First steps on new property

Hello friends!

I am getting ready to close on a ten acre parcel in western Montana. No buildings, but power and a well are on site. I want to start building soil ASAP as there isn’t much, so I’ll explain my plan.

I can move a chicken coop out to the new land, get a dumptruck of mulch delivered and then build one of those cheap quick cattle panel greenhouses over the mulch and attach it to the coop. I can start picking up veg scraps from a restaurant to supplement the chicken feed and build better compost. If flipped once or twice over the winter, could I start using that compost in the spring for trees and shrubs, non-edibles.  

Thoughts or advice?

Predators?

John had the same thought that I had.

I am not sure how long those chickens will last without onsite supervision.

Chickens need food, freshwater, and a predator-safe living environment.

What I did see that was good was a dump truck of mulch which is good and a cattle panel greenhouse to keep the mulch from blowing away.

Also good was to gather veggie scrap from local restaurants to add to the mulch.

I will add getting lots of coffee ground which might be easy and lots of bags of leaves if there are any still around now.

You might enjoy reading Dr. Bryant Redhawk's great soil series:

https://permies.com/wiki/redhawk-soil

What those 2 already said plus ... chickens can make short work of turning veggie scraps into compost. Chicken manure needs to mellow a while before using it directly on plants. A small percentage won't bother anything but too much "hot" chicken manure can kill plants.

what everone else said..

you might wanna consider splashing out for already composted soil or aged horse poop when you are ready to plant/garden - maybe more $$ but it will arrive "ready" - source that and you can get going..

you might wind up spending more driving the free scraps back and forth anyway, never mind the work.. i honestly think this is a case of throw money at that challenge.. maybe there is a farm/ranch or two nearby? i get free old horse stall muck nearby.. it builds up pretty fast - the owners are usually pretty flex on parting with it

you will have your hands full getting your buildings up and running etc. from what i understand, montana is cooooooooooooold in the winter.

best of luck!!!