So whatcha doin' these days, in the garden?

[patandchickens]

Those who are mulching now, do you not have vole and mouse problems under the mulch? Just wondering because I've been holding off mulching til the ground is well froze, since the few beds that for various reasons are well-mulched before that always seem to get FULL of vole tunnels. Am I being over paranoid?

Pat

 

[Rosalind]

I'm not sure how to answer that. We have vole/mouse problems year-round no matter what I do, all over the place. There are vole/mouse problems in mulched beds, non-mulched beds, grass, orchard, barn, house...Only thing that seemed to work was a barn cat we had for about a week, and then my neighbor got back from vacation and said it was his cat and took it home. I'm kinda mad about that, that barn cat was awesome.

Can you get a barn cat?

 

[patandchickens]

I could get a barn cat, but I'd have to do it, like, weekly, what with coyotes and lotsa speeding gravel trucks 60 ft from my front door ;>

We do have 2 (previously more) semi feral cats hanging around, that our late neighbor used to feed. I don't think the cats do much for voles. There do seem to be more rabbits now that there are fewer feral cats, probably not a coincidence. Weasels prolly do a better job on the mice and voles but there's a limit to how much I want to encourage weasels, with the chickens.

So you don't see any difference in rodent damage in early vs late mulched beds, eh? I will have to think about that. It would be more convenient to mulch my perennials earlier... maybe I will do half the bed one way and half the other way and see what happens.

Thanks,

Pat

 

[Rosalind]

Well, if you find something that works, definitely post it. Not next year, but for 2010, I am thinking of building a chicken tractor large enough to hold several meat chickens, and parking it over beds I'd like defoliated/tilled/manured in rotation, a la Joel Salatin. This is for 2010 because I cannot convince DH about meat poultry, I want to start him slow next year with a few turkeys. So I was thinking if I did this in the spring, they'd dig up and eat the baby mice and voles? Maybe, possibly? I don't know what the life cycle of the outdoor vole or field mouse is around here. Apparently they don't hibernate in the winter, they just live in my barn and my house.

 

[patandchickens]

So I was thinking if I did this in the spring, they'd dig up and eat the baby mice and voles? Maybe, possibly?

The nests I've found here have mostly been in tall grass or the groundcover equivalent. (Although, mostly I find 'em with the mower, so there may be a bias there. I apologize to their posthumous selves and toss the bits to appreciative chickens). I am skeptical that rodents are nesting in veg garden type beds, and I am pretty sure that they would not *be* nesting in there for more than about five minutes after the tractor arrived, which might not be time for the chickens to find 'em. Worth a try of course, I'm just saying, don't hold your breath

My DH was highly against meat chickens -- *barely* agreed we could do 10 CornishX this year -- but now that he has seen that they are zero work for him (and frankly not that much work for me), and none died, and they ended up giving us great meat for about half what we'd have paid in stores, he is apparently just assuming that we will not only do it again next year but do *more* next time

I'd really like to try turkeys, but he is not keen on that idea at *all*, for some reason.

Pat

 

[sunbury chick]

Mostly cleanup.I turned the compost pile today,cleaned the coop(,husband put a thermometer in it for me)All I do is worry that the chickens will be too cold ... anyway, beds are pretty well cleaned.Now I can just sit back and read gardening books.I got a little gardening shed recently,it's so cute...I'll post some pics.Can't wait to start my seeds in the spring....I know,it isn't even winter yet.Can't help it though....

 

[sunbury chick]

Have to go thru my pics...I'll try to find some of the inside of the shed.It's so cute.It has a loft for the grandkids to play in....

 

[sunbury chick]

still searching....

 

[sunbury chick]

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DD & SIL live across the pond ,Get to see grandbabies everyday....I'm in heaven

 

[me&thegals]

Pat&chickens--I had to laugh about your husband and meat chickens, now turkeys. In my marriage, I have finally learned to "float out" new ideas and bring them up every so often. I've been doing that with the subject of bees and honey until now my husband has this great new idea: How about we get some bees for honey?

Sunbury chick: What an adorable shed! Your grandbabies are lucky to have you so close and interested in them!