Chickens and mulching

[Dioclese]

Have last year's raised garden overrun with Bermuda grass. Couldn't keep up with it for weeding. I remember the chicken coop and fenced in area around it many years ago growing up. The chickens kept everything preened, no green could grow. My plan is to spread that soil out some and put a chicken coop and fenced open area for the chickens. Adjacent to it, I plan to start another raised area with store bought soil with chicken feces and green kitchen refuse to lay for a year or 2.

Central TX. High alkaline soil (mostly, if not all, limestone rocks and caliche). Poor rainfall. High summer temps bleeding over to fall. Native ashe juniper leaf-fall affects all plant growth rate from rain run-off.

My intent is to eventually create a self sustaining adjacent garden to feed the chickens and me. Rotating every 3 years, garden for chicken area. Possibly, the coop on skids to ease the move.

Best grain to plant to support the chickens with least square footage impact?

I can create shade if needed over the fallow field. Should I use a soaker hose or just water it down once in awhile?

Please, no oil-based fertilizer suggestions.

[Billy]

Flax and grass.

doesn't need much water.

[symplastless]

Dave

Good questions. Don't have the answer. Your environment is very different than this one in South Eastern PA (USA). If we were to make a raised bed garden I would start with a boundary for raising the bed, I would try to get some black locust logs. I would surely not consider using railroad ties or any other type of treated wood with attention on the chemicals in treated wood leaching in your garden. Black locust as it dies or as parenchyma cells die (symplast) the nitrogen based substances move out. So in order for common fungi to break down the wood, such as a post in the ground, Some people ask me if I have a PhD, yes, I have several post hole diggers somewhere. Black Locust (Robinia pseudoacacia) was named after the first arborist. The first arborist's name was pronounced "row-bin"(sic)? I was taught the tree was named after him, i.e., from a reliable source. Then I would go get a dump truck load of Certified Organic Mushroom soil from Mother Earth Organic Mushrooms.

I then would (Land lord makes final decisions) would add about a dump truck load (7 commercial yards) of screened top soil. Together by mixing the both I would hope to end up with good soil. Defined as a substance made up of sands, silts, clays, decaying organic matter, air, water and an enormous number of living organisms. I myself like zucchini and it grows well with little if any so-called pest. I think we are going to close this garden in. A late client and his wife had a organic garden - WOW! They wrote some sections for me My father has an organic garden and he is going to start some plants for me. I would get a load of leaf compost from somewhere. Its great when its just been screened. I would mulch the plants with leaf compost to keep down 99% of undesired plants (so-called weeds). It would be serving multi functions like feeding the soil micros and retaining moisture. I hope we get one together. Good luck with yours. What are some of the native trees in your area? Does anyone have a suggestion related to keeping the leaf compost off the stems of the plants. On those plants I would put the leaf up to the plants. Chicken manure would be best if composted for a year or more. The people I have gardened with don't use products like preen. Don't require it. Why waste the money on something not required to have healthy plants? Leaves are great. I would make an attempt at adding some composted wood chips to feed the soil cellulose. As long as they are composted and symplastless I would think they would be fine. Any thoughts?

[Dioclese]

Okay.

I know the fallen leaves of ashe juniper limit growth of anything in their vicinity. What about the tree itself? Can I use trunks of these trees for soil retention walls?

Native trees on my land are strictly ashe juniper, and live oak. I hate to cut down any live oaks.

I do have some utility poles the local electrical coop left their some 20 years ago. They look like pull-ups and replace types, not something they pulled off the truck and dumped.

The fallow side, I was going to get some bagged topsoil I can get rather inexpensively, and go from there. I can get refuse from a local grocery store from their produce department along with the chicken feces. I can get some bagged sand from the local hardware store as an drainage aid. Won't need much.

[z]

when you say fallow field, do you mean where the chickens are doing their job? so you wouldn't need weed control, but i'd wonder about whether they'd peck holes in soaker hose. otherwise, i recommend soaker hose highly. not only water efficient, but you can leave it there when it's the garden side, and use plastic mulch over top with holes punched in for your plants; this keeps weeds down hugely. i know the plastic mulch is oil-based, but it's not as much of an ongoing impact as the artificial frertilizer.

[Billy]

Why not under the plastic mulch?

[z]

no, sorry, i meant the soaker hose under the plastic mulch, of course. that not only is very water efficient but also prevents all those diseases which are resident in the soil until water splashes them up onto the leaves, like that thing tomatoes get. plus the weed suppression, of course.