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Initially I used Crayola white air-dried clay with coconut coir mixed to a sticky consistency. For me, this required adding too much water to actually get the clay to mix so it had to set about three days to dry and become less sticky and more form-able. Then I added a little more clay to get something that holds together. I would recommend adding too little clay and gradually work up to minimize the clay. These seeds were primarily collected locally on sandy soils, so I don't think they are really clay-adapted. I would guess it was about 1:2.5 or 1:3 clay:coir. I wanted a soilless mix to make sure no weed seeds piggy backed on the mix.

The second mix I have been playing with (not pictured) is coir and amaco terracotta:

https://www.amazon.com/AMACO-Moist-Terra-Cotta-Earthenware/dp/B0044SET3S/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=terracotta+clay+amaco&qid=1571232106&sr=8-1

I used the same process to make the mix, but I needed way less clay it held together much better. I also added about 2% bonemeal and 1% hot chili powder to stop animals eating seeds:

https://www.amazon.com/Rani-Indian-Natural-Ingredients-NON-GMO/dp/B00307EMRC/ref=sr_1_43?crid=10YQX29F7L65K&keywords=chili+powder&qid=1571232218&sprefix=chili%2Caps%2C329&sr=8-43

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Once you have the mix, I pulled a chunk of clay about the right size (tried to get 2-4 times the diameter of the seed) flattened, put the seed in, and rounded up. For rarer seeds, I did single seeds per ball. More plentiful seeds and species with poor germination got doubled or tripled up. For ultra tiny seeds, I just kneaded them into a lump to get evenly dispersed and made smaller balls from that, e.g. rattlesnake master, leadplant. For everything posted, I dried them about three days to harden them up and scattered them! For a few odd-balls like Great Solomon's Seal (not pictured), the ball was not dried completely since the seeds cannot survive being dried. Scattered while still slightly damp.

Have fun!

• Here's Bill Mollison's Global Gardener series episode on Dry Lands.
  
• Sowing Seeds in the Desert by Masanobu Fukuoka
  
• And maybe this isn't as pertinent to your situation since you likely aren't able to do a lot of things in the book but...Desert or Paradise by Sepp Holzer
  
  You could plant trees there especially where you see other plants growing like around dry creekbeds which often hold moisture underground longer than one might expect. You could also try propagating plants that are there or that look like they ought to be there - the more habitat, shade, and surfaces for dew to form on, the better. The more terraced, divoted, and vegetated the land the more water and organic matter will accumulate on it rather than simply blowing away. You could start some shrubby plants around areas as windbreaks. You could also start shrubby plants as barriers against the pollution and gusts from the offroad vehicles and try to plant things intended for eating at a higher elevation than the road. Also think about starting some deep-rooted plants whether trees or herbs or whatever that will be suited to your area since they are usually plants that are good at seeking out water and nutrients from far down and bringing them up to the surface. If you want to get a good start it would help to water regularly and use deep layers of mulch. Stuff like beans, curcurbits, peppers, sunflowers, garlic, and corn can generally do well in dry, hot environments but will need some attention and watering.

Here's a neat, and cheap, book on the topic. Good luck!

I'm about six months in to five acre mature forest gardening in the Northwest. Any specific questions?

I can't stress this book enough, ESPECIALLY for your inquiry: Edible Forest Gardens.

I know they're expensive, but worth it. If you simply can't afford it and know of a way to exchange 15mb pdf files, I can hook you up!

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00UDNYTEW/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_400MzbPP1NCWH

You might want to reference the Theodore Payne Foundation website. They specialize in drought tolerant, California Native plants and should have some edibles in their mix.

Would have to do some research, but perhaps some Mexican Elderberry or prickly pear cactus, both native to California.

Also, check out this book. Has lots of info on California Native plants that can be eaten as food.