In the last update I was thinking about landscaping within and around the chookyard. First off, a fruit tree, possibly a cherry. I looked at Louis Glowinski’s Complete Book of Fruit Growing in Australia and came up with a self-pollinating variety (because there wasn’t really room for two), called Stella. There was also a Compact Stella which sounded even better, but my local nursery only had the Stella. I also came home with a dwarf yellow-fruited nectarine, which will be planted in the food forest. Being a dwarf form, I’ll be able to net it easily against parrots and possums.
The Stella cherry in one corner of the yard. I’ve poked some nasturtium seeds in amongst the logs:
I plan to prune and shape it so that it spreads above the roof of the coop.
Down the far end of the yard, I sowed a small area of wheat and linseed. I reckon that if I protect it from the chooks until the seed heads are mature, then let them at it, they will enjoy picking the seeds out of the heads. Another experiment:
I still need to put the wire on that end of the yard.
Foodnstuff 
July 4, 2011 at 10:21 pm |
I got all excited when I read your title, thinking that you had the chooks….
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July 5, 2011 at 2:08 am |
Omigod, no!! I’m a long way from actual chooks. I still have to research what breeds I want. I thought I’d settled on Barnevelders, but I love the lacy look of the Wyandottes, and after reading Jackie French’s Chook Book, I’m wondering about Araucanas. Those blue-green eggs sound very pretty!
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