New At This

I built several brush piles in my pasture for my 3 chickens to run into if a hawk or something comes diving at them. 

However, I also have 3 sheep in this 1/3-acre pasture, and the shearer just left and told me I need to mow down all the cheat grass and foxtail in the pasture as it's really bad for sheep. 

There is grass growing up all around my brush pile now and it's really tall and even growing amongst the branches.  It's not how I envisioned my brush piles!

She told me I should instead build a platform with plywood and small legs, so the chickens can run under it and then pile some brush on top of the plywood.  However, I can see my lambs jumping on the platform and messing up the brush on top.  Plus, I don't see the benefit of having the brush on top of the board anyway.

Should I just remove the brush piles or does anyone have an idea how to keep the grass from encroaching on them?

Thanks,  Beth

Thanks for all the input everyone.  I also appreciate finding out what a "spade" is?  I never quite knew, but it is apparently 1 foot deep.  Is a spade referring to a shovel?

That talk about going so many spades in double digging, but I couldn't find what "spade" meant.

I will try making these hugelkultur beds and using some of the brush.  It will be a fun experiment!

Beth

I just finished Sepp's new book and learned so much.  I understand how he digs a trench and fills it with branches and/or shrubs which slowly break down and provide heat.

My question is should I be doing this on a small-scale garden?  I want to create some raised beds in my backyard and have some tree cuttings I could throw in a trench.  I live in Boise, Idaho, and it hangs out around 100 degrees in summer, so not sure I need the extra heat from decaying wood in the beds. 

Anyone else made raised beds this way?  He doesn't say how far down he digs the trench and then how tall he makes the raised bed above ground level. 

Also, the Organic Gardening chatgroup I am a member of strongly disagrees with digging and disturbing the soil to make raised beds..so many schools of thought out there.

Thanks,
Beth

Last summer we had carpenter ants a bit inside our home and out in garage and driveway.  We moved our smaller-sized woodpile which was stacked against wall of barn (barn is approx. 70 feet from house) INTO the barn with concrete floor.  We also sprinkled borax/sugar mix all around perimeter of house and the ants seemed to disappear...for awhile anyway and then, as I recall, we saw a few later in the fall.

We have alot of branch trimmings from pruning and I would like to build some brush piles around our property and am wondering if the brush piles will attract carpenter ants again?  If so, any recipes tried and true to get rid of them?

Thanks,
Beth

Thanks for the advice.  I will do both the suggestions! 

I let the chickens out into my raised bed garden yesterday and they loved being there, but they would have totally decimated the beds by their scratching if I left them there very long.  They were SO HAPPY though!  There were dirt and straw flying through the air as they scratched and picked through the beds.  I wish they could be there some but I need to keep my beds raised.  I don't use structures to hold the beds in place...just lasagna style.

Beth

I just got my first chickens (3 hens and a rooster) and I also have 2 new sheep.  I am trying to figure out what feeders to use to keep sheep out of the chicken's feed. 

My set-up is the chickens have a small penned area in my barn to sleep where they can come and go through a chicken door.  There is a fenced barnyard right behind the barn.  Then 3 gates are installed to lead out to different paddocks of pasture for sheep and chickens to graze. 

I was advised not to keep chicken feeders in barn where chickens go in at night because it will attract mice and the area isn't that big.  So I keep feeders in the barnyard.  However, sheep come in this yard as well.  I am planning to milk them on a milking stanchion sitting there. 

The feeder I bought is galvanized metal and it looks a bit like a top hat.  I am wondering why there is no lid on it covering the top.  The water feeder (which is similar) has a lid that fits over the center pipe where you keep the water. 

I would appreciate any ideas for chicken feeders where sheep can't get in it.  Also, so far the chickens have not gone out in the pasture at all.  They are perfectly content in the barnyard with their chicken feed and food scraps!  I want them to forage...

Beth

I have 3 empty plots (each approximately 25' X 20') to build beds located on separate areas of my property.  I want to grow raspberries and grapes.  I've read about diversifying and combining plants so I am wondering if I should not plant all of my raspberries together in one area and the same for my grapes.   

Would you guys recommend I plant a row or two of raspberries in each plot?  How about the grapes?  I am not sure if the grapes should be planted right next to the row of raspberries.  I do not have a fence for growing the grapes so will grow them on a horizontal wire that's on posts. 

Thanks for any help.
Beth
Idaho Zone 6

Wow!  What an awesome forum.  Thank you everyone for the quick replies!  I will definitely check out the Gardening Organically chatgroup.  I also worry that there doesn't seem to be alot of folks doing Hazelip's method and that's so great that the moderator knew her!

I was thinking I would keep some beds on the flat and grow corn, melons, and pumpkins in them.  Has anybody grown these on the raised beds with good success?

Rosie, you might want to try planting your corn in little circles.  I saw this done on a DVD for cover crops.  She said it helped protect the stalks against wind. 

Green beans sound better than fava and I will keep that in mind.  Can I plant other cover crops such as buckwheat?  I was planning on letting my beds rest a year every 3rd year and just plant a cover crop in them.  Not sure if the Synergistic method would advocate this, and will definitely ask on that chatgroup as well.

thanks again,
Beth

You're right, after rereading, it reminded me of Dilbert as well.

There are 3 separate l0-minute videos on youtube so it does take a bit of time to watch.  It is a Fukuoka-inspired way of gardening. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugFd1JdFaE0&feature=related

Here's an excerpt from an article on Synergistic Gardening:

More recently, in France, a new natural gardening technique was developed by Emilia Hazelip, (1938 - 2003), called Synergistic Gardening. This method brings together the messy enthusiasm
of Ruth Stout's lazy gardening system with the Natural Farming techniques pioneered by Masanobu Fukuoka. Hazelip built 4-foot wide beds by taking soil from the paths and piling it as high as possible on the beds, to create a deep topsoil for the roots. The beds are never disturbed again by spading, because the introduction of air when soil is mechanically turned is the cause for the loss of fertility in garden and farm soils. The extra oxygen causes excess biological activity that literally burns away the organic matter and fertility in the soil. By avoiding this damage, Hazelip was able to do away with annual applications of fertilizer, manures and compost, which were used only the first year when the garden was being established.

Like Ruth Stout, Hazelip used heavy applications of mulch, but she used straw instead of hay, las Fukuoka does in Japan. She also left the roots of vegetable plants in the ground, where they will naturally rot. This prevents the "mining" of fertility that often happens when a field of plants is completely removed from a field, roots and all. The roots will rot in the ground before planting time next spring, and the next year's crops will have ready access to the nutrients they leave behind. Compost is used only for starting seeds in the greenhouse. Since the land is always covered in the Synergistic system, almost all plants are started in flats and transplanted to the garden.

I recently watched a video that was created by Hazelip in 1995, and I've become a complete convert. My own garden, which I started this year, is being grown with her methods. This comes naturally to me, of course, since I've been such a huge fan of Ruth Stout and Masanobu Fukuoka for so many years - Emilia Hazelip managed to bring their ideas together and create a gardening technique that works beautifully in my temperate climate. Since her gardening method is sustainable, requiring no purchased fertilizers after the first year, it could be the key to feeding the world in the years ahead, when oil-based agricultural products will become too expensive for the average grower. Why wait for Peak Oil? Get started now and create your own Synergistic Garden.

I like the idea of not adding fertilizers!  Beth

I am interested in Synergistic Gardening after watching a video about it on youtube.  I'm a new gardener and have some questions and concerns if I choose this method of gardening.  Maybe someone knows some of the answers...

1.  She says in her video that she plants Fava Beans as a cover crop...

Does this mean I have to plant only Fava beans every year.  Is there someone else following her method who plants other cover crops and, if so, what are they?

2.  She only uses transplants as she keeps the soil covered by a mulch at all times. 

How would I plant carrots or chard?  I read that they don't do well as transplants.  The video does not say that she uses cardboard as I recall.  Planting seeds straight into a flat row with my Earthway Seed planter I bought last fall seems like it would be faster. 

3.  Boise is a dry climate.  Do I want to use raised beds due to using more water?

4.  I read that some crops, such as corn, grow better on the flat vs. raised beds. 

Thanks for any input! 

Beth