run plantings

[nightshade]

OKay to clear some things up :
I am not really concerned if they do distroy it cause I would be doing it FOR them. As I said I would like it to live but I do not expect it to. I do not plan on harvesting from anything planted in the run or on the outside of the run's fencing. It is strickly to make it look alittle nicer and for my creatures enjoyment.

Churkenduse: I have read on here somewhere that other fokes put raspberries, even blueberries in their runs with out them being killed. Yes they take a beating but the live. And make a good protective cover for the birds to hide in in topless runs. So I am alittle confused. I will be using large plants not new sprouts. I have a 20x20 rasp. patch that always needs alittle thinning that I can "borrow" some from

This means so I can use bigger plants instead of the common tiny plants you would buy.

Pat : yea I have already established the idea that it probably wont live longterm maybe one season.

But the run will be "watered" daily when I clean the duck pond. And I have rain barrels set up if I just need to simply "water" the run. (more of the substising my water use) The pine trees are freshly planted this fall and are 5ft high sapplings and I plan to keep them that way

hedge clippers may be needed. I have lots of experence with shade gardening enough to know that 5ft trees will not kill grass.

The idea of planting it under hardware cloth sounds like it could be a godo idea so the ducks don't just dig it up.

A tractor or portable run is not an option when the entire run they currently have all together is is 12x24 of 6ft high attached to a 45x45 of 3ft high. Hubby would kill me if I said I wanted to use a tractor instead and frankly living 90 % in the woods there is no were for a tractor to be used. This was the main reason we built the run.


Pretty much I started this thread to find out what others have had sucess with. Not to be told 100 times it will all be destroyed. I figure that already, but I know that others here have tried it and some do have as certain amount of sucess with different plants. Some planted in a run, some on the outside of their fencing. This is the reason I started this thread. To discuss what has worked, even if only a few months durning a growing season. What plants to deffently not waste your time with at all (like hostas, unless you wrap them in chicken wire and then what is the point of putting them in a run) Things like plantign the beans on the outside of teh run so the can snack on them with out distroying them completely.

Basicly I am not trying to be rude but if you are just going to tell me it will be distroyed don't bother posting here. I KNOW IT PROBABLY WILL.

 

[nightshade]

Quote:
Are you going to use plants that are almost full grown? My girls love tomatoes and that sounds like they woudl really enjoy that.

 

[hooligan]

Are you wanting to plant edibles for them? Mine really loved my tomatoes and peppers. If you want some edibles to try out that are rare let me know I have lots of Native American heirloom veggies. I planted corn for them last year but they tore down the "fence" I put up and pulled all of it up

Wheatgrass is fast growing and really healthy for them. I grow some in a pot for my house rabbits and for the chickens. You cang et it at health food stores in the food bulk bins. I also have a pot of clover too.

 

[hooligan]

Quote:
I will be getting plants that are about a foot high. They grow pretty fast so they should be bushing out in no time. I want to try a few of my native american varieties that are super heat tolerant but I haven't germinated them yet.

 

[opihiman911]

There is a lady who raises rabbits in a big run that is like 15x20'. Her husband built a raised box out of old 1x6 board and put wire screen over it. The box is probally 6x6'. She digs up a spot, plants deer clover alfalfa food plot mix and then covers it with the screened box. Her rabbits can walk on the screen and sun and rain gets to the growing cover. It is funny to watch the rabbits stare at the growing clover and try and dig through the wire. They know that there is delicious treats in there and they can't get to it.
Its takes maybe a month for the new cover to grow 6" and start poking out the top of the screen when she picks up the box and moves it to another spot in her run and start all over.
Her rabbits have nice fresh healthy greenery to eat. It doesn't last the whole month till the new patch is done but they have fresh cover for couple weeks. She used to have two boxes rotating but said it got too much work
Just an idea.

Aloha,
Cory

 

[nightshade]

I will have to try the wheat grass.

I really, really want some clover weather it's mixed with grass or alone.

I was hoping too for some edibles for them as well as something to keep the mud down from the ducks. I made an old claw foot tub into their duck pond. Landscaped with rocks around it nice. That is where one of the pine trees is planted, at the end of the tub. With both trees I placed large and med rocks around the bottom so no one could dig up the base of the rootball. I hose the pond out daily when it's not frozen (like right now. darn winter) so I can always do alittle watering while I am at it.

I am planting native swamp blueberries on the outside of the run where my waste water from my duck pond goes. The plants I have picked out are anywhere from 4-6ft high and huge so a few of them will go a long way I think. I just not sure what to put in the run. I like the tomatoe plant idea you had. I always seem to have a extra plant to two.

 

[nightshade]

Quote:
Now that is an idea I am gonna have to try! even if it is only half the size so I can move it easier. I could put it where I do not have to walk and the chickens would be able to walk right over it. Hmmmm I am invisioning sections maybe 2x4 placed side by side in the one end of the run.

thanks so much for the great idea

 

[opihiman911]

Don't need to really physically pick it up, just flip it over twice onto a new spot.
Or instead of 1x6 wood you could make a box out of PVC pipe and cover with chicken wire, that would be real light weight. A small area like 2x4' wouldn't last very long, especially if it take a month to grow out. That would just be a light snack for my girls.

Cory

 

[1acrefarm]

Walmart sometimes has a 50 pound deer mix for like 18 bucks. Its called biologic buckhunters blend. This bag will be good for several plantings. It has wheat clover and oats. My chickens love it. Since you want a good bit of clover you can also mix biologic alfaclover in with it. Walmart will have it in the sporting goods section later this year. It was 10 bucks for a small bag last fall. It would do real well growing under the raised hardware cloth platform that me and opihiman911 mentioned.

 

[cknmom]

hooligan- What type of tomatoes are you growing that are heat -resistant. When we lived at the beach I had wonderful tomatoes! Now we live in the mts. and we have hot dry summers, my sister lives in the desert and is upset because she can't grow tomatoes, they burn right up!

I am hoping to be able to start my garden this spring, so I am looking for the right type of plants.

Monica