Arizona Chickens

[Twinklin]

We're in high fig season here! For the past couple weeks we'd been doing a pretty good job of keeping up with eating every ripe fig, but a couple days ago they started ripening in earnest. I picked 8lbs and started dehydrating them. We've gotten 2+lbs each day since and both dehydrators are working hard with this new moisture in the air. With any luck, we'll continue getting figs up through the first frost. Fresh figs, truly one of the great gifts in life.

Anybody else harvesting anything?

Looks yummy. I want to buy my bf a dehydrator for a belated b-day gift. He wants to make his own jerky.

I have a garden with some fruits and veggies. Had a lot of production up until a month ago then a lull and now back to production. I'm really only getting roma tomatoes at the moment, about 5-10 a day. My other tomatoes are just starting back up after a short break. I get the occasional greyzini and cucumber too but the bees give me a hard time and mostly pollinate my mini cantaloupes and ignore everything else so unless I hand pollinate the squash I don't get squat. The cantaloupes and mini watermelons were taking some down time as well but everything got a lot of new growth and fruit starting in the past week or so so I should be getting more stuff again soon.

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

I got my first dehydrator over 25 years ago to make jerky--a cheapie American Harvester. I found another one identical to it at the thrift store for $5, it was never used. Someday I'd like to have a better one.

That's great that you're getting tomatoes still! We have gotten a couple in the past week, but not like your production; way to go! It's so hard to grow anything here in the low desert at this time of year. There never seem to be enough bees.

My Cuban oregano is going wild right now. I just picked a bunch and put it into the nest boxes. That's a quarter in the pics for scale. Just imagine the most intense oregano aroma ever, that's what it's like when you brush up against this plant.

 

[flower]

We're in high fig season here! For the past couple weeks we'd been doing a pretty good job of keeping up with eating every ripe fig, but a couple days ago they started ripening in earnest. I picked 8lbs and started dehydrating them. We've gotten 2+lbs each day since and both dehydrators are working hard with this new moisture in the air. With any luck, we'll continue getting figs up through the first frost. Fresh figs, truly one of the great gifts in life.

Anybody else harvesting anything?

Beautiful ! Figs are one of my favorites so I am just jealous of your bounty ! I harvested my rooster today

but that is all.

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

Beautiful ! Figs are one of my favorites so I am just jealous of your bounty ! I harvested my rooster today

but that is all.

Hey, I'll bet that rooster is going to be tasty! Although, I'm sorry you had to do that today.

 

[desertmarcy]

We're in high fig season here! For the past couple weeks we'd been doing a pretty good job of keeping up with eating every ripe fig, but a couple days ago they started ripening in earnest. I picked 8lbs and started dehydrating them. We've gotten 2+lbs each day since and both dehydrators are working hard with this new moisture in the air. With any luck, we'll continue getting figs up through the first frost. Fresh figs, truly one of the great gifts in life.

Anybody else harvesting anything?

Heck yeah, our fig tree is producing a lot and I'm eating some as I type for lunch! They freeze well, we put them single layer on a cookie sheet whole then bag them after they are frozen so they don't get smashed and stick to each other, easy to take out a few at a time that way.

 

[desertmarcy]

I got my first dehydrator over 25 years ago to make jerky--a cheapie American Harvester. I found another one identical to it at the thrift store for $5, it was never used. Someday I'd like to have a better one.

That's great that you're getting tomatoes still! We have gotten a couple in the past week, but not like your production; way to go! It's so hard to grow anything here in the low desert at this time of year. There never seem to be enough bees.

My Cuban oregano is going wild right now. I just picked a bunch and put it into the nest boxes. That's a quarter in the pics for scale. Just imagine the most intense oregano aroma ever, that's what it's like when you brush up against this plant.

Gallo, where did you get that plant? Can you start it from cuttings? I'd love to get a start from you. I have a Mexican oregano and it has really fragrant intense leaves, but they are tiny leaves. It could also be because I have it as a landscape plant, not as a vegetable garden plant, so it doesn't really get as much water and no fertilizer. It is a big hard-wooded bush, perennial. I've had it for probably 10 years or more.

 

[Twinklin]

So yeah... we just got some rain


(N. Scottsdale)

Our girls are doin good. Their run had a little water in it but nothing terrible, they were huddled in the corner of the coop when I went out after the rain stopped. They made it through ok.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Quote: I've had two to three rabbits and never had a problem with that much damage, but my lot is 6/10ths of an acre. When we'v had rabbits, it has mostly been just one. In my experience, the females are more likely to dig extensive burrows, the males will dig, but not make the tunnels that females seem to crave. I haven't had enough rabbits to know if that was simply the ones I had, or a reasonably accurate statement in general. Now our rabbits were pets, not for meat or exhibition. They have been much happier ranging outside (even in summer) than cooped up in a cage inside.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Welp Hatchery order is in guys. Pretty good ship, silkies were short 2 in my order. 3 blue (1 DOA), 2 black (one is very show type looking too) and 4 buff. Welp made up for it by adding in 3+ more porcelain dUccle, 1+ golden and 1+ Orloff. What a nice bunch we got too. I'm happy and the chicks are all in very good shape. I think the DOA silkie was a bad hatch as part of the egg shell was still stuck to it's bum.

Only two of the silkies have head fluffs...Does that mean these are bearded? /silkie n00b

@Mama Hens Cant wait to see how that silkie/polish looks when its older! Interesting cross for sure.

CREST is on top of the head. BEARD (and muffs) and under the chin (and on the cheeks).

 

[Diggidy]

That Oregano looks awesome. I have never managed to keep any alive here for more than two weeks.