I don't think anyone has mentioned greens, yet. They usually love things like chard, collard greens and spinach. There's also leaf lettuce and kale. They're very good for the chickens, too.
I have different greens growing at different times of the year, for greens. Leaf lettuce and spinach like it cool. Chard can also go in when it's cool and go all summer, for me. I think collards are good in heat, but I don't usually grow those. I always thought kale was supposed to be the best going into winter, but now I read a post about chard lasting longer after it started frosting/freezing in late fall/early winter. I need to try both at the same time, this fall.
Beets are good, both the greens and the roots. Someone on here said that not only did their chickens like the beet greens, they also scratched up the dirt to get at the beet roots and eat those, too. I wish I could remember who posted that. Apparently they hollowed out the beets and there was a hole in the ground. I would love to see a picture of that! Now I'm thinking of growing more beets.
For growing vertically, if you go with summer squash, you can pick them while still smaller, to keep the weight down. Or cucumbers. It's tough if you only have chicken wire, though. Can you maybe use some garden netting in front of the chicken wire, to bear the weight? It would still act as a screen. Or a section of welded wire fencing? A couple of steel fence posts pounded in are easy and really strong, for support.
You can grow some alfalfa. Clover. Peas. How about some extra dried bean varieties? If you save them, you can cook them up for the chickens, later. Any of these add protein to the diet.
I like to grow a cherry tomato for the girls, so I can toss them over to the girls and they can run all over the yard with them. Tomato football! The tomatoes and dried bean varieties I would put in the chicken-free garden.
I have different greens growing at different times of the year, for greens. Leaf lettuce and spinach like it cool. Chard can also go in when it's cool and go all summer, for me. I think collards are good in heat, but I don't usually grow those. I always thought kale was supposed to be the best going into winter, but now I read a post about chard lasting longer after it started frosting/freezing in late fall/early winter. I need to try both at the same time, this fall.
Beets are good, both the greens and the roots. Someone on here said that not only did their chickens like the beet greens, they also scratched up the dirt to get at the beet roots and eat those, too. I wish I could remember who posted that. Apparently they hollowed out the beets and there was a hole in the ground. I would love to see a picture of that! Now I'm thinking of growing more beets.
For growing vertically, if you go with summer squash, you can pick them while still smaller, to keep the weight down. Or cucumbers. It's tough if you only have chicken wire, though. Can you maybe use some garden netting in front of the chicken wire, to bear the weight? It would still act as a screen. Or a section of welded wire fencing? A couple of steel fence posts pounded in are easy and really strong, for support.
You can grow some alfalfa. Clover. Peas. How about some extra dried bean varieties? If you save them, you can cook them up for the chickens, later. Any of these add protein to the diet.
I like to grow a cherry tomato for the girls, so I can toss them over to the girls and they can run all over the yard with them. Tomato football! The tomatoes and dried bean varieties I would put in the chicken-free garden.
