Arizona Chickens

[The Critter Place]

Someone lost a pet chicken in Tucson,
If you live near the U of A... and see one running wild...

http://tucson.craigslist.org/pet/2592213381.html

 

[The Critter Place]

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cantelope or watermelon I think. Maybe it came up from your compost?

A melon or a gourd. It sure looks healthy and happy!

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

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Pretty sure you won't get a harvest the first year, but it will give you okra for many years once it gets going. Okra is absolutely yummy, but a bit prickley, so be careful when tending. Okra gumbo is an absolute favourite dish of mine! Fried okra is pretty good, too.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

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I know it's one of the few plants still growing in my garden and the one that nobody will eat.

That's good to know. I wanted to plant it in the back yard, but I was afraid the chickens would demolish it. I'll try it, the fruit I mean, but if my family doesn't like it, I still like the plant. I heard chickens will eat the pods. I guess I'll find out!

Ever heard of gumbo? As in cajun cooking? Gumbo = okra. YUM!

 

[squeakyballs]

So, basically I have to wait until it makes something before we know what it is!

 

[squeakyballs]

I've never had okra, but it sounds good.

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

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I don't know a whole lot about it, except that I have grown it over the past four years--purely by accident it seems. I always have visions of large okra patches with yields so great I could can a big batch of pickled okra every week. Instead, it's almost always come up in places that I didn't plant it, usually from seeds dropped the previous year. They are annuals here in Tucson, but maybe they could survive the winter in Maricopa Co. I have about 5 plants right now that are about 6' tall. They are doing well in an area that is well drained and gets drip irrigation once a day. My chickens only think of it as shade and don't peck at any part. Mine also won't eat the pods or the seeds. I have both green and red growing right now. Of course, only the very youngest pods are edible; they get very woody after about day 5 or so. Maybe my chickens would prefer the younger ones, but they'll never get the chance to find out. We love them.

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

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Before I moved to AZ I lived for 10 years in New Orleans. I learned to love okra and gumbo there--cajun cooking in general. A little too much.

Oh, do I miss that N.O. gumbo, crawfish, blackened catfish, oyster po-boys, deep fried okra, yum. Oh wait, I can't forget the shrimp!

 

[The Critter Place]

TT! :

So, basically I have to wait until it makes something before we know what it is!

Yup...

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Quote:
I don't know a whole lot about it, except that I have grown it over the past four years--purely by accident it seems. I always have visions of large okra patches with yields so great I could can a big batch of pickled okra every week. Instead, it's almost always come up in places that I didn't plant it, usually from seeds dropped the previous year. They are annuals here in Tucson, but maybe they could survive the winter in Maricopa Co. I have about 5 plants right now that are about 6' tall. They are doing well in an area that is well drained and gets drip irrigation once a day. My chickens only think of it as shade and don't peck at any part. Mine also won't eat the pods or the seeds. I have both green and red growing right now. Of course, only the very youngest pods are edible; they get very woody after about day 5 or so. Maybe my chickens would prefer the younger ones, but they'll never get the chance to find out. We love them.

I don't have any, my folks in Dallas do.