Back to Eden Gardening

[Beekissed]

In a later interview with him one gets to see how his chickens live and it's pretty pitiful. The roosts are so narrow that they have to be uncomfortable, the nests have no nest materials whatsoever, and he doesn't eat the chickens nor give them away when they get too old to lay but just lets them die of sickness or age right there in the coop/run...no hand of mercy for his chickens when they are suffering. That part is the part I don't understand from someone so connected to God's creation otherwise.

It also doesn't fit into his self sustainable lifestyle that he just gets breeds that are for production and not suited for a self sustainable flock, so part of his paradigm just doesn't fit. It would be just as easy to manage his flock well and replace his flock through breeds that can reproduce their own kind, cull his flock as needed by giving spent layers a quick death or allow hungry people to eat them before they die on the hoof, so to speak.

I felt sorry for his chickens when I saw that vid.

 

[journey11]

Wow, I didn't see that part. I agree, not good management of his resources. At least he could sell them to the Amish if nothing else when the layers are spent. Really missing out on some good eating there, IMO.

 

[ninnymary]

I haven't finished the video yet. Are the wood chips his only method of gardening?

Mary

 

[Beekissed]

I think there's a little more to it than the wood chips but they are his main amendment, moisture regulation and covering for the soil. He adds composted chicken manure to the garden now and again as well.

 

[Beekissed]

Well...the first stage of my BTE garden has been started today. Today I hauled a load of composted horse manure~FREE, mind you!!! God is so good!!~and spread it on the garden area. I'll be trying to get another larger truck load using my son's truck so that I can have enough to finish the garden, spread on the orchard and also store some in a compost bin.

Then I can check that part off. Bought post hole diggers yesterday because ours were ancient, worn to a nub and had homemade handles from saplings, and these handles had long ago turned brittle and weakened. Dear old dad and his ingenuity at work! He loved a good recycle on old tools.

Need to scavenge for some free old pallets to build my compost bin and a breeding hut for my chickens, so that's next on the list, as is getting fence posts for the garden fence.

Spring has begun, girls and boys!!!!

The chickens helped.....

Still have a ways to go but one more large load ought to cover the space I want to use this year and even have enough left over for the orchard if I just use it at the drip lines.

 

[ninnymary]

After going to several places looking for chips, I didn't like what they had. Decided to ask our local nursery that is part of a non profit farm where they get theirs. They get it from the city that grinds local trees and said it's free to take whatever I wanted! Yay! I composted my fruit trees and put chips on top. Need to go back for a little more. I am so happy.

Mary

 

[Beekissed]

How blessed you are, Miss Mary!!! I'm still not sure if I have a source of free chips or not but I think I need to have faith in God on this one. He wants me to do this garden method, of that I am sure, and He will provide the materials...of that I am equally sure.

 

[ninnymary]

Beekissed I hope you find your chips soon. I guess I'm only doing the BTE method on my fruit trees. I am trying dry farming on my tomatoes. I also used a commercial grade fabric on my peppers, strawberries, and tomatoes. It is used by our non profit farm and gets the soil warmer and also acts like a mulch. We'll see how it does. I'm hoping it will make by strawberries sweeter. Peppers are kind of borderline here because of our cool weather. It will be interesting to see how they do and if it's worth doing it this way.

Mary

 

[journey11]

@ninnymary , try checking the pH on your strawberry bed. Should be between 6.2 - 6.8. We had that problem with my FIL's raised strawberry bed with the berries being too tart because it was filled with lots of good compost, but the soil was too acidic. You'd need lime to bring the pH up, if that's the case, and then the berries will be sweeter.

 

[Beekissed]

Here's a neat little vid or two about strawberries and the BTE method: