The Modern Victory Garden

One of the beautiful things about gardening is that the cycle of the seasons has a real rhythm and predictability about it.   There is something comforting about the timeless activities associated with growing your own food.   I value that aspect of food production gardening very much.   But while there is this constancy to vegetable gardening there is also a constant pull to change things up.   Sometimes that need is fed by expanding the size of the garden or types of crops, sometimes by the addition of new varieties, and still other times by the use of new techniques or approaches.   I seem to always be doing some or all of the above.   My gardens (and life for that matter) are continually evolving and growing and nothing is ever quite the same from year to year.   I would like to think that the continuum of change is always one of improvement, but I would be deluding myself to think that everything new I have done or every change made - was a step in a positive direction.     Overall though, I can safely say that my skills as a gardener, my garden’s productivity, and my personal satisfaction with my involvement in those activities have vastly increased from where I started over 25 years ago - breaking ground on my first small plot of a garden patch (in the back lot of our first rental house in Spokane).    I grew up on a small farm and had a family that gardened and raised livestock regularly, but this was my first garden as an adult and it was done by choice - not because someone gave me a chore to do.   That made it different and the flame was lit and my passion and interest in the subject has done nothing but grow ever since.     

So what will be changing this year?   First, I have already changed up a technique or approach in that I am giving the John Jeavon’s method of growing potatoes a try.   No idea if it will be a success or not, but the promise is there of much greater production in the same or less growing area.   The other significant change I will be making this year is to add a small flock of laying chickens to our homestead.   I have wanted to do this for some time but was unsure if I could really work it into our property without sacrificing valuable growing area from the garden proper.   However, after much deliberation I have figured out how to work it into the property and am ready to move forward with the idea.   My husband is quite excited about the prospect of adding a flock as well and I think we both will be equally involved in this particular endeavor.                                

Before getting underway with the actual purchase of chicks, we researched coops and options for building them and decided on the purchase of a kit that provides pre built panels and all the hardware etc necessary such that two people with 2 to 4 hours of time can knock it together with simple tools.   I looked at several designs from different companies but went with the one that had the best quality and features and which was bigger than what we really needed - so that the chickens would be comfortable and not crowded.   This is the coop kit that we purchased. 

We also purchased a small covered run extension, which provides a safe outdoor area for the birds.   We will build an actual chicken yard that comes off of that covered run, but this takes the pressure off of doing that instantly and provides a nice intermediate step from coop to yard that is more protected.  

The coop kit is purchased and will be delivered and constructed in the near future.   There is some site prep work that will need to be done just before putting it together, but I am not expecting the set up process to be overly difficult or time consuming.   In addition to the coop, I have also acquired a red heat lamp with reflector and clamp, simple water containers,, feeders, feed, and shavings to set up the brood area for the chicks.   I believe at this point we are ready to find and acquire our small charges and get underway.  

The addition of some laying chickens is just another step in the constant evolving process of growing more of our own food supply.   Animals have been a part of our lives for just as long as we have had gardens (longer actually).   Animal husbandry and the responsibilities that go with it are not new to us.   However, the last time I personally was charged with the care and keeping of chickens specifically – I was very young and much of that specific experience will be of little or no value.   I am confident though of our ability to learn and apply our other related experiences to this newest undertaking.                

The symbiotic relationship of chickens to a garden makes this a very compelling next step.   They utilize resources that otherwise would go to waste or be considered a pest (weeds, insects, and garden trimmings) and convert them into eggs as well as manure for the compost pile.   Along the way they can become cherished parts of the family and provide a real source of entertainment with their various antics and interesting social structures.   I look forward to having them become a part of everyday life in this Modern Victory Garden.