Meanwhile in places like California it could be possible to buld completely self-sufficient home solar desalinization systems. At least they could provide drinking water and table salt enough to supply family. But it definitely will not be enough for gardening.

How I would have been built it living in place like Califonia: Make a big parabolic mirror from any material covered by aluminium foil, put it on motorized antenna mount to track the Sun, in the focal point of parabolic mirror put a stainless steel boiler, send steam from boiler to distiller and to relatively small steam engine (may be made from largest availabe model kit) that is coupled with pump for pumping sea water and alternator to power tracking and controlling electronics.

Your need 0.6kWh to boil out 1 liter of sea water (and so get 1 liter of distilled water). Sun gives 1kW per square meter. Say, mirror-boiler efficiency is 60%. So, with a 1 square meter mirror ( ~1.1m diameter ) you will have 1 liter of distilled water per hour, or ~10 liters per sunny day. Seems enough for cooking and drinking needs of small family. Part could be stored as reserve. Output is proportional to the square of mirror diameter, but it could be a challenge to make a tracker for large mirror with boiler.

Unfortunately gardening need tons of water, so solar desalination is not an option - you will quickly run out of land setting mirrors for solar desalinator.

Meanwhile in places like California it could be possible to buld completely self-sufficient home solar desalinization systems. At least they could provide drinking water and table salt enough to supply family. But it definitely will not be enough for gardening.

How I would have been built it living in place like Califonia: Make a big parabolic mirror from any material covered by aluminium foil, put it on motorized antenna mount to track the Sun, in the focal point of parabolic mirror put a stainless steel boiler, steam from boiler send to distiller and relatively small steam engine (may be made from largest availabe model kit) connected to pump for pumping sea water and alternator to power tracking and controlling electronics.

Your need 0.6kWh to boil out 1 liter of sea water (and so get 1 liter of distilled water). Sun gives 1kW per square meter. Say, mirror-boiler efficiency is 60%. So, with a 1 square meter mirror ( ~1.1m diameter ) you will have 1 liter of distilled water per hour, or ~10 liters per sunny day. Seems enough for cooking and drinking needs of small family. Part could be stored as reserve. Output is proportional to the square of mirror diameter, but it could be a challenge to make a tracker for large mirror with boiler.

Unfortunately gardening need tons of water, so solar desalination is not an option - you will quickly run out of land setting mirrors for solar desalinator.