New Mexico... (Albuquerque, Las Cruces, Santa Fe: house, buy, utilities)

[RamblinRoseRanch]

Anyone here in the land of enchantment? We're looking at moving to New Mexico, if they'll have me, lol. I'd like to bend your ear, if I may.

Thanks.

Charaty

[DOUBLE H]

Good morning Triple R! Post on the New Mexico thread; lots of threads involving New Mexico cities and towns. I lived in New Mexico in the early 80's and plan on moving there a few years down the road. The posters I learn the most from is Towanda, Devin Bent, Mortimer, Enjoy EP, Brian H. The best one is 6 Ft. 3, whohas a good knowledge of all things New Mexico. I contribute a little at times, depending on the subject.

[RamblinRoseRanch]

Thanks, Double H.
lol @ the triple R, I hadn't thought of it that way!
I've posted there and six foot has been of great help ( I don't think the others posted anything to my threads..... pintadokid and 6 ft 3 are the ones I remember), but we're country people and not many people on there have a lot to say about critters and growin' your own food crops. I just want to *talk* to someone who does garden and have horses, etc in NM about their experiences.

[Beretta]

Moving this thread from Rural and Small Town Living; hopeful that you will get more responses from the "hometown" crowd.

[Devin Bent]

R-cubed,

Don't know where you are coming from, but if you are from a place where it rains frequently, then NM is something of a change.

If you want to grow your own food in significant quantities, then you have to have water, because very little comes out of the sky.

So you need water rights -- the right to use surface water for irrigation or clear ownership of a very good well.

I have not been growing food other than fruit, but have a number of plants and have been pleased by the sunshine and the lack of disease and insects. A lot of things grow very well.

[6 FOOT 3]

Originally Posted by RamblinRoseRanch

Thanks, Double H.
lol @ the triple R, I hadn't thought of it that way!
I've posted there and six foot has been of great help ( I don't think the others posted anything to my threads..... pintadokid and 6 ft 3 are the ones I remember), but we're country people and not many people on there have a lot to say about critters and growin' your own food crops. I just want to *talk* to someone who does garden and have horses, etc in NM about their experiences.

Ramblin Rose are you talking about large amounts of crops growing or just a nice garden at your house etc...There are horse communities all around New Mexico as you can find people with 1/2 acre lots with a horse or more in Clovis, Roswell and Hagerman/Lake Arthur in Eastern NM or in Reserve, Cliff and Glenwood in Western NM or South of Las Cruces to the Texas state or at Tularosa North of Alamo and Boles Acres South of Alamo ...heck they still have the Rodeo/Barrel Racing and Roping on friday nites there at the fairgrounds and other places around NM so there are lots of country folk and horses etc... it just depends on what kind of terrain you like as we basically have 3 types and that is the Desert Communities (High and Low Elevation) and the Mountain Communities in the Mogollon's and Sacramento's and the Sangre's Mountain Ranges and lastly the Eastern Plains.

6/3

[iriegirl]

I'd be curious to know more about gardening in NM also, as I am considering moving there too. I have read some posts, and realize that water is a big concern.

Devin Bent, You mentioned water rights. How does one go about getting water rights? Do homes who have their own wells have these rights?
I live in a town in NJ ,with local water and sewer, so I don't know about wells, or getting water elsewhere.

Something that has always facinated me are the Earthship homes. They are all about self-reliance, so how do they grow their own food or gardens?

thanks,in advance. :-)

[Devin Bent]

Originally Posted by iriegirl

I'd be curious to know more about gardening in NM also, as I am considering moving there too. I have read some posts, and realize that water is a big concern.

Devin Bent, You mentioned water rights. How does one go about getting water rights? Do homes who have their own wells have these rights?
I live in a town in NJ ,with local water and sewer, so I don't know about wells, or getting water elsewhere.

Something that has always facinated me are the Earthship homes. They are all about self-reliance, so how do they grow their own food or gardens?

thanks,in advance. :-)

Water rights are the rights to take a specified amount of water out of an irrigation ditch (acequia) which generally gets that water from a stream or river. We have them up here in Northern New Mexico -- don't know if they have it down south. Of course, the rights mean nothing if the river runs dry. If you are on an acequia, then you can buy more water rights from someone else -- if someone is willing to sell. Water from the acequia you use for irrigation. It is not something you want to drink, etc.

The well on your property will flow at a certain rate -- gallons per minute. I get 12 gpm which is good -- but it wouldn't support large-scale agriculture and I am not suppose to use it for that purpose anyway. Again I have a right to use a specified amount. I read of someone who gets 1 gpm which is not so good. Just because a well is on your property does not mean you own it -- as strange as that may seem to easterner like myself. It may be shared with neighbors. You need to establish ownership through a chain of titles -- just like it was a house. This is in Santa Fe County. I don't know if other counties require something similar -- if they don't, I would suspect that it is coming.

Before you buy, you should test the well for impurities, etc.

The earthship homes -- I haven't seen. I'd suggest you get up to Taos and take a look. While you are in the area -- take a look at Dixon which is a center of organic farming. Dixon might be a good place for you if do organic and you can buy some land with water rights. Any excess crop you can sell at the Santa Fe farmer's market for astronomical prices.

I am relatively new to the state. If I get anything wrong about water, I hope that others will correct me.

[iriegirl]

Hi Devin Bent!
Thanks for the good explanation. It still sounds a bit confusing to me, only because of having lived in Pa and NJ for my whole life, and in towns that get water from reservoirs and lakes, I just take it for granted that the water is there when I open the tap, (and pay the water bill! ha!) If you live in the town of Santa Fe, or Albuquerque,do they also have wells? or do they have water companies like here?

We will look at Dixon, that sounds interesting.
Supposedly, there is an earthship community in Taos, not sure what their story is, except I have heard they try to live off the grid. After living in NJ, it sounds so tempting to be rid of the big utilities that keep raising their rates, and their corrupt cronies in the govt. do nothing about it.
thanks again for replying so quickly!
iriegirl :-D

[Towanda]

Iriegirl -

I sure don't claim to be an expert on this at all.....but I do know that community where I am moving, Eldorado (southeast of Santa Fe), has a combination of well water and water from a company owned by Eldorado.

The older homes in the subdivision have shared wells. We stayed away from them during our home search. The rest of the homes (the majority of homes in the subdivision) get water from the Eldorado Area Water and Sewage District, which provides water to Eldorado as well as communities all along Highway 285 as far south as Galisteo.

So it appears to me that at least in the Santa Fe area, there may be more than one option for obtaining water. I don't know anything about how it is in other parts of the state.