Arizona Chickens

[K9Dave]

We tried that with limited success - onions, cabbage, tomatoes grew okay, but then the ground rats (sorry, don't know what they are called) would come in and raze the entire garden overnight!  We finally hit on these self-contained planting boxes that Home Depot sells.  Last spring, we had tomatoes, peppers, onions, beans, yellow squash - and it was so rewarding!!  A far cry from the 2000 sq ft I planted in Yakima (we lived there for 16 years before moving here 10 years ago - where in WA did you live?), but at least it was something!  We bought a little greenhouse and my DH wants to experiment with some hydroponics this winter.  What I really want to do is survive the next few years here until we can retire and then move to someplace where green grass and trees grow naturally!!

Sounds like we have the same plan. I hate the desert but my wife's parents retired here so we're staying here for now.

I'm making the best of it now and am just waiting the day when I can be on green grass and it's not a million degrees in the summer. I'm starting my garden (just moved) here pretty quick hopefully and figure if I can learn here, I can garden ANYWHERE. I joined a FB page to get advice, follow and ask questions and all kinds of direction for new gardeners.

 

[K9Dave]

Speaking of FB, they posted a pic of my Joop today. I have never missed a dog this much.

 

[Stynch]

Sounds like we have the same plan. I hate the desert but my wife's parents retired here so we're staying here for now.

I'm making the best of it now and am just waiting the day when I can be on green grass and it's not a million degrees in the summer. I'm starting my garden (just moved) here pretty quick hopefully and figure if I can learn here, I can garden ANYWHERE. I joined a FB page to get advice, follow and ask questions and all kinds of direction for new gardeners.

We followed our daughter and the grandkids here 10 years ago. I had lost my job in WA and my husband was going to lose his, so we figured Arizona was a good option. Both of our sons were in the Army at the time and have since ETSed and now they and their families all live here, too (except the oldest grandson who is stationed near Pensacola FL in the Air Force). But we are all (except for the S-I-L and D-I-L) from up north. It's not that I want to go back to snowy winters, though - I just want someplace moderate. Kind-of looking at the southeast (Carolinas, Tenn, Georgia, FL) - why not, since it's the only corner of the country we haven't lived in!!

I hadn't thought to look on Facebook for gardening help. Thanks for the pointer.

 

[desertmarcy]

Hi all, I am now taking reservations for holiday processed (ready to cook) organically grown heritage turkeys. In keeping with BYC rules, I have posted an ad for these here:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...nic-heritage-turkeys-for-2014-winter-holidays

Details/price are in the ad. Thanks!

 

[K9Dave]

We followed our daughter and the grandkids here 10 years ago.  I had lost my job in WA and my husband was going to lose his, so we figured Arizona was a good option.  Both of our sons were in the Army at the time and have since ETSed and now they and their families all live here, too (except the oldest grandson who is stationed near Pensacola FL in the Air Force).  But we are all (except for the S-I-L and D-I-L) from up north.  It's not that I want to go back to snowy winters, though - I just want someplace moderate.  Kind-of looking at the southeast (Carolinas, Tenn, Georgia, FL) - why not, since it's the only corner of the country we haven't lived in!!

I hadn't thought to look on Facebook for gardening help.  Thanks for the pointer.

You're welcome. I've learned a lot from Desert Gardeners of Maricopa County FB group. A lot of real friendly people and great for newbies. Everyone shares their planting calendars, sources and tips. I enjoy it.

I'm from La. originally and have never really lived in a place that had bad winters. I too have thought about Tenn. My brother lives in NC. Have you been to the White Mountains? That's prob at the top of our list because my wife could still be close to the parents.

 

[Stynch]

You're welcome. I've learned a lot from Desert Gardeners of Maricopa County FB group. A lot of real friendly people and great for newbies. Everyone shares their planting calendars, sources and tips. I enjoy it.

I'm from La. originally and have never really lived in a place that had bad winters. I too have thought about Tenn. My brother lives in NC. Have you been to the White Mountains? That's prob at the top of our list because my wife could still be close to the parents.

We have friends who owned a "cabin" (he's a contractor, so it was really a house) in Heber. It was the place to go to get a break from the heat! My D-I-L's parents are in Payson, so we have been there many times. We still have a few years to decide what we are going to do. I'm leaning towards being a "reverse snowbird" - keep the house here, because it will be paid for in 6 more years, and then take the RV and travel during the summers. But, can't garden if we're traveling. More to consider - ugh!!

 

[desertmarcy]

We have friends who owned a "cabin" (he's a contractor, so it was really a house) in Heber. It was the place to go to get a break from the heat! My D-I-L's parents are in Payson, so we have been there many times. We still have a few years to decide what we are going to do. I'm leaning towards being a "reverse snowbird" - keep the house here, because it will be paid for in 6 more years, and then take the RV and travel during the summers. But, can't garden if we're traveling. More to consider - ugh!!

I have often thought about being a reverse snowbird but I don't want another house to maintain. I would like to take the camper and do a series of mini-trips (up to a month at a time) during the hottest part of the year, but that would mean giving up a big part of the poultry farm. We have a caretaker now, but don't know if he will stay through next summer. It is harder than anything to get a reliable person to do work here in the summer. I'm just not sure how many more summers I'm willing to put up with just to keep poultry. It is a dilemma, the poultry have become a big part of my life. Actually they have taken over my life

and that's the truth. We have a lot of gardening going on, too, so it's not just the birds tieing me down. And with all the desert rodents chewing on drip lines---heck, someone has to be here to monitor what's going on. And I think, if we were gone in July, we'd have missed out on our whole plum and fig tree harvests.

 

[Papas Chickens]

So has any of my heat loving desert rats ever try growing barley fodder for there animals? If so how did ya'll do it? What type of set up? Inside or Outside? I would love to know .

 

[MrsFitzDarcy]

We followed our daughter and the grandkids here 10 years ago. I had lost my job in WA and my husband was going to lose his, so we figured Arizona was a good option. Both of our sons were in the Army at the time and have since ETSed and now they and their families all live here, too (except the oldest grandson who is stationed near Pensacola FL in the Air Force). But we are all (except for the S-I-L and D-I-L) from up north. It's not that I want to go back to snowy winters, though - I just want someplace moderate. Kind-of looking at the southeast (Carolinas, Tenn, Georgia, FL) - why not, since it's the only corner of the country we haven't lived in!!

I hadn't thought to look on Facebook for gardening help. Thanks for the pointer.

Don't do it! Don't go to Florida or Georgia! It's awful.

 

[mom-to-5]

So has any of my heat loving desert rats ever try growing barley fodder for there animals? If so how did ya'll do it? What type of set up? Inside or Outside? I would love to know .

I have some organic red winter wheat I have grown in small batches (just 15 chickens currently), inside the house (spare room actually). I just soak them for 24 hrs, then put in a 7x11 dish, rinse with water in the morning and at night then feed after it's about 2" tall. I don't think it would be possible to grow it outside since it likes the cooler weather but I'm just doing this about once a week and only as a treat, not for my main source of feed. It does grow better in the winter, even in the house. I just have 2 glass trays I use, no holes in them, like small Pyrex casserole dishes, I just rinse and drain twice a day, that's it and it grows.