Washingtonians

[Sudsy Chick]

Quote:
I have toxic plants in my yard - and the chickens know not to eat them.

Rhodies - I have several. The chickens roost in them and even the chicks know not to eat them.

Buttercups - yep - there are plenty around and avoided.

Foxglove - same same.

I don't know that it'd be plants...it really seems to me they know what is not good for them? Point being - if I were in your position - I wouldn't go ripping them all out

 

[Sudsy Chick]

DH has been working on a big project in the bed next to our driveway. He's been tearing out this really overgrown ground cover and tossing it in the yard waste bin for the past 2 weeks. I need some knowledgeable garden folks to identify this ground cover for me. When it blooms it has tiny light purple flowers.

I was just thinking... since my free ranging chickens have eaten every other plant in the backyard if I should let them have a go at this stuff before we trash it in the yard waste bin. I need to identify it first so I know it's not toxic for them.

I also need to start brainstorming a source for greens for the girls since winter's coming. I'm wondering if the grocery stores would let me have their unsellable produce?

So what is this stuff? Is it on the toxic plant list? Can anyone help? TIA!

It's the ground cover with smaller leaves -


DH has been working weeks to tear it up out of the ground. It was creeping into the driveway.
There's a pile ready to go into the trash in the foreground.


Closer view -

Since most of our greenery has all been eaten or died off in our backyard (the chicken yard); I've been bringing the chickens up a few at a time to eat from the front yard.

Those look very much like the ground cover that we have - and the chickens ate around it. They still got lots of bugs, just wouldn't eat the greens.

 

[SadieSue]

I have actually considered using our covered X-pen to bring a few girls out at a time to the front yard when we're home to supervise so that they can enjoy some actual greenery. We have none left in our fence back yard. I thought the covered X pen would be best since we have no fence in the front yard to keep stray dogs or predators out. And I would only do this when I'm home to supervise. But my X-pen is currently being used for the chickens who still live INSIDE the house so they can go out and get a little fresh air each day. I'm "hardening" my Silkies in preparation for putting them out in the Silkie pen...

 

[Sudsy Chick]

Quote:
I have actually considered using our covered X-pen to bring a few girls out at a time to the front yard when we're home to supervise so that they can enjoy some actual greenery. We have none left in our fence back yard. I thought the covered X pen would be best since we have no fence in the front yard to keep stray dogs or predators out. And I would only do this when I'm home to supervise. But my X-pen is currently being used for the chickens who still live INSIDE the house so they can go out and get a little fresh air each day. I'm "hardening" my Silkies in preparation for putting them out in the Silkie pen...

Yep - I'm only letting a few out at a time because it's not fenced and I have to watch for the people that don't leash their dogs as they should. But I have a little corner, side yard that is working well. I was thinking about portable, fold-up pens, wouldn't that be cool? =)

 

[Sudsy Chick]

http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2019244585_zombees24m.html

zombie bees?

This is scary!

 

[Chickielady]

I see her posts on Facebook, but haven't seen anything about evacuation...

tell her to check in with us, please....she got us all worried then disapeared !

 

[Chickielady]

Thing is, I have TONS of bees! We don't use any pesticides, so we had lots of bumblebees and mason bees in the spring. About midsummer, we started seeing honeybees. There is a patch of stonecrop about 10 feet away from the scarlet runners that had 2-3 dozen honeybees on it at any given time. I also see them on the clover in the grass, and our big summersweet bushes. Why are they not pollinating the beans? The back yard is landscaped with mostly perennials and some veggies, and the small bean bushes are producing a small crop, even though the bees are busy with all the flowers out back. I've even got hummingbirds going to all the flowers as well.

I also had poor results with my squash. I planted them at the right time, but they hardly put on any growth. I'm just starting to get little squashes growing on the zucchini and delicata. I think I need to amend the soil more next year. I doubt that I will have any composted chicken manure ready, but maybe I can buy some. I had an amazing snap pea and lettuce crop, but the mid to late summer crops just aren't doing well. It didn't help that I was too distracted to keep up with fertilizing.

Jennifer

Manure saved all summer, turned & composted with shavings & straw, will be ready to add to the soil the following spring.
Gotta turn it though, add just enough water to keep the bacteria happy, keep it covered with a tarp so the rain does not leach out all the good stuff.

 

[Chickielady]

Here is part of my back yard. I think it's pretty bee friendly.

My coop and pen are being built around the corner to the right, under the deck. I'm hoping that I can let the chooks out at times without them tearing my flowers to bits!!!



I wish I had more room! We are on a 1/4 acre lot, and the neighbors are super close. If I had acres, I'd have orchards and huge vegetable gardens, goats, lots of poultry, and probably an ex husband, lol. I'm glad he puts up with my craziness on its current level. He's allergic to almost everything outside, so he told me I could do whatever I wanted with the yard so long as I could take care of it. But with Claritin-D (year round) and Flonase (in allergy season) he can now spend some time outside, and he's told me that he enjoys what I've done with the gardens.

Jennifer

It looks great !

 

[Chickielady]

DH has been working on a big project in the bed next to our driveway. He's been tearing out this really overgrown ground cover and tossing it in the yard waste bin for the past 2 weeks. I need some knowledgeable garden folks to identify this ground cover for me. When it blooms it has tiny light purple flowers.

I was just thinking... since my free ranging chickens have eaten every other plant in the backyard if I should let them have a go at this stuff before we trash it in the yard waste bin. I need to identify it first so I know it's not toxic for them.

I also need to start brainstorming a source for greens for the girls since winter's coming. I'm wondering if the grocery stores would let me have their unsellable produce?

So what is this stuff? Is it on the toxic plant list? Can anyone help? TIA!

It's the ground cover with smaller leaves -


DH has been working weeks to tear it up out of the ground. It was creeping into the driveway.
There's a pile ready to go into the trash in the foreground.


Closer view -

Does it ever get small trumpet shaped blue flowers ?

 

[SadieSue]

Quote:
Will do!