Goats in the Garden

The other day Dan helped me move the electric net fence. The girls had finished their brush control duty, so I wanted to partition off part of the the garden for them. I’m still getting a few tomatoes and green peppers, also sweet basil and some okra, but the rest is done for the year. At least it’s done trying to grow vegetables – weeds are going gangbusters.

The garden will make some good eating for the goats, especially since the pastures are all dried up.

The only problem is that this is unfamiliar territory for them, so they won’t go down there by themselves.

They wait for me to lead them through the gate and expect me to hang out with them.

Sometimes I’m able to sneak off and they don’t notice.

Then a car whizzes by or a scary kitty cat comes along and they all go charging back to the barn.

Once they get their fill we’ll see about trying to make it look like a real garden once again. Ordinarily I would like to have everything prepared and planted by this time of year, but the soil is so hard and dry from no rain that’s it’s impossible to do anything with it. The wiregrass hasn’t minded, though. It is fast growing and tenacious and is what is covering the ground in all the photos above. Even most of my cardboard and wood chip mulch has disappeared under it.

One thing I’ve learned about trying to live off the land is that it requires patience, faith, and a willingness to adapt annually. The results aren’t predictable and there are no guarantees. It’s a humbling way of life.