This gardening malarky would be so much easier if we didn’t keep hens as well.
Due to the size of our garden our hens ‘share’ the bottom end with our raised beds, shed and greenhouse. This isn’t so bad as it just means we need to put mesh over the beds and hope for the best.
We decided long ago that this year would be our learning year to get things established and see what we could and couldn’t grow. In doing so it meant that I had to build new raised beds from the reclaimed wood we had in the garden and build a support for the mesh. This is where the experimental side of things came in. The idea was that of the four beds I would build on the hill each one would have a different style of support for the mesh to see which held up to the strains of keeping the chickens out. Unfortunately because of the the impending arrival of the new addition to the family I’ve only managed to get one finished and it’s mesh support leaves a lot to be desired.
First off I’ve built it too low. About the only thing I can grow in it without it trying to break out is lettuce. Secondly the height means if the chickens get on top of it the mesh stretches enough that it can reach the bed and they get free access to eat all the greens. Thirdly, and in my mind the most important one, the supports can easily take the weight of the hens and in turn allows them a jumping off point to get them up and over the fence around the turfed patio. A couple of days ago they devestated my cabbage and broccoli plants when a few hens sat on the mesh and pigged out.
This leads me on to my next experiment. I am going to build mini mesh polytunnels over each bed. It sounds simple enough and to be honest it is far simpler once I work out the maths. My only problem is that I don’t want to buy brand new plastic piping for it. It’s bad enough I’m using plastic, I can’t find a decent supply of willow anywhere, so what plastic I do use I’d really like to use reclaimed piping if I can. I’m struggling to track some of that down though.
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