quail tractors

[LJpnw]

I highly recommend using Straw Bales for raised beds. Amazing to grow in and allot less work to prepare. Check out the videos on Straw Bale Gardening if you have not heard of it. You can use the quail poo to activate the bales for growing veg. And no weeds because your growing in the bales without soil.

 

[UndergroundQuailRoad]

I move mine around on a regular basis to fertilize the lawn. I made a really big dolly and slide it under the coop after I jack it up with an atv jack and block it off. Then I can move it around the yard by pushing or hooking up to a lawn tractor.

 

[Quailsong]

I highly recommend using Straw Bales for raised beds. Amazing to grow in and allot less work to prepare. Check out the videos on Straw Bale Gardening if you have not heard of it. You can use the quail poo to activate the bales for growing veg. And no weeds because your growing in the bales without soil.

I've never heard of straw bales for such beds. It sounds interesting though I can already feel it won't work for me at this point in my life. The collapsing straw later in the season would be too much work for me & I've celiac issues so don't want to risk breathing in the dust, even. Straw is also a huge magnet for mites, which I very much dislike.

However, if I had a big tractor to spread out the bales in the fall or spring & was maintaining a larger farm I think I'd go for that. So thank you, I'll consider that down the road for the next house!

 

[LJpnw]

Im talking about the 2'x3' straw bales. You stack them in the shape of the raised beds you want. Then you add nitrogen to them and keep them moist for two weeks. This starts the composting process in the bales. After two weeks you can plant your veggies in them and the bales breaking down will feed your plants all season. All you have to do is water. Its the most easy way to garden in my view. Stack them double tall and you have all your greens at waist level. You cannot over water the bales because they drain so well. Depending on what side you stack them they will hold water better or drain better.

At the end of one year or so the bale has shrunken down half size or more and is now amazing compost. So in the spring you put another bale on top of the old one. At the end of your second or third season the bales will be raised beds made out of compost and you will no longer need to add bales. Or you can spread the composted bales out in other areas and start with fresh bales each season.

 

[Quailsong]

The bale method seems like a lot of work for me, but if it works easy for you that's great. Truly! I'm a big fan of more natural gardening so I'm glad you mentioned an alternate idea.

My method: I use 1"x8"x2-4' non-treated pine boards & 'paint' them once yearly with old olive oil. I do this more to keep the wasps away as they like to chew old wood & I very much dislike wasps. For me it holds up well, they don't fall apart or rot easily for upwards of a decade. The old wood can then be buried to rot in a new growing hill or used for firewood.

But we're derailing a bit! Do you have any vids online of your quail tractor? Maybe to show us how you drag it to different spots, or how you cover the bottom to prevent crushed eggs & hurt feet?^^

 

[LJpnw]

After building so many raised beds over the years for me the straw bale method is much easier. I prefer to haul in 10 or 20 straw bales instead of 50 to 100 bags of compost or shoveling the truck load of compost into wheel barrels and hauling it to fill the raised beds. Saves me time and energy and in my view builds a much better & taller raised bed for less money in most cases. You can frame in the bales with wood just like a normal raised bed if your worried about looks. Im all about function over beauty. But thats just me.

 

[Quailsong]

After building so many raised beds over the years for me the straw bale method is much easier. I prefer to haul in 10 or 20 straw bales instead of 50 to 100 bags of compost or shoveling the truck load of compost into wheel barrels and hauling it to fill the raised beds. Saves me time and energy and in my view builds a much better & taller raised bed for less money in most cases. You can frame in the bales with wood just like a normal raised bed if your worried about looks. Im all about function over beauty. But thats just me.

Oh geez, I never have to drag in 50-100 bags of compost! If I had to do that I wouldn't do raised beds at all. I just toss in a bit of soil amendments or mulch here and there as needed & let the box fill up naturally over the years. Far, far easier. No dragging needed.^^

I def like function over beauty. You should see my wardrobe, hehe! Though I was thinking I may add a few paint decals to the sides of my raised beds in the next house. Just to make it pretty for visitors.^^

 

[LJpnw]

I would just call that a garden bed not a raised bed. But as long as your growing food its all positive. I was taking some video today of quail eating greens as i moved one of the rabbit cages around a weedy area under an apple tree. Will try and post it soon. And this morning there was a flock of 20 or so cali quail chicks with two parents in the yard checking out the quail tractor. I think they want to move in haha.

 

[Quailsong]

I would just call that a garden bed not a raised bed. But as long as your growing food its all positive. I was taking some video today of quail eating greens as i moved one of the rabbit cages around a weedy area under an apple tree. Will try and post it soon. And this morning there was a flock of 20 or so cali quail chicks with two parents in the yard checking out the quail tractor. I think they want to move in haha.

Oh I certainly have raised beds. Here's a blog post (not mine) which shows some pretty raised beds. Most of mine look like their wooden ones, but with pine boards rather than the rough logs (how charming, though!) and mine have much larger spaces between them. I'd show you a pic of mine but my camera's needing charging and...I haven't mowed the lawn yet. Tee hee! But yeah the trick to raised beds is to let nature work with you, add a bit of dirt here & there, not hauling in stuff unnaturally.^^

It's neat you got some quail visitors. I wonder what the free birds think sometimes, on one hand they might say "I'm glad I'm not caged up!" but on the other, "Fresh water, free seeds, protection from predators..." they may be jelly! XD

 

[LJpnw]

I dont use raised beds for any of my personal gardens. I usually put some sort of animal there first to get rid of all other plant life then i cover that with cardboard or mulch and plant into that. If the soil is really compacted i may dig in the animal manure two feet deep to loosen up the area. Has worked every time so far. I usually build raised beds for people with back or leg issues. Im a sepp holzer style farmer.