What would you put in your garden for poultry?

[igorsMistress]

It is pretty large... The struggle is mulching and weeding the whole garden regularly to keep plants from being choked. I'm really hoping to find cheap straw bales somewhere in the next few months as it works great as a natural mulch and doesn't usually contain too many seeds that could sprout into something undesirable in the garden (unlike hay bales and grass clippings).
Just to show the size and complexity of teh garden, here's the most recent garden plan for 2020. I was working on it last night. I posted this in another gardening forum, so don't be surprised if some of you already seen it. Everything is garden except the three large areas to the right, which is the duck pen (blue), shed/coop (peach) and chicken/turkey run (orange). The full length of everything is 85ft I believe. It's the length of our back fence. BTW, we do all this on our 1/3 acre suburban lot.

View attachment 2009008

Currently the list contains:
nanking cherries (will be newly planted so may not fruit)
hot peppers (jalapeno and habanero)
sweet peppers (bell and italian horn)
cabbage
cauliflower
eggplant
lettuce (boston bib maybe)
carrots
radishes
zucchini
potatoes (an early and late variety)
yellow crookneck squash
cucumbers (straight 8 and pickle)
tomatoes (roma and beefsteak)
corn
herbs (cilantro, basil, thyme, parsley, mint, dill, oregano and chives)
marigolds - LOTS OF THEM. Should be a good experiment.
pumpkins and winter squash (need to figure out the planting arrangement in the red circled area still)

Outside the fenced garden we also have a very sad flower bed along the fence on one side of the yard. It's 40-50ft long and 3-4ft wide. It's shaded, so flowers don't do very well. I may try planting various grasses/grains there to beautify it and it would serve as a food source for the birds as well as mulch for the garden and bedding for the birds. If I cut it down 2 or 3 times throughout the season, I imagine I could get quite a bit of fresh hay (I wouldn't bother drying it because it would get used right away).

I love straw in the garden! It breaks down so nicely, holds moisture and prevents weeds.

You might consider cool season crops for that shaded area such as lettuce, spinach, mustards, etc. I

 

[BReeder!]

I love straw in the garden! It breaks down so nicely, holds moisture and prevents weeds.

You might consider cool season crops for that shaded area such as lettuce, spinach, mustards, etc. I

I would plant cool season crops like leafy greens, but there's no protection in that area since it's outside the garden fence. In the summer we let the chickens and ducks out into the yard at times. They'd devour anything leafy over there. Also, rabbits are a problem around us. I'm working ever harder this year to keep them out of the garden, but they will still get into the yard. We like our rabbits, but don't like them eating our food. They'd have a buffet if I plant greens outside the garden fence.
I thought about planting potatoes over there (another cool season crop), but I'd have to heavily amend the soil because that soil is particularly heavy with clay which potatoes don't care for in my experience.

Keep the ideas coming though!

 

[igorsMistress]

I would plant cool season crops like leafy greens, but there's no protection in that area since it's outside the garden fence. In the summer we let the chickens and ducks out into the yard at times. They'd devour anything leafy over there. Also, rabbits are a problem around us. I'm working ever harder this year to keep them out of the garden, but they will still get into the yard. We like our rabbits, but don't like them eating our food. They'd have a buffet if I plant greens outside the garden fence.
I thought about planting potatoes over there (another cool season crop), but I'd have to heavily amend the soil because that soil is particularly heavy with clay which potatoes don't care for in my experience.

Keep the ideas coming though!

oh yes, they sure would! Sorry didn't catch that it was outside the fence. I keep my garden in a cage and let my flock roam the yard instead of the other way around.

 

[BReeder!]

oh yes, they sure would! Sorry didn't catch that it was outside the fence. I keep my garden in a cage and let my flock roam the yard instead of the other way around.

The birds are fenced in and the garden is fenced in. I'm not a monster though, so I do try to let the birds out when I'm working or playing in the yard. My toddler particularly likes to see the chickens and ducks out on the lawn and will pet them (or at least try to).

 

[igorsMistress]

The birds are fenced in and the garden is fenced in. I'm not a monster though, so I do try to let the birds out when I'm working or playing in the yard. My toddler particularly likes to see the chickens and ducks out on the lawn and will pet them (or at least try to).

Not a monster no, just a different situation.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Just to show the size and complexity of teh garden, here's the most recent garden plan for 2020. I was working on it last night.

Outside the fenced garden we also have a very sad flower bed along the fence on one side of the yard. It's 40-50ft long and 3-4ft wide. It's shaded, so flowers don't do very well.

Gotta say I'm jealous of your layout, you obviously put a lot of work and thought into it. Very nice variety of crops too.

For your shaded flower bed, you could go with a shade garden. That's what I did with the awkward space next to my garage. I planted mostly perennials, like heuchera, bleeding hearts, lamium, columbine.

 

[Soy Milano]

Anything listed here is safe to plant around your birds - http://www.poultrydvm.com/nontoxic.php

 

[BReeder!]

Anything listed here is safe to plant around your birds - http://www.poultrydvm.com/nontoxic.php

Great resource! Thanks.

I am looking for beneficial plants too, like oregano's medicinal properties and marigolds' pest repellent properties.

 

[Boonie Stomper]

Not to self - gotta fence to construct once my garden layout is done. I'd forgotten about the detail since last fall when I tore out the old one.
Fortunalely I've probably got enough wire to only need to buy or find stakes.

 

[sciencegrrrrl]

Ours love tomatoes so much! I do make sure they don't get at any green ones or leaves/ stems. Cabbage is also good and great for rainy days when it's not great foraging weather. Squash, pumpkins, melons- watermelon especially. Peppers of all kinds and sunflowers are a favorite!