Kent, why are you cultivating weeds? Are they for you or the chickens? If you are in need of more give me a holler....I'm busting my behind trying to eradicate them. My hens prefer bugs and rolled corn to the weeds. I turn the hens loose in the garden so they'll eat the grubs and grasshoppers.

MeMo

That made me laugh! I was mostly thinking about the chickens. I'm planting hard-to-kill edible weeds where the run will be. But, I'm also using some cheap planters to grow greens and other edible weeds for myself and the chickens. The thought of chickens eating grubs (and hopefully slugs) warms my heart.

Maybe it's not so much "cultivating" as "persistant laziness". Spin is everything!

You are creating an ecosystem. Did you know? I think it's a great idea. I have a dream of owning land and raising many animals. Some for food some for beuty such as peacocks and swans. Why not grow there food. I think if it works for you go for it.

Enjoy your 'weeds' Kent. Have you made dandelion wine? How do you eat them? My DH's father loved the greens. Dandies do send one back to childhood, where you would pick one and blow on it and all the little seed carriers would float away. I do hope you will keep us up to date with your chicken experience and take pictures also. What kind are you getting? We hear roosters around early in the mornings before traffic starts up. Enjoy fresh eggs and the critters as well.

FlowerLady

"Am I the only nut introducing weeds into my yard?"

Apparently not.

I'm seriously considering planting wild milkweed for the butterflies. I DO need to THINK about this idea though. I know those seeds will blow around EVERYWHERE, so I hope I come to my senses soon. I have asclepias tuberosa and verbena bonsariensis already, which the monarchs love, but I would love to provide more of a habitat for them.

Kent I am just loving all of your preparations over these chickens. You must be driving poor Johnny insane with all of your IDEAS.

Have fun! I'm certainly having fun hearing about it.
Patti

My great uncle was a county extension agent. He told me to leave a couple of "danylions" to attract the aphids from other areas in the garden. Just keep the blooms picked if you don't want them to reseed.

Well lucky enough for me I also have an abundance of weeds that I have been battling with since I moved in here last May. My new chickens will have plenty! Plus my yard has been taken over by grasshoppers,spiders and giant grasshoppers or maybe they're locusts. My chickens will have a field day!

Kent,

I wish I had known that you were into dandelions because I could have supplied you with some all winter. The darn things never went dormant for me! Like Flowerlady, I would love to hear how you prepare dandelion greens. They are very nutrious, aren't they?

Good luck with the chickens, Kent. I hope you will keep us posted.

Amazon,

There is a peacock in my car pool buddy's neighborhood. No one seems to know how he got there, but has been around for several months. In fact, he has become the neighborhood mascot. Apparently they are not fussy eaters, and very resourceful as far as finding shelter. It's always a treat to see him strutting around.

Marilyn

Natv- That's interesting! I hadn't though of them attracting aphids. I found out that scorching the stems keeps the flowers open a little longer (just like picking poppies).

Amazon- I love peacocks, but they are so loud! A flock of screeching birds is more than I could bear. If you haven't had the chance, go hear some before you consider getting them. I hope you get to have some animals someday soon, even peafowl, loud escape artists that they are.

Patti- I always drive J crazy. He was just lecturing me about leveling the support posts. No short cut for me! I'm hoping if I look hopeless enough he'll just finish them for me. My parent's have found wild milkweed in their yard. They haven't had it spread outrageously though, although they do live in a fairly well-manicured subdivision, which could account for that.

FlowerLady- I haven't made dandelion wine myself, although I've sampled some before from different batches. One had little flavor and the other just didn't taste good at all. It seems like a lot of effort for so little return. I am hoping to make some elderberry cordial if my shrubs ever get going.

The dandelion flowers are tasty dipped in batter and fried (but what isn't?). But usually, I just pick young leaves to nibble on or add to salads. I have blanched them, but only the ones I've grown in containers for that purpose, I can't imagine going around the yard mounding soil over all the little plants. They make good snacks, along with nasturtiums and sorrel, when I'm out doing gardening chores.

As for the chickens, I ordered Barred Rocks, Easter Eggers/Americaunas, Faverolles, and Black Giants and I added a couple of Cochins and Brahmas as "filler" birds just in case. I want more than I can have here. People are already asking what I plan to do with the compost! What's more interesting is that I've discovered a good many people in the area keep chickens and I never knew it before.

Back to post hole digging! Have a good day everyone...

Well, y'know, a weed is a plant that isn't where you want it. ;) So, if you want the dandelions, I guess they aren't weeds anymore! But, I'd definitely try to keep up with picking them so they aren't *everywhere* (like at my old house, lol).

Btw, I forget where I saw it, but at least one seed catalog had some fancy variety of dandelion seeds for sale!

heeheehee. Kent you are not a weirdo to be "cultivating" your weeds :) Just last week I was researching which "weeds" are good for chickens and here's what I found:

sow thistle - seeds good for songbirds; young leaves - raw, steamed, or baked; trim spines; parboil for bitterness; rich in minerals and vit. C

barnyard grass - seeds for birds, incl. poultry

Shepherds Purse - seeds for birds; edible leaves

plantain - leaves and seeds good supplement for birds and poultry; bruised leaves used for poultice for minor cuts, scratches, and other skin irritations; seeds have laxative quality (mucilaginous)

buckwheat - excellent poultry feed said to stimulate egg production; ploughed in as soil enricher before seed set

purslane - in some countries used as food for poultry and pigs

That's as far as I got, but it looks promising. We've got tonnes of "weeds" and pasture grasses here so I'm thinking about harvesting some of that for the flock. They already get lots of compost items (veggie matter, bread, cereal, rice, pasta, milk/cheese leftovers, weeds from the garden, etc.). Winter is a bit scarce here, but we save their compost seperate from the other in the kitchen and give them a treat every few days. Not much goes to waste now.

Also, I LOVE dandelions and we have never sprayed our lawn for them. They are so bright and cheerful and they only last a month or so. After that the lawn is lush and green. Dandelions are also an excellent pasture feed and increase milk flow in dairy cattle (from what I've read). Wonder why most people hates them so much? Biodiversity really is important, even in your lawn.

Kent, I'm all for going o'natural but have you taken to eating weeds?

My chickens ate anything that moved and every plant in their path. They cleared my backyard until it looked like a wasteland. What about growing clover or barley for the chickens?

Patti, I really don't think you'll have a milkweed infestation, MW grows rather slow. The cat's will devour the plants and MW dies back to the ground in the winter. I'm going on 3 years raising Monarchs and my MW has not taken over my yard in the least.

Irene- I am fairly certain that I'm the only fool within a hundred mile radius that has ordered and planted "improved" dandelion seeds. I suppose they might have been a little thicker, but I question my ability to keep the resulting flowers from cross pollinating with "inferior" stock. They all got eaten by me and I planted the roots out in the yard, which is slowly getting mulched under anyway. It is difficult to achieve a balance I'm comfortable with. I was at a plant swap several years ago and someone sniped about "weeds" being in the host's garden. Someone else overheard and informed the lady that the host liked those "weeds" and allowed them to grow there. It made me smile the rest of the day thinking about the look of horror on the lady's face. : 0

Dance- I hadn't thought of barley, but I do have a bag of clover seed wating for whenever I get done destroying the area around the coop. I'm a big fan of clover. I've been eating weeds in the yard for years...delicious. I'm sure you look better 'o'natural' than I do, LOL, the neighbors put up with enough out of me as it is. Wait...is that what you meant? ; )

Balsam- Thank you for those! I received some fancy plantain seeds from one of our very own Cottage Forum corespondents overseas. And, being plantains, they are doing very well. I let the wild versions grow along the sides of the yard (and some beds) because they are also hosts/fodder to some tiny butterflies. I've never grown buckwheat. I'll have to look up Shepherd's Purse. Thanks again!

kent

Um - yes! I say, the more weeds, the better. In fact, in my infinite kindness and generosity, I'm offering you my weeds. All you can pick, in fact! At no charge. If you act now, I'll even throw in a FREE bucket load of locusts!

;-)

Yum, crunchy locusts?! How can I resist?
Like you have weeds!

Just thought of something funny about "weeds" so I'll share it to give you all a grin.

When I started gardening at my current home about 15 years ago, I had all raised beds and would mulch them to keep the weeds down. Inevitably, I would run out of mulch before all the beds were done, so some would quickly become overrun by weeds and grass. I had a customer visiting my gardens one day and she commented on the "healthy living mulch" in some of my beds. Being in the nursery business at the time, I swallowed hard and smiled because I didn't have the nerve to tell her that it was plain old weeds infesting my beds!!!

I had those beds weeded within a couple of days.........;)

Question...
I read that you can put the chicken manure directly on the veggie garden but not on a flower garden and that you have to compost it first. Is this true?

Balsam, that is great! Good save.
Momof2- I'd probably compost the chicken manure before using it for either type of garden, just because it can be high in nitrogen and "burn" plants. Although, like you, I have read various opinions saying that it is safe to use without composting. I suppose it couldn't hurt to experiment, just not on anything you'd be upset to lose.

"healthy living mulch" LOL Like they say, it's all about how you look at things. :-)

If Nicki runs out of weeds, please feel free to contact me. You can have every one of my dandelions (which are in full bloom right now) and any other weed that dares to raise it's nasty little head. Not to be outdone, I will also include swarms of fire ants, at no additional cost. ;-)

Marilyn

momof2 - slubberdegulion's advice is good. Composting first is best. I do sometimes use it fresh in my veggie bed, but only along the path edges, never directly next to the plants. I figure it composts in the paths and all the nutrients get into the soil. It's kind of like "sidedressing", but I don't have a lot of manure either and it's mixed with straw/shavings. Even composting two or three weeks should take most of the "heat" out of the manure, I think, making it safer to put on your plants.

I hereby bequeath my dandelion collection to Kent.
May your chicks be fat and happy.

Here is a link that might be useful: Dandelions from me to you

I've tried hard to cultivate weeds to eat. They hate it here when I do!

GGG

When those improved dandylions are growing in my yard I will now know were it started.LOL
Yes I have heard them but it reminds me of the jungle. I lived near the Amazon when little and I guess I got used to the noises kinda like tree frogs now.

Amazon- Now that's a story! I suppose you might be used to their screeches at that. The closest thing I ever get is owls out in the country, but peafowl are kept all around here in Virginia, which still surprises me.

Locusts, and fire ants...I feel the love.
Geo- thank you! I love those pictures. Your view is a pretty one.

kent

Wait - who's weeding in their gardens o'natural' and can anyone come to this party?

When you get done collecting weeds from Nicki and Marilyn, come out west for a few of mine. I promise not to include any rattlesnakes in the mix. ; )

Diana in CA. where you can always find some weed(s)