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 :)

You've opened a door that many want to chime in on. According to many, organics will not work in a container grow. I am hardheaded, and proceeded to do what many won't or can't do to make it work. Last year, i grew 40 some pepper plants, and some other stuff in my containers and was quite successful. If you are looking for more than one season, I reccomend using Al's mix - see the container gardening forum. If you are not going to try and grow more than one season with organics - you can do it, it will work, but it is more costly and time consuming than most gardners wish to stick with. As I said, I am hard headed and want challenges, and was able to do extremely well. Still here, OK here goes some of my .025 I mix my soil mix in two stages now. One is for first transplant, second is for fruiting and final transplant. Both are mixed well in advance - as much as 6 months or as few as 6 weeks depending on time availability and funds hee hee. I mix into huge totes and keep them around 68-74 degrees to let the microlife grow and develop. The containers I grow in are *mostly 8-14 gallon plastic nursery stock. With the weight of the containers while growing, they tend to settle into the ground quite a bit over the summer, and thats exactly what i want. I also do not really do more than trim the grass at the top level of the containers to prevent the sun from cooking the soillife and roots inside. I do use some 5 gallon buckets too, but those plants are severly root bound by seasons end. I use a blend of fertiloams red label, a very "woody and chunky" potting soil that is locally available for both of my mixes. For a 50 gallon batch I add the following. first mix 15 lbs of worm castings. 2 lbs green sand 2 lbs cottonseed meal 1 lbs blood meal 5 lbs bone meal - either steamed or not. 1 lbs kelp meal 5 lbs pelletized dolomite lime 1 bag composted cow manure Alot of folks stay away from the worm castings, but to introduce microlife, it's important. After mixing thoroughly, I make a "tea" from 1 gallon of spring water, 1/2 cup worm castings, 4 tablespoons of liquid fish ferts (alaska), and 2 tablespoons of non sulfured molasses. I put an air pump (aquarium) and stone in this, and bubble it until it foams hard - usually 12 to 16 hours. I mix this with another 4 gallons of either rain water or spring water and 1/4 cup molasses. This I add to the mix in the totes to lightly moisten, and mix thoroughly. I then cover the totes, and store them, turning lightly weekly and monitoring so that they do not go anaerobic on me. "hot mix" 5 lbs greensand 30 lbs worm castings 10 lbs bone meal 7 lbs cottonseed meal 5 lbs blood meal 5 lbs bat guano high pk 2 bage composted cow manure 3 lbs kelp meal 6 lbs pelletized dolomite lime 2 lbs grain limestone the mix part and tea is the same. first mix is for 1st transplant into 1 gallon containers, before this I use straight red label, second mix is for final transplant into large container. I add a few teas during growth, water daily unless rain, and put a mix of chunky shredded bark and alfalfa pellets on top to mulch with. Once a month or so, I water with a 2 table spoon molasses to 1 gallon water mix to enrich microlife. i have changed this mix several times, and will probably continue to do so. You don't have to get this involved, but without the microlife, the nutrients are not that available to the plant, and it will not flourish. I had mature peppers - even Bhuts in late June, early July. My garden planted peppers didn't really yield till later like mid August or so. I harvested over and over and over. Continously. it will work, but like I said, is expensive, and time consuming. My tomatoes and basil were enormous and yielded well into October. Next post I will attach some late season photos. Good luck. TiMo One added benefit is the use of the old seasons mix into my vegetable garden. In January, I could scrape off the leaf covering in the garden and still find enourmous amounts of worms at work breaking this down. This year, my garden should really rock. The greensand and bonemeal last well into the future, more so the greensand.

Each Crab Grass plant grew from a different seed, so each time you pull one plant you eliminate that one. They do not regrow from the roots of any plant you pull out. Corn Gluten Meal is a pre emergent that you could put down that might suppress the growth of Crab Grass, but that could also suppress the growth of other plants you have seeded in the garden. The Crab Grass preventers are not acceptable products for use by organic growers.

I also plant flowers herbs and vegetables together. Why not!? Lots of vegetables are pretty, particularly when they aren't planted in 'soldier rows.' One thing you might consider is planning small pathways (using your choice of material) that go through the area. That way you have easy access to your plants and don't compact the growing soil. If you can allow enough room to get a wheelbarrow through, all the better! With a little planning, you can make the paths so that they enhance the look of the garden. Soaker hoses are great and mulch will make everything healthier and very pretty. Both cut down on maintaince time. Rotating your crops cuts down on infestations and allows the soil to recouperate from heavy feeders. When you really get daring, you could consider a fountain or birdbath somewhere in the garden to add the sound of water! PS Watch out for invasive herbs like mint. Those, I'd plant in a pot in, or above ground! Good luck!