Arizona Chickens

[LadyKotaDoria]

O M G !!!!!

The eggs were not expected to be fertile.
Off to Pratt's

 

[flower]

More than ph is involved as you know MaryHysong. Growing potatoes here in the desert is a challenge even though they like alkaline soil. In CA the soil is alkaline and the potatoes were very tasty but due to the heat and constant sunshine, they needed to be harvested while very small since the vines died. Back east where the soil is acidic, wood ash was always added to the soil for growing potatoes.

I've been reading but as usual information needs to be evaluated. The State Co-operative Ag extension programs do not encourage progressive organic farming practice. I used to bring the kids to 4-H programs but since then I have found that they hardly ever promote and newer ideas or changes from the established methods. I think learning involves experimentation.

 

[flower]

LKD so cute little buggers. Your hatching fever is really taking over !

Pipemom Yes bird personalities do change as the develop, It is due to HORMONES

More on soil for growing. While reading about horse manure, the article cautioned about using wood shaving products that many be included in animal bedding. Because they take a long time to decompose and the process involves using byproducts to breakdown into a usable state they article stated that wood products in compost can rob nutrients from plants. And then in the next sentence they state that because there is much in animal manure that caused low ph it may be a solution that is workable. ?????? And of course the poultry poop has properties which may counteract the wood chip problems. Here in the north the soil is so heavy and packed down, any organic material that I can add is going to be added including pine needles . So there !

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Quote:
My husband hikes and climbs in the desert frequently, and he has commented on how amazingly fast new growth begins after a forest or wild fire. Yes, it takes many years fr a tree to grow to the size it was before, but new growth starts almost immediately.

 

[pipemum]

O M G !!!!!

The eggs were not expected to be fertile.
Off to Pratt's

Those are adorable. What the heck are they? Quail? I want to carry them around in my front pocket. Well, I don't have a front pocket, but I'd buy a shirt with a front pocket so that I could have a peeper in there all day.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Quote:
Yes, Arizona is typically very alkaline, and many plants that do quite well back east where the soil is very acidic don't do well here at all.

 

[LadyKotaDoria]

I hear wood ashes are good for soil enrichment.      

Ash is excellent for soil enrichment. When the fuel burns at regular temperatures, all the organic material is reduced to carbon, but the remaining trace minerals are left intact. It also effectively raises pH or makes it more alkaline, which is why many holistic remedies for an upset stomach include activated charcoal. You will see animals eat wood ash if it is available, too.

In the mid-west, many land management bureaus still do prairy burnings every year. Oklahoma, for instance, burns about 45,000 acres. They rotate regions every year, with a three year cycle. There are countless reasons this is vital, but people are so scared of fire and hold no respect for it that it's a bad thing now.

Before the take over of North America by the old world, the Indians across the continent burned regularly.
When the pilgrims landed they could take a buggy thru the woods. The Indians were Stuarts of The Land. They, on the whole, believed the land was not theirs but they were to take care of it. Of course it is not that simply put, but close enough, after all there were many nations, and countless tribes. Burning the land brought in grasses and good vegetation for the deer, elk, buffalo, and all other animals that were/are depended on the land. Side affect was that when there was a natural forest fire, the forest survived, it would move quickly along the forest floor, to fast to start a healthy tree on fire. I suggest a a book on the ways we changed the land "1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus Book by Charles C. Mann" he has others that are real eye openers.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

LKD so cute little buggers. Your hatching fever is really taking over !

Pipemom Yes bird personalities do change as the develop, It is due to HORMONES

More on soil for growing. While reading about horse manure, the article cautioned about using wood shaving products that many be included in animal bedding. Because they take a long time to decompose and the process involves using byproducts to breakdown into a usable state they article stated that wood products in compost can rob nutrients from plants. And then in the next sentence they state that because there is much in animal manure that caused low ph it may be a solution that is workable. ?????? And of course the poultry poop has properties which may counteract the wood chip problems. Here in the north the soil is so heavy and packed down, any organic material that I can add is going to be added including pine needles . So there !

My shavings break down very rapidly. Now if you were talking about the artificially coloured or scented shavings like you find at the pet store for your hamster cage, those additives might be a problem.

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

Quote:
You're very right maryhysong. Putting wood ash in our soil here in southern AZ could easily diminish growth if it's applied in any quantity. In general, you wouldn't want to put wood ash in any garden soil with pH greater than 7. The soil pH is so high here to start with that by adding ash will increase the pH to levels that severely limit uptake of nutrients by plants. This is a fundamental biological process directly driven by pH. Most things that we grow in the garden like the pH to be somewhat neutral, with some preferring more acidic conditions and some preferring slightly alkaline. It's hard enough to grow anything here in the native soil without seriously amending it with organic material to bring the pH down to make nutrients available without adding materials that work against this goal. For example, average wood ash contains less than 10 percent potash, 1 percent phosphate and trace amounts of micro-nutrients such as iron, manganese, boron, copper and zinc. Any added benefit from the added iron, manganese and copper and zinc would be offset by the increased pH driven by the ash. For my brother in Seattle, who has a soil pH in the 5ish range, wood ash works well at bringing the pH up to levels that allow him to grow a wider variety of vegetables. Whether wood ash is good for the soil or not entirely depends on the current pH of the soil and what it is you want to grow.

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

LKD so cute little buggers. Your hatching fever is really taking over !

Pipemom Yes bird personalities do change as the develop, It is due to HORMONES

More on soil for growing. While reading about horse manure, the article cautioned about using wood shaving products that many be included in animal bedding. Because they take a long time to decompose and the process involves using byproducts to breakdown into a usable state they article stated that wood products in compost can rob nutrients from plants. And then in the next sentence they state that because there is much in animal manure that caused low ph it may be a solution that is workable. ?????? And of course the poultry poop has properties which may counteract the wood chip problems. Here in the north the soil is so heavy and packed down, any organic material that I can add is going to be added including pine needles . So there !

I've heard both sides of the "wood robbing soil of nitrogen" argument and it seems that the effect is somewhat limited. I use the wood shavings as bedding and I think it makes spectacular compost and perhaps this is because it's mixed with so much nitrogen, I don't know. I really like using it to mulch too and the data I saw suggested only good effects from that. I think pine needles are an awesome material for amending our soil since they have a lower pH which helps the soil chemistry while rotting pretty darn quickly. I'm totally with you on the importance of organic material for improving our soil. It's central to gardening success here in AZ.