[Jacob-list] lazy gardener

[gordon johnston]

Hi Gillian

Your sheep may not eat the garlic but they will certainly trample it under
foot, so it will need some protection.
The idea of using your sheep to help clear your garden is an excellent one,
not lazy at all - I would say that , because that is what I have done in the
past !   I regard it as part of an holistic approach to our animals and
production, and very much in keeping with organic principles.  Poultry joins
in too, the hens being allowed to scratch over the veg patch and polytunnel
after the plants have gone and the ducks and hens range over the sheep
pastures helping to pick up any parasites as well as feasting on earth
worms. We use sheep dung from shelters (our sheep are slightly pampered in
this respect as no one else around us provides shelters, but collecting dung
from across the whole pasture would be an unneccessary slog).  This is of
course ready mixed with bedding straw then composted and used to fertilize
the garden ; we then feed gone-to-seed plants such as brassicas to the
sheep.
When your sheep are in your garden, they will not go only where you want
them to, but will explore everywhere, so it might be a good idea to be
around to keep an eye on them when they are grazing that lovely clover and
the dandelions.
One little tale to tell is about when our Jacobs were munching down a fine
crop of weeds, in very similar circumstances to yours, but decided they
would far rather have the sprouting broccoli which was inside the 20' x40'
polytunnel. I had stupidly assumed they would not look through the polythene
!!  Wrong !  Not only did they look , but one enterprising 4 horn used those
horns like a knife to cut a neat triangular hole in the polythene for him
and his friends to step through.  They knew it was wrong though as the
moment I appeared on the scene, they shot back out through the hole and
tried to pretend they had been eating the weeds outside all along !

Good luck with your veggies this year
Juliet in Scotland