Barren mesa turns in a Yuma landmark
YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA) -A legacy in the sand! In today’s homegrown report, we highlight how one family turned a barren mesa overlooking Yuma’s agriculture valley into a local landmark.
Martha’s Garden was founded in 1990 as a virgin desert and now has a 160-acre sanctuary of 10,000 producing medjool date palms.
The Rogers family says it was a lot of trial, error, and a vision. They first planted 300 offshoots. After several years, only 75 survived with the harsh desert environment. The family worked even harder and installed new wells and piping.
What started as a small family plot eventually turned into over 160 acres of land.
"Going in towards the early 90s, it just started growing little by little, but by all means, you know, he didn't expect it to to get to what we are today," said 4th generation farmer Nels J. Rogers.
Martha’s Garden extends far beyond Arizona. Approximately 70% of the farm's harvest is exported to Australia which is one of the world's largest buyers of medjool dates.
