The following is an article I sent to the local newspaper in April. I have been hounding them for over a year to do an article on backyard chickens and backyard gardens. With the rising cost of groceries, I thought this was important and timely. They weren't getting the job done, so I wrote my own article and submitted it. Then in today's paper I see the Editor himself used parts of my article and put his own spin on it. I guess I should feel flattered, but I don't!
Here's the article I wrote a couple of months ago and submitted.
There was a time, not so long ago in the country, when Americans didn't run to the store for every little thing they thought they needed. It was a time of backyard gardens and raising your own food. Can you imagine a time when the government and agibusiness corporations actually encouraged everyone to grow their own food? Those gardens were called Victory Gardens and the numbers may surprise you. Those gardens of the 1940's produced up to 40 percent of all the vegetable produce consumed nationally. They were planted in backyards and on apartment-building rooftops, with the occasional vacant lot put to use as a cornfield or a squash patch. Back then the entire nation seemed more rural and connected to its roots. Lots of families had chickens, a cow or two as well as a few pigs and goats. Those all equaled eggs, milk and butter as well as a supply of meat. It was a much more self-sufficient era.
Fast forward to the future. Here we are in 2008. Our valley land is being bought up and replaced with ranches with big, fancy names. I have to wonder what those ranches are raising on this rich, dark fertile soil? I guess they are raising houses. Along with those houses come rules and restrictions. I would assume a garden would be encouraged in those covenants. I can't imagine anyone not seeing a garden as a thing of beauty. Some of the things not allowed on those ranches would fall under the classification of farm animals or the cows, pigs, goats, sheep and poultry I just mentioned. I've never met a farm animal I didn't like, but I'd like to focus on the chicken, specifically the laying hen in the garden.
Missoula recently passed an ordinance allowing up to 6 backyard hens. Since you don't need a rooster to produce eggs, neighbors of those backyard flocks really have little to worry about, especially when the hen's bounty is shared with those neighbors. Our valley towns and cities are apparently not quite that chicken-friendly yet.
Chickens are hysterical to watch and make for some cheap entertainment as well as awesome garbage disposals. By that I mean they love plate-scrapings and leftovers destined for the trash. Their taste is not discerning. I know of one woman who discovered her hens love cooked spaghetti so she keeps a bowl ready for them in the refrigerator. Another woman bakes her hens fresh cornbread as a treat. Chickens are easy keepers and love clean-up jobs. Some industrious backyard gardeners have built small chicken tractors or chicken arks for their feathered friends. These little chicken-house contraptions are designed to fit between the rows of your garden and are moved each day. The attachment of wheels makes this an easy task. This allows the chickens to do the weeding and spread a little fertilizer all in one full swoop. A nesting box is contained inside with a small door to the outside for retrieving their daily gift of eggs. These little mobile units work well on grass too and if left in one spot for a week or more, they will do a number on tough weeds.
With prices skyrocketing in all aspects of our lives, it only seems right that now is the time to plant a garden. There are many books available about both backyard gardening and backyard flocks. It seems everything old is new again, indeed.
Take a peek and see what you think!? Um, nice job Andy!?
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Monday, June 9, 2008
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Gardens & Chickens
I love the looks look of your blog...it seems it's changed since I last visited?