The tow shouldn't meet while you are growing for you. However, once you've harvested all you want, then let them run amok. They'll till and fertilize all in one!!!
Are chickens good veggie garden bug control or will they tear it up?
- Thread starter nurkdenflurn
- Start date
You need guineas for garden bug control
They do pretty good bug removal, but don't really till it up much, except in spots where you had juicy, garden-friendly earthworms, which they will eat.
A pig will do a lot better at tilling, and also remove all the roots and weeds. Chickens are great at picking out bugs before you plant, after you till, and cleaning out bugs post-garden season, after you're done picking. They will dig up plants, and eat your produce. Again though, the pig would do better.
You can put up a temporary fence every year, with inexpensive step-in posts, or hammer-in fiberglass poles. I want to use either welded wire or the plastic security fence like they use around construction sites. You know, the ugly orange stuff. Forget deer or bird netting, it's too light, tangles if you breathe on it, and they get under it too easily.
If it's at least 4 feet high, that'll keep most of them out, though you'll probably still have a few persistent ones that repeatedly fly over. One or two hens in the garden, after it's well established, don't do too much damage, if they aren't in there too long.
A pig will do a lot better at tilling, and also remove all the roots and weeds. Chickens are great at picking out bugs before you plant, after you till, and cleaning out bugs post-garden season, after you're done picking. They will dig up plants, and eat your produce. Again though, the pig would do better.
You can put up a temporary fence every year, with inexpensive step-in posts, or hammer-in fiberglass poles. I want to use either welded wire or the plastic security fence like they use around construction sites. You know, the ugly orange stuff. Forget deer or bird netting, it's too light, tangles if you breathe on it, and they get under it too easily.
If it's at least 4 feet high, that'll keep most of them out, though you'll probably still have a few persistent ones that repeatedly fly over. One or two hens in the garden, after it's well established, don't do too much damage, if they aren't in there too long.
Here's what I did last year.
About a month or two before planting I tilled the garden. Let the chickens in and they leveled everything out for me. About once a week I turn over the soil they fluffed it up. The last two weeks I dumped buckets of compost (beautiful black dirt), and they spread it out for me and I turned it one more time, chickens fluffed it, then I moved them out. I planted my garden the last weekend in May.
The result: I didn't have a single bug or slug problem! The garden grew great! Usually I have thousands of slugs! They were great little workers.
Oooh and when the harvest was over...they went back in for a nice buffet!!
About a month or two before planting I tilled the garden. Let the chickens in and they leveled everything out for me. About once a week I turn over the soil they fluffed it up. The last two weeks I dumped buckets of compost (beautiful black dirt), and they spread it out for me and I turned it one more time, chickens fluffed it, then I moved them out. I planted my garden the last weekend in May.
The result: I didn't have a single bug or slug problem! The garden grew great! Usually I have thousands of slugs! They were great little workers.
Oooh and when the harvest was over...they went back in for a nice buffet!!
Similar threads
New posts New threads Active threads
-
Latest threads
-
-
-
Two hoop coops, sharing a wall- Started by fat brown hen
- Replies: 0
-
Sick chicken for 3 months might need to cull :(
- Started by Kijkej
- Replies: 6
-
-
-
Threads with more replies in the last 15 days
-
-
-
I culled my first cockerel, now what?- Started by redinator
- Replies: 120
-
*Answer These Questions The Best You Can Please *- Started by N3mesis_IceWing_NightWing
- Replies: 107
-
Open Contest Spooktacular Scavenger Hunt- Started by casportpony
- Replies: 99
-
