What do you grow to feed the chickens??

[Arielle]

Perhaps miners lettuce is worth keeping where ducks and chickens can harvest it directly....

I was wondering if it was suitable for zone 6 new England...thanks for answering that LG. LOL

 

[lazy gardener]

Yes, Arielle, Miner's lettuce would do great for you. It's the first green thing you'll be eating in your salads. Sprinkle the seed on the soil just as soon as you possibly can. An other one that is really good is Mache: (otherwise known as corn salad, though I have no idea why they call it that.) It makes a small rosette of succulent leaves.

 

[Arielle]

I've not found miners lettuce in the seed catalogs. I think I enjoy used catalogs as much as cookbooks. Lol

Is mache quick to sprout and harvest in the spring?

 

[lazy gardener]

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Claytonia​

Montia perfoliata
~160 seeds/g. ½ g packet sows 3 ft. Direct seed in spring, 24 per ft. Thin to 3" apart. Responds to cut-and-come-again culture and tolerates moderate frosts. For best quality, make at least one succession planting.

Greens​

Days to maturity are from direct seeding.
Culture: When to harvest greens? Research from trials conducted in England and Kenya showed looseleaf lettuce, red chard and arugula harvested in the evening had a longer shelf life than when picked in the morning.
Look for the snowflake symbol

after each cultivar description for indication that a variety is hardy through at least a part of our Maine winter.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Here you go, Arielle. Copied from the Fedco Seed catalog. BTW: an excellent source of OP and Heirloom seeds. One of the few companies that are standing up to Monsanto and Dupont.

 

[pinusresinosa]

I grow a bit of everything for my chickens! Anything I'm not going to use, they get it. Like last year, I decided to grow a ton of tomatoes for some reason. My chickens lived high on the tomato hog for a while! I even put some up for later treats when everything was done growing.

I do grow sunflowers, pumpkins, and winter squash specifically for my chickens. I'm thinking of adding sorghum, quinoa, and teff (or one or two of these three) into the mix too- mostly for winter treats.

Herbs are awesome too- not just for consumption, but also for wellness. I know that the lady from the blog Duck Eggs Daily does a lot with herbs, she's got some great tips.

I also found this little article helpful on things to grow and why for chickens.

 

[Chickiebaby49]

Lisa Steele's book "Fresh Eggs Daily" gives a wealth of great information on fruits, veggies and herbs for chickens - for wellness, nutrition, and even keeping pests away. Check out her website and sign up for her newsletters - www.fresheggsdaily.com .

 

[Arielle]

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​

​

Claytonia​

Montia perfoliata
~160 seeds/g. ½ g packet sows 3 ft. Direct seed in spring, 24 per ft. Thin to 3" apart. Responds to cut-and-come-again culture and tolerates moderate frosts. For best quality, make at least one succession planting.

Greens​

Days to maturity are from direct seeding.
Culture: When to harvest greens? Research from trials conducted in England and Kenya showed looseleaf lettuce, red chard and arugula harvested in the evening had a longer shelf life than when picked in the morning.
Look for the snowflake symbol

after each cultivar description for indication that a variety is hardy through at least a part of our Maine winter.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Here you go, Arielle. Copied from the Fedco Seed catalog. BTW: an excellent source of OP and Heirloom seeds. One of the few companies that are standing up to Monsanto and Dupont.

great!!! Found a mache on Sandhills website. I have Johnnys catalog---- many hybrids but thought they too were into normal breeding methods.

Have a long list of amarathes I would love to try--- a few from sandhill and a huge offering from bakers creek!!!

 

[Arielle]

I grow a bit of everything for my chickens! Anything I'm not going to use, they get it. Like last year, I decided to grow a ton of tomatoes for some reason. My chickens lived high on the tomato hog for a while! I even put some up for later treats when everything was done growing.

I do grow sunflowers, pumpkins, and winter squash specifically for my chickens. I'm thinking of adding sorghum, quinoa, and teff (or one or two of these three) into the mix too- mostly for winter treats.

Herbs are awesome too- not just for consumption, but also for wellness. I know that the lady from the blog Duck Eggs Daily does a lot with herbs, she's got some great tips.

I also found this little article helpful on things to grow and why for chickens.

Welcome!!! Love to read!!! Will definitely make time for this.

Lisa Steele's book "Fresh Eggs Daily" gives a wealth of great information on fruits, veggies and herbs for chickens - for wellness, nutrition, and even keeping pests away. Check out her website and sign up for her newsletters - www.fresheggsdaily.com .

Welcome!!! Love more natural ways of keeping pests away. Like fleas in regards to dogs and cats. So many safer ways to help keep our friends pest load to a minimum. Thank you for the link.

 

[Leela NH]

If anyone is interested in growing food for chickens and living a more self-reliant life in general, check into Permaculture.
Great forums on chickens and other animals as they fit into the average homestead on permies.com
Also check out Abundant Permaculture on facebook and blog and his film called "Permaculture Chickens"

 

[Arielle]

Thanks for the info!!