The flies love those ones with the large leaves. They apparently breed big time in them as we would see swarms come up if the leaves were disturbed.
Arizona Chickens
- Thread starter paynemom
- Start date
I had a real problem with foxtail for a couple years because I couldn't mow them before they set seed. I tarped over them in the biggest patches for a season. I'm not saying I tarped all of them on the 4 acres but I kept mowing so less seeds formed. And I would pull them wherever I saw them all the time. Almost none now a couple years later.No lawn out here in the desert. Just weeds.It all depends on how much rain we get in winter. Here is what the weeds are looking like now. No big deal, right?
View attachment 3383837
Looks easy enough to deal with... one would think. But multiply that over an acre+ and it becomes too much to do by hand. Unfortunately, if left alone, like we did a couple years back, it grows to look like this.. (photo from 2020)
View attachment 3383843
And then to this... (also 2020) and with it come flies galore. It's one of those strange things of living out here. It also makes us wary of rattlesnakes hiding in there.
View attachment 3383852
Most years it isn't an issue because of the lack of rain. But we know now we have to keep it under control when we do get the rains. When it got this prolific, we did use a weed wacker and even a lawn mower to get it down. After that, we started using weed killer while the weeds were still small (like they are now) to prevent it getting so bad.
But now we have chickens. Yesterday they found a rare dandelion and ate it down. Yay! I don't think they are too keen on the type of weeds we have the most of though. I was really, really hoping they would eat them up.
Oh, I should mention too that I usually put Preen (a pre-emergent) down if it's rainy. But I have not used it in the backyard for fear the girls would just eat it up. So that's probably exacerbating the issue.
Not sure what we'll do. Though it feels a little better to vent.
I did the same way with the (I think) mallow plant that has bur seeds on them. And even more pulling of those than the foxtails. So many fewer now.
Other weeds like pigweed (an amaranth type plant that almost looks like a sunflower when it comes up) I feed to chickens when it's young. Then pull up, I don't always get to it before it seeds, but the seeds aren't obnoxious burrs so it's ok.
Weeds are a way to read your land - what it needs or what it has underneath. I'm no expert. I also put the weeds in a bucket full of water sometimes and use the "tea" as fertilizer because the weeds mine the minerals underneath and bring to surface. The tea is a way for it to rot -even seeds - so they won't grow.
I want to learn how to build my pastures into something for ruminant animals eventually.
Our property was like that when we bought it except the weeds were a few feet tall. But we had horses and goats for so many years that it's rare anything sprouts any more. Well .. except for datura. We still get huge swatches of that...even goats say it's poisonous.No lawn out here in the desert. Just weeds.
View attachment 3383837
Looks easy enough to deal with... one would think. But multiply that over an acre+ and it becomes too much to do by hand. Unfortunately, if left alone, like we did a couple years back, it grows to look like this.. (photo from 2020)
View attachment 3383843
And then to this... (also 2020) and with it come flies galore. It's one of those strange things of living out here. It also makes us wary of rattlesnakes hiding in there.
View attachment 3383852
Most years it isn't an issue because of the lack of rain. But we know now we have to keep it under control when we do get the rains. When it got this prolific, we did use a weed wacker and even a lawn mower to get it down. After that, we started using weed killer while the weeds were still small (like they are now) to prevent it getting so bad.
But now we have chickens. Yesterday they found a rare dandelion and ate it down. Yay! I don't think they are too keen on the type of weeds we have the most of though. I was really, really hoping they would eat them up.
Oh, I should mention too that I usually put Preen (a pre-emergent) down if it's rainy. But I have not used it in the backyard for fear the girls would just eat it up. So that's probably exacerbating the issue.
Not sure what we'll do. Though it feels a little better to vent.
Good luck on your weeds!
Supes will be frosted in the morning, that's snow falling.
Looks like it'll be at freezing temps the next several nights. I've covered the fruit trees we planted in Fall & my garden beds.
I already shut off the valve that feed's the water out to the coop, and then drained the pressure off of it. I've been doing that now since it's been freezing temp's. overnight. I'll turn them back on as it's needed.
I had to go wrangle up the living rocks and bring them in. The tortoise shed is out of commission until the weekend so they get to bunk inside the house for a couple days.
How many tortoise do you have?
29 degrees here right now. brr! there were a few more snow flurries but didn't stick.
Brrr, is right. It's 41 degrees here right now, but I expect it to drop lower overnight.
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