Arizona Chickens

[City farm]

I have to say my girls love when I go around the yard & lead them to the piles of bricks, potted plants, rocks &
other places for the crickets to hide.. I almost went to buy some for the heck of it.. Then I just set the little buggers
up.. Free pest control & chicken feed..

 

[LadyKotaDoria]

I have my chicks listed on Craigeslist, and I posted my chains.

If interested I have 2 Cobra CBs, load locks, and a lot of other truck stuff.

And then there is my sign... Don't know if I want to sell it... Besides it was to go to a female driver. Yes, Lot Lizards will bother everyone... Male or female.

if you have a driver in the family, let him/her/them know. PM me. PLEASE

 

[Demosthine]

We can spelt some fair food that you just can't survive without.
Such as Deep Fried Onion Flowers,

or Indian Fry Bread, things we could make at home but don't. Oh, don't forget Turkey Legs... Now that's something non of us ever eat at home.

or a wonderful $6.00 hot dog. And low Calorie goodies.... Fudge, sugar candy, and such.....

my idea of fun IS eating my way thru the fair grounds! hand dipped corn dogs get me everytime. i cant go to the fair without buying them.

Wow, apparently I'm getting too far in to this healthy, unprocessed food idea, because the only things that sound remotely good in those lists are the turkey legs. But the ones at the Renaissance Festival are SO much better! I've only been to the fair twice in my life, and wasn't all that impressed. The photography display was great, though! Mama Hen should really enter this year! She has some fantastic photos!

But on an unhealthy note... I started cooking up some plum jam today. The way my family goes through jam and jelly (two girls making sandwiches every day for school), I can't afford to be buying it all the time. And since I like giving them a variety of choices, I decided plum jam would be good, so fifteen pounds are sitting in the pot cooking. I also bought 17 pounds of nectarines for some more jam there, too. They'll be started tomorrow or Sunday. The plum jam takes four or more sessions of boiling and cooling to get the right consistency.

Meanwhile, my wife is in Montana visiting friends and decided to start homesteading all of a sudden. Apparently, they spent four hours picking wild plums and then removed the pits. They have a batch of plum vodka going and have more of them marinating overnight for plum jam. She learned to make lemon oil and took a trip to visit an Amish community. I think we may move up there if she's going to get in to the homesteading lifestyle like this!

 

[kevs-chickadees]

Not sure but maybe Valley permaculture alliance ?? Have you heard of AZOMITE? It is not ash from volcanos.. It is amazing.
I have an extra bag, I need to figure out what it cost.. You can also call our friends Andy (602)509-6099..

I have not heard of Azomite, sounds interesting. I try not to use any miracle grow products, for me they do the opposite.

 

[kevs-chickadees]

Send some pictures to me. DH might be able to help. He is a plant guy, after all!

When I typed that up I was thinking that same thing. I have a set of books that describes the different symptoms of the nutrient defs and has a ton of pictures. Problem for me is the pictures are of plants reaction/needs and I'm curious about the fruit trees. Nitrogen, Magnesium and Iron seem to have similar signs. I'll take some pictures though and send them your way. Thanks

Lady K, where did you get your saw dust from for your garden soil and does it seem to dry out quickly. I like the idea of raised garden beds but the only experience I've had with them is it seemed to need watering several times a day.

 

[LadyKotaDoria]

DENOSTHINE, that sounds wonderful. When a family enjoy the same thing you are truly rich. I agree with you on the food thing....... For me it is the dark chocolate anything. Greasy deep fried onion, is less then enjoyable. I have a weakness for opinion rings when cooked right. The last time I had great onion rings was at a fish farm (a Florida name for Fish Restaurant and sometimes bait shop attached), that was 1986 or 87.

PS: Fair corn dogs are the only one's I will eat. A guilty pleasure.

if the Arizona Fair had corn like is at the Minnesota state Fair..... every time I get it it is mealy or tastes like it was frozen. Arizona has a very small fair grounds and that is why it runs so long.

The top State Fairs are the Minnesota State Fair, Iowa State Fair, Alaska State Fair, State Fair of Texas, and New York State Fair. I can find stuff on the top fairs, nothing on Az. You can not compare Arizona to other States. In 1962 I attended the fair, I remember it as a lot more fun..... It was more WESTERN then. More Farmers and Ranchers, Most impressed with the cowboys and their horses.... Riding in the midway. Now, where are the ranches and farms, most of the good land is now houses. In 62 Glendale was prime grazing and ranches........

I think it would be more fun in a group. If we have all day and a show, maybe, I don't know, maybe not.

 

[notinoz2007]

Meanwhile, my wife is in Montana visiting friends and decided to start homesteading all of a sudden. Apparently, they spent four hours picking wild plums and then removed the pits. They have a batch of plum vodka going and have more of them marinating overnight for plum jam. She learned to make lemon oil and took a trip to visit an Amish community. I think we may move up there if she's going to get in to the homesteading lifestyle like this!

this sounds amazing.

 

[flower]

When I typed that up I was thinking that same thing. I have a set of books that describes the different symptoms of the nutrient defs and has a ton of pictures. Problem for me is the pictures are of plants reaction/needs and I'm curious about the fruit trees. Nitrogen, Magnesium and Iron seem to have similar signs. I'll take some pictures though and send them your way. Thanks

Lady K, where did you get your saw dust from for your garden soil and does it seem to dry out quickly. I like the idea of raised garden beds but the only experience I've had with them is it seemed to need watering several times a day.

I agree with you on the raised water beds. Seems impossible to not let them dry out totally.

 

[mckenzy]

I think it would be more fun in a group. If we have all day and a show, maybe, I don't know, maybe not.

I'd love to meet some of you fine folks at the fair for chicken gazing. Although being a 30 year old male covered in tattoos I might not fit in too well. I'm nice tho, I promise!
You gotta hit the donut booth and get a "Wagon Wheel" donut. Amazing!

I told my wife I'm more excited about the fair this year so I can see the poultry competitions.

The Del Mar (California) Fair was my growing up as a kid fair and I guess I just love Fairs. AZ is good enough for me.

 

[MagicChicken]

Quote:
You post reminds me of all the factors involved with gardening. In the SW the lack of organics is a really big factor in poor results plus the lack of good clean rain water. But the commercial food producers use regular ground water so you might think that ground water will do. And it does but the rain that we have had UP NORTH sure made a difference. Our climate is more temperate due to the altitude so I will not be able to maintain a winter garden for at least three months and during that time I intend to introduce as much goat, rabbit and horse manure as possible.

About the bees, I have plenty of flowers and see a lot of bees visiting the flowers. But my squash blossoms have not been fertilized and I have lost hope that they will produce despite the blossoms. This is sad. I look forward to learning hand pollination form your wife.

Hand pollinating squash is easy. There are male and female flowers. The female flowers have a tiny baby squash at the base of the flower. The male flowers are typically on a longish stalk with no baby squash at the base. To hand pollinate, pick one of the male flowers, pull off the petals, hold what's left of the flower by the stem and touch the male parts (with the pollen) to the female flower's stigma (the stubby white thing inside the center of the flower). Make sure some pollen gets on each part of the female's stigma. You can usually pollinate two or three female flowers with one male flower if you are careful. The trick is making sure you do the hand-pollinating early in the morning when there is still viable pollen on the male flower parts. At my place the ants will collect all the pollen within an hour or so of sunrise. If I don't hand pollinate my zucchini before 6:30 am in June and July there isn't enough pollen left to be effective. What the ants don't take the bees will get. So for best success, pollinate early!

Quote:

Here's a guide to plant nutrient deficiencies from the University of Arizona Cooperative Extension folks. Might help identify the problems and it's specific to Arizona:

http://ag.arizona.edu/pubs/garden/az1106.pdf