Another new venture

Evansent · « **on:** December 31, 2008, 10:34 »

Hi all,

Now that my chickens are well and trully installed, 4 eggs a day from 6 birds, just waiting for the last 2 to come into lay.
I am looking to the scrub of land laughingly refered to as the veg. patch. I am a complete novice, so any tips on how one begins and what I should be planting would be great.

Thanks in anticipation

C X

GaryH · « **Reply #1 on:** December 31, 2008, 11:03 »

Welcome and Merry Christmas.

If I was you, I would dig/pull up all the big stuff, then cover and leave until Jan/Feb.
Then pull the sheeting back 4ft at a time and dig, then pull another 4ft back and dig again and keep going until it is all dug.
In the meantime if you have a sun room/insulated greenhouse, you could start to sow the seeds that you want and that are suitable for sowing in Jan and then when you complete each section of the dig, "plant" and go.

Load some photos as always helps.
Create a blog to use as a diary system and your sucesses/failures, as this helps for the following year and also try and note the weather as this could also help the following year.

www.blogger.com

Good luck.

woodburner · « **Reply #2 on:** December 31, 2008, 11:27 »

Any chance of letting the chooks onto it? Just look at anyone's chicken run and you will see how good they are at clearing vegetation.

Celtic Eagle · « **Reply #3 on:** December 31, 2008, 12:47 »

Can you borrow a couple of pigs work wonders rtervate and manure in one go

Evansent · « **Reply #4 on:** January 01, 2009, 08:03 »

Thanks for all the tips.
I will have to don the wellies and get digging, if the ground isn't too hard!!!

Can't really let chooks out, as last time they were in garden, they all went to visit the neighbours and not just the next door ones! - very embarassing having to knock and say "can I have my chicken back please?" But you're right, their run is perfectly excavated! Shame I can't move it, but it is a permanent fixture.

Thanks

C X

Celtic Eagle · « **Reply #5 on:** January 01, 2009, 10:51 »

You could always build a small say 8 x 4 A frame run which is light enough to move and let them go in there during the day. Take a bit longer but will help