Jen Fulkerson

I've never read this, it was fun, and sadly true. I work at a Co-op, and we sell chicks several months out of the year. There's so many times I wish I could refuse to sell them. With the Internet, and most people owning a cellphone there's no excuse for going into something blind, especially a living creature.
I have to admit I got our chickens because they hatched them in my daughter's kindergarten class. I didn't know squat about raising chickens. It was 20+ years ago.  We may have had a computer, but it wasn't like it is now. I bought a book, and read it cover to cover. My dad also helped me because he had chickens growing up.
It always amazes me how much people spend on a chicken coop. We have one in the store right now that's $1200.00, it's the smallest coop I've ever seen, but it comes with some fencing... ok. I was very lucky my father-in-law built my coop out of old pipes he welded together to build the frame, I'm sure it will last a lot longer than I will. We wired chicken wire to the frame, used an old door that came in the barn when we bought the house. He put 2 holes in each end of a 2x4 and Hung it from the ceiling as roosting bars and I built nesting boxes with a bunch of scrap wood. Basically the only cost was the chicken wire, and it worked for a very long time. I have made modifications a few times in the last 5 or 6 years, mostly because I wanted to, not because I had to.  It's been a great coop.
I have learned a lot about chickens over the years. We don't eat them, I just don't have it in me(I'm not against others doing it, I think it's great to know what your food is being fed, and how it's cared for, I just can't do it) I enjoy having great eggs. I enjoy my chickens, and don't mind caring for them when the stop laying. I feed chicken food I know is fresh made in our co-op mill, I also feed fermented grains once a day, and they get lots of stuff from the garden. They have their own fenced in yard. I used to let them out every day we live between orchards. After loosing 2 entire flocks to dogs, I stopped letting them out. Now they only get let out if I'm going to be around to keep an eye on them.  Lucky the yard is a good size, and they seem happy.

It's been very nice to be able to use the gravity feeders again. I still go out to the coop a few times a day, but if I'm running behind in the morning I know the chickens can eat the dry food, and I can feed them the fermented grains when I get home.
I see several places where the rats have tried unsuccessfully to  dig into the coop. It was a lot of work, but the food is lasting longer, and I haven't lost a chicken since the upgrade I'll call it. So glad we secured the  coop.
My son has been chasing shooting them with the pellet gun and yelling. generally trying to make them as miserable as possible. Unfortunately we discovered the racoons have been living in our garage. We have tried to make it so they can't get in. Then they moved back into the barn. Our newest weapon that actually seems to be working the best is to spread Cayenne pepper all over the places they like to hang out. Since we did this I haven't been seeing them, or seen as many foot prints.
The truth is I just wish they would find a new place to live. I hate to cause them harm. I have to defend my chickens and garden, but I feel bad for them at the same time. They are just being racoons. I know they are incredibly destructive, and can't stay on our property, but I still feel bad for them.

I didn't plant it in the same spot, but pretty close. The tree looks dead now. Maybe that's why?   The other 2 trees I planted in the area the same way look great. I do have a volunteer, maybe a group of volunteers that may be apricot. They are  in the middle of the pumpkin jungle, so I haven't closely inspected it/them. If they are, I may try to move them this winter. Or I have to move the pear tree, because they are way to close to coexist.
Thanks for both of your helpful comments.

I usually grow very dense and use living mulch. I really like this method. One of the down falls is It's very bare in the beginning of each season. This isn't a deal breaker because it's not as hot in early spring, and in fall which is my second growing season there's still lots of plants covering the soil.
So why am I trying straw mulch this year? A few reasons, one is I haven't tried it, and I'm always looking to improve my garden.  The main reason is most of my garden beds are hugel beet. This is an amazing way to grow, and for me there's only one negative. My beds sink several inches each year. I don't know how much I spent on soil this year, but it was way too much. I had some of my own homemade compost, and if the bed is very low I will steal soil from the chicken yard. I don't know if it's realistic to think I can make enough soil, and or compost to keep my beds topped off.  
I decided to try straw. It's cheap, it keeps the soil cooler, keeps the moisture longer, and  I'm hoping it will decompose in place reducing the need for so much soil. ( the straw I got is wheat straw. I did seed seed heads, so I may get wheat. That's fine, I will just chop and drop it)
I bought the straw, tested it by growing beans. The beans grew and looked normal. There it sat. Last year I did this, and never used it. This year I was determined to use it. I put it around my veggies the other day. I have to say I hate the way it looks. I definitely waited to long, because the plants are abundant and pretty big, so I had a difficult time getting it into place. I did try to chop it up, but my chipper would just clog, and all the other ways I saw to chop it was just to much trouble. It's done now, so I hope I get good results. Of course after I did this I watched a video where paul was saying hay is a better option because each time you water it's like fertilizing. Oh well there's always next year.
I did try shredded cardboard as mulch last year, and I really liked it. It does break down very fast. I do have a lot of shredded cardboard, but not enough for all my beds.
What do you use to mulch your veggie garden?

thanks everyone. I won't give up. Maybe next year I will direct sow and see if I get better results. This is my second attempt. The first time I started very late. They actually started off pretty good, but died because I didn't keep it watered.
If I can manage to get moringa to grow, I would like to have little trees all over the place. I ferment grains for my chickens, and I would love to be able to grow enough to feed fresh leaves while they grow, and dry enough to powder and add to the grains in the months there aren't fresh leaves. I would also like to have enough for my family and I to eat. So I would really like to figure this out.
Thanks

Sorry for the crummy photos, I went out to take pictures, and this needed weeding, and that needed water, and, and, and... before I knew it it was getting dark. I'm thinking the ones in the small pots are getting over watered and and maybe just run out of nutrients.
I'm not sure why potting them up makes all the leaves fall off. Maybe they were already under stress and potting up was just more than they could take?  I will continue to care for them until I'm positive they are dead. the one that is starting to grow new leaves looked pretty sad for a while.
I do realize at least part of the problem is these little guys should have been potted up, or planted a long time ago. Unfortunately it just didn't happen, but I hope I can save what I have.
Thanks

Thanks Al I will take any advice I can get.
I live in North California zone 9B 59' above sea level. I have clay soil. It's hot and dry. Even though we have clay soil it's amazing soil. Before gophers made it impossible I could grow just about anything.  I'm growing Charleston gray,   crimson Sweet, sugar baby, and another small ice box watermelon (I can't remember the name at the moment) Most of my beds are hugel beets with raised beds that have 1/2" hard wire cloth on the bottom. Mostly I hand water, a few beds have soaker hose. Most of my beds get a lot of sun. I have just recently mulched with straw. I plant polyculture style. No neat rows for me. There's a little bit of everything in every bed. The little beds I built just for the watermelon I planted radishes which I have already harvested, beans, one has a basil.
I'm not a pro, or "farmer" but I do consider myself a pretty good gardener. I have a large garden and grow lots of veggies, fruit, herbs and flowers. We've been eating squash, beans, and had a cantaloupe already. I know I can't be perfect, but it bums me to be defeated by watermelon.
Thanks

I managed to start some moringa in the house. I hardened them off, and they have been hanging out in the direct sin in their little 2" pots. Not surprising they have survived, but not growing. I have been trying to pot them up. The first one was kind of sickly. I put it in a small 16" deep planter with a bunch of flowers I almost killed. I think of this little planter as the survivors club. This little one actually looks a little better,  I planted the next one on the back of one of my garden beds. It get morning  sun and afternoon shade. It's only been a few days, but it's dropped all of it's leaves. I thought there may be some transplant shock. That's why I have been trying to get them planted this week, because it's been a bit cooler. I planted one in a 25 gallon pot. I put straw around the pot not touching the little tree. This one looks like it's about to loose its leaves too.
I have two more to plant. I can't leave them in there tiny pots, but I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong. All the pots have good soil. The one in full sun is next to the one that is doing ok. I'm going to keep watering them and treat them like they are still alive, and hope they will bounce back.
Please let me know if you have any advice, or suggestions. I had planned on planting the last two on the ground in the chicken yard with a protective cover. Now I'm not sure.
Thanks

Anne It's a bummer you can't get wood chips.
I have a little chipper that works well. It's small (what I could afford) so I can only shred small branches. It's a lot of work for not much wood chips. It might be better than nothing, but I'm not so sure about that.
I have a 15 page paper shredder. I use shredded cardboard for lots of things, It makes a great mulch for my plants. It would be a crummy alternative for paths because it breaks down quite fast.
Anne I wonder if you have a wood worker in your area? I have a planer, and it makes a lot of wood shavings that are larger than sawdust, those would still break down faster than wood chips, but might be an alternative, and the wood worker would probably be happy to get rid of what is a waste product.
Just trying to think out of the box. Good luck.

So sorry for your troubles Emilie. Nothing worse than putting all the hard work in and having loads of trouble. Unfortunately there is nothing that works for everyone in every situation. I find it hard to believe wood chips would be the cause of all of your troubles. Maybe try removing the wood chips from half your paths and see if it makes a difference.
Maybe talk to other gardeners in your area, and see what they do, ask about disease and such. I don't want to say bad things about Master Gardeners, I have considered taking the course myself, but I decided not to because a lot of the practices rely heavily on chemicals. A lot of the teachings at least in my area don't align with Permaculture. Also I'm just a regular person who loves to garden, and spends way to much time reading and on the Internet. I know a lady, very smart who recently became a master gardener, and she is always asking me questions about what she should do. I'm happy to share what I do, or give my opinion, but I have to admit I find it a little odd. I'm just saying I wouldn't discount what the master gardener says, but I also wouldn't think if they say it it's absolutely true either.
In my hot dry climate wood chips are a blessing. I have them everywhere. In the paths of my veggie garden, rose garden, in my foot forest want-a-be, used to help suppress weeds. I have even used them in the bottom section of a hugel beet.
Good luck