I did something yesterday I've been wanting to do for ages..I pulled out our chook dome tractor and dusted the cobwebs from it to put it to use again. It' had been sitting there for months, abandoned after the fox visit of '11. Even though we had re-stocked with new birds, I just wasn't ready to go back there again. But yesterday I was!
The six circular beds that I use it on are looking a hideous sight, it is well and truly the neglected garden, living on volunteers and lasagne/sheet mulching. I had really noticed the deterioration of the soil too, without any chooks visiting them it was lacking their glorious manure-ey deposits. Dry, wormless soil that was verging on sterile..
achh!
Of course, before I could position the wiry confine, the bed had to be cleared of any harvestable food. Not a lot was growing there..just a small amount of celery and a few eggplants plus some scraggly silverbeet which weren't going to do much, however I did manage to fill a bucket with good sized spuds!
I really don't know what variety they are, I often randomly plant unidentifiable potato shoots from the pantry! Anyhow, naming aside, they're quite a nice potato..certainly generous in size and good for baking and roasting. A bit floury though, so not so good for boiling/salads..
Once the bed was cleared (which also unearthed - literally(!) a couple of self sown avocado and apricot saplings which I'll pot on), I was able to position the dome...
..and call the 'girls' over. It's always funny to see chooks travelling their first time along a specified route! I want them to go a certain way and under NO circumstances am I going to let them frolic and dust-bathe in what IS actually growing in our garden!
A long stick poked into inviting escape routes helps to block off areas where they are curiously headed for. A container of seed also helps too...guiding their movements using a 'Hansel and Gretel' approach..
It took about five minutes for them all to make their way from one side of the house to the other and once the seed was scattered inside the dome, they made their way in there without any hiccups at all.
Even though it is a fairly small space, they do seem to love it in there! The remnants of previous crops, any stray bugs and a good layer of (in my case) dry, crumbly earth to scratch and dustbath in are all ways to a chook's heart..
I ended up positioning an old beach umbrella over the top of the dome...until I can locate the thick, green tarp that I used to use. They also require fresh drinking water, so until I get around to purchasing another drip feeder, I am carting their eveyday water holder over from their permanent pen. With the umbrella up, it really does look like a chook resort - I wish I had've taken a photo!
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| Heads down, bottoms up = busy chooks! |
Celery was so-so, although the silverbeet is rightly skeletonised now after their first afternoon inside.
Walking them to and from the enclosure will get easier with time, they are creatures of habit and will stubbornly follow a path once they have traveled it a few times.
Elsewhere in the garden, cucumbers are coming every couple of days! I'm so excited as I've never managed to grow a decent crop of them. I'd love to have enough to pickle! We go through loads of bread and butter cucumbers here!
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| lebanese and bush champion cucumbers |
Our late corn is also pretty happy in it's sunny little patch out the front. I love the idea of gardening 'out front' so passers by can have a nosey on what's growing at our place! They might even go home inspired and plant something in their own garden.. Do
you garden 'out front'?
There is lots of homemade yoghurt being eaten here lately, along with bottled peaches and berry jams stirred through...yum! Do any of you make frozen yoghurt? I was wondering if you drain it first before freezing.. I'm pondering over giving it a go in icy-pole format, using berry jams for flavouring...
There are only two left at primary school now, with the eldest starting secondary school this week and embracing all the new, exciting things it offers..(including a good dose of attitude at times!)..
I hope your week was enjoyable. I really want to say thanks for your amazing support of the
Slow Living 2012 - Month by Month diary! It positively made my week to see lots of you as excited about it as I am! Here's to a great month of goal-kicking!!
(If you would like to join in, you can do so at any time during the month. Just leave a comment in this post with a link back to your blog. Diary entries will be updated at the end of each month, so if you don't feel like reviewing January, there is always February to think about!)