Arizona Chickens

[Mahonri]

All of you folks with lots of kids.

It only gets harder as they get older.

As most of you know, we have 7 kids. 6 boys and a little girl as the caboose.

Oldest is 25 and married (no kids yet, thank the Lord)

youngest turns 10 next month.

We'll have 3 left in the house come June. ... and I know if I compare the next 8 years to the last 8 years, our caboose will be out of the house before we know it.

Our #6 boy is developmentally disabled and will most likely be living with us for the rest of our lives.

I need to get the last two interested in chickens....

April will make 5 years since I've had chickens again. It's been an awesome ride.

 

[squeakyballs]

I have crabs.

 

[squeakyballs]

Girl, I have 5 children (oldest is 7), one on the way, 12 chickens, 3 dogs, I homeschool and run my husband's business. It takes more than squeakyballs to scare me away!

Congrats! And, 5! Wow!

 

[LadyKotaDoria]

Actually, the fig is dependent upon a wasp for pollination, so I guess my wife was sort of correct.  But she was really concerned about roaches. 

At my age, I have to be real selective in the type of tree I plant.  We have to be realistic.  I need something that produces fast. 

My aunt and uncle put in a pecan grove when they were 97.  It takes at least seven years for the pecan to become really productive.  They had a lot of faith.

Unfortunately, neither saw pecans from their efforts. 

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That is optimism! My late husband grand father planted himself a row of fast growing trees for a windbreak. He as I believe 95 or 97, his grandmother was 15 or 20 years younger. She was furious, "why xxxxxxxxx trees! You will just have to replace them in 40 years!!!" She complained to every one, that they will grow too fast, extra work, will have to be cut down and replaced in 40 years. They both looked like they were in their lat 60's, but 40 years? He did not think nether of them had anything to worry about.

He died at 100 (in med/late 60's) putting out a brush fire trying to save a bunk house that was falling down. He had been planing on fixing it up for storage. His grand mother passed shorty after (i think she as 15 or 16 when married) she was quite healthy, went to bed and never woke up if I remember it right . . He would get her 100 pullets every year, so she would have her own money. His neighbors & friends thought he was foolish to let her have her own money because she could run away. His reply, "I kinda like to think she wants to stay with me because she wants to." { they lived in Montana, hard country for even the best }

 

[Mama Hen Chris]

3 kiddos here:

sil Jon, dtr Cara (30) and grandson Cooper



My son Michael, 26, and dil Samantha
(I have known her since she was a baby)



My baby, Lauren, just celebrated her 23rd birthday

 

[kevs-chickadees]

Nice looking family, ya done good.

 

[kevs-chickadees]

I've got a question for Gallo, AZkat, any other of you green thumb experts. I asked this on the easy garden site but no one had an answer and since this is local maybe someone here will know???? What would cause a Golden Dorsette apple to not drop it's leaves and go into dormancy year after year? Every other tree does in my backyard (that's suppose to) but this one. I don't get it?

 

[LadyKotaDoria]

Clucken_crazy, 'Solar Power'
In 1962 I designed an underground house, with solar, recycled wast methane gas and wind generator for power/energy. I was in 9th grade, I was told by my s teacher I was living in a fairy tail world. I got an F on it. No one lives underground, there is no such thing as solar and you do not need to recycle, prestressed concrete is not a building material.

WILL! We know who got the last laugh on that one!
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APPLES, most apple trees need to go dormant as part of their life cycle. There are now apple trees that needs only a few weeks of light frost, for zones such as ours. I am not up on my apples, I do not know about your variety. Dormant trees are protected from freezing. I will, when I have time do some research on that, I would like to know about apple trees that can grow in our climate. How long and when dose your tree go dormant? How well dose it fruit?

 

[Mahonri]

I've got a question for Gallo, AZkat, any other of you green thumb experts. I asked this on the easy garden site but no one had an answer and since this is local maybe someone here will know???? What would cause a Golden Dorsette apple to not drop it's leaves and go into dormancy year after year? Every other tree does in my backyard (that's suppose to) but this one. I don't get it?

When I had my Golden Dorsette, it never dropped all of it's leaves and always produced well until the bugs got it.

 

[kevs-chickadees]

Well that's sorta the problem, it doesn't go dormant unless I force it to. Even last week with as cold as it was I would guess 80% of it was still thriving. I'm thinking if it's not dormant then all these chill hours don't really matter and maybe that's why I hardly ever get any blossoms? Oh well, this year we shall see. It was stripped of it's leaves and I know it has surpassed it required 150 chill hours, and it was pruned pretty good last year.