Reply To: My New Urban Farm

[CraigJemy]

Hi everyone. It’s been a heavy week, I have dug 1/2 of the first site. It has been horrendous trying to get as much couch grass and other weeds out as I can but I’m persevering-the site is literally covered in a blanket of root zones. After finishing half the plot today, I emptied the chicken coop and dug that in.

Yes, I know I’m playing with fire digging manure in a few weeks before planting but I honestly think it will be ok. I haven’t put too much on and last year I used it with no problems at all, it’s mixed with hay. The chickens have been grazing over the plot on and off over winter and providing droppings so it can’t be much different! It will rain quite a bit here before anything goes in and it definitely looks like it helped even out the composition of the soil a little, I guess it will make or break the farm this year as I have no money for tonnes of compost sadly. That being said, looking after 28 chickens is a serious advantage, they produce a lot of waste, are great at clearing overgrown areas and are giving me plentiful supply of fresh eggs each day! A true chicken powered farm.

Next job is to head over to the second plot to add manure/homemade compost to the greenhouse there ready for tomatoes and basil in a month or so. I’ll try to grab a picture of the plot, need to assess the beds there too. Plenty of room for herbs I think.

Well I’m pretty much a quivering wreck after this week but it will be worth it. Time to start some seeds of salad mix, beets, turnips, radish and I have been gifted some broad been sees which i have soaked overnight in water ready to sowed.

I added a picture of the logo I designed for packaging as well as the ‘epic dig pic’ and the girls powering my soil!