LGBTQ+ Poultry Keepers

[CheekyChooky]

You seem to have planned this much more thoroughly than I have, so I think our successes will largely reflect that ! Best of luck, will definitely be waiting for more! What’s the final goal/how many different plant species are you hoping to cultivate?

Lol! When I set out to do something, I go balls to the walls on learning as much as I possible can.

Ideally, I would like to have the 2 apple tree guilds, 2 honeyberry guilds, some perrenial beds (asparagus, wild strawberries, walking onion, perennial herbs, and lots of other plants/flowers that make good companions attracting pollinators, pest deterrents, chop and drop mulchers, weed supressors, and soil improvers), and I'll have some annuals interspersed as well.

It's going to be a BIG project that will likely take several seasons, but from what I've gathered, once everything is established, things tend to take care of themselves (or at least a lot less maintenance than typical gardens require)...

 

[Jener8or]

Dinky was sold as a Bantam Splash AmeRAUcana (not EE), so I'm pretty irritated that she's so wonky (only bcs I paid more. It's not like I'm going to shows or anything and I love her to the moon, but I paid a premium bcs of the breed). She's definitely a character!

Nice to meet you too! Thanks for the welcome!

Ooh, sorry I hope I didn't offend you (or Dinky) for mistaking! And about it! I would feel the same way! She's darn cute, though.

Lol! When I set out to do something, I go balls to the walls on learning as much as I possible can.

Ideally, I would like to have the 2 apple tree guilds, 2 honeyberry guilds, some perrenial beds (asparagus, wild strawberries, walking onion, perennial herbs, and lots of other plants/flowers that make good companions attracting pollinators, pest deterrents, chop and drop mulchers, weed supressors, and soil improvers), and I'll have some annuals interspersed as well.

It's going to be a BIG project that will likely take several seasons, but from what I've gathered, once everything is established, things tend to take care of themselves (or at least a lot less maintenance than typical gardens require)...

Sounds like a huge project I'm not ready to be inspired by ! lol. No, I'm kidding, I think a perennial food garden sounds amazing! We planted some Asian Pears (apparently they tolerate wet feet) but I've always wanted to grow asparagus and strawberries--(that we don't have to replant every year.)

Plums grow really well around here, (but the ones I've seen, at least the suckers, have thorns!) But I'll probably cave someday and see if I can grow those. My sister keeps wanting me to grow mulberries (she's a big plant person.) I heard you could just throw out some optuntia and it will just take over and grow. It's edible.

 

[CheekyChooky]

Ooh, sorry I hope I didn't offend you (or Dinky) for mistaking! And about it! I would feel the same way! She's darn cute, though.

No offense taken, lol. She's our tiny, special girl, and she is one of our favorite chickens bcs of her differences . I think the hatchery may have some not so great breeding practices.

We planted some Asian Pears (apparently they tolerate wet feet) but I've always wanted to grow asparagus and strawberries--(that we don't have to replant every year.)

Are the pears producing fruit yet? That's the hardest part about these types of projects - it takes so long to see the (literal) fruits of your labor. Even asparagus apparently takes years to get to the point of being able to harvest/eat.

 

[Jener8or]

If you insist (as if I wasn’t going to share them anyway)…

View attachment 4200889
Here it is! Repotted, and in desperate need of some watering (which I did right after taking the photo). This one had mealies, so it’s currently living alone, but the bugs were quickly taken care of.

Here’s the new haworthia as well, please tell me I’m not the only one who sees new growth on her!View attachment 4200890

Last photo I promise. One of the garden bed succulents, I planted this two or three years ago I think. It isn’t thriving, but it isn’t dead either! The beds don’t really have the ideal conditions for succulents, so I’m glad this one is doing okView attachment 4200892

That faucaria is going to be quite the specimen when it starts climbing out of that pot! Looks like a lovely one to add to the family!

What's your prescription for settling them in? I wasn't sure how much I should get the old potting soil out of the roots and put them in a succulent mix or just stick it in there and surround. Do you wait for any amount of time to let them "adjust?" I don't know, I'm just really glad Haworthia seems fairly forgiving.
Yours definitely looks bigger! Don't know if I can be a fair judge, though, since the terracotta pot isn't there to compare to , lol (I like the white pot with the white tubercles, though, that looks nice!) I think the pups have grown for sure!

 

[Jener8or]

No offense taken, lol. She's our tiny, special girl, and she is one of our favorite chickens bcs of her differences . I think the hatchery may have some not so great breeding practices.


Are the pears producing fruit yet? That's the hardest part about these types of projects - it takes so long to see the (literal) fruits of your labor. Even asparagus apparently takes years to get to the point of being able to harvest/eat.

No! We are just happy our pear trees are alive. They are probably 3 or 4 years only, but our winters haven't been easy on them and our pasture kind of has a flooding and then drought issue that they have to endure, and we don't irrigate or anything during the drought like we should, so I'm sure ours are not a very good example of what they could be!

I didn't know asparagus took that long to be edible! Tillage radishes might be a good option as a good bed-prepper/cover crop (if you aren't planning on planting other brassicas there any time soon). Depending on your zone, they might winter die-off, but should still break up the soil and leave some decent organic matter behind. We have sandy-loamy soil too, and I'll do anything to not have to till it myself too much!

 

[TwoCrows]

If you insist (as if I wasn’t going to share them anyway)…

View attachment 4200889
Here it is! Repotted, and in desperate need of some watering (which I did right after taking the photo). This one had mealies, so it’s currently living alone, but the bugs were quickly taken care of.

Here’s the new haworthia as well, please tell me I’m not the only one who sees new growth on her!View attachment 4200890

Last photo I promise. One of the garden bed succulents, I planted this two or three years ago I think. It isn’t thriving, but it isn’t dead either! The beds don’t really have the ideal conditions for succulents, so I’m glad this one is doing okView attachment 4200892

Love these Fluffy! I see a lot of new growth on the Haworthia! She will stay greener looking with less direct sun, my bowl of gals gets 2 hours of sun each morning and indirect light the rest of the day.

Love the toothy succulent!! She's got jaws on her! Beautiful!

Beautiful garden succulent, in the wild they aren't always thriving either. She may perk back up over winter.

 

[CheekyChooky]

No! We are just happy our pear trees are alive. They are probably 3 or 4 years only, but our winters haven't been easy on them and our pasture kind of has a flooding and then drought issue that they have to endure, and we don't irrigate or anything during the drought like we should, so I'm sure ours are not a very good example of what they could be!

I didn't know asparagus took that long to be edible! Tillage radishes might be a good option as a good bed-prepper/cover crop (if you aren't planning on planting other brassicas there any time soon). Depending on your zone, they might winter die-off, but should still break up the soil and leave some decent organic matter behind. We have sandy-loamy soil too, and I'll do anything to not have to till it myself too much!

I hope your pears work out! Waiting to see if they survive each year must be anxiety-inducing!

We're attempting to do "No Till", so the plan is to start prepping the beds using the "lasagna" or sheet mulching method when the weather gets a bit cooler.

Laying down cardboard to smother grass/weeds, then layering manure, wood chips, compost, "green" material, etc., until we get about 2'. Hopefully, by the time we start planting the cardboard will have broken down while worms and other beneficial organisms have started to work their magic on the soil.

 

[fluffycrow]

That faucaria is going to be quite the specimen when it starts climbing out of that pot! Looks like a lovely one to add to the family!

What's your prescription for settling them in? I wasn't sure how much I should get the old potting soil out of the roots and put them in a succulent mix or just stick it in there and surround. Do you wait for any amount of time to let them "adjust?" I don't know, I'm just really glad Haworthia seems fairly forgiving.
Yours definitely looks bigger! Don't know if I can be a fair judge, though, since the terracotta pot isn't there to compare to , lol (I like the white pot with the white tubercles, though, that looks nice!) I think the pups have grown for sure!

I think so too!

I really don’t have a particular system. New plants get quarantined for 2 weeks, more if something shows up. It really depends on a few different factors when they get repotted. Unless there’s an immediate need, like really bad soil quality, sickly looking plant (which I try to avoid purchasing) and soil that doesn’t seem to dry up at all, I’ll wait to repot 1-3 weeks during our growing season. If I buy plants in the winter, there have been times that I leave them be till spring.

If you really trust the seller, you can even let them be for an entire year or more. Some lithops I had bought two years ago at the plant expo came from an experienced collector (as was evident by the tags and high quality soil), so I didn’t touch them at all.

It all depends on how the plant looks, how much it can handle, and how safe (or not) you want to play it

 

[fluffycrow]

Love these Fluffy! I see a lot of new growth on the Haworthia! She will stay greener looking with less direct sun, my bowl of gals gets 2 hours of sun each morning and indirect light the rest of the day.

Love the toothy succulent!! She's got jaws on her! Beautiful!

Beautiful garden succulent, in the wild they aren't always thriving either. She may perk back up over winter.

Glad to read I’m not delusional! I took her out in the sun for the photos, but normally she sits further back, where no direct light hits her. I have heeded your original advice on that one, and it seems to be working out as the new growth seems to be much greener!

Funny that you mention jaws, because that’s pretty much what I did to identify her! My guess while repotting was that she was a haworthia adjacent species, as her root structure and pup production are identical to haworthia. Well after repotting, I searched for “crocodile succulent” , and after filtering out some info, finally found the species. I admit that I have not yet done a deep dive, but their bloom seems to suggest that they are farther apart from the haworthia as I originally thought.

Right!? It very much reminded me of a “wild” succlent, not doing fabulous, but a survivor. I like the look!

 

[fluffycrow]

Hopefully, by the time we start planting the cardboard will have broken down

You obviously have done a lot more research into this than I have, but have you considered having the assistance of mycelium to improve soil quality and break down the fallen litter, twigs, cardboard and branches?