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nafex - Re: [NAFEX] shrubs in a chicken yard

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  • From: "Matt Demmon" <mdemmon@gmail.com>
  • To: "North American Fruit Explorers" <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [NAFEX] shrubs in a chicken yard
  • Date: Fri, 4 Jan 2008 13:03:49 -0500

Thanks for all the input! I think I had already had the thought that
mulberries would like nitrogen, and so I've planted two white
mulberries just outside the fence. Maybe I will try some Geraldi Dwarf
inside. And the fig is also a good idea, especially since the the coop
provides wind protection and additional heat from the birds and their
manure in the winter. I may be able to get away with it. I would like
to eventually subdivide the yard as well, it's just a matter of money
and time for fencing. It would be nice to control what they had access
to depending on bloom time and fruit drop, etc.

Speaking of Geraldi Dwarf, does anyone else in the north have much
experience with this mulberry? I know they taste good and produce nice
big mulberries even the first year in the ground, but I had one die on
me during it's third winter. Totally dead, but sprouted from the M.
alba rootstock. I was wondering if it could be a graft compatibility
issue, or if it is a little tender for zone 5/6. Does anyone know if
it is a specific cultivar, or a group of seedlings? I have heard
different species named for it. Also, would planting the graft below
the ground allow it to be on it's own roots? Would this destroy the
dwarfing effect? Lots of questions. I'm interested in smaller
mulberries, because they're easier to pick.

-matt se MI zone 5

On Jan 3, 2008 6:31 PM, Martha L. Davis <martha_davis@earthlink.net> wrote:
> As has been said already Mulberries are traditional for chicken yard use
> and like rich soil. The siberian pea shrub can make good chicken feed and
> is tough but it also fixes nitrogen so isn't really going to help with that
> part. If you're willing to deal with expansionist tendencies or have the
> right animals to eat or harvest it bamboo will soak up the nitrogen. My
> vote is for Mulberries planted near the fenceline of the yard they eat the
> ones that fall inside and you can lay down a tarp and get the ones that
> fall outside the fence. You might consider subdividing the chicken yard to
> rotate the area they use. There isa recent issue of Permaculture Activist
> on animals in permaculture that has some useful ideas on this type of topic.
>
> Martha

--
-matt
aim: farmerdemmon
www.flickr.com/photos/farmerdemmon




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