February 2019 - 20

Marketing
customers, is " How do I get my
chickens to stop destroying my
lawn (garden/landscaping/
flower beds)? "
Chickens can certainly be
destructive in a garden (or
a lawn for that matter). In
addition to pests, a fluffy band
of marauders will also gobble
down every earthworm they
find, along with small snakes
and lizards, toads and other
beneficial garden insects.
They'll just as gladly eat your
Supervised free ranging is the key to keeping your crops
safe with chickens.
seedlings as weed seeds, and will
happily pluck every vegetable off
the vine, then eat the vines and
stems as well. They'll scratch up
newly planted petunias, munch
all the petals off your rose
bushes and kick all the mulch
out flower beds. But with some
planning and fencing, it's very
easy to incorporate chickens into
a gardening routine.
The simplest answer is to
pen up the chickens or fence
in the garden, but there's a far
better solution than that. With
some proper preparation and a
thoughtful setup, it's possible
for chickens and gardens to live
in peace ... and to benefit each
other as well.
Chickens can help prepare the soil both before planting
crops in spring and after harvest for overwintering.
Year-Round Benefits
The key to incorporating
chickens into a backyard is
supervised free ranging. Both to
keep them safe from predators
and to keep the lawn and garden
safe from the chickens, allowing
them access to the garden
during only specific times of
year works best.
During the off season, using
chickens to turn over the garden
plot, loosen the soil, dig up any
weeds and bugs and spread
any debris is very helpful. Early
in the spring, letting your
chickens help to till the soil and
loosen it up while they look for
weeds, bugs and other goodies
in the dirt is beneficial and
will save work. In the summer
while crops are growing, it's
best to limit their access, but
thinned seedlings, weeds, bugeaten
produce and any tops
or trimmings will make great
chicken treats.
Come fall, once the last of the
garden crops is harvested, it's
the perfect time to think about
letting the chickens back in to
the garden area. They will gladly
Circle 112
20 | LAWN & GARDEN RETAILER | FEBRUARY 2019
help to break up and spread any
remaining stalks and stems.
They'll seek out insects that
had planned on overwintering
in your garden, leading to less
trouble with pests come spring.
They'll also deposit manure as
they wander, adding nutrients
to the soil.
Then come spring, it's time to
put the chickens to work again!
Building a Sustainable
Coop and Garden
Chickens will happily eat
nearly anything grown in
the garden (the exceptions
being white potatoes, unripe
tomatoes, rhubarb and onions,
all of which can be toxic to them
in large enough quantities),
as well as all kinds of kitchen
scraps, peels, stems and stalks.
In return, they'll lay fresh eggs
(about one a day per hen) and
provide as much free nitrogenrich
fertilizer as you can use.
Manure needs to be
composted or left to age for
several months to ensure any
pathogens have died off and to
allow the nitrogen levels to drop
so as not to burn your plants,
but along with their feces, the
straw and feathers that will
need to be cleaned out of the
chicken coop on a regular basis
also make wonderful mulch or
compost for the gardens.
Doing a fall coop cleaning
and spreading the straw
bedding over the garden before
winter allows all that nitrogenrich
manure time to age and
decompose to be ready for
spring planting.
Protecting prized flowers
and bushes from the chickens
usually requires caging them
until they are established. Of
course, the larger the property
and the more landscaping, the
longer it will take chickens to
ravage it.
But just a few chickens in
a suburban backyard are
manageable as long as their
energy is directed toward
being helpful in the garden
and not destructive.
Scattering sunflower seeds
or other treats over an empty
garden plot can encourage
chickens to start scratching. And
unlike a traditional tiller which
can damage soil structure over
time, chickens only turn over the
top few inches of soil, which
is far gentler. They also seek
out any insects and eat errant
weed seeds.
Chickens will eat ticks, grubs,
slugs and mosquito larvae. By
letting a few chickens loose
in your yard, they'll likely be
fewer ticks on both people and
cats and dogs, as well as fewer
mosquitoes buzzing around.
Gardens and backyard
chickens can coexist in
harmony; it's just a matter
of seasonal planning. By
thoughtfully planning out your
garden and chicken coop, you
can make it work. You'll find
that your garden and chickens
will actually benefit each other.
And your family will benefit
as well, with delicious eggs, a
bountiful harvest, and savings in
time, energy and money, as well
as the time spent outdoors.
Studies have been done to
show that time spent outside
getting dirty not only is good for
your health, both physical and
mental, but also contributes to a
stronger immune system.
Chickens are incredibly
friendly and affectionate and will
provide hours of entertainment
as they wriggle in the dirt, chase
butterflies and wander around
the yard, softly clucking to
each other.
Just remember don't
recommend using any chemical
herbicides, pesticides or fertilizers
on the lawn, flowers, landscaping
or garden that the chickens
have access to. Since they'll be
eating the grass and plants, the
chemicals aren't good for them.
But to make up for that, the
chickens are helping with weed
and insect control.
If your customers are already
coming to you for their plants
and garden and spending lots of
time outside anyway, why not
help them add a few chickens
to their backyards? And if they
already raise chickens, planting
and maintaining a few gardens
just gives them more of an
excuse to spend time outdoors
with their chickens!
Lisa Steele is a chicken-keeper
extraordinaire, founder of
Fresh Eggs Daily and Master
Gardener. She can be reached at
fresheggsdaily@msn.com.
get inspired by color.
35
TAUPE
display options available | 6 colors | 7 sizes
Dura Cotta Planter
BLOEMLIVING.COM
http://www.BLOEMLIVING.COM
February 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of February 2019
