cluckin_crazy: Congratulations!!! That is so great. It is so strange about the molting. I don't know what to think.
ca:
LareePQG: I hope the smooth blue roo is a cool crooner.
DM: are your birds molting?
Bob's Henhouse: It seems like the wildlife has you under siege! Hang in there.
smjacob: nice to see you back.
Lyongirl: It needn't cost anything to start a garden! Start with large containers for things like tomatoes and peppers. With the exception of my drip irrigation system--which is by no means necessary--I started my 12' X 40' garden with $10 + the price of some seeds. The $10 came from having a truckload of horse manure delivered. There was a lot of work involved though, mostly it was an exercise in building soil structure. My soil here has almost no organic matter in it. So, I started by collecting as much organic material as possible and composting it. I then dug out my garden to a depth of 3'-4' (shaped like a bowl--by hand). I used the concrete-like caliche to change the direction and build up the grade of my property and have the rain water run back into the garden, rather than into the front yard and down the street. I then put the horse manure and other organic material into the bottom of the hole I dug and mixed the remaining top soil with compost. In the end, my garden is sunken--at first about one foot below grade, but getting less as I build organic matter into the soil. Mulching then brings the garden up level to or greater than grade. I also never step directly in the garden in order to avoid compacting the soil. I have old boards and plank gang-ways between 4' wide sections that I use to walk on and access the plants. This type of gardening was practiced by native Americans here in the SW for many generations. I got most of my info from the Permaculture folks. Gardening in AZ has it's challenges, but also great rewards. I'm no expert by any means and I'm still learning every day. It's a good thing we don't have to rely on it to produce all of our food or we would've starved with all my mistakes and missteps.
Everyone: Thanks for the compliments on my garden pic. I know a lot of people here have gardens and understand the satisfaction of eating something you've grown from the soil. For those that don't have a garden, I'd encourage you to grow something in your backyards, back patios or even front porches. If you don't think you have enough money to buy seeds, just PM me and I'll gladly get some to you. I'm starting to get a lot of seeds for free and I'd rather see people use them than have them get old in my seed bank.
ca:
LareePQG: I hope the smooth blue roo is a cool crooner.
DM: are your birds molting?
Bob's Henhouse: It seems like the wildlife has you under siege! Hang in there.
smjacob: nice to see you back.
Lyongirl: It needn't cost anything to start a garden! Start with large containers for things like tomatoes and peppers. With the exception of my drip irrigation system--which is by no means necessary--I started my 12' X 40' garden with $10 + the price of some seeds. The $10 came from having a truckload of horse manure delivered. There was a lot of work involved though, mostly it was an exercise in building soil structure. My soil here has almost no organic matter in it. So, I started by collecting as much organic material as possible and composting it. I then dug out my garden to a depth of 3'-4' (shaped like a bowl--by hand). I used the concrete-like caliche to change the direction and build up the grade of my property and have the rain water run back into the garden, rather than into the front yard and down the street. I then put the horse manure and other organic material into the bottom of the hole I dug and mixed the remaining top soil with compost. In the end, my garden is sunken--at first about one foot below grade, but getting less as I build organic matter into the soil. Mulching then brings the garden up level to or greater than grade. I also never step directly in the garden in order to avoid compacting the soil. I have old boards and plank gang-ways between 4' wide sections that I use to walk on and access the plants. This type of gardening was practiced by native Americans here in the SW for many generations. I got most of my info from the Permaculture folks. Gardening in AZ has it's challenges, but also great rewards. I'm no expert by any means and I'm still learning every day. It's a good thing we don't have to rely on it to produce all of our food or we would've starved with all my mistakes and missteps.
Everyone: Thanks for the compliments on my garden pic. I know a lot of people here have gardens and understand the satisfaction of eating something you've grown from the soil. For those that don't have a garden, I'd encourage you to grow something in your backyards, back patios or even front porches. If you don't think you have enough money to buy seeds, just PM me and I'll gladly get some to you. I'm starting to get a lot of seeds for free and I'd rather see people use them than have them get old in my seed bank.
