{BB} Chickens! like Worms, Save your Seeds...

[Bountiful Backyards]

Hey Friends,

First off, we truly appreciate all the folks and their generous contributions toward making Durham a place that can get beyond sustainability and on in to the regenerative work that is so necessary for our neighborhoods, communities, and homes! 

Saturday two weeks ago was BB's 6th worm workshop and Keith said it was the best yet and if he's still excited about worms those little guys must be interesting.  Susan of Red Hen Enterprises  once again did a great job showing us all how to turn garbage from our kitchens into gold for our gardens and of course we learn new sh*t about worm shit every time.  Did you know... a pound of worms can eat a pound of food a day, pooping out high concentrate (50% organic matter) fertilizer that doesn't take months to break down like it does in a backyard compost pile (8% organic matter)...  Bull City Headquarters, where we have our office, was packed out with over 20 folks, including several kids getting their hands dirty, check out pictures on our facebook (ha!) page here.

This past Saturday Doug Brown, owner of Fowl Attitude Farm and Darcey Martin of Bountiful Backyards (a big fan of chickens everywhere), led a group in the basics of raising your own egg laying hens.  He started by sharing an Egg Study from Mother Earth News which found that eggs from hens raised on pasture (as small as your backyard) are much much much more nutritious than confined 'conventional' eggs.  Once your hens are home, Doug recommends Hurtle Mills for locally milled grain.  You can supplement feed with on-site greenery and bugs.  Comfrey, a dymanic accumulator of minerals and one of our favorite plants, makes a super snack for our feathered friends.   Invasive ivy and destructive Japanese beetle grubs also make nutritious free meals!  Backyard chickens are a huge part of having a home garden - they eat your veggie scraps, they eat your invasive bugs, and then they turn them into high protein eggs and super fertilizer!  BB dynamo Sarah Vroom and friends were so pumped up after the workshop that they spent all day Sunday banging nails and stapling chicken wire to create an amazing chicken palace and Durham's first chicken coo-op.  The chickens were picked up and driven home in Midtown Dickens tour van - Urban Farming!! 

We hope to pack out the Seed Saving workshop like we have the last two, and we a have more spots so feel free to signup.  Good friend Rob Jones will give us the scoop on the importance seed saving plays in our food sovereignty (and pocketbooks) and guide us through the hands-on process.  Rob studied seed saving with well-known Piedmont farmer Doug Jones who is a fanatic about all varieties of peppers and a supplier to Seeds of Change.  Worms and chickens will provide all the on-site fertilizer your garden will need, and seed saving skills will provide you all the seed!

We are also planning to do a blueberry planting workshop in July in conjunction with SEEDS down at the Farmers Market, and a Fall Vegetable Primer, so please keep us on your radar. 

Here's hoping that all of your gardens are most copious this summer!

All best,

Chris, Darcey, Keith, Sarah and David

Bountiful Backyards

Landscapes You Can Eat
www.bountifulbackyards.com
1100 North Street--723 North Mangum Street
Durham, NC 27701
(919)-619-9862