Backyard Progress Report – Candace Baker

In just four weeks, the backyard has transformed!

Since my first post, spring has finally sprung (even though it is almost summer)! Our broiler chicks are almost five weeks old. The pitiful little patch of garden I showed you in my introduction video has been planted.

Joe built a new broiler chicken run.

This year, we increased our typical flock of 10 chickens to 25, so our old chicken run was inadequate to accommodate the increased number of birds. Joe constructed the new run using a mixture of new and recycled materials. The broiler chickens do have a separate pen where they can run around, but the walls are not high enough to be secure. The new run will serve as a safe shelter for the remainder of their lifespan.

Since the chickens drink massive amounts of water, Joe added another great feature. He installed a five gallon water distribution system, which took the chickens some time to get the hang of, but it is efficient.

The chickens transitioned into their new home.

If you remember some of my earlier pictures, we kept the chicks in a kiddie swimming pool in our back shed with a heating lamp. As it grew warmer and the chicks became bigger, we would bring them out once a day into the grass to roam and play. Once the new chicken run was built, we finally transitioned them fully outside.

Check out this blog post by Debra Ahrens, a poultry project leader for the Wisconsin, Kewaunee County 4-H organization. She discusses her techniques for raising boiler chicks, which mirror ours.

The seedlings have been transplanted to the garden.

This year, Joe is experimenting with a new technique, no till gardening. The concept is that tilling actually brings more grass seeds to the top, depletes nutrients, and lets precious carbon escape the soil. So this spring, besides having our egg layers break up the organic matter in the garden, we refrained from tilling. Kai Hoffman-Krull discusses how tilling is a contributor to global warming. In addition, implementing the no-till gardening technique is actually easier for the farmer: it’s a win-win!

Cara and Joe adding compost to the seedlings,

Prior to transplanting our seedlings, we lightly broke up the top garden soil, spread compost over it, measured our rows and used a pro-plugger tool to make holes in the earth. More compost was inserted to the soil, the plant was placed in the ground, and additional compost piled on the top.

Note: You will observe that there are no pictures of me working. I really do assist with the garden; at this point I was just busy taking the pictures!

Want to learn more? Here are some ideas to get you started:

Have you ever implemented new ideas in your garden?

I’d love to hear about them and if they were successful! Please share your experiences below-