March 4th, 2013
My second official act of gardening of the season occurred Saturday when I dragged the chicken tractor to the garden, rerouted the fence, and let the three hens have free access to the garden.
Three very happy hens.
We acquired these birds at the tail end of summer, so this is our first spring with chickens. Seems like the perfect time to incorporate the birds into the seasonal machinery of the garden. With their continual scratching, hunting, and pecking, they will eat the bugs and prepare the ground for planting.
My first official act of garden happened two weeks ago when my daughters and I started our onion seeds in the basement under lights. I love the way these perennial rituals act as a yardstick. My youngest (almost 2) stands on the milk crate that my oldest (4) has stood on for the past 2 years to see the top of the seed-starting table but now no longer needs.
Soon we’ll be planting peas.
Tags: chicken tractor, chickens, gardening with kids, onions, spring
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Follow along as Organic Gardening’s online editor, Eric Hurlock, tries to maintain an organic garden while also balancing a career and a growing family.
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Comments
Man, I’ve always wanted to add chickens to my gardening but our town has codes against it. You mentioned something I’ve never heard of before, what is a chicken tractor?
Yes Eric, gardening does happen in little, successive acts. I used to think of gardening and get overwhelmed by all the work I thought would be involved. But then I realized that gardening, like any worthy pursuit, can be broken down into small steps, or actions. Just take the first one and follow with the next. And so on. Something wonderful will result.
Yeah, municipalities can be tricky when it comes to chickens. Luckily we live in a rural township and have lots of open space. As for the chicken tractor, it’s just another name for a moveable coop. And moveable it is—I’ve dragged that thing all over the place. The trick is to keep the birds inside the pen for a few days before letting them out to free-range. They need a chance to fix in on the location. Otherwise, when they go home to roost at night, they’ll go back to where the coop used to be. I learned that lesson the hard way. twice.
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