Gardening w/Ducks - How do you keep a garden with ducks!?

[TLWR]

My girls free range, so my plants do ok for the most part.
I have lilies and hostas around the pond. The lilies do well, the hostas do ok. I also have elephant ear. As long none of it falls into the pond, the ducks leave it alone.
The sidewalks are lined with plants as well. Iris, lilies, echinacea, amaryllis, black eyed susans, mums, and random other stuff.
The mums fare the worst between the birds and the dogs, but the rest does ok. The chickens just like to scratch all the rocks out of the bed into the sidewalk.

In their pen, I plant sunflowers, dahlias, zinnias and a bunch of veggies - I put a little fence around it so they can't get in and dig it up. There are also a bunch of iris and lilies in there too.
Fence comes down at the end of the season so the girls can dig in it. Every now and then a lily or iris is dug up and I plant it back again.

 

[Miss Lydia]

X2!!

 

[Louise Waffles]

I saw a picture online somewhere of a raised bed with miscellaneous plants planted in it. It was then covered with hardware cloth. Everyone could eat or destroy as the urge took them because the stuff grew up through the fence stuff or whatever, but they couldn't dig it up. I'm thinking of planting some lettuce or kale for them in the run that way. I AM planning a chicken garden for them, so I can give them fresh fruits and veggies. End of season, I'll let them do the pulling up.

 

[QuackSpeak]

So, maybe I should have some hanging baskets.. Our ducks won't be able to fly like chickens, and I'll hang them low enough that they can eat off of but not destroy the plants? Do you think this would work?

In addition to this, maybe we should plant some grass in their pen now, so by the time they get here and grow up, the grass will already be grown. We're getting these ducks around March 13, and they'll be outside by that time in May. Would that be enough time for the grass to grow? And will they demolish the grass? I heard somewhere that they poop so much that it's impossible to keep grass in a day pen (Non-rotatable) with ducks... Is this true? And they love foraging lol, but will they eat all the grass away?

I think that I'll also get some plants that droop low and put them in high pots. Duckies can nibble on low hanging greenery but not demolish the whole plant. Do you any plants like this that produce fruit that ducks will eat?

Lol sorry for the question bombs this is my first time attempting to put plants with ducks. Good post, @FeatherMtnFarms !

 

[Bills vs Beaks]

If at all possible, I would say rotate them, even if its just in the small pen

 

[QuackSpeak]

Not possible.. At all...

Their pen is pretty big, and it's not meant to be lifted... Not even sure we could lift it, honestly..

 

[PouleNoire]

My chickens and ducks have a nice big run. They have killed of the growing things, and any bushes/weeds/whatever that grew through the fence were killed. I can't keep anything in that yard.

If grass can be established without ducks, I would think that would work, and plan on trying that this spring in their old paddock. In the fall, I'll move them back.
@FeatherMtnFarms , what did you plant that survived your chickens?

Most of the tings I planted survived the chickens but the ducks were the real destroyers, I had some daisies that the chickens did eat though...the things that survived were mostly ornamental grasses

 

[PouleNoire]

So, maybe I should have some hanging baskets.. Our ducks won't be able to fly like chickens, and I'll hang them low enough that they can eat off of but not destroy the plants? Do you think this would work?

In addition to this, maybe we should plant some grass in their pen now, so by the time they get here and grow up, the grass will already be grown. We're getting these ducks around March 13, and they'll be outside by that time in May. Would that be enough time for the grass to grow? And will they demolish the grass? I heard somewhere that they poop so much that it's impossible to keep grass in a day pen (Non-rotatable) with ducks... Is this true? And they love foraging lol, but will they eat all the grass away?

I think that I'll also get some plants that droop low and put them in high pots. Duckies can nibble on low hanging greenery but not demolish the whole plant. Do you any plants like this that produce fruit that ducks will eat?

Lol sorry for the question bombs this is my first time attempting to put plants with ducks. Good post, @FeatherMtnFarms !

They DO poo a lot!! But the actually seem to keep the grass nice because of their messy drinking habits, the kinda water the grass, lol. Saying this, my ducks and chickens live in a medium sized field so they have a lot of room to roam idk if this would be the same with a smaller run...

 

[QuackSpeak]

They DO poo a lot!! But the actually seem to keep the grass nice because of their messy drinking habits, the kinda water the grass, lol. Saying this, my ducks and chickens live in a medium sized field so they have a lot of room to roam idk if this would be the same with a smaller run...

Yeah I'm not sure. The ducks will get let out of it to forage and play and swim in the bigger kiddie pool, but they're in their run for a while... I think I'm just going to try a combo of hanging baskets, pots, and grass... It'd be great if all of 'em work, but I have back up if one or some don't. But if they all don't survive the duckies, I may have to rethink things...

 

[Louise Waffles]

I bought hanging planters with the coconut coir liners, pitched the liners. I load the baskets with lettuces, spinach, weeds, fruits, etc. I also throw spinach and peas in their pools when I refill them. I pull weeds for my birds...Purslane, chickweed, yellow wood sorrel, plantain, etc. It's all good for them. Keeping anything growing is just not gonna happen. Here anyway. I always blamed the chickens and their scratching & dustbathing, but I suspect the ducks took part in it as well.
I don't know how many ducks you'll have, but I have 11 here. Hanging baskets wouldn't last long. They aren't going to just nibble. But that's MY ducks, and they're kind of jerks. I love them, but I won't lie.