Chickens & Crops - Feeding ourselves AND our chickens For LESS!

[@dirtpatcheaven]

I am on such a binge watch with you guys right now. Feel like I am learning so much

[@lindajohnson6163]

Me too!

[@smartaussiehomestead5813]

I've just found these guys...think I'm about to start binging!

[@travisdavis1042]

Hahaha two years later and same story. 😅😂

[@smovakpro]

If Dirtpatcheaven is watching, it must be good!

[@jabra-6019]

I don’t think that you fully understand how valuable your holistic and down to earth approach is. Thank you.

[@ImagineMedia888]

14 minutes packed full of incredibly useful information. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge and experiences with us.

[@edibleacres]

If folks find this video useful, please help us out by sharing with your community, on other forums and platforms. We'd love to get this content out to many more people! Thanks!

[@edibleacres]

We hope to have goats or maybe sheep someday, but that is a ways off!

[@josephpizzo4373]

do you know of an easy way to share this on instagram? My 501c3 non profit "White Lion Farms Foundation" would love to share this via our IG account!

[@hugshoney3409]

Just love the symbiotic relationship and how you cared for not just your chickens but the wildlife as well. ❤️

[@wderyckx]

"It's not who we are " __ Sasha - - that's such a great statement ! ! Andn I can almost hear the tomato plants echoeing the sentiment. Thank you. I shall carry that around and recall it whenever I need to liberate myself from assumed expectations. Great show.

[@rnupnorthbrrrsm6123]

Well said !!! I can have all the best intentions for a perfect beautiful garden but then reality happens 😏 But the amazing thing is, God created plants to grow and reproduce so even when we don’t prune and manage the way they tell us too, we still get produce 😍 Happy Gardening ! Blessings

[@ohanaorganic5189]

Your demeanor and approach is absolutely what I'm trying to achieve...in addition to composting with chickens lol. Keep up the content brother!

[@dorianmclean6755]

I love the 'growing tractor' idea ...!!! Awesome

[@N1ghtR1der666]

I love your mobile cages system to protect the vulnerable stages of growth of your plants and to moderate what the chickens are aloud to eat. It seems like you have come up with a very diverse system for incorporating chickens in a beneficial way into a small space

[@gitrdoug]

You sir, are legit. Thanks for all the guidance 🙏

[@lindamineer7798]

The chicken yard is so wonderful. The workers look so healthy. Thanks for another great video.

[@Seabee644]

This is becoming one of my favorite channels. Great information! Thanks so much!

[@VickyHafler]

Mark Anderson I know! It’s addicting. 😊

[@michaelfoort2592]

I really like your relaxed, low key but informative videos.

[@edibleacres]

That is great, thanks so much!

[@rochrich1223]

I like how letting lettuce and broccoli seed out also provides nectar for native pollinators and predators as well as allowing the predators of the pests of lettuce and broccoli to build up.

[@edibleacres]

Nice thinking here, makes for an even deeper relationship with it all!

[@hawkspiritweaver6664]

As with the Idaho Family Farm comment, I found you yesterday and am getting so many ideas. Thanks for the videos.. Once I get through some of this earlier chicken ones that I'm interested in I will attempt to get up to date with what ever you are doing now. Cheers

[@bobandkaren2011]

"Not who we are"! I love it! That's why I love this channel SO much. Simple practical functional permaculture practices that we can afford to implement. Thanks!

[@collaboratingbackstage1156]

I have watched this video a dozen times over the last two years and I am still impressed every single time by your creativity and passion.

[@TheRustySpigot]

I love your videos. I don’t get to comment often, but I do. I love that y’all use what’s on hand and are frugal. Love love love

[@yolylacy5416]

Thank you. You are fantastic! You surely prove that we don't need to spend that much money to grow a lot. I'm always amazed at how much you can grow and multiply just by observation and experimenting.

[@lisakukla459]

This whole thing is fascinating. I can't wait to implement these ideas myself. I couldn't help but notice how diligent you are with proper body mechanics. I suppose if one intends to do this type of thing long term that's as important to perfect as anything else. I learn so much from this channel! 😁

[@edibleacres]

I imagine I look strange to folks watching sometimes, but having had my back go out in the past I've had to learn how to move to not have it happen again!

[@cindyritchie5521]

I love this! We are buying 5 acres of land this week and I was searching for info on raising my chickens. I had been disappointed until now, you have built exactly what I was wanting, a Garden of Eden for my feathered friends! Thank you for sharing! 💖

[@edibleacres]

Best of luck with your new land!

[@courtneyheron1561]

Such great information being shared! You are doing a beautiful service to your greater community. Bless you 🙏❤️😊

[@edibleacres]

So glad you find it valuable

[@RebelStacker]

Accidentally stumbled onto this video, and have to say this is a brilliant and very well thought-out system! Thank you very much for the detailed walkthrough and for sharing these tips. We live in an area where aerial predators are a significant risk for our free-ranging flock, but the "living wall" strategy should significantly help to minimize incidents. So many helpful things were gleaned from this video. Thank you!

[@MrMjgtad]

I'm hopefully going to move into my own house with a fair amount of property around it soon. Watching your videos have inspired me to try my hand at some of these permaculture techniques and projects. Nothing makes me happier than the idea of being able to produce my own food while simultaneously giving back to the local environment. Thanks for all you do!

[@edibleacres]

Really our pleasure to share. We just experiment like crazy and keep trying new things with hopefully some information to refine and deepen ideas over time, and it works after a while. I hope for some wonderful land for you soon!

[@metasamsara]

This is really interesting how you create a full ecosystem of permaculture not only with plants producing food but nourishing animals and generating compost all passively! I am simply doing research, I hope one day to have my own piece of homestead to become self sufficient in food production, and eggs would be my go to for protein ideally, but I don't know much about animal and chicken keeping yet so that's how I found your channe, thanks for sharing :)

[@edibleacres]

Glad you are exploring all this. I think you'll find chickens are pretty darn straight forward overall. We learned as we went and I bet you can too!

[@Superxtremedits]

I think what you are doing is amazing. Those are happy chickens. Which leads to happy eggs which leads to happiness in both your pocket and health. I am definitely going to try these methods. Your soil looks fantastic.

[@edibleacres]

So glad it resonates!

[@pamelagarnica4415]

Just found you guys through my nephew. I've raised chickens and other birds for 20 years and have continually sought ways to incorporate chickens and guineas into my gardening efforts. I love all that you've shown here! ❤️ I can't wait to watch more of your videos and get into my own chicken yard to implement some of your ideas! Subscribed!

[@edibleacres]

So glad to have you with us!

[@elainaricci1501]

This is brilliant! I just bought a chicken tractor and I feel my chickens would be much happier in your chicken yard! I am motivated to build a chicken yard like this! Great job!

[@gardenboots7464]

This is an outstanding video. Thank you so much - for the consistently excellent content and your ongoing generosity in sharing your wisdom and skill. It has been such a delight to watch your videos. You and Sasha are making a real difference in people's lives :)

[@davidschmidt270]

Just discovered your channel...love the idea of feeding my chickens from the garden....that just makes sense...thanks a ton👍👏

[@Vicflash]

A very thoughtful presentation of proven ideas. Thanks!

[@Monami7th]

What a BEAUTIFUL system and video a out alternative ways to keep your chickens fed. THANK YOU so much for this information❤🤗🎉

[@sheamaloney5527]

That was wonderful!!!! Thank you 🙏 I’m really inspired. I also enjoyed your delivery. Your calm pace and lovely articulation.

[@GrimbolTheDruid]

Thanks for this video Sean and Sasha! We just got our first chicks a few weeks ago so I’m going back through and watching a lot of these chicken videos to reabsorb the information. Can’t wait for spring in the frozen north! 🙏🙏🙏

[@bluesalamander8351]

brilliant !! so inspiring ! My coop is expanding . Kudos for your info! Thanks for sharing !!!!! I'm in Mississippi !

[@lunaflamed]

#ChickenMathForTheWin

[@Mark-wh3tc]

Whoa...Really admire and harmonize with the systems you’ve put together. Truely inspirational! Hope I can do something similar in future days. Thank you for sharing everything with us, much love

[@edibleacres]

Truly our pleasure, thanks for the kind words

[@camw3447]

This is such a great system and your ideas are fantastic. I wish more people invested their time and energy into keeping chickens as happy as possible. They deserve to lead good lives and healthy feed regimes

[@constantinaolstedt]

Brilliant ideas! Thankyou so much from Stockholm Sweden 🤗❤️

[@aaronbaron3155]

I'm very impressed by all the stuff you guys do both outside and in the kitchen. I imagine planning everything must be intense. I used to work at Agway and on a couple farms and in lawncare so I know quite a bit about the green industries.. but I've learned a TON just from watching channels like yours. It's also relaxing almost ASMR quality. Don't know if you meant to be like that but hey it's a compliment!!!

[@flatsville1]

Dude, I am stupefied by your infinitesimally simple systems. 😉

[@edibleacres]

Thanks! Although when we're in them and working they can feel incredibly complex at times. I guess it's just how deep in you are which informs how complex it feels!

[@Steve-ps6qw]

of course this is useful. Everything you post is useful and I thank you!

[@staceyfloyd4009]

These chickens ❤️. They have such a great life!!!

[@jessicalandi6750]

I watching this video with a perma-smile...what amazing info. Love love love this.

[@PiwaiGee]

Man, a big thank you for your videos! There is so much to pick from them. You have a great system, thank you for sharing it with us

[@miqf914]

This is just brilliant. I have heard of using stones as mulch but had not yet made the leap to placing large ones around my fruit trees and bushes to keep my chickens from tearing them up. I have my flocks on a rotational grazing system and am incorporating plants in their zone as I can. So far I have been moving the electric netting to exclude the trees from the chickens' paddocks. Seeing as how we have a plethora of stones that need moving/using, I am going to incorporate your idea today and worry no longer about wonky paddocks! Sasha' s comment , "That's just not who we are," is so wise. Everyone needs to discover who they are as a person as well as a gardener/grower/homesteader and not do things simply because "That's how it's done..." Thanks again for such pertinent, useful content presented in such a relaxing and engaging manner.

[@edibleacres]

Thanks for such really kind words here... Yes, we've found the trees and shrubs can go in with no real fencing or protection if they are already 2-3' or taller, so long as we lay a bunch of flat stones or logs around them. It's amazing how well it works. I should have shown a plum I put in this spring that is just exploding with growth. No fence just some rocks, right in the middle of the yard!

[@marshacowan1252]

I am so excited to find your site and hear that our chickens can be incorporated into our garden plans! They are already free range and eat healthy veggie scraps from the kitchen, but this is a way to get them more veggies on a more regular basis while still being able to grow and use the veggies outselves. I am so excited! This will be our first garden (as it has been our first venture with chickens on our nine acre farm), and I want to do a no-till garden as we have an endless supply of natural mulch eveyrwhere. Again, your ideas are incredible. Thank you so much!

[@edibleacres]

So glad you found us, welcome to the community.

[@chrisleyton38]

I've been contemplating doing this and I believe this will be the year I try after watching your video. I love it.

[@maryisitor276]

This video is extremely informative. Thank you. We shall incorporated all these ideas. God bless you.

[@karenwilliams9617]

You are so clear and have evidence how it works. Thanks for your honesty and simple ideas. God bless you and grow your boarders.

[@edibleacres]

So nice of you

[@julieelliott-eickenroth1454]

We’re starting chicken this spring, for eggs and meat, of course, but also for our “soil manufacturing plant” I was planning small gardens for outside their yard with herbs, veggies, to throw in for them or to dry for medicine and their nesting boxes. But your ideas are next level brilliant! Can’t wait to implement them.THANK TOU!

[@edibleacres]

Wishing you the best of luck with your new system. It's good to remember we're all figuring it out as we go, this is a system that has been slowly and steadily evolving for 8 years and I'm sure has a ways to go

[@timconnell4570]

I love the ' balance ' you have in your garden. Its a full circle . Well done.

[@edibleacres]

Thanks!

[@jeanniehwang9875]

Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant! By far the best video I have seen in a long time. Thank you for sharing.

[@edibleacres]

Wow, thank you!

[@yukonjack8103]

You've accomplished much in 3 years. Great work!

[@chrism3845]

I have just found your channel, starting with this story. Amazing and so logically thought through with unique ideas that I have not seen anywhere else. Thank you.

[@edibleacres]

Glad to have you with us!

[@PartTimePermies]

We have chicken tractors to move our chickens around during the warm month, but I'm loving these ideas for my early spring feeding while still in their stationary coops!

[@markmahoney14]

For the conventional gardener that likes a more aesthetic look to their garden. This guy still has some fantastic ideas. I really didn't like the "mess" but I really like the compost ring idea. I have several of them now. I really like rings around plants idea! It really frees up my chickens to wander around more. That and I've been trying to figure out a way to make the chicken run look better. Fencing and rings have made it look ok but planting things directly in their run is a brilliant idea. Just put a heavy cage over some veggies in their run and they can stick their head through the cage nibble on them a bit. Then when their ready to harvest just pull them out and feed them to the chickens. Definitely trying this in the spring.

[@loislewis9900]

What a great way to garden and compost/recycle naturally. I grew up on a dairy/cash crop farm. Best fertilizers was the decomposing cow manure with straw and the corn cob wastes.... best black soil ever. Some fields had to be burned in the fall to enrich the soil from the stubble and grass cover. The stuff I remember. Ahhhhh.

[@jessicalandi6750]

This is so cool. The plants, bushes & trees in the various protective mesh in the chicken area...brilliant.

[@captainanthony1399]

🐤🌱👍👍👍💚thank you for your time. Excellent information here. I appreciate you sharing your knowledge and experience.

[@edibleacres]

My pleasure for sure!

[@jimwilleford6140]

Love your place and the synchronicity of stuff working together for good. Best Wishes.

[@susansaffioti2111]

You are doing great work and inspiring others to be creative.

[@edibleacres]

Thank you so much 😀

[@myhillsidegarden3998]

Thank you for sharing. Very enjoyable to see the different ways you are protecting the younger plants from the chickens while still allowing them to help you with the weeding, and the feeding of the garden. Enjoy the day! Catherine

[@meganashworthhartlen6685]

Excellent ideas! I’m about to reincorporate chickens into my scenario and where I won’t be able to free range them this advice is gold👌🏽 thank you

[@VirginiaReyes1983]

I just stumbled upon your channel! You're a wealth of information from a different perspective than I have seen! I took two pages of notes on this video to incorporate into my static chicken run area! Thank you for sharing!

[@catherinelambert1]

Thank you for your wonderful ideas! We’ve been looking for creative ways to revamp our chicken run and make it a fun habitat for them while still being productive for us. We’ll be implementing many of the ideas you are sharing here. Thank you!

[@amh9494]

Those have to be the happiest chickens ever!

[@RollerCoasterOnFire]

This is so cool! I'm hoping to be able to buy a small farm in the next year or so and start working on something like this. Love that you guys are able to feed the chickens this way as well.

[@merveyoneyman7282]

Amazing video with amazing information. Thank you so much for sharing these wonderful solutions. I can't wait for it to be morning so I can start with the mesh and the seeds. LOVE YOUR CHANNEL.

[@frankfigoni7299]

Thank you for putting this out! I have been on the fence about chickens but now Im all in!

[@edibleacres]

Hope it works well for you.

[@debbiewood7718]

I have always though there should be a way for chickens to live in the garden. I am very glad to have come across this video and channel.

[@wolffortenberry33]

This is a great video!! So much information, so many ideas, very unique!! It’s not the same ole video I find on so many channels about feeding chickens. Thank you for sharing!! I’ve already sent this video to a friend!!

[@jsullivan1082]

Love your videos. That region of New York you're in is a paradise for little farm operations like yours. If you haven't set up at the Ithaca farmers market yet I would encourage it. One of my absolute favorite pastimes is going there. Be well.

[@amberclemetson94]

super great content. thanks for sharing! also your voice is really great - calming and purposeful, informative - qualities that make for a great teacher!

[@edibleacres]

Wow, thank you!

[@richchristasante3843]

This is the first time here, appreciate the rich content and insightful ideas. Just the kind of solution was dreaming of for the family's backyard space.

[@giverny28]

Another great video! I am always shocked how much I learn and how many ideas I can find to work into my own system. I am studying like crazy to improve my pastures and extend the life of my garden plots during the off season for my chickens and other livestock. This far I rotate them on pasture during the main season & rotate them through the main garden over the winter. I've been practicing Ruth Stout mulching with spent hay for a few seasons, and the adore reading all the seeds out of the hay all winter. The question I found myself getting into was what to do when #1 the pasture can not be grazed, #2 what if I don't have enough pasture to effectively feed all my livestock. Rotation can be overwhelming before you get a system down pat, or if the weather acts up. Not everyone has 100 acres, including me. And overworking the land can be just as bad as neglecting it. Lol But that should not be a limiting factor if you manage the land efficiently. Que, your amazing wealth of knowledge. Utilizing the garden and high tunnel/greenhouse areas truly is your specialty. So, this year I will continue rotating and adding various species to the pasture/any area not used for my veggies or cut flowers (sunflowers!!!, grasses & cereal, clover, brassicas, etc.) while incorporating the simple structures & preservation methods (like the rotting log idea...LOVE!...) you showcased. This will expand their 'grocery store' immensely and reduce my stress (Where will they go now? Who let you in here & how did you know to eat all of my favorite plants you rascal? Lol) Bravo!

[@tatekohmni]

Aha, this is just the info I need. Racking my brain how to let the chickens in with our fruit tree/prairie garden space. Those cages are PERFECT idea for one of the empty beds for them.. I didnt want to keep them off of it waiting for stuff to grow. Currently they run with mature raspberries, horhound, motherwort, sage, elder, cedar & lavender and those plants are ok with them loose, by the way. I tried rocks on the soil around these but they kicked them all away, ha!! I just need bigger rock. And more of that fence. Thanks for taking the time to post

[@DREAMPLANEXECUTEREPEAT]

Really very helpful to rework my fall garden 😊 thanks

[@michaeltoner1993]

you're a great New Zealander and an absolute breath of fresh air!

[@edibleacres]

Thanks I think :)

[@mamarrachopunpun]

Just discovered your channel. Probably your farm is the closest to what we want to achieve with our project that we're about to start in a month or so in Northern Spain. You've got a new subscriber! Cheers.

[@phooichunlau7827]

Love the way your planting and farming methods🥰

[@edibleacres]

Thank you!

[@nancyarchibald9095]

Such a wealth of good information! Thanks 😊

[@TravelKaka]

It's a good exchange...loved your idea of composting too.

[@viviankrishnan2498]

Incredible content! Thank you for all the fantastic ideas.

[@grannysgarden8225]

Fantastic ideas! I can do this chicken yard with the plants and trees, it would be really good in my climate . Why didn’t I think of this. So beautifully simple. Thank you.

[@lindajohnson6163]

Thank you! You’ve given me so many ideas. I have chickens who roam my back yard area and I had believed I couldn’t grow where they were. Now I know how to be more successful.

[@edibleacres]

Wonderful! I hope it works in great ways for you.

[@misspandesal]

You are soooooo at peace! I love your videos!

[@russelpasamontehabla]

This is now my favorite channel. Amazing concept!👍

[@edibleacres]

So glad you find our content of value.

[@gabiglaezer8685]

Great video, I will try the grain soaking and green pasture mesh in our chook yard, thank you so much! Very inspiring!

[@trevorrixon9047]

Some great ideas there, especially the grow tunnel. One thing though, please don't pull your weeds out by the roots. When you pull the roots out you remove the accumulated nutrients that plant had to offer. Instead, cut at ground level so the roots can die where they are and feed the surrounding plants that you want to thrive. Much love, keep up the good work😁

[@chelseysmith6805]

You are doing an amazing job! Love it!!!

[@cchurch5037]

Fantastic to see your system refinements and development over time - tons of great ideas 👍

[@edibleacres]

Each year things feel a bit more organized and thoughtful with how material moves and how we can bring in more plant life to live with them. In 20 years I hope to be good at it!

[@rwalt9979]

Love this video..valuable information not many folks out there talk about this.. I'm new to chicken keeping and I really feel and want to incorporate them for all these reasons. Thank you for the detail and how you communicate it, most excellent 👌 👍

[@nubiansoaps]

Well done. Looking forward to watching more of your videos. Please keep making themm

[@joankirby1944]

Happy chickens happy wild birds wot not to like. Thats fantastic.

[@Sofiarivassculptor]

Very good video, lots of practical information, thanks

[@turnipsucks6416]

Not sure why this became a suggestion, but I learned something and am interested in getting chickens one day. Info like this will help I'm certain.

[@suzannefronzaglio2427]

Earlier this year (2022), I viewed a video on the topic of grain/feed price increases and even shortages, and how this is affecting those who have livestock (Homesteaders, Preppers, etc.). And someone posted a very interesting comment, on how during the Great Depression people planted Siberian pea bushes, or Siberian Peashrub ("Caranga arborescens") for livestock fodder because they couldn't afford to buy feed. I looked it up and found a lot of info on the Siberian Peashrub. All livestock like it for fodder, especially the chickens. It is a legume so it fixes the nitrogen in soil. It contains up to 36% protein, and 12.4% of a fatty oil. It even has been recommended as an emergency food for humans (times of famine kept people from starving). Eurasian Immigrants brought it with them as they traveled west. In Canada years ago, it was planted en masse in prairie areas to prevent soil erosion. It's a long lived plant (40-130 years). And I read that during WWII (or WWI?), Russian peasants used it for bedding in the chicken coop/enclosure during winter months (chickens could feed when nothing else was available). I found a blog where the lady said that they plant it along side their chicken enclosure/coops, as a windbreak, a shade provider but mostly because the pods when ripe will fall into the chicken coop, and the chickens love it so much, that they'll even jump up to get the pods off the branches before they're ready to fall to the ground! In the times we're at right now, with supply chain breaking down, and prices increasing, and places that make chicken fodder/grains/feed possibly going out of business.... this Siberian pea bush/Peashrub sounds like a wise choice, not only for the chickens and other livestock... but for humans too. It also said that it's considered "invasive" in some States. So you'd have to check. But for those who raise livestock, chickens.... invasive in times of lack might be a "good thing" to have plenty! Enjoyed this video, very clever methods/techniques you employ there for your chicken run/enclosure. Innovative and first time I've seen anything like this (loved the little cages, planting greens and moving the boxed cage to expose only what you want the chickens to consume that that day. Very simple, very clever!! 👍☺️ 🐥 🐣

[@edibleacres]

Incredible notes here. Very good reminder to get the cache of seeds I saved last year up and running !

[@robharvey5060]

Fascinating. Learned so much. Thank you.

[@quitemountainwoman1592]

Thank you so much 🙏🙏🙏

[@rnupnorthbrrrsm6123]

I want a husband to garden and raise animals with, it’s so hard doing EVERYTHING alone 😏 Beautiful video ! Blessings