Just sharing my chicken/garden method

[Kassaundra]

This is the first year, and doesn't have all the bugs worked out yet, and I have been horribly behind all year, but here is the concept.

A octagonal garden w/ 8 gardens surrounding a central chicken coop. Each garden is fenced seperately and is a garden and a chicken run. 4 of the gardens are planted in short term growing veggies (grow and harvest in less then 12 wks) and 4 are planted in long term (greater then 12 wks) The chickens will rotate through the 4 short term gardens at 3 wk intervals, and through the long term during the late fall/winter non growing season.

Here are some pics that will either make it plainer or confuse even more.

This is one garden spot after the girls have been in for 3 weeks. It is now ready to plant.

This is the new spot they are being moved into to prepare it for planting.

This is the corn/ lentil bed

This shows the two gardens, around the perimeter where the tires are there will be strawberries and blueberries.

This shows more of an overview. The the far right where the chickens are is the new spot they are making ready, in the center is a long term garden spot w/ peppers and cukes, to the lt is the spot they already made ready and will soon be planted.

And these are my potato tire towers

 

[SweetMissDaisy]

Wow! Your chickens must LOVE you!! I'm looking forward to watching your garden updates on how things grow. Keep us posted!

 

[wifezilla]

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

 

[hoodat]

I tried something like that but less elaborate. I just had a two plot rotation. One side would be the hen yard and the other the garden. The next year I reversed it. During the year the hens were on the ground they eliminated vitually every weed and weed seed and fertilized the ground. When it was tilled up the veggies grew like wild fire and needed almost no fertilizer for the entire growing season. Meanwhile the hens were in last years garden doing their cleanup. Your system should work even better. The only catch is you need a lot of room to make it work.

 

[lesa]

Excellent idea!! I never would have believed how good chickens were at tilling- until I saw mine at work! Can't wait to see how your growing season goes. Unfortunately, my chicken yard has too many trees for gardening.... but, you've got me thinking! Good luck!

 

[vfem]

Awesome! I love the concept. We do something similar, like Hoodat said, just not as eleborate. We put the chickens in the fences garden area in the fall to clean the beds and prepare for spring by fertilizing for us.

I love your plan, its one of the purposes of chickens and you are using it to the best possible advantage for you. Your gardens are going to be amazing! WAY TO GO!

 

[Kassaundra]

I tried something like that but less elaborate. I just had a two plot rotation. One side would be the hen yard and the other the garden. The next year I reversed it. During the year the hens were on the ground they eliminated vitually every weed and weed seed and fertilized the ground. When it was tilled up the veggies grew like wild fire and needed almost no fertilizer for the entire growing season. Meanwhile the hens were in last years garden doing their cleanup. Your system should work even better. The only catch is you need a lot of room to make it work.

I live in town, but a small rural town and my yard is almost an acre, so I have the space. I have two coop gardens that are approx 50 ft by 50 ft. When I get the bugs worked out I may expand to another one or two depending on how some other experiments work out that I am working on.

 

[Kassaundra]

Awesome! I love the concept. We do something similar, like Hoodat said, just not as eleborate. We put the chickens in the fences garden area in the fall to clean the beds and prepare for spring by fertilizing for us.

I love your plan, its one of the purposes of chickens and you are using it to the best possible advantage for you. Your gardens are going to be amazing! WAY TO GO!

Thanks, I don't think the gardens will be as amazing this year as next, when they system is completely like it should be everything planted on time and the chickens have had more of an opportunity to fertilize and weed, but I am very excited to see how this developes, I have some really high hopes for it.

 

[Kassaundra]

Excellent idea!! I never would have believed how good chickens were at tilling- until I saw mine at work! Can't wait to see how your growing season goes. Unfortunately, my chicken yard has too many trees for gardening.... but, you've got me thinking! Good luck!

My ultimate plan is the ring each garden/coop area w/ 8 fruit trees one at each corner. (semi dwarf) To help shade the girls and provide fruit for us and them (all the insect covered dropped fruit for them)

 

[Kassaundra]

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