We had an opportunity to head down to the Salton Sea, but stopped off in Thermal, CA on the way.  It's 118 ft below sea level, has an average temperture of 110 degrees in July, and the soil looks like sand.  Despite that, irrigation has turned this town into a thriving farmland, with figs, dates, peppers, lemons and limes being grown in abundance.  Here's a shot of some pepper(?) plants that we came across.  It caught my eye because the repetition of the rows is broken up by the one tilted pole.