Homestead mailing list

[Bevanron <erthnsky AT bellsouth.net>]

tonitime AT juno.com wrote:

> Greetings, the List! Being new here, thought i would mention that i 
> am a bit of an obsessive gardener ;-)

That means you are a good one!


 A stroke of  good fortune hit, as a friend who
> is a mushroom farmer offered to give us our first 48' hoophouse!

We should all be so lucky....


> Since it has alot of space, i was toying with the idea of using one 
> end for a cold-season henhouse.  Have any of you ever done suchin a 
> hoop or greenhouse?

A friend of mine turned an old 400ft long chicken house into an all
purpose barn and growing area.  She had her milkroom and processing
room(freezers, coolers-the works) on one end, animals like her goats and
llamas in the middle(with runs to outdoor pasture) and on the other end,
she had chickens and a 'greenhouse/hotbed area'.  I don't think she
rotated the chickens but she did have a few roosters running loose in
the barn and on the property that kept things stirred up.
When I buy chicks, I try to get them early in the season so they lay by
mid or late summer.  I use my greenhouse as a brooder, keeping the
little guys in a large 3' cage under a light.  Using the greenhouse as a
place to raise chicks saves some on the heating costs of raising chicks,
and I feel better about their safety regarding rat predation and other
issues.
I'm not exactly sure what you mean by a "cold-season henhouse", but
chickens do well even in Alaskan winters and I wouldn't think that they
would need all that much protection in a Kentucky winter.  Anything that
shelters them from wind and rain, ice, etc. would be sufficient I would
think, and it doesn't need to be insulated or anything complicated like
that.


 It seems like a great way to keep spring grubs out of the
> growing area (and fertilize a bit) by Spring to let them loose in 
> there. I am imagining the beds with cover crops that i can open to 
> the chickens in sections.  Any wisdom/advice on such a plan 
> appreciated.

I am sure the chickens would appreciate some buckwheat grazing as well
as winter rye or other grasses.  I guess it would all depend on the size
of the area you intend to plant.  If it is too small, then you would
have a lot of chicken poop in your planting area, and since chicken poop
is hot poop, you may burn seedlings.  That's something you would just
need to play by ear depending on how many chickens you have vs. how much
bed space you have.

  We can't free-range poultry because of diligent
> dogs that keep most wildlife out of the kitchen gardens!

I consider a properly used chicken tractor a free range tool. :)

 The Aussie will
> chase the buzzards, crows, and great blue herons deep into the woods,
>  as tho she had a hope ;-)  THAT is good - we're the only farm 
> without deer or other critter detruction way out in our hollar.

I have an Aussie, too...love my Bear Bear...but he is a house baby.

And yeah, I read about your conflict on this list a while back....I left
for a long time, too...I understand.  Folks here are like family in
their bickering and arguing, but it IS a good place to be overall.  I
hate all the political stuff and nyanya-ing so I just post what _I_ want
to talk about...Probably half the list filters me out, but oh
well...that's life. I showed up here early in the list's history, and I
learned almost everything I know right here.  Tvo's gone now, but his
spirit lives on, and almost everyone has a catalog of his posts which
are chocked full of practical information and advice from someone who
did and lived it all.  Sooooo, if you have questions about anything,
politics or homesteading, this is the place to ask.  There are a BUNCH
of really smart people here....
Welcome aboard.

Bev
--
erthnsky AT bellsouth.net  BevanRon of EarthNSky Farm      NW Georgia USDA Zone 7
34.498N 85.076W