My yard is a baron wasteland!

[Yay Chicks!]

Someone on BYC created a bunch of low planter boxes, planted grass in them and then stretched and attached chicken wire over the top. The grass grows up through the chicken wire so they can eat the tops, but they can't get to the roots. It appeared to work great.

 

[TrystInn]

We live in the Pacific Northwest. How would KY Bluegrass do in a wet climate with little sun? Oh and on tramped down dirt?

Zombies is no problem.

 

[BrattishTaz]

Quote:
I'm not sure how it would do there. All I know is we just threw some seed out and it grew like crazy.

There were several zombies running around that day.

 

[SteveBaz]

aubreynoramarie

Interesting thing that you pose. Just because there is only sand around your home doesn't mean that you can not build a Garden of Eden in your run, front yard, back yard and the areas you need foliage. Here would be how I would address an issue like that. I would draw on a piece of paper your property. The at my front door I would put a pot on each side of the door. Between each window I would put a pot for plants around the sides I would put in a diagram of a strip of sod for that area. Then in the back I have a patio and a deck and around the patio I would put hanging plants and against each 10 posts I would put a post to grow something in. Continuing we have a chicken run fenced in and its 60' of length and 12' wide and under each window again I would put a pot. Now you at least have an idea of how your home could be designed with foliage.

Now to part 2. You can now write what type of plant or tree or vine or bush you want. You have 2 choices in how you want to place the pot. #1 it can be above ground or #2 it can be above ground. You need now what to decide about how big you want your plant, bush, tree or vine. Large pots support larger root systems and larger bigger plants or vines that need a big root system to survive. Then continue around the home and decide those choices for each and every area. If you are concerned about the goats eating the plant plan for that plant to have protective wire around it and the root system so it case not be destroyed by that type of animal. You may even have to electrically charge each planter they try to eat and train them to stay away from it. Once they have been zapped a number of times they will more than likely never go near it again.

Now to the watering system. You need to design a water system that will give the plants in the pots with out watering the desert sand. I would recommend a drip system bc it is the easiest to maintain and the easiest to set up. Simply saying start with the source by digging a trench around the entire property PVC, PVC cleaning solvent and the PVC glue and run it around the property and set it up (DO NOT GLUE ANYTHING TOGETHER YET) and put couplers at each pot and continue doing that so the water will be drown to each plant. You want to use thicker PVC with walls that will last the test of time so you never want to do it again. While you are the run a section of water to the kids Coop so you can set up a water system and put drip nipples for the kids. No more filling pans up just clearing the nipples from the hard dessert water.

Now for the chicken run. You want a water system that goes all around the run so it can be planted heavy with plants, vines and grass. I have the window boxes that are 12" high X by 4' long X 12" deep. I filled them with great grass soil mix and put hardware cloth over the top by bending it around the perimeter and having it 3" off the top so the kids can not get to the roots and pull it out or scratch it out and the grass grows through the wire and the kids eat there hearts content and keep it trimmed only to the wire. 1 planter box per bird or so. I have 5 birds and 7 boxes. Along the other side of my run I have the vines growing with awning kind of wire for the creeping roses (they love to eat the flowers) in the pot other variety of seasoning they love to eat including broccoli cilantro etc.

Hope this helps a bit turning your barren property into a more vegetative and more of a Garden of Eden.

 

[JulieNKC]

My chickens have trampled down and ate all the grass in their yard. They have plenty of grass in the rest of the yard, so I don't worry about that. I do plan on planting a few containers of peas, etc in the spring to move in there occasionally for them on days they're locked up.
They love love love when I till their yard. They'll play in the nice soft dirt for days, scratching it up, dust bathing, whatever. I made a small brush pile they like to jump on and hide under. I have friends drop off leaves and dump them in there for them to scratch around. Same thing with grass clippings in the summer. If I can't get either I'll get a bale of hay or straw, the chickens will spend days scratching it out everywhere. I also have a few boards, big rocks, etc in there that I'll flip over for the chickens. There's usually worms, grubs, all sorts of crawly treats under them.

 

[aubreynoramarie]

Holy cow well thank you! I do plan on doing something extensive this spring but there's no point in starting now. I can get potted plants growing in the bedroom but that's the only place as of now. Spring will be easy, it's winter I'm bummed about

 

[Mattemma]

If you lay down boards a few days later you will hopefully find worms and bugs for them to munch.

 

[rancher hicks]

Some suggestions.


You could put in some "raised beds" and plant what ever grasses, weeds that will grow in your area. If you took some fencing that was open enough for grasses and weeds to grow through but not open enough for their little heads to get through then planted long growing grass and weeds they could munch on that and bugs would come and they could eat those. Making a "hoop" over the top of the bed.

Now I also suggest some compost piles. More than one would work. Toss in some branches and green stuff and some chickens stuff and leaves or brown stuff. Cooties would come and they would have a ball scratching and digging. You could toss in some cardboard and get green stuff from the gorcery store, things like veggies out dated stuff like that. Bagged brush from the neighbors who don't use pesticides.

If it's big enough you could even rotate. Block them from one till the weeds and green stuff grows a bit and then let them have that one and block the one they were using til it grows up a bit. Buy late seasoned veggie seeds and just toss in all the seeds and let them grow. Things like lettuce and cabbage and kale.

It's really not something you would need to manage other than making sure it gets the water to grow the weeds and plants. Card board would hold moisture and draw worms and bugs.

I saw a program once where there was a flock of chickens that lived at the local compost pile. They lived there all year. Even in the winter. They were a wild flock of chickens. More like a dump really I think. I can't remember where I saw it.

Here is a pic of mine. I had to fence the garden in but you don't. You could just let the chickens have fun digging and dusting and all that. By putting in wet green veggies and dirt and chicken stuff and cardboard, worms may come and bugs. Trust me they will have a ball. In between my beds was wood chip mulch but they took care of that. I had to shovel the soil back into the beds.

I get apples and macaroni from the school I volunteer at that is stale and I get pumpkins and squash and also day old "bird" bread from the bread store. Costs me $1.25 for a bag of about 5 loaves of whatever they have. I put it in the freezer until I need it. Anything that is safe for them to eat can be tossed onto the pile. Scour the farmers market for lettuce and cabbage leaves pulled off. Give them a rinse and toss those on the pile.

Hope I've given you some ideas,

Rancher

 

[aubreynoramarie]

ThAnks everyone for the thoughtful replies! I do have a huge compost bin that I could spread in the area where the future garden is going to be.
Potted plants and raised beds with wire-check! Love this!

 

[Spoof]

We live in the Pacific Northwest. How would KY Bluegrass do in a wet climate with little sun? Oh and on tramped down dirt?

Not so well. I used Winter Wheat when I lived in Pullman. It grows in the winter when the lawn doesn't and won't choke out the existing grass.