what r u planting in your garden for your chickens?

Come spring we'll be planting sunflowers, corn and cabbage mostly for the chickens. The rest of the garden will be mostly for us but the chickens will get some.

 

They get some tomato & zuccini. They love digging out the left over carrots in the Fall.

Last year I planted lots of sunflowers and sorghum (makes nice seed heads).

Early this Spring as soon as the snow melts I'm going to plant a green cover crop and after it comes up, they can have at it before I till it in. It will likely be rye and clover.

 

I don't have a garden yet, but I'm seriously considering planting one. I think it will be a lot of work to get one started here because of our hard clay...but once we get the soil right, it would be great. I'll keep an eye on this thread for ideas on what to plant...

 

Tilling in the woodchips and chicken poo will be a good start... If you do that this year and maybe try a cover crop (till it in, don't let it establish and go to seed!), you'd probably have a decent start for next year. In the Fall you can till in more + all the bagged leaves you can find. If you can collect coffee grinds from Starbucks, those are a great free soil amendment, too.

We have horrible clay here as the base soil, too.

 

Pumpkin, squash, chickens get all the left over tomato parts, cucumbers. Beets, carrots, radish, lettuce for the bunnies and whatever else that's in there when we plant

I have going through all the catalogs, I'm so ready for spring!!!!

 

TXmom & others, don't let poor soil stop you from gardening! There's a lot you can grow in containers. They don't need to be deep for many vegs, some as shallow as 6". You can use pots or build up frames from wood and fill them with good soil. There's a lot of encouragement for schools to make gardens for their students and some are making these types of raised beds on asphalt or concrete. Get growing!

Our veg growing season here in So Fla is opposite most of the country, we begin in Sept-Aug and must be finished by May, the summer heat is too much for many vegs. I got my veg bed ready by dumping out about 25 bags of aging horse manure and letting the chickens scratch & spread it out for me. Now it's fenced off & planted for the season. From that I give my birds all the spoiled fruit and many outer lettuce leaves, and of course all the worms I find.

But along the outside of their pens I built long flower-box type containers and plant collards, marigolds & zinneas. Then I secure long pieces of ventilated shelving (scavanged or Freecycled) to the box, making an inverted V, to keep the chickens from scratching in the containers or pecking up the sprouting seeds. In a few weeks the plants are big & strong enough to withstand their beaks, and they've grown up through the wire for the birds to reach.

 

Quote:Thanks for the advice! I had thought about tilling in the shavings and poop, but didn't think about the coffee grounds...I'll do that this year and plant the garden next year. I've been so busy researching chicken stuff...the next project will definitely be the garden!

 

My chicks like all kinds of veggies so I plan on gardening just for them. They really like leafy greens and all kinds of squash. My family thinks that I have gon over the edge, but the way I see it is I am saving on feed and providing my flock with good organic food.

 

Quote:But do plant SOMEthing this year, even just one container or windowbox or tray! Get a cheap plastic colander and a packet of lettuce seeds, or a pot with the fresh herb you use the most. Grow a tomato plant in a tub, or a pepper or cucumber.

C'mon! It's as fun (and addicting) as chickeneering!