We bought the plans online, and had a contractor friend of ours build it. Unfortunantly, the plans were not great, and there are some MAJOR changes I would now make to it before I built another one. Ebay now has a ton of cute small coops. It would be worth it to buy them premade (even with shipping). My mom bought a small wooden children's playhouse and converted it-- it is way cute, too! The coop is sitting on the concrete, though there is now about 12-16" of straw covering it. We had originally planned to put it on soil, but forgot that the neighbor on that side has a satanic dog that would terrorize our chickens! So it went on the other side of the house on the cement pad. This also prevents any predators from digging under the coop, so I guess its OK. We started off with only 2-3 chickens as well. But we started with bantams (minature chickens, about 1/4 the size) so they would do less destruction to our landscape and so my daughter could more easily hold them. We have been very happy with them, especially the Cochin breed, which are very calm and sweet. I would STRONGLY suggest you visit www.backyardchickens.com/forum and look around there for a while....there is so much fabulous info there. Over 22,000 members across the country and so much knowledge. I spent hours and hours on the site and learned so much before we even got the babies. Another great source of info was http://www.mypetchicken.com/ebook.aspx This really spells it all out! Have fun! My daughter has really enjoyed the last few years with our chickens! Here she is reading books to them in the doghouse :)

My small potager must include a few flowers planted among the herbs and vegetables. Actually it is chock full with the following plants: Pineapple sage, football mums, salvias(blue) snapdragons(mixed colors), green peppers, 3 clumps of asparagus in the back row) leeks, oriental lilies, Italian parsley, swiss chard; heirloom tomatoes, and hot peppers; zucchini (3 plants only), a teepee planted with purple pole beans, and cucumbers intertwined with the beans, gazanias, nasturtiums and a few herb plants. This potager looks attractive with these plants and I would never try to hide my vegetables. If, in fact, you place them in the front yard or in a corner display, remember that okra, eggplant, and swiss chard has pretty leaves and the flowers on the okra and eggplant are also attractive. I also like to use those plants on the side of my yard intermixed with the tall cannas during the summer months. It is an edible landscape area as well. Vicki

It is so easy to get overwhelmed. Afterall, I have a full time job, and when I get home at night I have dinner to cook and housework to catch up on, and I do want so relaxation time... But I find that I get a renewed burst of energy when I have half an hour to garden. Here are my little tricks for staying on top of gardening.... 1. Prep Time. When dinner is simmering on the stove, I pour a glass of wine and go to the garden for 10 minutes to pull a couple of weeds, plant a pack of seeds, or pick a few veggies... as the season demands. This is when I notice what needs doing most after dinner. 2. After Dinner Drink. When the dishes are done, I set aside half an hour for watering or another project like pruning, digging in compost or planting something I bought on the drive home. 3. Rescue. I always keep a watering can full of water nearby for quick rescues on the way to work, or when I first arrive home and find the eggplants wilting. 4. Prioritize. If I can fit a bigger project into one evening, I make sure I have supplies and a list of priorities handy. This means you have to plan ahead to have a bale of peat moss etc. but when there are 10 things that needs to be done yesterday, keeping a list helps get me started quickly when I have a moment instead of wandering aimlessly thinking how hopeless it all is! 5. Procrastinate. Save big projects like fencing, freezing/canning or major weeding for the weekend. You just won't get them done in one evening, so use that time for something else. So... for the most part, gardening can be handled in 30-45 minutes a day plus 4 hours each weekend. If things still get out of control, They do sell veggies at farmstands and you can always use your efforts for compost!!!

We've got very heavy clay soil here in central Texas as well. The soil looks suitable for making pots and bowls... I am in my second year of amending the soil, mainly through the use of generous amounts of compost mixed in with a tiller. Last year my garden yields were not so great, in part because I got a late start (due to the date we moved into the house) and in part because of record drought. My best harvests last year were okra and basil; most other plants limped along feebly through the > 100 F heat. This year has been much, much better. I had a cover crop, and that also helped break up the heavy soil. One part of the garden got planted with a cover crop mix of vetches, oats, and bell beans in September, and this got tilled under in January. The other part got planted in January with fava beans, and the fave beans were harvested and pulled out last month. This year, in addition to tilling compost in, I have also made small holes or trenches of compost in which I have directly planted the seeds or transplants, to give them extra nutrients as they start. This year the amended garden has been yielding very well. The soil texture is better than last year, though it will probably take another couple of seasons to achieve the nice "chocolate cake" type soil that is possible after amendment. My clay + compost garden has far out-performed my trial 4' x 4' square garden raised bed, probably because the clay provides nutrients not present in the mix used in the raised bed. I am continuing to experiment with the raised beds as well by adding more compost and organic fertilizer.