Arizona Chickens

[desertmarcy]

I have papaya seeds but no idea when I should start them. and no idea when I should plant out doors.

Papaya is definitely tropical and will freeze in the winter unless you have a heated greenhouse to put it in. A lot of these plant seeds are SO tempting to sprout but they will not be able to get big or old enough to fruit here in Tucson.

 

[MrsFitzDarcy]

What are moringas?

 

[Stynch]

We went to the fair this morning. We spent more time with the chickens than anything else!! The only name I recognized from here was @maryhysong - wow, she has some gorgeous birds!! I couldn't get over the size of some of the chickens, way bigger than any of ours! My DH was quick to point out that bigger chickens probably eat a lot more and still only lay one egg per day, so I should be happy with the flock we have!! And I am

 

[Beckyhsinglsc]

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Passion fruit for me too, please! I can transport from Tucson when they are ready. We travel back and forth a lot. When are they ripe?


My Moringa just died. I grew it from seed directly in the ground and it was doing great. It was about 2 feet tall but it looks like some kind of insect ate the stem and the whole thing died. :-(
I guess I'll try again next spring.

Perfect! I'm not sure when they are supposed to ripen here so I don't know what to expect. I've read that as long as they don't die back, they'll continuously produce fruit. My moringas did well, even the ones in pots. However, only the ones planted in the ground flowered and produced seeds. I still have an extra for you if you're interested.

One of my three moringas in the ground did very well. I hope the seeds finish developing before the first frost.

Yeah, I'm interested. It might have a better chance of surviving if you started it.

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

Yeah, I'm interested. It might have a better chance of surviving if you started it.

I dunno, I managed to kill that Golden Dorsett apple tree you gave me!

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

There seems to be a lot of interest in Tucson in growing rare fruits. I belong to a very small group of Rare Fruit Growers. We have been meeting monthly at EcoGrow on St. Mary's. Just this morning I got this email from our "President", Chris Marshall:

"Unaware that we existed (not a surprise), a young woman named Alana Stern has been organizing a new chapter of the California Rare Fruit Growers for Tucson. She apparently has a lot of enthusiasm and energy as demonstrated by how far she has gone already. She has reserved meeting space at Randolph Center with a first meeting on Nov 8, she has found a heated greenhouse and adjacent fields in Marana for establishing a group garden including tropicals and she has been actively putting out materials to recruit members.
For all of you who know something of our history and my involvement, It will come as no surprise that I personally would be happy to have our group form a founding core of the new club and let Alana be in charge. She will be sending out another email with some additional details. I hope to continue my involvement with the new group and I hope you will as well. Let's all try to make this initial meeting."

This meeting place is far more central than where we currently meet, but I will try to make the meeting and thought some of you might be interested, especially Gallo, you are really close. I have always thought our Rare Fruit Growers group should be much larger than it is but perhaps a new "go-getter" is what is needed.

Oh, I'm definitely interested! That's about a five minute walk for me to the Randolph Center. Keep me updated when you find out when the next meeting will be.

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

What are moringas?

Oh, you haven't heard? It's the miracle tree that will save the world. Seriously though, it's a super fast growing tree with edible leaves and seeds that are high in protein. The leaves are a bit bitter for my tastes and apparently the tastes of my chickens. Hopefully the seeds will be better.

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

What's up with this weather? Not that I'm complaining at all, but the forecasts on Weather Underground predicted 0% chance for rain all this week. This rain is perfect for applying the beneficial nematodes I bought this week. They apparently do best when applied on moist soil after a rain. I never get lucky like that. Grubs, your days are numbered!

 

[DesertChickens1]

What's up with this weather?  Not that I'm complaining at all, but the forecasts on Weather Underground predicted 0% chance for rain all this week.  This rain is perfect for applying the beneficial nematodes I bought this week.  They apparently do best when applied on moist soil after a rain.   I never get lucky like that.  Grubs, your days are numbered!

The rain just hit our place hard for about an hour, knocked the tarp off the run and had to go fix it while getting soaked haha

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

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I had to go out in it to round up my new birds, who apparently don't know how to get out of the rain like my other birds. It's cold!