Starting Over - new garden location (?)

[canesisters]

I don't know if anyone remembers my 'great' idea last year to put the garden inside the chicken yard - surrounded by chicken wire, of course - so the chickens could help with bug control...
Well - I have NO idea if it was a good idea or not because I never got past planting some tomatoes & peppers. By the time I got back to them a couple months later, I had a nicely fenced plot of shoulder high grass. In THEORY - it will work.. but I had a BUSY summer and just gave up on gardening.

Anyway - I am DETERMINED to garden and replenish my canning cabinet this coming Summer!! And I have (I think) three choices.
1. garden in the chicken coop like I had planned - and fight the healthy stand of established weeds that I let grow there
2. move the garden to the other side of the back yard - and fight the healthy stand of established grass/weeds that is there
3. move the garden to the front yard where nothing much more than clover and some low growing ground cover sort of weed grows

Option 1 - chicken coop
a. I know the soil there is good. I've gardened in that spot for a couple of years and did well.
b. The drainage isn't so good and even a little extra rain makes it a muddy mess.
c. The weeds are BEASTLY there. I've fought them from the start.
d. Limited to a small garden (could be a good thing.. could be bad)
e. I'd like to actually give that 'chicken moat' idea a try...

Option 2 - other side of the back yard
a. Starting from scratch, grass.. grass... grass.....
b. SLIGHTLY dryer area - but closer to run the hose if needed
c. Would move me a GIANT step closer to my 'one day' goal of having the whole place producing something useful (or pretty) instead of growing lawn
d. Would cut the dog's yard to a 3rd of what they've got now (not great...)
e. Have to move the chick brooder/hospital pen - and that is H.E.A.V.Y.!!!!!

Option 3 - front yard
a. The deer frequent the front yard (no dogs there) and have NO fear of me yelling from the porch or out the windows
b. Starting from scratch - and that area will need some soil building for sure
c. great drainage
d. will be the only real 'improvement' I've made to that whole section of the yard - so a start to that 'plan' of getting rid of the dreaded 'lawn'


Your thoughts?????

 

[Smart Red]

Any choice would be work.

I like the idea of starting small and work toward bigger if you are starting over. Personally, I think I'd go for the best garden space, the front yard. You could bring some of the chicken yard soil to the front and start from there. Is fencing the front yard possible?

 

[so lucky]

If it were me, I would stay in the chicken coop area. Till the weeds under, and use cardboard to cover everything. You could even put down black plastic now, till spring, and probably kill out a lot of the weeds. I use cardboard or newspapers to suppress weeds, then cover everything with straw. Honestly, weeds are not an issue for me except where I didn't get the cardboard down. And of course, the paper products and straw eventually break down and add tilth to the soil. You can get big sheets of cardboard free from the feed store, that are used between layers on pallets of feed/seed. It is thin and not tough, so degrades easily when used in the garden.
Since it is in a low area, maybe you could have a load of topsoil put in there, and till that in. But I doubt if it is as good as the soil you have already. Or you could ridge up your rows. Your paths may be under water, but at least the plants wouldn't be wading.

 

[Smart Red]

There are ways to keep the chicken garden area less wet in rainy times. Raised beds. Not necessarily raised with wood or concrete blocks around each bed, but raised above the ground level by piling the dirt into raised spaces. Ideally, the water will run along the lower edges and a thick layer of hay or straw will give you space to work with the plants even when the soil is wet.

 

[canesisters]

@Smart Red - The front yard is a long, rectangle that is bordered on the east side by the pasture fence, the west side by the house. It's about 50-60' wide. The deer jump right over the pasture fence; which is just a 4' electric wire. I can put up some sort of temp fence using the pasture posts and extending it higher... Maybe that idea of fishing line and reflectors or something..
I was thinking that I could start dumping the cow's manure this 'winter' and possibly add a nice, thick layer of leaves to start on that soil building.

@so lucky - The chicken coop garden is literally the middle of the chicken's yard. I don't think they would allow me to put down plastic or cardboard - or even straw. They'd just scratch it up. That's why the soil is so good, they work it year round. I've dumped MOUNTAINS of stall cleanings (source of most of the weeds) and leaves and within a couple of weeks they will have it spread into a thin layer of finely shredded mulch.

 

[Smart Red]

I have read that deer won't jump a double fence. That is, if you put a second fence a few feet from the first, the deer will not attempt to clear it -- too uncertain for them. The fencing doesn't even have to be real high. Check into that.

 

[ninnymary]

I also vote for it to be in the chicken area. Could you fence the area so the chickens can't get in there and do what so lucky suggested? Sort of like an area enclosed withing another area.

Mary

 

[thistlebloom]

If your time is an issue my first choice would be to put it where you will have the easiest access to it.

Starting with new ground is always more difficult and for my soil it takes about 3 seasons to get it growing well.

The chicken moat idea has merit. In fact that's my favorite option. (How did you keep your chickens from destroying what you planted last year, didn't you say it was in the chicken yard?) As Red pointed out planting on a raised berm helps with drainage issues. That's how I do my garden. Wide bermed beds. Then with a cardboard mulch on the paths your feet will stay out of the mud too.

So Luckys suggestion of cardboard and straw is excellent. So I think that mostly eliminates the weed negative to your 3 options.

I would not plant where deer will jump in and destroy what you are ready to harvest. If they are fearless of you already fencing them out will not be simple. But that's my anti deer bias showing.

 

[Smart Red]

Cardboard and straw are excellent suggestions. I use paper grocery bags to cover and mulch my garden beds. With a straw layer, they work well to keep weeds at bay all season and by the next year are nearly composted themselves.

The chickens would be happy anywhere. Rotate the coop 90 degrees and let them at a new area to prepare for a future garden.

 

[SprigOfTheLivingDead]

I vote chicken coop as well. If you find that they won't leave some suppression tools alone, like you indicated, maybe see if you can alter (rotate) the run for a few months while your mat of straw/hay/paper/cardboard does its job. Growing in the chicken's normal area will provide a rich soil, and they'll help keep other pests away as well.

I'm jealous, so I hope you provide us all with lots of pictures.