Homegrown is looking for the following indigenous Sonoran food sources from your property here in Phoenix.
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Mesquite bean pods (June-July)
Certain mesquite beans can be ground into protein-rich, gluten-free flour. Instead of throwing them away, we can use them as a powerful local food source.
Mesquite pods must be harvested dry, off the tree itself—NOT picked up off the ground, where they very quickly develop toxic fungus.
Only certain varieties taste good (the native Sonoran varieties, like velvet & honey mesquites), and the only way to know for sure is to taste a pod.
If a tree’s pods taste sweet, they’re food.
Ironwood bean pods (June-July)
Ironwood beans are eaten whole, like nuts—in fact, they taste like a nutty coffee bean or pistachio, and are packed with nutrients.
Cactus fruit (March-August)
Prickly pear cacti are found all over the valley, and the majority of them produce delicious, bright red or pink fruit.
Cholla buds are said to taste similar to artichoke hearts or asparagus, and are packed with calcium and pectin, which help lower blood sugar.
Saguaro fruit are the original sweetener of the Sonoran desert, before cane sugar was introduced to the region.
*Harvests must pass quality check. If it passes the quality check, we will buy within the limits of our available resources. We started in January with no outside funding, and are still getting off the ground! If there is more than what we are able to buy, we will offer a revenue share of equal value instead.