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  • From: robert schuler <sunnfarm AT bellatlantic.net>
  • To: Market Farming <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Market-farming] Natural Insect Control Question
  • Date: Mon, 19 Apr 2004 10:07:30 -0400

One question? If you ordered a salad at a restaurant and saw chickens foraging
on the kitchen floor would you eat there?. Organics has a bad rap because of
fecal contamination, letting chickens forage in the garden is probably why.
Thankfully we don't get many hoppers in the east . Perhaps we have some
predator insect at work that can not live outwest? .Bob.

Matt Cheselka wrote:

> Good day everyone!
>
> I'm trying to think ahead a little bit and we have a serious problem with
> grashoppers come August and September. Last year they didn't do much
> damage in my *very* little patch (the lettuce came out perfect, the
> mustard was slightly damaged), but now that I'm a little bigger and have
> more variety, I'm a little more worried about them doing some serious
> damage this fall.
>
> I had a friend who was growing veggies on an acre and had real good
> success with using chickens (he moved away over a year ago, so I haven't
> talked to him recently). He probably had 1-2 dozen of them must patroling
> around all day, and then he closed them in at night. As far as I could
> tell, the chickens left the veggies (even seedlings) alone.
>
> I have another friend who I was talking to just today that swore that if I
> had chickens they'd eat everything in sight just like they did on his
> uncle's vegetable garden. He said they even got into the trees and ate
> the leaves off of them.
>
> Obviously there's a conflict here....
>
> So, my question is in multiple parts:
>
> 1. Are chickens useful for natural insect control?
> 2. If so, is there a specific kind of chicken I should
> get ahold of?
> 3. If chickens *are* harmful to vegetables, *how* harmful
> are they in terms of risk (do they destroy 10% of the crop,
> 50%, or 100%)?
> 4. Is there some other kind of animal that can be used
> for such a thing? I know that ducks work well, but I also know
> they can damage seedlings, and ducks are slightly more
> word to keep happy.
>
> Thanks in advance,
>
> Matt Cheselka
> Cosmic Lettuce
>
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