Flock and coup size for "The Master Plan".

[aart]

I would not want to 'rake back' 6-10" of wood chips to run a seeder.

 

[lazy gardener]

I've been gardening the Ruth Stout method for about 30 years, and would not have had it any other way all of those years. My well supply is poor. Even in a wet year, if I were to water my garden the way a lot of folks do, my water supply would have turned cloudy with silt at the bottom of every glass of water. Mulching has saved me LOTS of watering, lots of weeding, has vastly improved my soil, allowed me to start working my soil 6 weeks before my neighbors who keep bare soil and use a tiller. The only down side to using the hay mulch all of thes years is that the hay melts into the soil so fast that by the end of the summer, the 6" layer always disappears! I was replenishing it every season, and when time and funds allowed, twice a season. I'm looking forward to converting to BTE so that the mulch I put in place will last through one season and into the next season! Mulch helps dry soil to retain moisture. It helps soil with too much moisture to dry out a bit (since that mulch holds the moisture like a sponge, allowing the soil underneath to remain a bit dryer. As the soil dries out, the mulch releases more water) It keeps heavy wet clay soil from turning into cement because you won't be working it with a tiller and creating a hard pan. It improves the texture of both sandy and clay soil by adding lots of humus. My Troybilt sits in the garage. It takes a fraction of the time to use a stainless steel garden for, to open up a planting row, drop the seeds in and pull the mulch back. No need to till up a whole garden bed. No need to disturb the soil structure, or the microbes or worms!

If any readers are intrigued by the BTE concept, but not willing to commit, I challenge you to do a trial garden. It could be as small as a 4 x 4' or 4 x 8' section. Plant the BTE bed with the same plants that you put in a similar sized conventionally tilled bed. Do a side by side comparison. Which plot produced better? Which plot required more work? Which plot required more water?

 

[Johntodd]

Another update:

So the split system has been operating for a year now. It was a resounding success! Here is the breakdown:

I have a 2-split system, one side garden, the other side chicken run, and swap yearly. Each side is 3000 sq. ft. This year's chicken run is always next year's garden.

We now have 14 chickens. My wife wanted to see little fuzzballs out there so we hatched some chicks. They hatched ~May 29th, 2017, and are big now. We are still using fermented feed.

The hay is breaking down incredibly fast due to the agitation and manure. On the chicken side of the system, I have put down about 9 big round rolls of hay this year! Currently the hay is 6" thick and the chooks are having a ball with it.

There seem to be no more bugs on that side. But there were two species of plants the chooks won't touch: one is a clumping grass, and the other a flowery weed with small leaves. I had to deal with them manually.

Additionally, we tested the idea of sequestering a section of the run to plant spinach for the chooks to eat. In the end it was *not* worth it. We got spinach, but also weeds to deal with. After it was said and done, that very large spinach patch only lasted 2 days when the chooks were released into it. Not enough payback for the labor involved.

Originally, I was to swap the sides once a year, but the learning process here has showed me something. So, in April the chooks spent 2 weeks on the garden side (prior to planting) and debugged it for me, and then after the summer garden was done, they were put back there for another week for more debugging. Then I planted fall veggies. The result of this? Minimal insect damage in the garden. In my area, insect damage is a notorious threat to all gardens. The fact that I actually have cabbage growing right now is a testament to the power of only 3 weeks debugging time.

So the chooks have been inhabiting the run side (mainly) since last October. I can only imagine how many bugs they've destroyed, along with bug eggs and larvae. Add in weed seed consumption and the addition of all that manure, and I think I've got something really good going on. I will have to broadfork the ground in spring, I will not use a tiller.

I expect the results of the 2018 summer garden to be outstanding. 2017's summer garden (and now fall garden) are/were both fantastically productive and almost labor-free for me.

Remember, under my system, this year's chicken run is always next year's garden. The soil in the run is looking like the best stuff I've ever seen.

Thanks!
-John

 

[Mrs. K]

I am glad you updated thanks!

 

[Johntodd]

It is a lot of hay. But during my fall hay-in last year, I didn't put enough down for this year's garden. We have been gardening (only) this plot since 2009, and were not putting enough back into the soil. So when I started putting hay down, the soil started eating it like candy. I failed to anticipate how much it would break down over last winter. The result: I had lots of invisible tiny gaps in the hay, which proceeded to allow weeds to emerge. So this winter (next year's) garden plot is getting the deluxe treatment!

We will replenish our layers. We love the eggs we get - they are the best we've ever had. So thick whites and yolks, armor-plated shells, delicious flavor, and wonderful cooking and baking properties. When I bake a cake from a box mix and add 3 of those eggs people think I made the cake from scratch! LOL!

The debugging swap-outs worked like a charm. This year's run is being debugged all year for next year's garden! The chooks will be debugging it until late May, when I plant. By then, most of the spring bug-and-weed rush will be over.

And a touch of sadness: Last Saturday, our beloved RIR hen Gigi died. I wish she could have seen the coop expansions that are coming. We have renamed it "The Gigi Memorial Coop".

But her genetics live on in her offspring, which were born May 29th.

I'll try to get some photos posted soon. We've got foul weather here for a little bit.

Thanks!
-John

 

[Johntodd]

Another update:

Since I let the chickens into the garden to "debug" it before the fall planting, we have been able to grow a bumper crop of cabbages this year!

The reason this matters: We were NEVER able to grow any brassicas out there. The soil was rich, the sun full, the rain plenty, but so were the bugs. In past years we only grew "bug food"; they always ate it all!

2 weeks debug time on a 3000 sq.ft garden with 13 chickens was all it took. There was very minor insect damage, I'd say a 99% reduction over any previous year.

We're still eating those cabbages. Savoys keep really well!

Thanks!
-Johntodd

 

[Johntodd]

Thanks for all the info!

I live in west Tennessee. We typically have mild winters, wet springs, normal summers and a mini-drought in August, then a medium wet fall.

A barren landscape would be fine if it can be made to happen towards the end of their time in that run. I guess what I'm really worried about is bare soil/mud for an extended period of time.

So, maybe 5-10 chickens?

 

[Mrs. K]

Tennesse is south of me and more humid than in Southwest SD, in my experience, the only months I see a decrease in the feed bill is during May and June. By mid July, the bugs are not enough protein and the birds need more commercial feed. Further south you might have better luck.

I think you will also need boards around the lower edge of you garden, so as to keep the soil in the garden and not kicked out. I add quite a bit of bedding to both my run and my coop. This absorbs some of the manure, the chickens break it up, clean out the weed seed, and I then use it as mulch for my garden. Honestly I have kept chickens for years, and use the bedding and manure in my garden, but it has often surprised me that the soil in the run, really does not improve.

I do not have any real advice, but I think that the 3-4 year plan might be better. It would be an interesting read the books recommended.

Mrs K

 

[Johntodd]

the soil in the run, really does not improve.

I don't understand that. That's the complete opposite of everything I've seen/read.

 

[Ridgerunner]

3000 square feet means maybe a 50’ x 60’ area. I would not worry too much about dirt getting scratched out of that. A smaller run, yes definitely a possibility.