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Plant next to the chicken coop
One of the things I love about rural life is having a small garden. But every year, I have less and less time to hoe, weed and tend it. In 2002, I decided to be practical and not plant a garden at all. Practical or not, I really missed having something to harvest in the fall. So I thought about it a while and came up with an idea for the perfect garden. Last spring, I planted six watermelon plants and three tomato plants in the thick grass beside my chicken coop. All summer, I let the plants grow untended. The natural chicken guano fertilized them as it washed downstream when it rained. The grass grew tall and kept them moist and weed-free. When insects appeared, I turned a rooster loose for a couple of weeks to take care of them. Benevolently neglecting my tiny garden worked even better than I expected. I reaped a bountiful harvest, including one watermelon that weighed in at 65 pounds. Needless to say, I’ll be using the same method this year. Sharon Hartung |
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