Wednesday, May 15, 2013

My Garden and Tiny's Yarden

My vegetable garden is pretty much nonexistent.  Half of the tomato plants I started from seed this winter were torn up by the chickens.  The other half (which were in the somewhat-protected area of the berry garden) are still alive, but not thriving.
Sad little tomato plant.  One of the few survivors
of the Great Chicken Scratching Massacre of 2013.
Not a single pepper plant came up from my starts and since it's way too late to start them from seed now, I broke down and bought a green, yellow and red variety from the local nursery.

I planted cucumbers and peas along one of the garden fences a few weeks back and the peas are coming up nicely.  The cucumbers, not so much.  Hopefully I can keep the rogue chickens out of the garden and they will find other things to scratch at and destroy.
Cucumbers; not so nice looking.
Peas; pretty nice looking.
Chickens are little feathered excavating machines.  Destructive beyond imagination.  You wouldn't think that those little biddies could rip up so much vegetation in so little time.  If one were to park oneself right outside my house, you would see me busting out of the screen door like a rocket, screaming "Freaking Chickens in the Garden!!" at the top of my lungs, flailing my arms in the air at least three times a day.
Trying to flee the scene of the crime.
Of course, this is really no excuse for me to have been so late with the garden.  I could have put up the netting over the still-bare raised beds in the front yard.  Or we could lock down the chickens. Although that would require us to build a pen for them and that's not very high on the priority list.

So my garden is still not planted.  But it's on this week's To Do List.  I've got to get the peppers in, plant the squash & melon seeds and maybe even work on my kind'a newish herb garden (big reveal on the next post.....exciting, I know).

But speaking of something new, did you know that Tiny Gardener has a Facebook Page called Yarden?  Yup, she does!  Do you like stalking strangers (and mind you, she is most definitely strange) from your laptop and peering into the lives of their suburban poultry and gardening?  Then go "Like" her page over on the evil Facebook!  I'm sure she'd be happy for the company.  Tell her I sent ya.  And tell her that she doesn't post nearly enough cat pictures.

9 comments:

  1. You are learning one of the great lessons of life:

    Chickens (and dogs and goats)do not mix!

    I am waiting for a man to make my garden dog-proof!

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  2. I'm constantly chasing chickens out of my gardens. I hope we can afford to fence it in this year, but who knows.

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  3. This must be the year of the Great Chicken Break-Out or Chickens Gone Wild or something! Ours are fenced in with about 23 acres (big exaggeration) and a pond to roam in/around but when the snow was drifted up to the fence this early spring, they took to walking over it and exploring new territory, aka my garden and our back parking area (where it's easy for us to step in poop) of all uninteresting places, I would think. Now that they've seen Pair-ee, it's hard to keep 'em down on the farm. Or in their fenced in area. Yesterday I chased two of the dumb clucks round and round until they ran halfway down the driveway with me wishing them Bon Voyage.

    Now you, Young Lady, get out there and plant your garden! Just keep thinking of all that luscious, nutritious, fresh food you can be eating in a couple of months.

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  4. I've been known to come flying out of the house screaming the same thing! My neighbors probably think I'm off my rocker. Now we clip wings and that seems to help.

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  5. I penned my chickens up to keep them out of the neighbors garden. All their poop is in one area. My garden is safe and I don't worry about them wondering deep into the woods I ♥it!
    Your plants did better than mine. I successfully killed every start I had. I do it every year. I don't know what my problem is LOL!!!

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  6. It's hard enough dealing with the vagrancies of Mother Nature - adding Chicken Raiders into the mix is just plumb crazy. I would assign "chicken fencing" to a higher level on your list. Or....at the risk of being redundant...Electronet+Charger = Safe Garden. I have sacrificed my side yard to the bomb craters of chickens. Every once in a while, I go around and try to fill them. Silly me.

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  7. I finally planted my pathetic little tomato seedlings into 5 gallon buckets yesterday. I doubt they'll survive but there's always hope! Love that picture of the fleeing chickens! LOL!!

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  8. Well look on the bright side, you can always eat the chickens! :-)

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  9. The goats eat my garden - or have eaten my rose bushes! I think the one may survive. I did cover the top of my garden bed with chicken wire so they would stay out of the garden. Plans are in the works for a garden surround to not only keep the goats out, but to keep out squirrels and cats! http://www.lindercroft.net/1/category/garden%20beds/1.html

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