Arizona anyone?

[Wormy McWormington]

I know that's wierd! The billions and billions of Arizona microclimates! The temp changes significantly throughout my commute to Fort Huachuca. And we're close to the San Pedro "river" so we get different critters visiting than others do 2 miles away!

We're in "Area 8" for growing veggies, but they don't adjust for altitude. You REALLY have to take growing directions with a grain of salt, huh?

Really nice to meet y'all! Anyone work with Arizona farmers markets or organic food co-ops? (I'm thinking about "increasing production" to more than my family eats, but don't want to grow stuff no one wants to buy! Or steal someone else's business!)

 

[Wormy McWormington]

Oh, and homesteadmom, Bisbee is THE Power Center for desert hippies, so yes it is the metro center for those of us that farm in the surrounding desert!

And I applaud you for homeschooling! I don't have kids of my own but I think homeschooling is great if the situation is right. I think ideally a homeschool would be a community thing, so kids could learn from a variety of sources, compare and contrast, and develop their own perspective. Like maybe 10 families, with one "full time teacher" and others pitching in. I would LOVE to help out at a community school, just sharing my knowledge with the wee ones.

Okay, call me a communist, but in a local, communal sort of way! Is there a better term these days?

Bryan

 

[Homesteadmom]

Hey Wormy, thanks I appreciate it. We do have a homeschool group here in our community that some of the parents offer other classes. We have a monthly art class & a weekly PE class that I take our ds to. Last yr one of the moms offered a astronomy class & a class on ancient Egypt. So there are some community classes we do. Plus we go on field trips together too. In Jan we are going to the Sonora Desert Museum we get discounts for these trips too. In March we are going to the Goldfield Ghost town which should be very interesting as we get to pan for gold.

 

[Wormy McWormington]

Just a bump, 'cause our awesome Cardinal football team earns us a place near the top. . .

 

[Homesteadmom]

Yes they do, don't they? I almost thought they had it! Then the cardiac cards showed up again didn't they? Oh well at least they made it there & did not get blown out of the water. Nothing to hang their heads in shame about.

 

[toots]

homesteadmom
I live in the burbs of the phoenix area. You gave me some great info on morning glories!
We are just getting the last of the citrus off of the trees because the buds should be starting in a few weeks. The broccoli and the cauliflower were great but the best part of them has past. The carrots have been thinned and the salad things are fine.

I pruned the roses with buds still on them,but they look good. They have some pretty red leaves comming on with buds in the very top! The geraniums have been lovely all season, the pansies too.

My poppies are popping up and some of the bulbs are getting taller every day.

I so enjoy reading your posts. Gives me some new ideas. I can reminisce about teaching my little ones at home. They are all grown now-my baby being 23!

Enjoy the weekend-although I hear we might have some cloudy skies.

 

[Homesteadmom]

toots, my dmil taught me to wait ti pick your citrus until after he blossoms are off. She said it makes the fruit sweeter, so we always wait in ours. We have 2 valencia orange trees & I am getting a lisbon lemon & ruby red grapefruit this yr. My oldest baby is 23 next mo. We have 2 nasty weekends coming so outside plnting will be on hold for a few more weeks. I am getting a peach & pear tree too.

 

[toots]

Homesteadmom,
Thanks for the clue about the citrus -I'll Wait!

I have a pear tree that was mismarked. I get everything on sale and I guess that I "got took "that time. Anyway, it is an heirloom pear. I finally found out this year that it is a Kieffer pear. They are great for cooking. but they are not at all what I thought that I was getting, years ago. They have really been a conversation piece. They grow to be almost 2 pounds a piece in size. They stay hard until picked in about Dec. I keep thinking that I'll replace the tree and then I see how the birds and the chickens and I enjoy the blossoms and the shade. After having it this long it is hard to think of starting a new tree.

I planted my sweet peas this afternoon. Had volunteer plants last year-pretty- but all the same color.

We are off to Mexico via Yuma for dental work tomorrow. I bought the most delicious asparagus there last week.

I'll write next week-nice to have a gardening friend! Do you grow pink rain lillies? I have bunches of extra if you would like some.

 

[Homesteadmom]

We really haven't planted any flowers in a few yrs, part of the reason we were getting dmil's house moved off the property & getting a new one for us. And before that everything I was planting the rabbits were eatting! I love gazania's but so do the rabbits We. plan on starting some flowers this yr in the front of the house to make it look a little nicer. Is the kieffer good for eatting or just for cooking? They have them at the nursery I am getting most of my trees from & I was not familiar with that type. I was looking for a bartlett as we like to eat them fresh & I want to can them too. Now to find a couple of rhubarb plants to replace the ones the rabbits ate over the winter!!!

 

[greenrootsmama]

I lived in AZ for 11 years and then decided I needed to broaden my horizons. I ended up in PA two years ago and now I'm ready to move back. All of my family live down in Tucson and surrounding areas. We're planning to move back in May. I'll be happy if I never see snow again - we still have a few inches on the ground from a storm that arrived about 3 weeks ago and we've been parking at the bottom of our 150-yard driveway because it's too icy to drive up. Even walking up is precarious. I'm 5 months pregnant and it terrifies me that I might slip.

Ok, enough snow-griping. LOL. We had chickens here but decided to sell them when we inherited a chicken-eating dog and lost several of our feathered friends. We knew we would be moving anyway. I miss them so much. DH and I were just talking last night about how we can't wait to get more chickens. The dear pooch has passed on so we're chomping at the bit to get moved so we can start over with the chickens.

Do any of you have rabbits? I want to raise meat rabbits for our family but I'm concerned about the heat. Any suggestions or ideas would be welcome. TIA.