Keyhole beds and chicken moats
The actual implementation of
my plan will be a subject for another time. For now, I wanted to
give you a bit more information on two elements of my forest garden
plan which I haven't explained yet.The paths in my diagram look convoluted, but there is method to my madness. I opted for a natural flow pattern based on nodes when laying out the main paths. Since the garden won't require as much routine maintenance as my vegetable garden, I've decided to use keyhole beds off the sides of the main paths. Keyhole beds provide the maximum surface area to path ratio, mimicking the blood vessels in our lungs.
On the eastern border of my diagram,
you'll notice the words "chicken moat." This cool idea is a
combination of a fence and a
chicken run --- the four foot width prevents deer from jumping over
while the
chickens eat up any weeds that try to pass through. Some folks
double
up uses even more and use the moat as a trellis, growing hardy kiwis or
grapes up the garden side and picking them from the inside top.
This
diagram is an extreme example (click to see a more legible
version)
--- I'm considering starting small with the section between the barn
and our eventual gate, a spot to house our dreamed-of rooster so that
he doesn't overmate the hens in our tractor.
| This post is part of our Planning The Forest Garden lunchtime series.
Read all of the entries: |
Or explore more posts by date or by subject.
About us: Anna Hess and Mark Hamilton spent over a decade living self-sufficiently in the mountains of Virginia before moving north to start over from scratch in the foothills of Ohio. They've experimented with permaculture, no-till gardening, trailersteading, home-based microbusinesses and much more, writing about their adventures in both blogs and books.
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Wow!
Such organization! My how you've grown. 
Comment by
Brandy
— Sat Mar 7 07:16:12 2009
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comment 2
Ha! That's not us, of course. Just a picture stolen off the internet....
Comment by
anna
— Sat Mar 7 08:08:37 2009
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