I did an experiment a few years ago and it turned out way better than I thought it would. We test a lot of ideas here and this one involved putting some of the pigs in the garden to see if they would till it for us.
I made some portable fencing out of 2x4's and some osb sheeting that was kicking around. I then made a 16x16 pen that we could then move around the garden. We have a large garden and my original test with them just running around meant that they focused in one or two spots but did not get the whole garden tilled.
At least this way, they could focus on a small area first and then we could move them onto the next area. They got right to work and LOVED THE WORK!
In a matter of a few days they had the whole section worked up.
The garden was also getting fertilized at the same time. When doing this, we still had to feed the pigs as they could not find enough food in the pen to sustain themselves. But they were more than willing to spend hours digging around looking for food.
Our garden is infested with quackgrass and it has long roots that spawn new shoots and keeps the grass invading areas. What we found with this experiment is that the pigs loved digging up these roots and eating them. The rototiller would chop up the roots and create new plants, but with the pigs eating the roots, the grass issues was significantly reduced.
Quackgrass roots, fodder for the pigs!
I only did this the one year as we have a huge garden and the pigs could not get it all tilled fast enough. I would need dozens of pigs to do the job. The other alternative would be to get the pigs into the garden in the fall. That way they have all fall, winter and part of the spring to work on the garden. But we found pigs too energy intensive to look after, so we got ride of them. I'm sad to see them go, but for off-grid living, energy needs to balance itself. If we are putting too much energy into something, then we cannot sustain the activity.
But if you have pigs and a smaller garden, it is worth considering. Better than sweating over a tiller or doing it by hand! Animals love to help out. It just takes an awareness to recognize their talents and desires in order to put them into good use.
Pigs work great for smaller projects. Larger ones not so much and yes they are energy intensive. That is exactly why I don't have any here. I needed my energy for other projects.
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Balancing energy is a key for off grid living. It is easy to do everything when one has unlimited energy. But when we live off grid, we really need to manage and balance energy within the confines of what nature can provide for us naturally each year. Pigs eat too much and as such, I had to work just to feed them. Not a great idea. The animals need to look after themselves or contribute in some way for the benefit of the whole group. They are a partner in the life style and we need to find ways for them to hold their own. Our current systems function on unlimited energy and resources. We cannot survive with that model. I often get people telling me that I should try this or do that! There are millions of ideas out there on what we can do. It is not possible for me to do that. You are correct @cecicastor. We have to be very conscious about what activities or projects that we engage in to make sure the energy balances out. Otherwise we run out of energy and lives are at risk. Most people fail to recognize that until they start living off grid!
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Both pigs and goat/sheep just take too much time and effort for our small homestead. Everyone needs to find what is best for them and works well for their particular homestead. But by sharing ideas and experience we can each other to find that perfect balance.
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I agree. I found that the smaller the animal the better they fit in with what we are doing out here. We tried cows and it was a disaster. They drink and eat way too much food and water. The smaller animals are way more efficient but require more labor. So as always, a balance needs to be found. Welcome to life eh! Rabbits, chickens and goats are all we will take on any more.
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I hear you!
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Oooh right on!! They're definitely better than the chickens at tilling, WOW!!!!!
By pigs being too 'energy intensive', what do you mean?
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They eat a lot! To make it worth while, I would need to fence of several acres of bush to give them the room to forage and root around. We don't have the infrastructure to accommodate them properly.
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Ahh I gotchya, thank you for answering!
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i suggest you look up Permaculture and or heugel culture ... in short a no till method is far superior ... Bill mollison and geof lawton on youtube ..for sure under those names you'll find heaps ...
good method though if you want it tilled :)
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Thank you. I am actually aware of them but choose a hybrid approach. The garden and greenhouse is the only space that is being tilled as all other areas have been allowed to go back to grass and trees. We have tried many different approaches and have had mixed results. In the end, we need to grow our own food and so we do what works for us to guarantee a crop each year. Over time, I'm sure we will work it out. Thanks for sharing though. We do what we can with what we have.
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in the end its the easiest ways to garden and no fertilizing needed . Nature wil never go back to grass and trees .. i think you have no idea about what Permaculture is .... for better result one does not ruin the grounds structure, one feeds its and restores balance . after that almost no effort maintaining the garden.. ... Turning over the soil and tilling is what the romans have been doing and hence the world is in the state it is in especially the US ... so ..you do what you can with whatever you got . and please check it out ..keep it organic ....
how many ways"" of gardening are there anyway ?...
not trying to be rude but feeling your writing this is what came out ...
the piece you wrote about the legal name fraud was excellent !
person is an incorporated corporation a man is an unincorporated corporation
Human is a monster in their books and you do not want to be a patriot .. that would make you an enemy of the state... btw all in the US are considered enemy of the state..by the state. fin.
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I appreciate you sharing your views. I'm not sure if you live off grid or not. We have been on this journey for over ten years. To be clear, time is a constraint, especially considering all that we do. We have a lot of work to do and we do our best.
Because of that, we prioritize our work to meet our needs and learn along the way. Will we get to permaculture gardening? Yes. One day. Not today.
You stated:
It is my experience that nature does go back to grass and trees. We have trees 20 feet tall where 10 years ago it was a farmers field. We had over 5 acres of farmers field being rewilded and the process is going very well. We build soil with compost and the animals help us out considerably in the process. We are learning, experimenting and growing. I think it is rude and inappropriate for you to assume that I have no idea about what permaculture is or any experience with it at all. I study, read and put into practice much of what we read. However, there is just my family and to accomplish all that we did in the last 10 years takes a tremendous amount of work, dedication, time and resources. We cannot do it all at once. This is a journey and it will take multiple life times. So I ask that you be respectful, not make assumptions or judgements.
If you disagree with me, then fine. I can respect that. I'm not going to agree with everyone either. But please be polite, respectful and non-judgemental. We are all learning here, we all make mistakes and some of us are doing the best we can!
Peace to you.
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Agree - we work hard to keep 'nature' from going wild in our property. (you see what I did there? 😉) We'd have pine, alder, and maple trees so big we'd have to take a chainsaw to them after 5 years and before that happens the black berries, salmon berries, and huckle berries would be rampant.
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Sepp Holzer in Austria discusses the use of pigs in detail. Many refer to their "chicken tractors" as evidence of the usefulness of fowls in preparing the soil.
The above "gentleman" clearly has no understanding of nature or permaculture principles for that matter so is not worthy of any reply.
How can we down-vote a comment or flag is as a troll?
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yeah , euh ,, respect means to look again and i did .. whom is assuming ?
whom is calling me impolite disrespectful and judgmental? ..you are a dickhead and you do not deserve my energy with your long story and buuullshit.
i read the above again and by g...with all my discernment.. what a ...really caan't think of what to call this ...but i know there are many like you so .. you go your way i'll go mine .. dickhead
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only new here on Steemit and keeping it real :) not just a keyboard warrior >i payed attention for a while .. cheers, Bas
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