grown up.

I have followed the Rodale's work since back in the early 90's and have used that over the years to guide my gardening plans and have found information gained to be very useful for those like myself who want to have small gardens for their family use. I'm glad to see they have carried out their long-term tests successfully though I don't know how much uptake they'll get among larger farmers. I do know that the method of maintaining soil fertility is a solid way to guarantee success.

[0] https://richsoil.com/hugelkultur/ - General introduction to Hugelkultur and the construction of the mounds

[1] https://gardeningmentor.com/keyhole-garden/ - Good introduction to Keyhole gardens and their construction

I'll add hugelkultur to the list.