Chicken Food Tower

[Phaedra Geiermann]

08.02 Update

What to Plant on the Top of a Chicken Food Tower?

As this thread is an ongoing project, I keep trying and collecting materials for writing a more complete article.

Yesterday and today I have finished piling up the no.3 and no.4 chicken food towers. Besides the seeds sowed between layer and layer, now it's the moment to decide what to plant on the top.

Principle number 1 - have to be safe for chicken

So, I took the lavender young plants (sowed from seed this June), propagated strawberry young plants, propagated mint for tower no.3

Propagation is a nice skill to duplicate the plants we love. Most of my strawberries are at their second year now, as the performance next year will be less, it's good timing now to use their runners to reproduce new plants. Besides, it will be super easy to manage the strawberries at the height of a food tower, I will also plant them on the vertical planted in the vegetable garden.

It's not complicated, just put the runners into small pots, as the mother plant grows well, the children plants will develop their own roots soon in the soil and ready to go.

As the roots already come through the holes at the bottom, it's time! Simply cut the connecting part with the mother plant, young plants are ready.

Mint is very easy, too. Usuaully we worry their roots might get too aggressive and avoid directly planting them in the ground. As it's a vertical type planter, why not give it a try? Just cut and put them in the water, after the roots are developed, they can be transplanted into small pot, let them rest where with the indirect sunlight and not too hot. After few weeks they will be ready.

Lavender can be easily propagated, too, but this year I want to grow them from the seeds, so Uh, I got really a lot of young plants now

Okay, those are plants for tower no.3, basically they are not princess-like plants, can survive winter, we don't really need to worry about them.

Tower no.4 I planted a young persimmon tree, no specific reason, just because I have one and want to see if this can work here.

 

[aart]

Interesting concept, but sure looks like they are eating everything as soon as you plant it or shortly after. Grazing frames might be a better choice.

 

[Phaedra Geiermann]

Not about the food tower, but used an alu pipe to collect more rain from omlet coop to water the towers later in the sunny day. Both the coop and covered run can collect rain water quite efficiently.

 

[Kennas_Kritters]

For those of you that have old dog cages laying around.... I made a chicken food tower with a old dog cage. I wired it to the side of one of my pens so when I put some chickens in that pen they can access it but the chickens on the outside of the pen can also get to it. hope that makes sense... I'll be using mine for all kinds of poultry. I'm gonna make more to put throughout the yard. <3

 

[Phaedra Geiermann]

08.04 Update for the Vertical Planter V1

Seems our summer this year will remain like this, cool and bit of rainy. So, I also speed up the vertical planter, which is improved from the chicken food tower for producing food seriously.

The entire idea is based for fun still.

Again kraft paper is used to stop whatever inside fall outside.

The mixture of compost and old chicken manure which I used for planted tulip in January is now recycled as part of the materials. Can't believe there are so many earthworms inside, and well, those worms also moved into a new "building" now.

So, spinach seedlings are also transplanted.

The growth of young peas is not bad. Next, different varieties of salat greens and lamb's lettuce will move in, and I will plant some middle-sized white radish on the top of this vertical planter.

 

[Kennas_Kritters]

08.04 Update for the Vertical Planter V1

Seems our summer this year will remain like this, cool and bit of rainy. So, I also speed up the vertical planter, which is improved from the chicken food tower for producing food seriously.

The entire idea is based for fun still.

Again kraft paper is used to stop whatever inside fall outside.

View attachment 2785125

The mixture of compost and old chicken manure which I used for planted tulip in January is now recycled as part of the materials. Can't believe there are so many earthworms inside, and well, those worms also moved into a new "building" now.

So, spinach seedlings are also transplanted.

View attachment 2785130

The growth of young peas is not bad. Next, different varieties of salat greens and lamb's lettuce will move in, and I will plant some middle-sized white radish on the top of this vertical planter.
View attachment 2785131

Totally gonna try this in our garden!! I would like to use this idea for growing black eyed peas, tomatoes and okra. I'll be doing mine with dog cages though.

 

[Phaedra Geiermann]

Totally gonna try this in our garden!! I would like to use this idea for growing black eyed peas, tomatoes and okra. I'll be doing mine with dog cages though.

I believe pea will be totally no problem, but for tomatoes and okra, you might need to plant them on the top, as their fruits will cause support issue when you plant them on the side

So, basically leafy greens, peas, runner beans, cherry radish, strawberry will be the most ideal plants for the side of such vertical planter.

Besides, as the planter has different sides, we can also plant different vegetables/flowers according to how much sunlight they prefer. Happy gardening!

 

[Phaedra Geiermann]

08.04 Update for Chicken Food Tower + Add-on Sprouting Tray

The overall growth is quite nice, of course the plants germinated at the sides will be "harvested" by hens who follow the progress tightly Anyway, as long as they have fun and food, the tower delivers.

And i realized these are not grass, they should be the young plants of winter wheat. Already harvested several times, hens and chicks both love them.

Today I attached an "add-on" module to the tower, like a giant size micro-green tray. It's originally one "floor" of the earthworm apartment (for Vermicomposting). I didn't have good luck in such earthworm apartment, but it looks really like those tray people used to grow micro greens.

So, how about soaking some peas and try it?

After a good soak, I removed the tray to the top of the food tower, then when I give them some daily rinse, the water will go to the tower, no waste. By the way, the rain water is collected from Omlet coop

Soon they will have sprouted treats!

Putting a layer of mesh on the bottom will make it possible to sprout every seeds (even as small as alfalfa) for chickens. Good ventilation, no water waste.

 

[3KillerBs]

08.04 Update for Chicken Food Tower + Add-on Sprouting Tray

The overall growth is quite nice, of course the plants germinated at the sides will be "harvested" by hens who follow the progress tightly Anyway, as long as they have fun and food, the tower delivers.

View attachment 2785172

View attachment 2785173

View attachment 2785174

View attachment 2785175

View attachment 2785177

And i realized these are not grass, they should be the young plants of winter wheat. Already harvested several times, hens and chicks both love them.

View attachment 2785178

Today I attached an "add-on" module to the tower, like a giant size micro-green tray. It's originally one "floor" of the earthworm apartment. I didn't have good luck in such earthworm apartment, but it looks really like those tray people used to grow micro greens.

View attachment 2785181

So, how about soaking some peas and try it?
View attachment 2785182

After a good soak, I removed the tray to the top of the food tower, then when I give them some daily rinse, the water will go to the tower, no waste. By the way, the rain water is collected from Omlet coop

View attachment 2785183

View attachment 2785185
Soon they will have sprouted treats!

Putting a layer of mesh on the bottom will make it possible to sprout every seeds for chickens. Good ventilation, no water waste.

View attachment 2785186

This is all wonderful!

My climate is too hot for the method, except maybe in the winter, (I often have to water potted plants twice daily), but it should have wide applicability.

 

[Kennas_Kritters]

I believe pea will be totally no problem, but for tomatoes and okra, you might need to plant them on the top, as their fruits will cause support issue when you plant them on the side

So, basically leafy greens, peas, runner beans, cherry radish, strawberry will be the most ideal plants for the side of such vertical planter.

Besides, as the planter has different sides, we can also plant different vegetables/flowers according to how much sunlight they prefer. Happy gardening!

Gotcha. I am starting my 1st tower for my garden today using another dog cage! It's gonna be bigger than the one for my chickens. I'll do peas all around the sides and some okra or tomatoes on top (or both). I wonder if you come somehow grow potatoes on the top and let them grow down through the whole tower? I'm gonna experiment some more!