Treat 'em rough!

[veggiechicken]

Earlier this year I mixed together lots of out of date seeds - salad leaves, cabbages, rocket, radish, chard and some green manure and threw it in the resting chicken run. Literally, just threw it, scuffled it with my feet, shut the gate and haven't been in there since. My idea was that, if anything grew, the chooks could eat it when I let them back into that run.

Today, I spotted radishes and lettuce and some oriental leaves amongst the weeds.



You can see how poor the ground is - sticks, stones and nettles. Its had no attention whatsoever. Seemed far too early to sow these seeds outdoors with no protection - but they've grown. In fact, the baby lettuces look better than the ones I've been nurturing in the GH.

Do we fuss over our seedlings too much?

[Bal]

I think your right VC. There is a chap in the village who grows loads of stuff in his garden. He just bungs them and in let's them got on with. When he saw my electric blanket set up he was gobsmacked, and didn't understand why I make so much work for myself

[Scarlet]

Chickens will eat anything! Get those mustard leaves on your plate

[veggiechicken]

Don't worry, Scarlet, they're not going back in there until I've finished scoffing
I'm curious to see what else comes up!

[vixylix]

I think they just do what they feel like no matter what we do

[Bren In Pots]

That reminded me VC I put my out of date seeds in a jar ready to do the same thing, wasn't brave enough to sprinkle them around the garden just yet though.

[muddled]

to be fair, that ground is particularly well fertilised if its had chooks on it previously.

I used to do this with all the year befores carrot seeds (not for the chooks, mind) because they always say carrot seed doesn't keep. But this year for the challenge I've been using old seed and so far I've had excellent germination!

[Snoop Puss]

One year I sowed some lettuce seed in summer and they didn't germinate. No big deal, I bought some plug plants instead (about 4p apiece here for lettuce and easily available). I left the seed modules with the compost in. January the following year, up they came. Bearing in mind we have really cold winters here and they were ordinary Little Gem (not Winter Gem), I was amazed. My impression is that lettuce in particular will germinate very readily in cold conditions.

[ESBkevin]

If you've got nettles growing the soil isn't that poor. Hens won't eat nettles but they are excellent for the compost heap (before they flower). Eat your fill, in my experience it will be a matter of a few days for the hens to strip that bit of ground back.

[cptncrackoff]

I think you're right VC!
A lot of the time we forget that the seeds are preprogrammed to germinate, grow and succeed.. nature has sorted that. I'm sure sometimes our interference hinders, rather than encourages!

[veggiechicken]

ESBkevin, I didn't mean that the soil itself was poor, just that its full of sticks and stones. Normally, I'd have raked them up and had a nice fine tilth to sow into. Probably would have sown in rows too, or, with lettuce and brassicas, have started them in seed trays, pricked them out into modules, and eventually, planted them out. Think how much work I've saved myself
Meanwhile, the chooks are too busy helping me clear some fruit beds to need to go into that run

[Seagull]

A few years ago, a friend and her husband went to Australia for five weeks, leaving in early May. Before they left they just threw a load of seed around their allotment. It was the most successful year they had!

[lottie dolly]

had a nose outside this morning,i was gob smacked to realize i had left out some little lettuce prickouts,and they looked fine,been there a several days,in all the horrid so called weather,just goes to show eh.

[Lisasbolt]

you finally got some radish enjoy

[veggiechicken]

An Update!!

How it looks today


Can you see the chooks?


Carrots, parsnips, brassicas..........



A few seedlings I dug up before leaving the rest for the chooks


The lettuce and chard seedlings were trashed first by the chooks. Maybe the cabbages will be next. Will they leave anything? l