This is the year I get back to some vegetable production and maybe some other annual plants. I have found a few places that have not done so well in the past, this year I’m trying a new plot. This is an area of some brush and a few garbage trees that I will be clearing. This area hasn’t been disturbed for years so there has been leaf drop and other organic material building up. Further the chickens spent several months here last year so that adds some fertility to the soil as well.
My plan is to build raised beds in this area. There are some small logs that have been sitting around for a couple of years that I’m going to try burying under the raised beds plus I can get 2 yards of compost from the township that I will also add to the beds. According to what I’ve read this will help with keeping the moist and provide a good environment for fungi which also is reported to help plants.
I also need to setup some more area for the chickens that has overhead cover. Last year I lost more than 40 birds to the hawks and owls. Previously I had only lost a few per year when I moving them around the open ground, but once the birds of prey discovered an easy meal they hit me hard. I’m thinking an area with some small trees and pollard them off as high as I can reach and run some bird netting over the top.