As we adapt to a rapidly changing world, there has been a significant increase in the number of households that are growing their own food and keeping backyard chickens. This trend has become more prevalent in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, where individuals have become increasingly wary of venturing out to grocery stores, not to mention shortages of food and household products on the shelves during this time. Furthermore, with inflation affecting households across the globe, families are looking for ways to reduce their grocery spending, leading to a surge in the cultivation of home-grown produce.
Give Your Garden a Boost
According to a survey conducted by the University of California, Davis, gardening has become a popular activity amidst the COVID-19 pandemic as a means to alleviate stress, connect with others, and stay healthy by growing your own food. For those new to cultivating their own produce, there is a learning curve involved. Proper care throughout all stages of the cultivation process is essential to produce healthier and more abundant fruits and vegetables. With the right care and attention, gardens can yield high-quality produce.
The GroMat and Super GroMat are excellent tools for those looking to get a head start on building a healthy garden. These indoor heated seedling mats can maximize germination rates while maintaining proper environmental control for delicate seedlings, providing a significant boost for springtime growth. These germination mats are energy-efficient and use minimal power, saving households money on their electric bill.
Keep Pests Away
One of the biggest issues that plague gardeners is keeping rabbits, deer, birds, and other pest animals from helping themselves to the fruits of your labor. Keeping pests away is essential to the vitality of your plants, and it’s possible to do this without the use of harmful poisons and chemicals. One way this can be achieved is with the use of electronic pest repellers, such as the Solar Yard Gard or Deer Gard. These devices deter pests using ultrasonic soundwaves that are irritating to pests but inaudible to most humans. Electronic pest deterrents are most effective when paired with a visual deterrent, such as a realistic predator decoy or outdoor laser deterrent, which makes the area generally unpleasant for pest animals.
Perhaps the most effective way to keep birds and other animals out of your garden is to use bird netting to exclude them from the area. Bird netting can be secured around your garden while still allowing sunlight to pass through. Anti-bird net is trusted not only by backyard gardeners, but also by farmers and other professional agricultural and commercial applications.
Protecting your produce from bugs and parasites without using harmful poisons can be challenging. Keeping a backyard chicken flock is a naturalistic solution to keeping bugs away, while also providing an additional benefit of producing food for your household.
Keep Your Chickens Happy and Healthy
In addition to the surge in home gardening, there has also been a notable increase in backyard chicken-keeping. This trend, which began during the pandemic, remains strong and is being driven by the need to offset the cost of inflation at the grocery store.
The key to producing healthy eggs is ensuring the health and happiness of your backyard flock. In the colder seasons, particularly in early spring as egg-laying season begins, keeping your chickens warm is crucial and improves the likelihood of them laying eggs. Although many backyard chicken keepers use heat lamps in their coops, a safer and more energy-efficient alternative is the use of flat panel radiant heaters, such as the Cozy Coop. This heater is tested to meet strict safety standards, ensuring your flocks’ safety above all else, while only using about 13% of the electricity of a standard space heater.
Do you have any recommendations that have helped you maintain a healthy garden and backyard flock? Let us know in the comments.