Seeing Green in the Desert | Moringa Update!

[@taylorvanbuskirk8040]

I love your opening with letting out the goats and the geese and watching how they get all excited! I'm living vicariously through your podcast the things I wish I could do.

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Hey Taylor! Those mornings before sunrise are a special time for us as well. It's about the only time it's comfortable outside and everyone is so happy to be moving around!!

[@taylorvanbuskirk8040]

@@EdgeofNowhereFarm, if only I was a morning person. LOL!

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

@@taylorvanbuskirk8040 this time of year it's the only option!

[@SG-vu4qy]

love your lap baby! you know Rosie is a ham! she always looks for the camera and all of us watching her. love your babies!

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

You know our goats! Rosie really is a camera hog. She's the herd queen, so I suppose it shows in everything she does!

[@ericbowers1620]

Glad to see all is well and business is thriving.

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Hey stranger! Unless I missed it, I (Duane) haven't seen you in the comments for a while.

[@ericbowers1620]

@@EdgeofNowhereFarm Yeah Ive been absent for a few weeks since maybe around the geese naming video or so. Looks like you will indeed need a nice big pond for all the fowl :)

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

@@ericbowers1620 well, it's always good to see familiar faces from time to time. There's only a handful of you guys we have actually met face to face, so we miss you when we don't see you here!

[@ericbowers1620]

@@EdgeofNowhereFarm Thats kind to hear. Out of all of your subscribers it would be interesting to see how many have been along since the old farm before you had a solid intro and sign off from the videos :) Was nice to see you tried watermelons too

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

@@ericbowers1620 that is s small group indeed. It's always cool to see names we haven't seen in a while. A few have left for a year or two before we heard from them again.

[@robertbass5283]

The Farm is looking Really Good ! Love your Orchards & all the animals…all doing great ! Your Lap goat is so cute & you guys are funny ! Great channel !!

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Hey Robert. I'm glad to hear you're enjoying the content. We've had our heads down trying to put this all together for the last few years, so we're excited to see it coming together.

[@Katgirl2024]

I love watching you guys! Def one of my favorite channels on KZbin!!

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

I'm really glad you're enjoying the content Kathy!

[@dogwedl1167]

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Glad you're enjoying these!

[@freethoth]

Cheerful approach. Good luck as the changes roll in.

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

It's amazing to see all the changes, that's for sure! Sometimes good, sometimes...not so much!

[@shelleyhender8537]

Absolutely adored watching “violet cuddles” ! Wonderful to see the your kind hearts with all the animals!🥰

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

She really is a sweetheart Shelley. The funniest thing about it, is she has her eyes closed and doesn't move like she's sleeping. Except she's chewing cud the whole time, so clearly awake!

[@shelleyhender8537]

@@EdgeofNowhereFarm Oh my - that is priceless! Violet is a wonderful goat! I have a tremendous fondness for them!, and so, I am living vicariously through you It’s truly wonderful how you treat all your animals so kindly! It’s a great example to others, for which I applaud you!☺ I have family that live not far from you. And they enjoy it greatly! I really like how you are reclaiming the desert, while making a life for yourselves! It is an inspiration for those who have misconceptions about the desert! You have done a wonderful job creating a successful homestead! Thank you greatly for sharing your amazing life with us…truly it’s a privilege!🥰

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

@@shelleyhender8537 thank you for those kind words of encouragement Shelley. That truly means a lot to us both!

[@shelleyhender8537]

@@EdgeofNowhereFarm THANK YOU! It means a great deal that you are willing to share your lives with myself and the community you have built online!🤗 I wish you both a wonderful week! I look forward to your next video!!😎 Many Blessings!!🇨🇦🥰🇺🇸

[@annburge291]

If I haven't told you before, I love the beginning of all your videos and how you show the daily routines... same but slightly different each day. I feel that I am with you. What about other drone shots for each season? Absolutely admire your fencing and general layout. It's so thoughtful. Who needs a dog when you can have Violet!

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

I'm glad you're enjoying those opening chore scenes. It's the reality of farm life and it does change with the seasons. We're working on the drone shots. They take time to setup and edit, but it sure is a cool way of seeing the farm! Oh and Violet really is a cool lap dog. She just climbs up, lays down, closes her eyes and starts chewing cud. Funny little cutie!

[@Xplore200]

I'm 25 and a passionate farmer from South Africa and I love you guys so much ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ Ohh and we are heading for spring so I'm very excited 🤣

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Hey Kagiso! I'm glad to hear you're enjoying the content. We have a very similar climate to many areas in Africa and throughout the Middle East, so it's really cool to see folks from all around dropping by!

[@LIFELOVER715]

You are such good people and are so good to your animals. I admire & respect that very much. Thanks for mentioning your other channel, which I happily subscribed to.

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Thanks Robert. It's comments like this that keep us going!

[@kutrabilada8865]

Young Moringa pods are delicious. Scrape off some of outer fibrous part with a knife cut in to 3 inch pieces and add to Indian dal or light curry and cook for 20 minutes. They are eaten kind of like you might eat whole artichokes. Has a lot of health benefits.

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Oh yes, we had some visitors on the old farm from the Philippines that suggested the same with those pods. We had nearly given up eating them until they told us the correct way of scraping the pod material out. Just like artichokes!

[@hivolco151]

I love seeing people growing Moringa! I live in Oregon and 2 years ago I planted 120 Moringa seeds in early March in my greenhouse and then potted them in gallon size pots outdoors in June... by September they were several feet tall! Lots of lush foliage! now we do get harsh Winters here, so the season ended in October Ultimately with Frost! But it was a fun Adventure :) Thanks for sharing your growing success in your area.

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

I can only imagine how beautiful those trees were by the end of your growing season. I (Duane) used to visit family in So. Oregon every summer as a youngster. Beautiful green country up there!

[@TheUltimateAcresllc]

#Greatjob #Congratulations on your growth. #Keepupthegreatwork

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Thank you for the comment and encouragement!

[@chetnash5991]

Nice harvest! Good to see that nothing is going to waste. I hope the morenga grow tall to help create microclimates with their shade

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Hey there Chet! We're hopeful for the same. Those trees will shade the turkeys which should arrive this week. So if young chickens are nuggets, what should we name the young turkeys for Thanksgiving time??

[@chetnash5991]

Giblets?

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

@@chetnash5991 That does fit now, doesn't it?

[@mesutozsen903]

eline emeğine sağlık bu güzel vlog için kolay gelsin hayırlı işler....👍👍👍👍👍

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Yorumunuz için ve ayrıca bizi Türkiye'de izlediğiniz için teşekkür ederiz!

[@mesutozsen903]

@@EdgeofNowhereFarm ben teşekkür ederim 👍👍👍👍

[@peggyhelblingsgardenwhatyo7920]

Moringas should grow well for you in the desert as long as you don't freeze. I'm growing them in my Windermere, Florida zone 9b USA 🇺🇸 Garden. Great tip about Moringa not liking their roots disturbed 👍

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Hey Peggy! We have some ideas for keeping those moringa alive through the winter. We do freeze and have lost a moringa tree to heavy freezing in the past, so we'll see how we do with these guys!

[@peggyhelblingsgardenwhatyo7920]

@@EdgeofNowhereFarm I mentioned your names and channel in my latest video. I don't have a big following, but I hope a few people check your's out 👍

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

@@peggyhelblingsgardenwhatyo7920 thanks Peggy. I'll head over to see what you have going on!!

[@taylorvanbuskirk8040]

You have a workshop! OMG! I want to go!!

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

You'll have to come out. That chicken processing workshop was a big hit last year, so we're trying to expand the capacity for everyone this year. It's always good when you have like minded folks in one spot to learn real skills. It's one of our favorite things to do these days.

[@taylorvanbuskirk8040]

@@EdgeofNowhereFarm, I have friends. I need to grab them and tell them, we're going! LOL!

[@Cynsome1]

We just moved from the west coast. Thanks

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Hey Cyndi! I (Duane) am a Cali native as well, although after being in AZ for 24 years it seems a lifetime ago. Welcome to Arizona!

[@marschlosser4540]

Loofa when small are a good summer squash. I would put those butternut away for 6 weeks to sweeten. Do you raise purslane? It's not bad to eat, and folks up in Penna call it saubach, sow belly because pigs go crazy over it. Native has red flowers and the imported stuff has yellow. Violet can't be a Nubian. With that skullcap, she has to be Ethiopian ! Wow, great take on the moringa! As always, thanks for having us. It was fun.

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Great tip on the butternut Martin. We're including most of these in our CSA packages this month, so we'll be sure to suggest the same to everyone! No purslane on the farm yet. I have seen a few things on pigs enjoying them and I imagine that's true of other livestock as well. The goats are registered Mini-Nubians, so they're a cross between Nubian and Nigerian dwarf goats. I can only assume it's why we see that coloration, but this is all very new to us!

[@marschlosser4540]

@@EdgeofNowhereFarm I have to send some seeds for chilacayote squash (AKA 7 year melon, pie melon). We have one left from last fall and it's good yet. These love to climb! I would let them. And, calabacita (AKA Tatume) that grows the best summer squash you ever ate. They also a good pie squash but tend to dry out before spring. These are world dominators and will run 20 feet or more. Warning, javelina love both when mature, but the shells are so hard they have a major problem breaking them open. Plant in spring and let the vines grow till frost. And do not forget to make some squash blossom soup!

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

@@marschlosser4540 wow, a 20' vine is no joke!

[@rodagrail3231]

Your patty pans r so big...looks awesome...mine in Canada r much smaller!!...but 😋delicious still.

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Hey Roda! We usually pick them much smaller than this. These we left on the plant in order to harvest seeds, so they are much larger than normal!

[@manoyarnold2097]

I’m your new.subscriber. That goat is really cute.

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Hey Manoy, glad you decided to hang out with us. The goats are the best!

[@williamreeder3660]

Thanks for a great video…. I live in the panhandle of Florida in Tallahassee and when reaching in under plants like your squash plant I have to watch for eastern diamond back cotton mouth or Pygmy rattler …. Please always make sure you don’t have a Mojave green coiled under a squash when you reach into it .

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Oh my goodness William, that sounds terrifying! We do have Western Diamondbacks on the farm from time to time, but they make a pretty good ruckus before you get too close.

[@sdraper2011]

Ohmygosh. I thought loofah was a sea sponge!

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Well, I'm not sure if there's a sea going version, but these do amazingly well for us here in the desert!

[@gnarlytreeman]

Try using a much larger mulching around the mulberry trees. Like 20 or 30ft radius. Mulberries have primarily shallow surface roots up to 100ft out for a large tree. Thats why they get heat shock. The heat shock is good for production though, it causes them to fruit.

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Solid suggestion here Jesse. We're working towards larger rings around all of the mulberries. The rows of mulch seem to be helping to some extent as these are not struggling as much as they did on the old farm.

[@AbidAli-bv2gl]

Excellent video, You and Lori our inspiration , I enjoyed all of your videos since old farm. Hope you will not mind to show jujube tree again. I am the second one , I planted Butternut squash , it grew. I harvested 4 of them

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Hey Abid! Congrats on those butternut squash. It's amazing how good those taste when they are home grown. We'll try to get another shot of those Jujube here soon, promise!

[@AbidAli-bv2gl]

@@EdgeofNowhereFarm It is better than grocery store

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

@@AbidAli-bv2gl yes it is my friend.

[@carolleenkelmann4751]

"Cut and drop" - great to see. You'll be able to do that with the Moringa. What an asset. I wonder what brings more, feeding the 'cut and drop' to the goats of depositing on the trees as mulch. For the time being it's the goats which are a delight to see. It looks to me that one of your ducks, the last one out of the shelter, is laming on one of her feet. (?)

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Hey Carolle! We're trying to balance the chop and drop with supplementing the livestock. At some point we'll have plenty to go around. Good eye on those ducks. One of our Muscovy ducks has had leg problems since he was young. We're supplementing with Brewers Grain to help keep it from happening and everyone else seems to be ok. He's also the bottom of the pecking order, so he gets picked on constantly. We're trying Blue Kote to keep them from pecking, but he will be our challenge with this batch.

[@tbjtbj4786]

Yalls place looks good. It's different than what I am usto but is very pretty . My sis showed up yesterday and picked the spot she wanted to garden. Looks like her,my kid,and a cousin will end up growing a big garden about 5 acers for a fall planting and maybe 2 acers to try and get some stuff in before fall. Also chicken and ducks. And I think they want to get a cupple of cows. They want to try grass feed. I not to much up on that. I prefer finished beef. I going to try to get them to plant clover,rey,wheat for a fall pasture to help with the flavor if they have to have grass feed only.

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

We're right there with you on the beef. We offer beef shares for our customers and it's finished on a combo of brewers grain and alfalfa. That seems to be a good mix of the two in the finished product.

[@tbjtbj4786]

@@EdgeofNowhereFarm my dad and I used a mix of corn,wheat,oats and rey normally and we did add in the brewing pellets when they became available here. + all the hay and grass provided by about 3 acers. Shot for 160 to 190 days in the feed lot.

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

@@tbjtbj4786 boy, it must have been something to be able to provide for those cattle right off the farm with that hay acreage.

[@tbjtbj4786]

@@EdgeofNowhereFarm yep it was how we were able to run them and the horses to. Until we went to over 50 head on the cattle and 25 or there about on the horses we provide our own hay and when we started having to buy hay is what made us realize we got to big on the animal size of it.. We could keep the horses through the winter on just hay and keep them looking fat. Crimson clover is a very good hay/ graze.

[@piotr4248]

Thank you for mentioning moringa trees. I would like to share my experience, which may help you to be proactive and prepared. Moringa will not tolarate frost. This is how I lost 10 moringa trees in central Florida. There was one night in the mid-20s F, and the trees were gone. Some of them tried to regrow from the root, but they died on another cold night. Without thermal protection, none of the moringas will survive in central FL. And my second experience was in Phoenix AZ where I planted one of the moringa trees in my friend's backyard. This tree had adequate water but the air was so hot and so dry, that the tree died. Again, some sort of protection is necessary, 1) against the frost, and 2) against excessive heat and air dryness. I hope you have some ideas about how to support these tropical trees when the extreme weather comes.

[@susybot]

I’m in southern AZ, about two hours south from EoN, and I have had success with my moringa. I grew it from seed about four years ago, and planted it in my front yard. It does go dormant in the winter, and the first few winters it lost all of its branches and died down to the soil. (I was told by reputable growers that I didn’t have to do anything to protect it in the winter, I believe they were wrong). Anyway, it always came back in late spring/early summer, and each year it has withstood the winter better than the year before. It also seems pretty drought tolerant now, as I only give it gray water from my kitchen whenever I remember to dump the bucket there. It’s doing so great! I believe that I should have protected it from frost the first couple winters, but now I don’t do a thing to it and it is happy. The key (for us here in AZ) is to plant it where it will get plenty of sun. I had given my friend a moringa I sprouted, and she planted it in a well-shaded spot and it is incredibly tall but has very few branches and leaves. It never dies back in winter because it is well-protected, but it is also desperate to stretch to find some sun! It has never grown flowers, and it is about three years old. Meanwhile, my moringa gave us flowers it’s first spring and it continued to give us another huge burst of flowers in Fall. My 9 year old loves eating the flowers, but we discovered that we love eating the pods even more! We cook them like teen beans when they are pencil-thin ☺️

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Thanks for the notes P.S. We actually have experience with these here in Wittmann and it didn't end well the first time around. It thrived in the Summer and did ok in the Winter until we got down into the 20's. We made the mistake of not covering the tree to protect it and as you're saying it tried to come back, but eventually died completely. I think we have a solid plan to keep them alive through the Winter months, so we'll have to see!

[@gnarlytreeman]

I have a bunch in north central florida, as long as the ground stays warm, and they are the faster growing ones, they come back. I use the frost to kill off the ones that dont grow fast enough. It keeps production up, natural pruning.

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

@@gnarlytreeman ah, now I like that pruning technique! A lot easier on the arms.

[@piotr4248]

@@susybot Great story, thank you for sharing it.

[@Lolo_Pas]

I've never had much use for loofah, which is a pity, it grows so well for me. I've decided to grow one or two vines, mostly for the way they flower at the same time every day. There's a native big black bumble bee that are attracted to the blooms which is another big plus in their favor.

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Hey Jimlyn. I (Duane) have to admit I don't see much purpose either shy of a beautiful vine for the Spring - Fall months. Lori feels differently about them and they'll be a nice addition for folks buying into our CSA programs with something other than food.

[@ballu4321]

What you use as loofah is probably one of the best vegetables here in India. It is known as "Sponge Gourd" in English or "Turai or Tori" in Hindi. While they are young, they can be cooked well like veges, provided you don't add water to them and allow them to cook on low flame in their own juice. You can find ways to cook them through KZbin videos.

[@ballu4321]

@@EdgeofNowhereFarm What you use as loofah is probably one of the best vegetables here in India. It is known as "Sponge Gourd" in English or "Turai or Tori" in Hindi. While they are young, they can be cooked well like veges, provided you don't add water to them and allow them to cook on low flame in their own juice. You can find ways to cook them through KZbin videos.

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

@@ballu4321 oh wow, I did not know this. It's amazing to hear all the different cultural uses for foods and this is another great example. Thank you for sharing this!

[@Lolo_Pas]

@@ballu4321 thank you for the advice, I'll try them once they grow again. I've pulled them all out.

[@Survivor253]

I saw that you try to made many loaf tent.. hope it works well

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Hey there Hima. You'll have to let us know what loaf tent is??

[@Survivor253]

I meant mini loaf tenet ... At the minute 1:57

[@hippiebits2071]

Watermelon wine sounds amazing!!! Have you mentioned the loofah before in any previous episodes?

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

We're keeping our fingers crossed on the watermelon wine. It's in the primary fermenter right now and doing well, so we'll see! I think we've shown it a few times, but it's our first time growing it, so we haven't gone into too much detail.

[@jaxtelford807]

Really enjoying the series, guys. Do you keep your own seeds to sew in the next season?

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Hey there Jax. We do save some of our seeds for re-planting, but many times we are letting the seed heads form and drop right where they are to come back the following season. A bit less work from our end that way!

[@jaxtelford807]

@@EdgeofNowhereFarm excellent strategy! Thank you.

[@jaredmccutcheon5496]

I miss my goats…..sometimes, lol. They sure can be sweet and extremely entertaining to watch, but mine were professional escape artists and loved to get out and eat my rose bushes and grape vines, lol. Squash are very promiscuous and freely cross with other varieties. I would plant a few squash next time from purchased seeds just in case you don’t like the ones your saved seed produce. I planted some last year from saved seed and they turned out to be crossed with the other varieties I grew. They were all very interesting looking, vigorous plants, and fairly productive, but were disgusting, lol. They didn’t have the taste you expect from summer squash, and the texture was way off as well. I ended up pulling all of them out and replanting from purchased seeds to salvage my season.

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

This is great info Jared and we had no idea! It explains one of our "Franken Pumpkins" this season though. We still have a good selection of seeds, but we need to keep this advice in mind. Oh and the goats really are a lot of fun. So far, they have not figured out how to escape, but I imagine it's bound to happen one of these days!

[@downbntout]

Question: what are your July sleeping hours with the high temps? I have trouble getting enough since workable hours run early and late

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Boy, that's a great question and it sounds like you know the grind this time of year. We try to get in bed by 8/8:30 whenever possible and are up by 3:30 at the latest (weekdays is no later than 3AM with my (Duane) regular work schedule). The only real advantage is we're done with outside work by around 9am, so that gives us the middle of the day to catch up on the business. Right now it's a lot of prep for the upcoming livestock and growing seasons in addition to social media and marketing.

[@downbntout]

@@EdgeofNowhereFarm thanks, sounds like we sleep in winter.

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

@@downbntout bingo!

[@vegasdragonfruit9258]

One of the things I look forward to most on Sundays is your update video! I love the moringa updates! Are you shading the seedlings or are you letting them get full sun exposure? I plan on planting seeds but I'm afraid they won't make it through the summer. Any tips?

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Glad you're enjoying the vlog updates! No shade on the new moringa starts. The only time we've had an issue with starts in the past was when we went over 120 degrees. It's one of the reasons we waited until the monsoons kicked in before planting these out. Fingers crossed they'll hang in there. They've already seen 112 this past week, so I'm hopeful we'll be in good shape. They really do thrive in the heat.

[@keelijudge8267]

When can you plant sorghum? Will it grow if the seeds are just left on the ground and then watered or do we need a layer of mulch? We've just moved to a 2 acre plot in southern Nevada and want to start producing growable soil ASAP as cheaply as possible.

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Hey Keeli. The best time to plant sorghum is early in the Spring. That being said, with our long summers you can probably still see some growth, especially with continued monsoon rainfall (we have some volunteers coming up right now because of it). That being said, I would wait until Spring for your best chance at solid growth.

[@gm2407]

I bet all those raised beds have much improved soil since you first created them. Also wonder how well the Sorgum covered soil has improved.

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

The beds have actually been surprising us. The only thing that we've had in these beds prior was cowpeas last summer. Of course, we covered them during the Winter and seeded a few worms in there for good measure, but we're going back behind these now and planting out more cowpeas before those shut down this Fall. Need to keep roots in the soil and keep building that life!

[@jamesstjames1289]

You guys should really pant a hell of a lot of princess trees and fertilize the hell out of them with compost and water them regular. The shade will stop most of your evaporation and the leaves will help build your soil.

[@jamesstjames1289]

I would wood chip the entire area under and around the trees and everything else.

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Hey James. I have to say, never heard of princess trees. I'll do some research and see how they should fare here. Thank you for the suggestion...oh and all of our trees are heavily mulched with about 10-12 inches of wood chips. We don't do trees without it, so we're right there with you!

[@valerieburchett8951]

Hi Mesa AZ

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Hey there Valerie! How has the monsoon season been treating you out there?

[@taylorvanbuskirk8040]

How do you know how long to water something? My front yard needs watering. I can tell, but I don't know how much something needs.

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

That can be tough to tell for sure Taylor. Most of the crops we have here are the fruit trees and they will tell you very quickly when something's wrong. Usually crisping or droopy leaves from lack of water. Are you working with annual crops in the front yard?

[@jaypete3500]

Hey what's up with your unicor shirt. Had to pause it to see.

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Ah yes. That says Unicoa. It's the company I (Duane) work for. They give us free shirts for work, which happens to be my favorite cost for a farm shirt!

[@taylorvanbuskirk8040]

How did you guys learn how to do all this. Were you raised on farms?

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

We're both "city kids". I was raised in Los Angeles and Lori in Phoenix. I grew up with a few fruit trees in our backyard, but most of this was a desire to live a healthy lifestyle. Lots of online learning and some trial and error over the last 12 years or so has brought us here.

[@taylorvanbuskirk8040]

@@EdgeofNowhereFarm, you are extremely brave and obviously very smart to do such a great job. I grew up in Long Beach, so we both know SoCal and I for one was very glad to escape from there.

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

@@taylorvanbuskirk8040 ah yes, I know Long Beach pretty well. I was born and raised in Gardena, so I'm right there with you. It's a good place to be from....past tense!

[@joensaud2796]

Hello what do you think about bees and stingless bees? is it there too? I think it would be good for a side job

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Hey Joen. I'm not familiar with stingless bees, but folks here usually raise bees only during the Fall - Spring months. For the Summer they move them up North as the extreme heat can cause colonies to leave their hives in search of cooler temps...at least, that's what we've been told by bee keepers here in Wittmann.

[@joensaud2796]

@@EdgeofNowhereFarm oh okay, sorry I don't know the situation there and the spirit to keep on living

[@dimaur3697]

is there no sandstrom ?

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Oh yes, we do get sandstorms pretty regularly. Especially this time of year with our monsoon season in full swing. We just had a strong one this week actually.

[@mountainloversoff-grid155]

So what town are you near? What elevation? I am up by Snowflake,az.

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Ah, you guys are much higher elevation than we are here. We're just outside of Phoenix between Surprise and Wickenburg at about 1,600 feet.

[@laurieweideman9607]

Don’t persimmons get sweeter after a frost? Do you get frosts?

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Hey Laurie! Yes, we do get frosts starting in about December for 2 months or so. We have yet to get the fruit to survive our Summers though. Between the heat and bird pressure they don't remain on the tree long enough. We're hoping between the 2 varieties we have here on this farm we'll change that.

[@praveenJacksport]

Ziziphus mauritiana(ber) specially the Indian jujube (Ber) a medium-sized tree that grows vigorously and has a rapidly developing taproot, a necessary adaptation to drought conditions and Aegle marmelos(bael) are also very good desert resistant fruit trees and need very less maintenance. Tasty, very sweet, have many medicinal value and nutrients.They grow very well even in the rocky patches.

[@praveenJacksport]

Also depending on the climate, the foliage, mauritiana may be evergreen.

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Great suggestions here Praveen. We actually have 4 different Jujube varieties growing here on the farm and they do VERY well here as you're suggesting.

[@mountainloversoff-grid155]

Hey Im the first wow. Lol

[@tottycrypt9006]

Hello first, I'm second.

[@MaximilianeTaucheIBZ]

@@tottycrypt9006 third 😂

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

It looks like we're 731st...does it count when we respond to comments???

[@mountainloversoff-grid155]

@@EdgeofNowhereFarm YesI think it helps the algorithms.

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

@@mountainloversoff-grid155 well, here's another response. 😉

[@matthewmayer8194]

Why not try some seeds from Native Seeds Search? They have a whole host of seeds that originate in the southwestern US and Northern Mexico and are adapted to this region.

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

This is the first time I've of heard of this TBH. I assume there's a website, so headed there now!

[@GHumpty1965]

hi guys! Through out the whole video, Lori had this pinched look on her face. I realized the sun was in her face in just about every shot.

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Good catch with that Kelly. As you know, mornings in AZ are about the only way to get things done outside here. Most of these shots are before 7am, so the only option with the camera is to be looking right into the rising sun! I guess there's a big difference between green and blue eyes when you're staring into the sun!

[@tobimadara2864]

Plant lucera tree good 4 chop and drop,wind break ,food 4 the goat

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Hey Tobi. We've had a few folks suggest that one and we'll have to consider it.

[@slamboy66]

Strap the hedger to a dolly and use it like my Sickle Bar Mower .

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Ooh, now that would be a cool implement!

[@pinkelephants1421]

Have you tried Amaranth & Millet as chicken feed. A quick Google tells me the Amaranth leaves must be dried first before feeding to chickens and advice regarding Millet is that the seeds can be fed whole. I'd still advise doing a more thorough bit of research than I did before going ahead. Amaranth is edible for a number of animals including the human beastie, is high in protein & used in a number of countries around the world.

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

We have not tried either of those 2 as chicken feed options yet. We had another viewer here in AZ suggest amaranth as well, so that should be a good option for us. Solid suggestions.

[@pinkelephants1421]

Something that may be nice for your house's front garden is to plant a Jacaranda tree. Originally from South America but grown widely in hot climates worldwide, including many an Indian/African city. I suggest it as an option because that sprinkler irrigated lawn is a hiding to nothing & a large tree that will eventually shade the ground should assist with lawn establishment. In the meantime why not resort to an in-ground soaker hose matrix? That way you water the roots, not the leaves & far less water is lost to evaporation, even if you do water outside daylight hours. You could water once a week overnight and use far less water than via a sprinkler system. In case you haven't guessed it yet, sprinkler systems are a particular pet peeve of mine because they're so wasteful. A UK farmer on last night's 6 o'clock evening news was banging on about negative effects of climate change on water supplies for his crops, reduced productivity etc, whilst in the background he had a sprinkler merrily working overtime in the middle of the day during our heatwave......can't make this stuff up. 🤣🤣🤣 As an former Kiwi farmer's daughter, water wastage really gets my goat. 🐐

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

I haven't considered a Jacaranda, but we have kicked around some ideas for shade on the South side of the pasture. We're trying to nail down whether or not we'll be adding additional bird enclosures on that side with access to the primary pasture first. As you know, pasture is a balancing act between shade and an adequate amount of sunshine for our grasses. Agreed on the irrigation. Once we can figure out a lower evap option that is also mobile (it has to move with our chicken tractors during the broiler season).

[@pinkelephants1421]

@@EdgeofNowhereFarm Well, a Jacaranda tree is deciduous so that shouldn't prove a problem for grass; it produces flowers before coming into leaf. How big are the chicken tractors?; I may have a McGyver idea. Worth remembering that chickens are native to the jungles of South East Asia before becoming domesticated over last 8,000 or so years so any tree that goes on to provide excellent shade should benefit them greatly. Australian Eucalyptus might also go some way to providing handy shade in your conditions; they're fairly quick growers too. You could decide on a particular location rotation for the chooks & plant shade trees in those locations

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

@@pinkelephants1421 the tractors are 6x10 and they are moved at least once/day during the broiler season. Eucalyptus trees do grow very quickly here.

[@pinkelephants1421]

@@EdgeofNowhereFarm So that we aren't talking at crossed purposes, what exactly are you referring to by evaporation? Because I was thinking that if you moved the tractors to more or less into the same positions every time, you (could) run a series underground water pipes (on buried roughly 6 inches so that they don't become an inconvenience/trip hazard) to each spot & connect up with a soaker hose matrix, (square, circle, rectangle or whatever), also buried to the same depth. So that you weren't running water to all soaker hose matrixes at once, you'd probably find it more convenient to have some sort of basic valve system in place; would also help conserve water. This idea would allow grass to be irrigated from below with VERY minimal evaporation. And if a suitable tree was also planted at each location, eventually the shade might eliminate watering outside of the warmer/drier months altogether. Tree would probably need to be a deep rooted variety (deep taproot), otherwise a shallow rooted specimen, say a cherry, would suck the ground dry, making grass establishment nigh on impossible. Soaker hose matrix is straightforward to do. Soaker hose, ordinary plastic double-ended hose couplings and a knife or pair of sturdy scissors. Just some ideas. I've no idea if they're appropriate for your situation.

[@tobimadara2864]

@@EdgeofNowhereFarm here's a new vid of geof lawton tips of shading on his greening the desert project i hope its helps kzbin.info/www/bejne/rpjCiq13mc-Ilbc

[@btccricket14]

Tomato splitting could also be excess watering, but yall know MUUUCH more than me, just a theory.

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

We're tomato rookies, so that very well may be the case!

[@btccricket14]

@@EdgeofNowhereFarm

[@THEJ.D.NETWORK]

What is it like living away from the city on a piece of property where you can grow your own food. I am not asking you to be God I'm just asking for your opinion based on your experience so far. There are many of us who are living in big cities but would like to move away from the city especially New York to places like Georgia, the Carolinas, and Florida just a few examples. Can you do a video sharing your opinion with the community of people who really want to leave the city living behind?

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

This is a FANTASTIC question/suggestion. We've had several folks ask us that question and we have not given a good response in a video. We're adding it to our list of topics to cover, but I can say we would not have it any other way now that we've made the move.

[@THEJ.D.NETWORK]

@@EdgeofNowhereFarm I really appreciate you taking the time to respond. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

[@fenrirgg]

Do you have employees? I can't imagine just you two working there.

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Great question and we don't have any regular help as of yet. Actually, I (Duane) work full time off the farm. Lori started on the farm FT last Summer and it's busy around here for sure!

[@fenrirgg]

@@EdgeofNowhereFarm a lot of work hah

[@TheMamaAmmah]

Hope you get to meet the real life bibber from the scriptures.

[@Lolo_Pas]

You have my curiosity up. I didn't follow what your message was saying.

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Ok, you'll have to let me know what that is. I looked it up, but there's some random info on this.

[@TheMamaAmmah]

@@Lolo_Pas As you know, scripture says that our Creators son was perfect, therefore in Matthew 11:19 it cannot be him that is described as a glutton and a bibber. It is prophecy. But, this being the end of the the era of time, that man is here. Website listed on my channel.

[@TheMamaAmmah]

@@EdgeofNowhereFarm As you know, scripture says that our Creators son was perfect, therefore in Matthew 11:19 it cannot be him that is described as a glutton and a bibber. It is prophecy. But, this being the end of the the era of time, that man is here. Website listed on my channel.

[@Snyhen]

You should research black soldiers fly to feed your chickens.

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Hey Henrietta. Solid suggestion. We've looked into it briefly, but haven't dedicated the time to getting serious about it!