My battle with chickweed

[897tgigvib]

Ya know Cat, I think Bay is onto something good there putting your chickens on a chickweed diet. Course, first check to see if it'd harm your chickens.

Some kind of movable or resetuppable system to get your chickens concentrated on a bed for a few days. If the bed has daylilies in it, they'd have to each have a frame cover of chicken wire and some kind of frame, maybe wide gauge cheap wire fencing wrapped with chicken wire.

You could set the thing up anywhere you suspect chickweed exists.

Course, still go with a multipronged attack on the chickweed. Pick by hand still.

I vote for an all out effort and continued effort until you have a local extinction event of chickweed.

 

[catjac1975]

My mare got loose some time ago and had a chickweed feast. The problem with the eating is the roots are still there, though the chickens would probably scratch them up. I am hoping the pulling and mulching along with Preen will kill the leftover seed. The daylilies with a large canopy kept the CW at bay. So there are a few beds with little weed. I guess I should play the lottery so if I win I can hire a weeding army. Hahahaha

 

[897tgigvib]

You could go to your nearest gold's gym and make a public announcement that you have exercise for them, and that they'll only have to pay you 5 dollars per hour of exercise pulling chickweeds! Don't forget to extoll the virtues of gluteus maximus stretches, deep knee bends, bicep enhancements, and heck, you could even offer a free bottle of water!

Voyla! Weed picking team! And, they pay you to do it!!!

 

[catjac1975]

Hahahahahaha. I only wish!

You could go to your nearest gold's gym and make a public announcement that you have exercise for them, and that they'll only have to pay you 5 dollars per hour of exercise pulling chickweeds! Don't forget to extoll the virtues of gluteus maximus stretches, deep knee bends, bicep enhancements, and heck, you could even offer a free bottle of water!

Voyla! Weed picking team! And, they pay you to do it!!!

 

[897tgigvib]

It'd be cool to see the photos of each and every one of your daylilies as they bloom!

 

[catjac1975]

I have several hundred photos that are ready for a web page. My husband had knee replacement in Feb. so many chores got backed up and the web site is not yet ready. It's really not a priority as yet. I am just selling locally and the truth is I do not want my "Love" to become my job. He has tilled the garden and his knee is already stronger than it had been in years. The other knee was just a little better than the one that was replaced so that will be done this summer. So the chores have to be prioritized. I wanted to cut back on the veggie garden for this year but he would not hear of it. I guess that's good-keeps him motivated. This coming summer will be great fun as I should have a few hundred new daylily cultivars. SO MUCH FUN!!!!!

It'd be cool to see the photos of each and every one of your daylilies as they bloom!

 

[digitS']

. . . I do not want my "Love" to become my job. He has tilled the garden and his knee is already stronger . . .

Did you also have that moment of confusion about whether Cat was talking about her daylilies or her husband?

I'll tell you what, if he is laid up where he can't even get around in the house, you've got your job. Maybe those guys from Gold's gym would come over for people packin'. Let's not wish any of that on either of you! Good health, fair weather and weed-free daylilies! Yay!

Steve

 

[Jared77]

Id do a combination of things.

A frame chicken tractors AND the 5 gallon buckets to be sure you can get the birds as close to the plants as you can without them being able to damage them. Maybe a large rock on top of the bucket too so it doesn't get knocked over and expose the daylilies to ravenous chickens? Seriously I'd get some CX and limit their food and force them to graze eating down the weeds you don't want and your getting free range organic fed chicken. Cuts down feed costs for the CX. Its a win-win situation. Or get 25 sex link cockerels and throw them in there. You know those are all boys, and they are about as cheap as anything I've seen coming out of the hatcheries. Get them started, put them in the tractors in the spring and when they are ready to make you pull your hair out from the crowing and the fighting, send them to freezer camp. By that time the seasons close to being over and your getting ready for a nice Mass. winter. Imagine the stock you'd make from that batch of cockerels?

Id put a 5 gallon bucket with a hose to a nipple so they can drink on top of the tractor too. That way your not hauling water daily. When the season is over you put it away till next year and order another batch of freezer camp invitees.

Maybe you do both CX and some sex links. Divide up an order so you have immediate birds ready to hit the ground and the sex links that take longer but are out there longer. Plus you'd have them scratching the beds up and manure back into the bed. Pull some for your horses too. But it saves on having to totally eradicate it by hand from your garden beds and using chemicals your not happy about using.

I'd treat it like the renewable resource that it is and I'm dead serious. Your goal is to keep it down not totally gone. I bet that's why the early settlers brought it with them. Super tough and super easy to grow and the livestock love it. I'd bring it with me too.

 

[catjac1975]

Hahahahahahahaha.
No he did milk it for all it was worth. But he's doing a lot now. I guess my Loves did become my job. Hahahaha

. . . I do not want my "Love" to become my job. He has tilled the garden and his knee is already stronger . . .

Did you also have that moment of confusion about whether Cat was talking about her daylilies or her husband?

I'll tell you what, if he is laid up where he can't even get around in the house, you've got your job. Maybe those guys from Gold's gym would come over for people packin'. Let's not wish any of that on either of you! Good health, fair weather and weed-free daylilies! Yay!

Steve

 

[ducks4you]

I am guessing because chicks love it. But why is anything named the way it is? I feed it to the horses after pulling and they too love it. My back is aching and I have way to much to do! What you see is a fraction-the rest is not yet done. The biggest problem with chickweed is it grows all winter no matter how cold it gets. I read it was brought by the early settlers-it is edible though I have not tried it. I started with the worst weed filled beds.

I've been feeding mine to my layers, but I'll see if the horses want some, too, now. There is a lot at my place, too. However, I'd rather deal with it that any weeds that shoot a super deep root. At LEAST, you pull and the whole thing comes out. I'm pulling and then replacing the spots with used chicken pine shavings, and newspaper.