They Let Rooting Pigs Till Their Garden

They Let Rooting Pigs Till Their Garden HOG EQUIPMENT & IDEAS Instead of working horses Homer Walden has working pigs They start with turf then till and fertilize it into a garden bed Walden discovered “pig tilling” a couple of decades ago when he put four 30-lb pigs in a chicken tractor for temporary housing The next morning the turf it was on was completely turned over He moved it ahead and the pigs continued to root which solved his problem of not owning a tractor to dig up the ground for a garden The chicken wire structure was soon replaced with better materials and a design for a movable pen that Walden has improved several times over the years He includes instructions on how to build pig tillers for $500-$600 that can be used for multiple purposes in his book “Low Tech Farmer ” “The wheel system has been the biggest development It works on a fulcrum with the axle attached with wheels You pull the rope that lifts the pen in the air instead of dragging it ” Walden explains The 4 by 10-ft portable pen is built with pressure-treated wood and heavy-duty livestock panels and includes a PVC waterer that holds 7 gal of water It’s covered with a sturdy 8-oz tarp Along with the pen Walden has developed an efficient process that works well for him in North Carolina In August he starts with two 30-lb pigs that learn quickly to help push the pen when Walden moves it At first it’s daily then moves occur twice a day then more often as the pigs grow “They are digging 8-in deep at 150 lbs ” he says “They really fluff it up ” By March the pigs are ready for butchering at about 250 lbs He can sell one and put the other in his freezer The meat is healthy low fat and tasty Walden says Along with using pigs for tilling he developed a sustainable process - from obtaining free waste food for his pigs from a bakery restaurant and school to leveling the areas his pigs till and using landscape fabric to prevent weeds from growing “The beds should get covered as soon as weed seeds sprout and composted for six months under the ground cover This will sanitize the pig manure Then uncover the bed and direct seed or burn holes in the ground cover to plant seedlings for a weed-proof garden ” Walden says He also adapted the pen for poultry that is moved about 2 weeks ahead of the pig tiller The chickens leave behind valuable nitrogen for the soil With just an acre of ground it’s a process that can work for others Walden says He’s currently experimenting with a 6-acre circle where the pig tiller starts on the outside and works its way to the middle for continuous succession planting His website includes a short video of his tiller in action and other low-tech methods he has developed plus his book and hardware kit for his pig tiller Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Homer Walden P O Box 672 Oriental N C 28571 ph 717 712-6263; www lowtechfarmer com; homerlowtechfarmer@gmail com

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