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Sunday, April 15, 2012

Organic Pest Control

First day outside - enjoying the sun in the mini-greenhouse.

We have a couple new additions to the garden this spring!
My wife surprised me at Easter with a pair of Pekin ducklings, something I wasn't expecting. They will be living in our garden patrolling for pests after the plants have matured and then spending the winter in the high tunnel.

I read in Eliot Coleman's books, The New Organic Grower and Four-Season Harvest that ducks make excellent pets and are better than chickens for pest control. They love potato beetles and slugs as well as other garden insects and won't destroy mature plants while feeding.




Since we got them last week they have doubled in size, it's amazing how fast they are growing. They are already starting to show their personalities, they tilt their heads when you talk to them and seem to answer back with their little chirps!

I guess my next project will be building a duck house!


The Chicken Chick

 

7 comments:

  1. They are so cute!! You should read Bob Tarte's Enslaved by Ducks. It's really funny!!

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  2. Thanks for reading my post! I have read Enslaved by Ducks, it is a very funny book! I spent part of the day yesterday turning on of my mini-greenhouses into a duck house. They seem happy foraging for bugs in the garden!

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  3. Cute! Make sure you use safe bug control out there!

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  4. Hi Bepa, I'm Anne from Life on the Funny Farm (http://annesfunnyfarm.blogspot.com) visiting from the Clever Chick’s blog hop. Love your blog! I added myself as a follower.

    Love the idea of a few ducks for the garden. I have chickens, but this lets me justify my yearning for ducks. I'm sure my husband will thank you....

    Anyway, it’s nice to "meet" you. I hope you can pop over to my blog and say hi sometime if you get the chance.

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    Replies
    1. Hi Anne,
      Thanks for reading! I love having ducks. They mill around the yard all day eating bugs and foraging for food and follow me around while I am working in the garden. They have such unique personalities!

      Thanks for the invite, I'll pop over and check out your blog!

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  5. Thank you for linking up with the Clever Chicks this week! Hope to see you back again next Monday.

    Cheers!
    Kathy
    The Chicken Chick

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  6. Yes they absolutely are. We raised lots of ducks for years. I love birds.

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