"It is well to remember that the entire population of the universe, with one trifling exception, is composed of others." A.Holmes

Sunday, February 22, 2009

Spot on Black Gold for the Garden

~We had a very nice weekend. My Hubby and I are mostly recovered from our bad colds and we took it easy with the heavy lifting as we were out and about on Cedar Pond in the unusually sun shiny and warm weather for February. While Hubby worked on our new and hopefully predator proof duck pen, I cleaned up more storm damage ...the fallen branches all over the property and in the woods and piled them up to be burned. I also cleaned up some of our out- buildings . ~Then there is the goat pen. Thorin and Bombadil are my pygmy / Nigerian dwarf goat brothers. They have their own small pen with a 2 story dwelling my Hubby built for them. They don't like to get their feet wet and have pretty much worn out their sunning bench. So I tossed the pieces of the bench into the burn pile along with the storm wind fall and there was all this wonderful goat poop! Black , and dry because it was under the sunning bench. That is black gold for the garden....so before we put stumps in the goat pen for the goats to stand and jump on I had to collect this very desirable fertilizer. (picture above)
~Thorin immediately trying out the new furnishings for his pen.~
~"For gardening , goat manure can be a real asset. In their naturally dry, pelleted state, goat feces are easily handled, stored, or directly applied on vegetables, trees, and flower gardens, as mulch, organic matter,fertilizer, or just to increase the water holding capacity of the soil; and goat feces do not normally attract flies or breed maggots."The Dirt Doctor, Howard Garrett... This is true in my experience. The goat manure was full of earthworms though. Goat, rabbit, and sheep manure can be applied directly onto your plantings... ~I don't understand why keeping a couple of goat or sheep wethers ( castrated males) is not a more common practice in this country. They are not smelly animals ( CASTRATED MALES) and do far less damage than the average dog. They are not near as noisy as dogs either, plus , they will eat those pesky blackberries and weeds and can be easily kept in a pen with just shelter from the elements and fresh water and grass hay, again...cheaper then dog food!They can be trained to walk on leash and be very friendly. They don't bite and are quite comical. Their manure is ready for the garden right away and the garden benefits as well; as long as you keep them OUT of the garden.But hey, they don't dig in the garden. It is common for many European countries to have herds of sheep and goats keep the grass of the parks and road sides in control by walking the sheep and goats through them. So if you're really serious about the "greening " of your place here on earth you might want to consider a wether or two. Blessings: days spent at home, working with love, goats

11 comments:

Mary Humphrey said...

Another benefit to goats (comedy, meat, milk, weed clean up) and fertilizer!

Glad you are feeling better, Kathy.

LindaSue said...

You know how I feel about goats - and I'm working on DH to keep at least one more wether. We are working on improving some pasture areas by unloading the pen hay/poop mixture in areas with poor soil and surprised at the rapid improvement!

Anonymous said...

I learned a lot here today. I love your photos and I'm glad you both are feeling better and had a nice weekend to enjoy being outside.

Shelley said...

I do like goats! Our neighbor has a couple down the street from our cabin and walks them on leashes. How about some goat cheese too....yum!!

Southern Comfort said...

I would like to have some of your Black gold for my garden. I spent the morning putting compost made from hay and horses on my garden. I once had goat manure from a neighbor and it was wonderful. Maybe it's time for us to get a few goats..? I love your photos of the goats, especially the little guy standing on the stumps.

Anna Colleen said...

That's a lot of doo.

Lanny said...

I'll take five rings of that there gold.

Anonymous said...

I hope you are feeling better! I love the goat on the stump.

A. Joy said...

It's amazing how much our one rabbit piles up!
I think your goats would like a long row of different sized stumps like at NW Trek, to jump on.

KathyB. said...

Mary, comedy is a very valuable asset I think!

LindaSue,what's one more wether ? Much of our acreage has been vastly improved by mu husband enriching the soil with all the goat, sheep, and rabbit doo-doo over the past 20 years we have lived here. ( we started with clay and rocks and woodland)

Mildred,don't you think Harriet could use a caprine playmate and you a good laugh?

Shellmo, are the neighbors with goats friendly neighbors? Because you know they are at least a little interesting if they are walking goats!

Southern Comfort.yes! Get goats! From reading your blog it looks like you have room for them. Aren't you in Texas ? So so Linda Sue and she has goats!

Anna Colleen, it IS a lot of doo and I hear tell you and your sister will be shoveling the rest of the goat pen out to spare my back! ( I'll make the tea for after the shoveling)

Lanny, 5 rings makes it really sound like gold....

Noble Pig,Thorin was on the stump so fast I knew it was perfect for the pen.

AJoy, I too remember how much poop one rabbit could pile up, and you had at least 10 rabbits all the time here while you were growing up. Our acreage soil has been greatly improved thanks to your bunnies.

Connie said...

Thorin looks like he is having fun! :D