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Grow some sustainable gardening knowledge at the Corrales Garden Tour, featuring five properties showcasing smart watering, regenerative agriculture and more.

鈥淓ach one has something to teach people,鈥� Sam Thompson, tour chair and master gardener, said.

On Saturday, May 16, eventgoers will have a chance to explore showcased properties Thompson said represent the land in Corrales. She said the area in and around the village contains everything from steep sandhills prone to erosion to land right along the bosque.

鈥淲e have something from each of the major microenvironments,鈥� she said, which include Corrales鈥� agricultural valley spaces and bosque areas.

The tour pivoted to sustainability education last year, following a severe drought, Thompson said, and was further motivated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture鈥檚 declaration of Sandoval and 20 other counties in the state as natural disaster areas due to drought earlier this month.

鈥淲e really would like people to understand how they can do more with their garden with primarily less water,鈥� she said.

One property focuses on smart water system education, she said. These systems are linked to an app that tracks weather conditions, such as rain, and prevents the system from turning on when it's not needed.

A property in the sandhills area discusses how to control erosion and how to maximize water use by capturing as much rain as possible.

鈥淭hey store it in underground cisterns and use it to water all the vegetation,鈥� Thompson said, 鈥渁nd they have, I believe, it鈥檚 four different gardens that people can see on the tour.

Each stop will have master gardeners pointing out useful infrastructure. New this year is a take-home 36-page booklet outlining the properties and sustainability practices.

鈥淲hat we鈥檙e trying to do with each property is just have something that people can take away,鈥� she said.

Eventgoers can expect to see an abundance of native plants and a variety of mature trees, Thompson said, including a stop at a farm for those interested in vegetable gardening.

鈥淭his farmer, even though he鈥檚 on a residential acre and is farming about half of that property, is able to fill tents during the warm season at two different growers鈥� markets a week 鈥�,鈥� she said. 鈥淢ost people that have been over there have just been amazed by what this person is able to do.鈥�

There is also a focus on practices such as avoiding the use of chemicals in yards. Thompson said at one property, the owner was bothered by horseflies. They researched an insect that preys on horsefly pupae and built a habitat for it.

Thompson said the property owner had the beneficial insects take care of the problem for her and has had success with the method against a number of other garden pests.

鈥淧eople are amazed to know that you can do that,鈥� Thompson said, 鈥渁nd I think a lot of people want to do that.鈥�

With all the educational aspects, Thompson said, they want the focus to be on practices people can easily implement.

She has a friend who told her she did not know where to start when gardening, and Thompson told her, 鈥淪tart in the place you like to go to on your land. Whatever that one place is you like to sit in, start there.鈥�

鈥淚 think it鈥檚 important for people just to take their time,鈥� she said. 鈥淵ou know, you don鈥檛 have to get it all done at one time.鈥�

Elizabeth Secor is an arts fellow from the New Mexico Local News Fellowship program. You can reach her at esecor@abqjournal.com.