Can I grow veg where chickens have lived? :)

[pat57]

Hi all,

I've recently acquired an allotment half of which was used to keep chickens over a long period of time. I'm not able to keep chickens myself and so I want to use all of the plot to grow fruit and veg. A man on the next allotment to me says that I won't be able to grow anything on that part of the plot (although nettles seem to be doing really well!!!!). Any advice would be really welcome as it seems such a shame to waste it.

[Eyren]

Hi Pat and welcome to the Vine!

The ground will no doubt be very acidic from all the uric acid in the chicken poo - I would get a soil pH kit and test it, then work out if it's feasible to lime the whole area enough to neutralise the soil. Raised beds might be another option, especially if you can get hold of free compost from a recycling centre, and of course you could put your shed/compost bin/etc there.

I'm sure there'll be other options on what to do, but I'm also sure you needn't give up on half your plot so easily

[HayleyB]

You could use some bits to grow Blueberries, they love acidic soil

[janeyo]

I would have thought all that fertilising would have been a good thing and you could grow loads. I planted an apple tree in with my chooks and it's doing fine.

[jacob marley]

I would just cultivate and plant and see where we go from there it should not be to much trouble...jacob

[Flummery]

Nettles are a sign of fertile soil. OK it'll be acid - so are a lot of people's gardens. I reckon he's jealous!

Welcome to the Good Ship Grapevine, by the way!

[Snadger]

I would have thought that chicken pasture would have been an ideal veg growing environment?

Have a few test digs, if you unearth loads of worms.........you're on to a winner!

[snakeshack]

If nothing else you can crop the nettles for compost and nettle tea fertillizer.
I would think the soil would be very fertile if a little rich in nitrogen,and acidic.How long since there were chickens on it as the rain will have leached some of the acidity out,depending on soil type and ph of the soil elsewhere on the plot

[Eyren]

I suspect what the old boy means is that you probably won't be able to grow traditional allotment crops like spuds, root veg and brassicas very easily in such acidic, heavily manured soil, at least not until it has been improved in some way. I would try some heavy above-ground feeders like squash to mop up the nitrogen - they'll probably love it!

[pat57]

Hello again - thanks to you all for your ideas, advice and the warm welcome - I expect I'll be a regular visitor from now on.

[-pat m]

I would reiterate the test kit over the full plot - you will note variances (I was amazed at the variances that I found when deciding the site for my poly tunnel.). Time will also be an issue when were there chickens on there last? Harvest the nettles (your first crop from the plot!!) then test and dig

Good luck

Pat

[geoff]

An old chicken patch should br good for growing veg The chickens will have pecked and cleared all the old vegetation and weeds, and it will be well fertilised. Give it a good digging over and see what happens

[pat57]

hello -patm and geoff
Thanks for the advice - a test kit is now on my priority list. Chickens were last on the plot about 3 and a half years ago and the plot has been allowed to grow wild since.

Pat - as you will have gathered I'm a complete novice - I have a wonderful crop of nettles - what exactly do I do with it - I was just going to compost it?????

[Eyren]

You can eat young nettle shoots: traditionally they are made into tea or soup:

Lady Ridley's Nettle Soup

Or you can make the leaves into 'nettle tea' fertilizer, though it's very smelly!

[Sprocket*]

I wouldn't worry! when I took over my plot it had been nothing other than a chicken run for the last couple of years. It produced a wonderful crop of all sorts last year, and it is being prepared for next. The only thing that did not do well was onions for some reason!