Google Sketchup

[Ashley80]

Hi again all, thanks for the great feedback on the Vegi Patch Project. I've just been playing with the design and had a go at modeling it in Google SketchUp. http://sketchup.google.com/ it's a free download and pretty easy to use. Might be handy for anyone else in the planning stage too.

Cheers

Ashley

 

[Ashley80]

Sorry about the XL pic, it was bigger than I thought it was.

Ashley

 

[angels4]

Wow Ashley, Thanks for that. I will be building this spring and this is going to be most helpful. If the picture is the design you are going with it will be quite something when completed. Keep us posted throughout the construction with pictures if you can.

 

[peeplessinNC]

How many chickens do you plan to have in that hutch? And have you thought about how you will move the hutch and transfer the chickens from one raised bed to another? Do you know how you will secure the hutch to the sides of the raised bed to prevent predators entering the hutch?

Your design is very good! I hope it works for you. It's a great idea for those of us who want just a few chickens providing eggs and garden fertilizer.

Teresa

 

[Ashley80]

The run is 2m square and 1m tall, the hutch is 1m x .5m. I'm planning to on keeping 3 Silkie Bantams in it and rotating it around the four vegis beds as part of the crop rotation.

The plan is to put handles on each end to pick it up (two person job) and some sort of latch or bolt on each corner to stop it being lifted by predators or wind. I've had another look at the beds and I think the bigest gap along the base will only be 3cm, if any of the gaps are bigger I'll need to sort out some sort of collar around the base to seal it up.

very excited about it, spending my christmas bonus at Bunnings tomorrow on materials.

Ashley

 

[davidb]

Thats a nice hutch

 

[Rustywreck]

I read something in a magazine, Mother Earth News I believe, that addressed using chickens to weed a garden.

In between the crop rows they wired a large tube of chicken wire. The chickens could move back and forth between the rows while being confined to the chicken wire. The chickens could eat the weeds, insects and such while not being able to reach the plants. This allowed them to fertilize the garden at the same time.

I know I'm not describing this well, but let's say your garden is 50 ft long. Buy a 50ft roll of chicken wire and un-roll it. Then wire the long sides together so it looks like a chicken wire culvert. Set the wire tube between the crop rows and let the chicken have at it. One of these could be made for between each crop row, or you could move it as you wish. A fence around the garden with cut outs for the chicken wire tube would keep them out of the rest of the garden.

It sounds like an easy, fairly cheap way to let chickens do you weeding for you.

 

[Wifezilla]

I get what you are describing. Sounds genius!!

 

[kinnip]

Super design! Yay brains!