Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[RoyalChick]

But it doesn't give the soil a good dig like my partner's method does

You should read up about no-till agriculture. It supposedly has many benefits to the soil as well as reduced labor.
It is a hot topic right now so there will be plenty to read about the theories on why it helps retain biological activity in the soil - but for starters here is a USDA piece on it.
https://www.usda.gov/media/blog/201...till adoption also reduces,We're here to help.

Of course with chickens nothing is ever completely 'no till' as they are little tilling machines!

 

[Perris]

You should read up about no-till agriculture. It supposedly has many benefits to the soil as well as reduced labor.
It is a hot topic right now so there will be plenty to read about the theories on why it helps retain biological activity in the soil - but for starters here is a USDA piece on it.
https://www.usda.gov/media/blog/2017/11/30/saving-money-time-and-soil-economics-no-till-farming#:~:text=No-till adoption also reduces,We're here to help.

Of course with chickens nothing is ever completely 'no till' as they are little tilling machines!

this guy has been doing it for a while now, and runs beds side by side to show the difference in performance between dig and no-dig veg beds.
https://charlesdowding.co.uk/

 

[RoyalChick]

this guy has been doing it for a while now, and runs beds side by side to show the difference in performance between dig and no-dig veg beds.
https://charlesdowding.co.uk/

Very interesting. Appeals to my laziness for sure.

 

[Molpet]

I basically use Ruth stout method. I rack back the mulch, shallow plant potatoes , cover with mulch.. I pull weeds until ground warms up. Then I cover with grass or spent straw or leaves. which become mulch.
https://www.motherearthnews.com/organic-gardening/ruth-stout-hay-mulch-zmaz99fmzraw/

 

[ManueB]

We have tried for a few years no till. I took a permaculture class my last year at work so I was pretty sure it was the right thing to do. My partner and I had a few quarrels about it !
It doesn't work anymore for us now that we are in drought though. Even with mulching and cover crops our soil is turning to dust and it doesn't sustain enough life to keep it malleable.

I do the lazy potatoes as well - every year we throw 5 to 10 kilos under hay.
They yield bigger potatoes than the traditional method but more of them turn green (develop solanin).

there's an old adage here that potatoes 'clear the ground'. I think it is not the potatoes per se but the amount of earth moving which standard potato cultivation techniques here demand

We have the same saying- aerate the soil.
We also have a saying "I prefer drinking / eating with excess, he's more fun than moderation" .

Amadeo is more beautiful than ever. Does he still squeal ?

 

[Ladies-Eight]

The few injured pullets that I dispatched tasted great.
It's more of an emotional reason. I know people want pullets and I feel bad dispatching a perfectly good one. They don't cause any problems. The boys cause lots of problems and make it easy. The 16 wks boys dress out around 5 lbs, (10k) and girls below. The cockerels will feed me for the week, but I need 1 and a half girls. So I have to take another life.

Thanks for asking but still fatigued after an hour or less. Trying to plant potatoes this week. I work a half hour and my back complains. Then I take a break.

I have a similar problem with my back.

Now I'm having trouble with both legs.

My legs feel like they have hundreds of little nerves tingling down the back side.

 

[Molpet]

They yield bigger potatoes than the traditional method but more of them turn green (develop solanin).

I add more straw when they bloom. The first stuff breaks down and I get the green.
I have purple skin huckleberry that doesn't get green.

 

[pennyJo1960]

Ah heck love reading the thread X Batts.
I still had the 7 Amigo's in the bare walnut grove last night.
We go out at 9 to close the coops.

 

[Molpet]

I have a similar problem with my back.

Now I'm having trouble with both legs.

My legs feel like they have hundreds of little nerves tingling down the back side.

I have to do stretches most mornings or take a bunch of pain pills.

 

[Molpet]

Potato tax

Between rain foraging