Arizona Chickens

[cactusrota]

Never pay nursery prices for fruiting mulberries, they are a rip of! They are super easy to grow from cuttings, and since they are such a fast growing tree you will get a good sized shade tree that produces delicious fruit quickly. I have Everbearing Dwarf, Oscar, White Persian, Pakistan, and Shangri La mulberry. Some I started from sticks, some I grafted onto seedling rootstock. They all have delicious fruit and the leaves are high in calcium and make good animal fodder. Except for the Everbearing Dwarf mulberry mine are currently in pots since I'm planing on moving in the near future. They do much better planted in the ground! Most of mine I got at the AZ Rare Fruit Growers annual scion/cutting exchange for free!

ya know, I never had a problem growing things from cuttings when I lived up in WA. You just can't stop things from growing up there. But since I moved down here all the cuttings I take from anything dies. I've tried techniques told to me by others that live in the area, but nothing works. All I can figure is it's our water. I'll have to use bottled water I think and see what happens.

 

[cactusrota]

I would give them another week or two considering how cold it's been at night. Maybe provide them with a dog crate or some type of little shelter they could go in if we get wind or rain. Other than that, they should be ready for the great outdoors.

Used dog houses can be had for very cheap off craigslist, and make a great little "grow out" coop just for that. All you have to do is put a perch inside and toss in some wood chips or some kind of substrate and it's ready to go!

 

[Salty Skroob]

Might be the soil too. I planted over 100 plants in my front yard a few months back. Everything took except for one species. I think the soil was not compatible.

Either way, God’s way of telling me to pick something else.

 

[DesertChic]

ya know, I never had a problem growing things from cuttings when I lived up in WA. You just can't stop things from growing up there. But since I moved down here all the cuttings I take from anything dies. I've tried techniques told to me by others that live in the area, but nothing works. All I can figure is it's our water. I'll have to use bottled water I think and see what happens.

Both the water and the soil out here tend to be very alkaline, making it much harder to grow things here. You might have better luck using rainwater to start your cuttings with. I also purchased a rooting stimulater, which helped a lot.

 

[Sill]

ya know, I never had a problem growing things from cuttings when I lived up in WA. You just can't stop things from growing up there. But since I moved down here all the cuttings I take from anything dies. I've tried techniques told to me by others that live in the area, but nothing works. All I can figure is it's our water. I'll have to use bottled water I think and see what happens.

Always start cuttings here in full shade, even in winter. You can wrap the top part of the cutting in grafting tape/parafilm that you can buy on Amazon so the top of the cutting doesn't dry out before the roots have a chance to form. It's also more successful to use coconut coir or peat moss as a rooting medium because they are mold resistant, then pot up into regular potting soil once you know some good roots have formed. If you keep the rooting medium just damp not soaked the cuttings have an easier time and it doesn't turn into an anaerobic stinky mess. Those forming roots need oxygen.

Might be the soil too. I planted over 100 plants in my front yard a few months back. Everything took except for one species. I think the soil was not compatible.

Either way, God’s way of telling me to pick something else.

So true! What's in the soil can have a lot to do with it. I have nematodes and can't grow figs except in pots while everywhere I see beautiful fig trees, but in my yard they die. I also have Texas root rot fungus and stone fruits like peaches fail to thrive. You have to work around it and just grow what you can or use pots.

 

[BlueBaby]

I checked the outdoor thermometer before I went to bed at 4:30 AM this morning, and it was 31 F. Buuurrrrr! Then when I woke up I had another Blue NN-Australorp chick that had hatched. So, now I am up to 2 Blacks and 2 Blues on those crosses that are lacking those neck feathers. I had 3 of them that did hatch out with the full feathers on the neck, so I gave those ones away to a friend.

 

[cactusrota]

Both the water and the soil out here tend to be very alkaline, making it much harder to grow things here. You might have better luck using rainwater to start your cuttings with. I also purchased a rooting stimulater, which helped a lot.

I've been trying with potting soil and sand mix, but I probably need to get a peat mix instead. Thing is this valley is mainly cotton, and they've been using salt to dessicate the crops for decades, so the water here is very salty. And I totally know what you mean about the soil being so alkaline. I've poured vinegar on my soil before just to watch it foam up..

 

[DesertChic]

I've been trying with potting soil and sand mix, but I probably need to get a peat mix instead. Thing is this valley is mainly cotton, and they've been using salt to dessicate the crops for decades, so the water here is very salty. And I totally know what you mean about the soil being so alkaline. I've poured vinegar on my soil before just to watch it foam up..

OH, WOW! Now THAT'S scary!

@Sill is spot on about using coconut coir (my personal favorite) and peat moss for starting seeds and cuttings. It works great!

This is the first year I'm using the water from my aquaponics on my seed starts and it seems to making a significant difference. The water is still more alkaline than I'd like, but it's super nutrient-rich thanks to the fish poop and the worm castings. I've even begun using it to water all of my potted plants and they LOVE it.

I spent today cleaning up the majority of my garden, which has now died thanks to two nights of freezing temperatures. The chickens have been enjoying the amateur squash and cherry tomatoes, and the rest will just be green manure for my winter crops. I started seedlings of Russian Red Kale, Dinosaur Kale, broccoli and cauliflower down in my aquaponics room, so now I just need to prep the raised beds for transplants as they mature. I know the kale will LOVE the cooler temps, but I'll be waiting a bit longer to transplant the others.

 

[DesertChic]

I've been trying with potting soil and sand mix, but I probably need to get a peat mix instead. Thing is this valley is mainly cotton, and they've been using salt to dessicate the crops for decades, so the water here is very salty. And I totally know what you mean about the soil being so alkaline. I've poured vinegar on my soil before just to watch it foam up..

OH, WOW! Now THAT'S scary!

@Sill is spot on about using coconut coir (my personal favorite) and peat moss for starting seeds and cuttings. It works great!

This is the first year I'm using the water from my aquaponics on my seed starts and it seems to making a significant difference. The water is still more alkaline than I'd like, but it's super nutrient-rich thanks to the fish poop and the worm castings. I've even begun using it to water all of my potted plants and they LOVE it.

I spent today cleaning up the majority of my garden, which has now died thanks to two nights of freezing temperatures. The chickens have been enjoying the amateur squash and cherry tomatoes, and the rest will just be green manure for my winter crops. I started seedlings of Russian Red Kale, Dinosaur Kale, broccoli and cauliflower down in my aquaponics room, so now I just need to prep the raised beds for transplants as they mature. I know the kale will LOVE the cooler temps, but I'll be waiting a bit longer to transplant the others.

 

[cactusrota]

OH, WOW! Now THAT'S scary!

@Sill is spot on about using coconut coir (my personal favorite) and peat moss for starting seeds and cuttings. It works great!

This is the first year I'm using the water from my aquaponics on my seed starts and it seems to making a significant difference. The water is still more alkaline than I'd like, but it's super nutrient-rich thanks to the fish poop and the worm castings. I've even begun using it to water all of my potted plants and they LOVE it.

I spent today cleaning up the majority of my garden, which has now died thanks to two nights of freezing temperatures. The chickens have been enjoying the amateur squash and cherry tomatoes, and the rest will just be green manure for my winter crops. I started seedlings of Russian Red Kale, Dinosaur Kale, broccoli and cauliflower down in my aquaponics room, so now I just need to prep the raised beds for transplants as they mature. I know the kale will LOVE the cooler temps, but I'll be waiting a bit longer to transplant the others.

Geez! I may have to bring you my cuttings! haha!
Ya, I covered some things in plastic but the freeze got too low for that to help and now I'm cleaning some stuff up and have a small pile of half frozen green tomatos for the chickens to munch on. Hoping to get a green house up sooner or later so I don't have to worry about these things and have tomatos and green beans year round..