When you are on a farm (or have a large homestead) and want to create a substantial food forest, you are faced with the question of how to get that land ready. At this scale one of the best way to manage the task is by using the tried-and-true practices involved with agricultural field preparation.
Many homesteaders may not have larger equipment. And some farmers interested in having a food forest may not be crop farmers but rather grow livestock or manage niche crops. As such, I would recommend contract work, as the equipment needed here is very standard in most areas. The goal is to get rid of grass and other weeds so you have have your chosen species planted.
Basic Cycle of Field Preparation
First, Mow
Mow the field in late spring to remove all vegetation and make it easier for field work. Mowing work should be done about 12 feet wider in all directions from what you want the size of your plot’s final food forest to be.
Plow the Field
Next, plow the field in early summer, when it is dry and easy to work. Start in the middle and turn all the soil out 12 feet wider than you want your final food forest plot.
Plowing will turn all the grass and other plants upside down, burying their leaves and exposing their roots. This is very effective at undermining aggressive grasses and other weeds that won’t be killed by tilling (and may even spread via excessive tilling). Cultivation won’t work on these weeds either, unless their roots are fully turned up.
Disc
Now it is time to disc. Hopefully you get this done by mid summer as well. Discing will break up the plow furrows so you can move through the field with finer cultivators.
Discing should chop up the clods and pieces, and make the land easy to work.
S-Tine Cultivation
Now it is time for S-tine cultivation. This process will pull grass and other roots to the surface, laying them out in sheets and rows to dry and die.
Note that it is impossible to do this properly if the land hasn’t been tilled and disced. If, for instance, you tilled the land instead, you would just chop the tops of the grass root system and cut them into little bits. When the S-tine is pulled through the soil, it wouldn’t have anything to grab and pull to the surface. The lower rootlets would remain in the subsoil and never be exposed, allowing the grasses to regrow.
It is important to S-tine every three to four days in the hottest, driest part of the summer to help with desiccation of the roots to really kill off the weeds.
Chisel Plow
Finally as fall approaches, you can optionally pass with a chisel plow to deeply cultivate the land and help with drainage. This may even pull up some deeper roots you missed.
Final Steps
Now, make final passes with the S-tine cultivator. You can optionally use a finishing cultivator with a roller on the back (or a power harrow or tiller pass) to make a good seed bed.
Finally, four to six months before the first frost, pass with a seeder and seed the whole field to winter rye. In the spring overseed the rye to red clover, then allow the rye to self-sow in mid summer.
2 Years Later
In a couple of years, you will find yourself again in spring time, with a field full self-sown rye coming up strong through the winter. Your red clover, too, will be in its second year.
Any residual weeds will have been wiped out by this heavy cover crop, which has also adds nitrogen, nutrients and organic matter! The soil will be loose and ready for turning into Permabeds to build a food forest design. (At the 3-acre scale, you can use a 4- or 2-wheel tractor to construct Permabeds.)
Fermented apple chutney is ridiculously quick to prepare. Because of the naturally occurring high sugar content, this ferment will only require a couple of days before it’s ready to enjoy.
This chutney can be used any of the ways you’d typically use chutney, such as paired with curries, jerked proteins, or mixed into plain rice. Chutney can also really elevate a sandwich when used as a spread.
Yield: 1 pint
Ingredients
2 apples, cored
1 tbsp. (1-inch chunk in whole form) ginger root, peeled
¼ cup red or golden raisins
1 cup red onion (about half of one whole)
1 garlic clove
¼ cup dried apricots (optional)
2 tsp. apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp raw honey (or pure maple syrup)
½ tsp kosher salt
Directions
Put all ingredients into a food processor and pulse it until it reaches a chunky, sauce-like consistency. Transfer the mixture to a clean pint-sized canning jar.
Use a spoon to release any trapped air bubbles you can see within the jar. Push the mixture down so that none is sticking to the upper walls of the jar.
Wipe the rim of the jar clean with a dampened paper towel, add the lid and tighten on the ring. Ferment chutney at room temperature, ideally between 60 to 75 degrees F, and keep out of direct sunlight.
Ferment
Fermentation duration is between two to four days. Once a day, unscrew the canning ring to “burp” the ferment so that the built-up gases created during fermentation can release. Taste test daily to see how the flavors transform. Stir mixture, pat it back down and tightly screw the ring back on.
Once you are pleased with the finished flavor, transfer the chutney to the refrigerator. For best taste and texture, enjoy within two weeks.
The editors of Chickens magazine are always on the lookout for great chicken photos, and in the September/October 2023 print issue they ran a contest titled Shutterclucks.
Above is the winning photo submitted by Haley Waters of Lynn Haven, Florida,and below you’ll find others chosen and printed in Chickens. Each one includes the name and city of residence of the chicken lover (or lovers) who submitted it.
Crystal Gibbs | Fernandina Beach, Florida
Early Bird Acres/Dee Waters | Mantua, Ohio
Terri Loria | Catlett, Virginia
Jackson Siefer | Boulder, Colorado
Mayra Garcia | Ennis, Texas
Nicole Kreps | Lurgan, Pennsylvania
Susan King | Nacogdoches, Texas
Regina Riddle | Burnsville, North Carolina
Pam Highsmith | Seneca, South Carolina
Got a cool clucker you want to show off? Email us an image of your chicken(s) to chickens@chickensmagazine.com with the subject line Shutterclucks, and include your name and mailing address. The winner will receive a prize from one of our sponsors!
This article originally appeared in the Sept./October 2023 issue of Chickens magazine.
Made of steel and hand-painted, this Oak & Olive Rooster Cork Caddy (pictured above) will hold more than 60 wine corks. shopoakandolive.com
Ceramic Dishes
The bright colors and sassy hens on these ceramic dishes make them a great thank you, hostess or birthday gift. instagram.com/earthdaughterstudios
Rooster Wind Chimes
Tranquil tones are produced as autumn winds blow through the 33-inch Arlmont & Co. Rooster Wind Chimes. wayfair.com
Rise and Shine Bowl
The Rise and Shine Bowl by Emma Bridgewater is hand-painted, dishwasher-safe and hand-finished in England. www.joannehudson.com
Wound Dressing
Dust On! All In One Wound Dressing is an all-natural, dry powder that quickly stops bleeding, then draws and absorbs discharge to create a firm, breathable scab. This product doesn’t damage live tissue. fouroaksproducts.com
Glass Salt Cellar
This 21⁄2-inch-high, two-piece glass salt cellar looks like a nesting chicken and is available in pink or rose and made in the United States. westontable.com
Package of Splints
Designed to help with broken feet, curled toes, tendon issues and arthritis (as well as to assist with leg issues from genetics), this package of splints covers from chick to adult sizes on most chickens. Includes three splayed-leg spacers, two chick splints and a small splint, medium splint, large splint and extra-large splint. branscums3dprinting.com
Brooder and Coop Deodorizer
DooKashi Poultry Brooder and Coop Deodorizer eliminates odor and accelerates the composting process when mixed into bedding. dookashi.com
Enamelware Bowls
These enamelware bowls come in a variety of sizes. The rubberized, anti-slip bottom ensure they don’t slip, and the translucent lids make it easy to see what’s inside. rhondaluluart.com
This article originally appeared in the Sept./Oct. 2023 issue of Chickensmagazine.
Backyard chicken-keeping has many benefits aside from farm-fresh eggs. If you garden, chicken manure is black gold when you compost and apply it appropriately, returning nutrients to the soil and helping produce better plants, fruits and vegetables for you and your family.
Manure Macronutrients
Aside from macronutrients nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, which are essential for plant growth, chicken manure also contains calcium, magnesium and sulfur, which are not found in synthetic fertilizers. In its raw form, however, chicken manure also has high concentrations of bacteria, including pathogenic salmonella, meaning that you should always compost it before use and never apply raw poultry manure to your edible garden. The bacteria can encounter your growing produce and either stick to the surface or move inside the plant’s cells, making cleaning impossible.
In addition, if you apply raw, chicken manure before you compost it to your plants, they may very well die due to excessive available nitrogen and salts. The best way to dispose of the manure is to first compost it and then use it correctly and safely.
hanksstudios/Adobe Stock
Step 1: Collect Materials
Think bedding material, such as rice hulls and wood shavings, and put it in a composting bin. You’re aiming for approximately 25 percent manure and 75 percent other materials, which can include the bedding material, leaves, plant material or kitchen scraps, and lawn clippings.
You should have at least 1 cubic foot of material to allow the composting process to heat the pile up to an internal temperature of 140 to 160 degrees F, which will kill pathogenic bacteria.
Step 2: Add Water
You’re looking for the pile to match the texture of a wet sponge.
Step 3: Monitor Temperature
Do this daily with a composting thermometer, which you can find online or at a home-improvement store, and keep a temperature log to refer to. Your goal is to reach a temperature between 140 to 160 degrees and maintain that temperature for three days.
The temperature is key: Submitting compost samples to a lab for detection of pathogens is not practical or effective. However, compost temperatures of 160 degrees or higher will kill salmonella and common bacterial pathogens found in chicken manure. If you don’t achieve that temperature, the chances of pathogen survival for an extended period will increase.
Step 4: Repeat
While the internal part of your pile is treated, the outside is not. Therefore, repeat the process at least two more times to make sure all parts of the pile have been treated.
Step 5: Cure
Put the compost in a covered pile for at least 80 days. This waiting period helps to ensure that the pathogenic bacteria have been killed.
How to Use It
On commercial farms, farmers match the nutrient requirements of the crop with the application rate, which helps mitigate any issues related to nitrogen leaching into groundwater. This approach is not practical for backyard gardeners, but it’s important to recognize that more is not always better. The timing of application is important.
In general, always apply compost as near as possible to planting time and apply it between 1 and 2 inches deep to your garden crops or 1⁄2 inch deep to your lawn. If you want your compost samples analyzed for macronutrients, such as nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, and E. coli and salmonella levels, you can collect a sample and send it to a private diagnostic lab.
Other Items of Note
Do not add dog, cat or human feces to your compost pile, as they can’t be safely composted.
You shouldn’t smell ammonia associated with manure inside the coop. Aside from being bad for our lungs, it can cause ulcers in the chickens’ corneas. If you do, you need more bedding material.
Straw, though commonly used, isn’t the best choice for bedding, as it’s relatively nonabsorbent compared to wood shavings or rice hulls and can contribute to that strong ammonia smell. Clean your coop as needed. Ideally, though, if you have the right density of birds and the correct amount of bedding material, you shouldn’t need to clean your coop more than once every couple of months. (The birds often will “till” their manure with their bedding as part of their normal scratching behavior.)
Remember that after you compost the material can still contain low levels of salmonella, E. coli and other pathogens, which is fine. This is a numbers game in that your starting material had millions of these bacteria per gram of manure. Very low levels of these bacteria will not cause disease if you have a normal immune system.
It’s still recommended to always wash freshly picked fruits and vegetables.
Compost is a safe and ideal fertilizer for your home garden—if processed correctly. Aside from providing nutrients to your plants, when you compost and apply chicken manure, it adds organic matter to the soil and increases the water-holding capacity and the beneficial bacteria present in the soil. But processing it properly is paramount.
More Information
Make Coop Cleaning Easier
Admit it: Raising chickens is fun, but cleaning the coop can be a hassle. However, it’s a necessary part of the chicken keeper’s job, preventing health problems and decreased production in the flock.
Because I work a couple side jobs in addition to a full-time farming and breeding program, I need a coop-cleaning method that’s fast and efficient. Fortunately, there are many ways to clean a chicken coop, based on your location, housing and the number of birds you keep.
Here are some methods you can try on your farm.
1. Hay
Although in Florida (where I live) many chicken coops have dirt floors, I like to cover the dirt with barn lime to dry the ground and kill bacteria. Then I add a layer of hay overtop to minimize health issues. Hay is easier to manage than straw, and it is clean and dust-free, unlike pine shavings. Plus, hay is economical and easy to obtain.
Although you’ll need to change it out weekly, it can be dumped straight into the compost bin.
To clean the coop, we rake the ground and move the old hay to the composting bin, then rebed with barn lime and fresh hay. We clean the coop every two weeks in hot, dry weather and once a week during the wet season. For a chicken coop of 100 chickens, it takes us about 1 hour to re-bed.
2. Dropping Boards
Chickens naturally head to the coop at night to roost, so you’ll typically find a hefty number of droppings in the morning. Minimize your morning work by placing dropping boards under the roosts. Dropping boards are plastic trays or wooden boards that can easily be installed into your chicken coop by nailing, screwing or just placing them on the ground. You’ll need to measure your coop to fit appropriately size dropping boards. As an alternative, some chicken keepers build their coops with dropping pans, wooden boxes under the roost to aid in easy cleanup.
You can find manure scrapers on the market to clean the dropping boards, but a spare taping knife or spatula can be used instead. To clean, use the scraper to pull all the droppings into a bucket.
Voila! You’ve cleaned the coop! Compost the manure and use it as a natural fertilizer in the garden.
3. Removable Roosts
Many coops are constructed with built-in roosts, but you can opt for removable ones for easier cleaning and disinfecting. Use undiluted distilled vinegar or Oxine, an animal-safe product effective against bacteria, fungi and viruses, for disinfecting the roosts and inside the coop.
4. Deep-Litter Method
For colder climates, the deep litter method is a wonderful way to keep your coop warm and easy to manage. As the name implies, the deep litter method is a way to allow your litter to build up and compost over a period of time, from a couple months to a whole season. As the litter and manure composts in the pen, it provides warmth to the chickens.
For colder states, the litter can build up the entire winter. To start the deep litter method, sprinkle barn lime to help with odor and fly control. Top with 4 to 6 inches of pine shavings or hay. Every few weeks, stir the litter, adding more barn lime and fresh shavings or hay to the mix. For natural mite and lice control, you can mix in ash once a month.
5. Tarp Method
My friend uses the tarp method on her farm and can clean 15 coops in less than 1 1/2 hours. Lay a tarp on the coop floor and top with straw. When the straw needs to be changed, fold the tarp and dump the manure and straw into the compost pile.
Pressure wash the tarp and disinfect it with vinegar or Oxine before rebedding the coop. —Alexandra Douglas
This article, written by Pramod Pandey and Maurice Pitesky, originally apperaed in the Sept./Oct. 2023 issue of Chickens magazine. Pandey and Pitesky are faculty members at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of California, Davis, and the University of California Cooperative Extension. Pandey’s research focus is on composting and microbial waste management, and Pitesky’s research focus is on poultry health and food safety epidemiology.
Amy Glattly talks about gleaning, fermenting, sheep shearing and more in this episode of Hobby Farms Presents: Growing Good.
Hear about the Lawrence, Kansas, food and farming scene. Amy talks about how they and fellow farmworkers started a totally volunteer-run gleaning program that donated 3,000 pounds of produce during its first season and involved multiple farmers, restaurants and food-access organizations.
Learn about the incubator farm where Amy grows corn, medicinal herbs and garlic, plus their plans for developing their space there. Get to know Amy’s kitchen workings at Wild Alive Ferments, too, sourcing almost all of their produce locally.
Learn about Amy’s entree into sheep shearing, from hosting a fundraiser to get them started to an honest assessment about gaining and losing clients. Take notes as Amy goes over what you need to know before your shearer comes to your farm. Finally, hear about Amy’s own podcast, Prairie Ramblings, exploring her favorite things that the prairies of Kansas have to offer, from native plant growers to kombucha.
Can chickens eat table scraps? Most backyard chicken-keepers feed their birds kitchen scraps, but whether this is a good practice has been highly debated. Poor diet is one of the leading causes of various health issues in chickens. Good nutrition relies on feeding your flock a quality diet consisting primarily of commercial feed.
However, small amounts of safe kitchen scraps can provide a healthy treat if provided in moderation. If your chickens are packing on the pounds, you may promote weight gain by giving them too much of a good thing. Even healthy snacks can become unhealthy when you feed your birds too much.
Can Chickens Eat Table Scraps: Scrap Safety
Chickens can benefit from a certain amount and type of kitchen scraps, but it’s essential that what you give them is nutritionally balanced and not their primary food source. Feeding your birds too much or unhealthy scraps can lead to weight gain, which could cause them to stop laying eggs, among other things.
“Chickens should be fed a commercial diet,” says Richard Blatchford, associate professor of extension, small- to large-scale poultry, in the department of animal science at the University of California, Davis. “These have been formulated—and are regulated—to provide the full nutrition that chickens need. If you feed this diet, they don’t need any other feed source.
“That said, we know they eat other things if they range, like plants and bugs, even an occasional lizard or mouse. Kitchen scraps aren’t bad for them in moderation. Like us, chickens enjoy food that may not be the most nutritious and may eat that to the exclusion of the nutritious food. Think chocolate versus Brussels sprouts for people. Even foods that appear healthy—for us—can make chickens obese, which can lead to health problems and a decrease in eggs.”
Blatchford specializes in husbandry, behavior and welfare of poultry. He works with broilers, layers and backyard flocks. As an extension specialist, one of his primary roles is to provide the latest scientific information to stakeholders in poultry. He frequently speaks to groups about backyard flock behavior, especially nuisance behaviors, and helps them address these problems and fix bad behaviors.
Estuary Pig/Adobe Stock
Dangerous Snacks
Can chickens eat table scraps? Yes. But there’s a right way to do it. One snack many people feed their chickens that isn’t actually very good for them on an everyday basis is scratch, which Blatchford calls “chicken candy.”
“Scratch is a high-calorie, no-nutrition food,” he says. “It’s made primarily of seeds, which are full of fat, and chickens love it. But it really shouldn’t be part of the daily diet.”
Dairy should also be avoided because birds can’t digest it, which can lead to diarrhea. Like people, diarrhea can cause dehydration, potentially leading to a whole slew of additional problems.
Blatchford suggests not feeding eggs back to your chickens that look like an egg. “This can turn hens into egg-eaters, and that’s very hard to stop,” he says. “There are also some plants that are toxic to chickens, but they tend to avoid them, and they don’t typically come in the form of kitchen scraps.”
When feeding chickens eggs and eggshells, crush them into small pieces that the chickens can easily consume. Once crushed, they can be mixed with other feed or provided in a separate dish.
While toxic plants shouldn’t be something found in your kitchen scraps, some parts of certain vegetables do contain toxins that can be harmful or even deadly to chickens. For example, the leaves, pits and skins of avocados contain persin, a fungicidal toxin that doesn’t affect people but can be fatal to chickens and ducks or cause respiratory problems, heart damage, weakness and death. Other produce to avoid include the following.
rhubarb damaged by severe cold can contain oxalic acid (possible liver damage)
raw potatoes and peels contain alkaloid solanine (fatal)
leaves and stems of eggplant or tomatoes also contain solanine (fatal)
green tomatoes and potatoes contain solanine and chaconine (drowsiness and death)
undercooked or dried beans contain phytohemagglutinins (fatal)
seeds of apples and pears and pits in peaches, apricots, plums and cherries contain cyanide compounds (can be fatal)
caffeine and chocolate can cause increased heart rate, hyperactivity and cardiac arrest
Although onions and garlic aren’t toxic, they can flavor the eggs. Onions can also irritate a bird’s mouth, crop and esophagus and may cause ulcers. In large amounts, onions can cause hemolytic anemia.
Chickens are omnivores and will eat almost anything, but you shouldn’t feed them raw meat, which can contain harmful bacteria. Make sure any produce or commercial feed doesn’t have any mold growth, which can contain mycotoxins and make birds sick or worse.
Can Chickens Eat Table Scraps: When to Eat Treats
Flock-friendly snacks are abundant, so you have options if you want to give your chickens an occasional treat. Dark, leafy greens are healthy and may result in richer, darker yolks. Nearly all fruits are OK for birds in moderation. Just don’t forget to remove any harmful seeds or pits. You’ll find that blueberries, strawberries and watermelons are big hits with your birds.
“In the summer heat, cool veggies that are water-heavy, like melons, are good to offer to get the birds to hydrate,” Blatchford says. “In very cold temperatures, cracked corn can be offered to help the birds heat themselves. If your birds don’t have regular access to forage, you can give them greens.
“However, moderation is the key here, as you don’t want to upset their nutrition intake of the commercial feed. Any food can become unhealthy if given too much. Water-heavy scraps can cause too much water intake and lead to runny feces. Even fruit and veggies can lead to a hen becoming obese.”
Blatchford typically warns bird owners that anything with seeds can pack on the pounds quickly. Although you can give them as an occasional treat, it’s vital to provide them in limited quantities.
“Scraps should not be a daily part of a diet but more like a treat now and then,” he says. “Make sure the birds eat the scraps, as they will mold if left around, and that’s bad for the birds.”
How to Snack on Scraps
Knowing how often to offer scraps to your chickens can be tricky, and you’ll likely find varying advice on the best interval. Blatchford says there really isn’t any hard rule when it comes to frequency. However, he believes a few times a week is fine.
When it comes to timing, you’ll also find various advice on when to feed scraps to your birds. Because the bulk of their diet should come from high-quality commercial feed, some long-time bird owners advise feeding scraps later in the day when they’ve likely already eaten most of their daily feed.
Blatchford doesn’t believe the time of day matters as much as making sure the scraps you’re giving the birds are as fresh as possible. He still emphasizes the importance of limiting their intake, no matter when you provide treats.
“Use the treats sparingly,” he says. “Use them not as part of the diet but as part of improving your interactions with the birds. Be there actively handing out the treats, not just tossing them out on the ground and leaving. This will create positive interactions and make a better experience for the owners and the chickens.”
Besides enjoying the active engagement, you should never give more scraps than your chickens can eat in a single feeding. “If there are leftovers, toss them out, as you don’t want mold to grow,” Blatchford says.
If you decide to feed scraps to your birds later in the day, another thing to keep in mind is not to leave any food out after they roost for the night. Leftover food can attract mice, rats, raccoons, opossums, skunks and predators such as foxes and coyotes.
Many wild animals carry diseases that can be harmful to your birds. They may also steal eggs and attack baby chicks. Larger predators will attack adult birds and can decimate a flock ill-prepared to defend themselves.
Moira McGhee
Why Obesity Matters
Weight can be a big issue for backyard birds because owners of smaller flocks tend to feed them too many treats. Everyone loves seeing their birds race to them for a special handout, such as some yummy berries or vegetable scraps. But being overweight can lead to all sorts of health issues, including problems with the reproductive system, egg binding and heat exhaustion or stroke. An unhealthy diet can also cause heart and liver problems that lead to death.
“Obesity is linked to several health conditions, like ovarian cancer and fatty liver hemorrhagic syndrome, both of which are common causes of death in backyard chickens,” Blatchford says. “Obesity puts a strain on the hen’s body, and this will cause a drop in production. It may also cause the reproductive system to work harder and that can cause issues like tumors or fatigue.”
It can be challenging to recognize early warning signs that your chickens may be getting too fat. Unless you’re checking their body condition regularly, you could miss subtle weight gain, then suddenly realize your birds have put on an unhealthy amount of weight. However, one sign you might notice sooner than weight gain is a drop in egg production.
Overall, you must ensure your backyard flock receives a balanced diet daily. Make sure they’re primarily consuming a high-quality layer feed with scraps provided as occasional treats that help you build a better bond with your birds. Stick to healthier snack options fed in moderation.
You can typically worry less about feeding them something harmful (they tend to avoid things that would make them really sick) and pay closer attention to the amount of treats they eat. Like most creatures, chickens will choose treats over nutritional feed, so it’s up to you to keep the snacks in check.
More Information
Off the Menu
If you’re ever unsure if a food item in your scraps is safe for your chickens, err on the side of caution and don’t give it to them. Many things that are OK for people to eat aren’t safe for chickens and can even be toxic and life-threatening. The following is a partial list of items commonly recommended not to feed to chickens:
anything high in fat, salt, sugar or preservatives
anything containing artificial sweeteners, including xylitol
anything overly processed, such as bologna and deli meats
apple seeds
avocado
chocolate
coffee and coffee grounds
eggplant
green tomatoes
leaves of tomato, potato, rhubarb and pepper plants
uncooked beans, potatoes or rice
moldy or rotted produce and other foods
pits of apricots, cherries or peaches
Tasty Treats
Even something considered a healthy treat can have negative consequences when you feed your chickens too much. If you’re looking for healthy scraps to give your birds some variety while still primarily feeding them a nutritious commercial diet, the following is a partial list of food items that are safe for chickens in moderation.
berries, including blackberries, blueberries and strawberries
cooked meats and fish
leafy greens, including lettuce, cabbage, spinach, kale, collards, carrot tops, etc.
most fruit, including bananas, melons, apples without the seeds and peaches and apricots without the pits
most vegetables, including squash, cucumbers, corn, peas, ripe tomatoes and cooked potatoes
oats, quinoa and cooked rice
plain unsalted popcorn
This article about can chickens eat table scraps originally appeared in the September/October 2023 issue of Chickens magazine and is regularly updated. Click here to subscribe.
We all enjoy farming, but it is certainly nice to make a few dollars from your farm here and there. Farm diversification is critical for operating a small farm that is profitable. Cut flower farmers have been steadily diversifying their offerings with woody ornamentals, and many make a great profit doing so!
What Are Woody Ornamentals?
Woody ornamentals, sometimes referred to as “woodies,” are trees and shrubs grown and harvested specifically for the floral and cut flower industry. They can also be sold for use in craft making, basket weaving and wreath making.
Benefits of Adding Woody Ornamentals
Adding woody ornamentals to your flower farm or homestead is an excellent source of product diversification. These items can be offered and sold often to the same customer base created from a flower farm but expands your products.
These plants also extend your harvest season. Many of them make excellent autumn foliage or are harvested once the leaves fall after the first frosts of fall hit. This is an excellent opportunity for a small flower farm or produce farm to extend their season naturally without the investment of expensive high tunnels and growing extension tools.
Such ornamentals can also be propagated and often sold as landscaping plants, meaning they could be a great tool to start venturing into the nursery business.
Popular Woody Ornamentals to Grow
Boxwood
Commonly grown as a shrub in suburban yards, boxwood actually makes an excellent woody ornamental and is a popular choice for boxwood wreath making and florist sales.
Eucalyptus
Eucalyptus is an excellent woody ornamental for growing in warmer zones. Eucalyptus is a versatile product as it can easily be grown for florist sales in the cut flower industry, but it also is a popular choice for beauty and bath products. Eucalyptus can be invasive so it’s important to plant with care.
Flowering Quince
Quince is a beautiful blooming woody ornamental that makes a great addition to florist sales. They bloom early and can actually be forced to bloom even earlier by harvesting stems with tight flowering buds and putting them in warm water. This prolongs the availability of this product to your customers, so it is a great addition.
Forsythia
No longer just an iconic shrub in grandma’s garden, forsythia is a vigorous and fast-growing woody ornamental that produces loads of yellow flowered stems. They are easy to grow and can be sold for a good profit to florists.
Willow
Several different types of willow make excellent woody ornamentals. Perhaps one of the most versatile of the woody ornamentals, willows can be cut and sold for floral designs and arrangements. They are also regularly used for basket weaving as well as other arts and crafts.
We can’t exclusively blame batteries for difficulties starting engines in cold weather. Cold temperatures can affect engines in many ways. It can gel the fuel of a diesel engine or raise the viscosity of oilso it won’t flow as well.
But for any engine with a battery-powered starter, you have to take care of the battery in cold weather, because those cold temperatures can sharply impact the performance of the battery. And if the battery doesn’t have enough strength to turn over the engine, the conditions of the fuel and oil become irrelevant.
Basic Cold-Weather Care
Why don’t batteries like cold weather? Your typical lead-acid battery used in cars and tractors relies on chemical reactions to produce electricity, and these reactions slow down in cold weather. Add in the strain of moving cold, thick oil through the engine, and you’ve got a recipe for struggle.
In addition, the performance of a battery diminishes over time, and this decrease becomes more noticeable when cold weather strains the battery. And extreme cold can even freeze and damage batteries, with the risk of freezing rising as the battery charge decreases.
So what’s the best way to take care of batteries in cold weather? It depends. If the machine isn’t going to be used during the winter, simply take out the battery and store it somewhere warm.
If the battery is going to be powering an active winter machine (like a tractor with a snow blower attachment), the best solution is to park the machine in a heated garage where the battery won’t have to deal with cold temperatures.
Other Options
But if you don’t have a heated garage (or if it’s occupied by more important machines), never fear. You have other options.
For example, putting low-viscosity winter-grade oil in the engine and/or keeping the oil warm with an engine block heater or dipstick heater will reduce strain on a cold battery by making it easier to turn over the engine.
Speaking of heaters, why not buy one for your battery? Whether you opt for a blanket-style heater that wraps around your battery or a flat heater that installs underneath, you’ll find plenty of options on the market. Once you’ve confirmed the suitability (and safety) of a given heater for your battery size and type, you’ll just need to park close to a power outlet so you can plug in the heater when the vehicle isn’t in use.
Keeping the battery terminals free of corrosion and the battery cables tightly installed can also make a difference, since corrosion and loose cables can reduce the amount of electricity traveling from the battery to the starter.
If all else fails, and if your cold weather won’t be *too* cold, you can opt for a hardy battery and hope for the best. For this approach, you’ll want a battery with a high cold cranking amps (CCA) rating.
The CCA rating measures how much power a 12-volt battery can provide when used for 30 seconds at 0 degrees F without the voltage dipping below 7.2 volts. It’s a complicated metric at first glance, but the higher the CCA, the more power the battery can offer for starting an engine in cold weather.
Take care of batteries when cold weather strikes, and your machines will take care of your with reliable winter performance.
I recently developed an interest in raising chickens. My moveable coop is based on some design ideas I’ve seen, my own ideas and what materials I had on hand. It’s sized for a maximum of seven birds.
The moveable coop has an integral run, two roost bars and a raised platform for nesting boxes (made from old kitty-litter containers). Best of all: It can be easily moved with very little effort.
My wife and I are enjoying watching our pullets grow, and they seem to really love their home.
This article originally appeared in the Sept./Oct. 2023 issue of Chickens magazine as a “Cool Coop” feature. Have a cool coop you’d like to share? Email us a short write-up (~250 to 500 words) about your chicken coop along with a few images to chickens@chickensmagazine.comwith the subject line One Cool Coop, and include your name and mailing address. Check out Chickens magazine for current prizes and contest rules.
