Top picks to start with for the desert

Of course it depends on your space, but I highly recommend: mulberry, pomegranate, and figs. Once established they will thrive, not require a great deal of water and grow rather quickly. The mulberry especially can take off and start providing a lot of shade.

I was really sad to read that mulberries are banned down here in Pima county, because that's one I was really interested in. I guess the concern is pollen? (same with olive trees). They seem to be banned in a lot of places (Vegas maybe, parts of Texas)

I do know of some folks who have them grandfathered in. I'm not sure if there are any varieties that are allowed, or if it's different for folks who live outside city limits 🤔 I'll have to do some more research.

This past autumn we planted a fig and a pomegranate at my local community garden, and happy to see they are both putting on new leaves now and look like they are adjusting to their new home 😁 very excited about both!

One more I'll suggest is moringa. We didn't succeed in getting those established before frost hit them last year, but I think once they are established they can survive a bit of frost. They really thrive in hot weather without very much water, though, and from what I've learned about them they can grow tremendously quick!

All parts edible, and highly nutritous. I put store-bought moringa leaf powder in my smoothies and was really looking forward to growing my own for that - so I think I'll try planting one again.

Mulberry males / fruitless are banned. There are many self-pollinating mulberries that you could be growing that produce basically no pollen - have several growing in my space and I live in the region that has them banned.

Olive trees are the same situation - it has to do with the male / pollen producing ones (fruitless). You could grow Arbequina (which is a great one), Frantoio, Koroneiki, or Manzanillo. All of them are self-pollinating and while they can be producing better with companions (such as Pendolino or Leccino) it's not entirely needed.

Absolutely agree with you about moringa! Have several in my space, one died back hard the first year after a cold spell, but came back just fine because the roots were still intact. They seriously will put on six feet or more in less than a year, and since mine didn't die back this "winter" they are going to be even larger this year. I have not watered them in months, so far just like the mesquite, they are thriving from just the rain we've had. I personally don't like the leaves that much, but the pods, when picked young can be cooked a bit like string beans.

Ah I didn't realize there were self-pollinating varieties! That has me excited to do some mulberry research 😃

It's also great to hear about your moringa experience, I want to try again to grow one and time my planting better so it has time to root well before frost hits.

Do you have any experience with quince? I also heard they grow well in this climate but haven't ever seen one or really heard anyone talk about them here 🤔

I have greatly enjoyed the Persian mulberry, the everbearing and black beauty have also been good (smaller sized compared to the Persian).
Unless you have frost happening sooner than me, you should get moringa planted in the ground now - they will take off in this heat and truly love the summer (direct sown has been the best option as they don't like transplanting).
Sadly I have no quince here, all the varieties that I have come across require more chill hours than I can offer (popular varieties are often around 300 hours). There are some that are as low as 100 hours, but I have not managed to find them around here. They could do okay, but their upper zone is around 9, so it's a bit of hit / miss in terms of them thriving.