Newbie

[Hinotori]

I've used straw to build up the level in the chicken pens. I toss it in chunks and the birds spread it for me looking for seeds. Without using chickens to help, it won't compost quickly into good soil.

You can never add enough organic matter into bad rocky soil. I use lots of chicken litter. Squash doesn't mind the fresh stuff and grows huge in it. Most plants need litter to be composted

 

[OffGridWannaBe]

I'm in Souh Africa. Summer rainfall area. Temps are fairly mild but can be a bit chilly in Spring when it's damp (like now it's alternating between damp and icy or hot). I used to have 5 hens and a rooster (mixture of breeds and sizes) about 3 years ago but with the constant moving we had to rehome them onto a farm where they were free to run as much as they wanted. We don't have much access to a variety of chicken breeds here so i have 2 Lohmann hens for now and plan to increase it to about 10 or 12. Not sure on the roosters. Our neighbours are pretty close on both sides and one is a bit petty. Half of my acre is not useable for food or hens and husband wants to keep his lawn but plenty to do with the remaining half.

Most people employ a garden service to remove garden refuse and they like to keep their leaves and whatnot but I do scavenge what I can when I can.

I have been trying to figure out how to home my hens. They have a temporary coop for now. Tractor or permanent run. Leaning towards a permanent run simply because of the way the land lies and I'm doing this on my own and dragging a tractor up a steep slope does not sound fun to me.
I also want to have meat chickens at some point. Trying to figure out the best way to manage both types of chicken. I've read that they don't always do too well together in the same coop? Was thinking one massive run with a dividing fence and 2 coops (which is actually a biggish one divided)
We also have LOTS of predator birds. They have grabbed things off our front lawn just a few meters from our front door. Also lots of snakes. And monkeys. Who terrorise us and destroy the garden. So the entire veg garden needs to be covered to protect the veg from being decimated.

I also work as a nanny and homeschool so I am very busy!

I'm on the lookout for someone who has rabbits as a pet who would be willing to collect their manure for me to add to the garden.

My veg beds started as a rocky hill. I have dug out 2 terraces. Dug out mostly because raising them made it too high to contain easily. I then removed as much of the rock then filled with old cardboard and branches we cut back. We shredded a lot and added that too. Collected a fair amount of topsoil from my parents renovating their property and added that. Then lots of leaves which they collected too. Trying to shore up the sides of my veg bed with old buckets which I have drilled drainage holes into and will plant with herbs and flowers like nasturtiums.

The rest of the ground I will just be slowly trying to improve.

 

[sumi]

I'm originally from South Africa! Grew up in Rustenburg and then moved around a bit before settling in the Klein Karoo on a farm. I emigrated to Ireland just over 3 years ago. Where in S.A. do you live?

Chicken-wise I'd recommend Boschvelders: The Boschveld Chicken - Everything You Need To Knowhttps://chickenfarmingspot.com/the-characteristics-of-the-boschveld-chicken/ A friend of mine had a large flock of them and I had a pair myself. They are hardy, good layers, nice temperaments and they don't want to be spoiled or pampered, which makes them easy to keep. They are great confined as well as free ranging and they are so pretty! They come in nearly every colour or variety of colours you can think of.

 

[OffGridWannaBe]

I'm originally from South Africa! Grew up in Rustenburg and then moved around a bit before settling in the Klein Karoo on a farm. I emigrated to Ireland just over 3 years ago. Where in S.A. do you live?

Originally KZN then Pretoria then back to KZN now.

 

[Chic Rustler]

Hello and welcome. Theres alot of good stuff in this thread already.
In my limited experience the best bang for the buck (in my opinion) when it comes to gardening is raised beds filled with homemade compost.

Back to eden/lasana garden is a good long term approach for soil building and has worked well for me as well.

 

[OffGridWannaBe]

Hi
My biggest problem with raised beds is what to make them of. We have termites so wood is not an option and finding scrap is very difficult. Majority of people in this area will pay someone to take it away unless it's a private person then they want you to buy it! Or they take it to the dump which we cannot scavenge from.

 

[CrealCritter]

Wife's "pretty" rhoad island red / buff orpengton crossed rooster. Notice his long spurs and hooked top beak and his eyes are even red. This guy is not really what you want in with the layers. He's rough on the girls, but my wife would not be happy with me, if I put him in the pot. He's her pretty rooster!

 

[NH Homesteader]

He is pretty but I do not tolerate roos that are rough on hens. He'd be great in soup.

 

[CrealCritter]

He is pretty but I do not tolerate roos that are rough on hens. He'd be great in soup.

Only saving Grace is as my wife says my buff orpengton rooster is about 1 1/2 times the size of her's and mine keeps her's in line.

 

[CrealCritter]

Hi
My biggest problem with raised beds is what to make them of. We have termites so wood is not an option and finding scrap is very difficult. Majority of people in this area will pay someone to take it away unless it's a private person then they want you to buy it! Or they take it to the dump which we cannot scavenge from.

If you have some eastern red cedar trees or can get access to ceadr logs, the heartwood holds up real well and is pretty much a insect repellent. The sapwood doesn't account for much though.