>>2176407I suggest starting with hugelkultur. Get any shitty wood people are throwing away. So long as it's not heavily painted, varnished or pressure treated it's good and there should be tons, people are always wanting to get rid of broken pallets and shit. As well, any other plant material you can get your hands on, which depends how deserty a region you're in and how big it is. If you're in range of somewhere where people put out leaf litter, go collect it. If there's weeds around, on roadsides etc that's perfect, you'll want those seeds at first. Try to pick those which spread by seed instead of root. A bit of research will go a long way.
Dig some trenches, they don't even really have to be deep and fill with the wood and alternating plant material and dirt. If you have access to worms add them in the middle there too. You might need to water some initially but soon it'll start taking care of itself. The weeds native to where you are will start to sprout, insects, worms, woodlice etc will all start to flock and in short order it'll all start breaking down into beautiful rich soil that's airy and holds water. You can also do this over large sections without digging a trench if you bring in more soil from elsewhere.
And you don't just have to rely on native weeds, they're just the best suited to start growing in your climate. If you're willing to water you can plant things like beans right away and you'll get some food in addition to starting to create good soil. Lastly, when you're wanting to get rid of the weed plants or even the others when you're done, don't pull them (unless they spread via root) just keep chopping them down before they flower until you kill the plant. That root network left intact will decay and provide both nutrients and the soil airation you're looking for. Soon you'll be able to plant trees.
