Just sharing my chicken/garden method

[Warthog]

What a wonderful idea, food for thought for me. Thank you.

 

[HappyHomestead]

Very cool! I don't have a large garden space, so I'm planning to have a tractor (moveable run) for our six chickens when we're home in the day time. Really looking forward to gorgeous soil

 

[tryingtohaveitall]

Great management!

 

[hillsvale]

That is a great way to make those girls earn their keep.

That was the plan, the reason w/ originally got the chickens was as cheap farm labor

good idea....

 

[Kassaundra]

Here are a few more updated pics. This has worked very well this year, even though we have had a horrible garden year (2 months w/o rain and temps over 100). I have identified several areas that need to be tweeked, but think this will only get better w/ time, the longer the girls work the ground the better it is going to get.

This is the cuke / hot pepper jungle

Ready to plant the fall garden

This one started as a 3 sisters, but became a 3 sisters and a few cousins. lol There is squash, corn, okra, spinach mustard, southern peas.

This is squash, and peppers, w/ some melon and a huge tomato in the back.

You can see parts of both gardens surrounding both coops in this shot.

 

[sparks]

Thanks for the update! I run the chickens into the gardens in the fall also. One really produces. Tomatoes will definitely be put back there next year.

 

[Kassaundra]

Several things I have learned so far this year, I am not organized enough, or educated (gardenwise) enough to actually rotate the chickens through the gardens through the growing season like I had planned at first. They will still rotate through, but not through each garden every 3 months like originally planned. I also am including this winter a chicken moat around each garden complex that the chickens will have access to all the time in addition to what ever garden they are in, this way any insects or runner grass that wants to get in my garden to wreak havoc will have to cross a chicken gauntlet first, and means I can get more chickens so ............. win/win.

 

[MuranoFarms]

Great idea! I would love to try something like this but I'm just not that organized.

 

[RobinsValleyVT]

Very interesting and creative! I really like what you are trying to do. I think it will be interesting to watch this evolve.

I keep trying to decide what to plant near my chicken coop, but getting a hose out there is impossible, so I need something that doesn't need an excessive amount of water I'd need to haul. I'm also trying to work out a rain water collection system that might help.

We focused on getting into chickens this year, next year my focus is on breeding for dual purpose (meat and eggs) and getting some veggies going to.

 

[Kassaundra]

Very interesting and creative! I really like what you are trying to do. I think it will be interesting to watch this evolve.

I keep trying to decide what to plant near my chicken coop, but getting a hose out there is impossible, so I need something that doesn't need an excessive amount of water I'd need to haul. I'm also trying to work out a rain water collection system that might help.

We focused on getting into chickens this year, next year my focus is on breeding for dual purpose (meat and eggs) and getting some veggies going to.

You could do a simple rain barrel that collects the coop's roof rainwater. That would just be a 55 gal barrell and some guttering. That might be enough w/ a drought tolerant plant.