Yesterday R and I put a panel across the mad kings broken garden gate and let the Charlottes in to the mad kings garden to clean up. Neglected vegetable gardens are gold for pigs! The Mad Kings garden had gotten totally out of control but for some reason him indoors did not want anyone else in there. He finally saw the error of his ways. The pigs are in there! And once they are done we will remake the garden with raised beds for him to potter about in.
It is a reset.
The Charlottes have finished their first two gardens.
And are taking on this:
Their lives are just too much fun.
I opened a gate between these two gardens so they still eat and sleep back in their usual spots, this is just an extension to their usual quarters. But I am not sure how long the garden gate will stay open. They better work fast. The fences posts over that side are very wobbly. With rot. I am hoping a hog does not decide to scratch his back on one and the whole thing falls down – at this point the enclosure is held together with weeds and rogue trees.
I will be checking the perimeter frequently.
Boo and I took the PopPops for a short walk just to get the lay of the land. First we train them where home is. Where I feed them. By their house. They learn to come back there when I call them. So we are not going too far from their house. Initially.
They sprinted from smell to smell. It will take a while for them to start foraging out in the field. The thing with pigs is that they all face a different direction. They are not herd animals. Boo is going to find that a challenge.
Pigs need to be led. Directed. Not herded. Boo will find a way.
The turkeys have taken to waiting for me outside the back door. This was sweet when Mr Flowers did it but not so sweet when these 7 poop machines gather on the step for a prolonged period.
I am teaching Boo a new command. ‘Turkeys. Off the porch’ . I say it in my most gentle voice. So he knows not to run at them. He goes across and stares at each of them – hard. And they fly down into the garden. Then he lies back down on his mat.
The squirrel is getting braver.
The cows are getting bigger.
The Wendy House is getting fuller.
The freezer is filling up.
And by night I am ready for bed.
More of the same today!
Celi
PS – for the Sustainable Sunday newsletter go HERE. There is a walkabout video there – just for you.
The Kitchen's Garden 
29 responses to “The Mad Kings Garden”
How fantastic – that’s a pig paradise!
I bet there is junk too. So I will need to go in every now and then to clear out what they unearth!
Ha ha – well at least it gives them a lot of shade.
Yes! There are a number of wild trees in there that need taking out. The pigs will clear around them and sleep under them quite nicely. They have eaten up all their shade in the other side!
What a great place for pigs!
I’m curious — have you ever kept goats? They are very useful for clearing areas of land. And they have such personalities.
Way back when, 30+ years ago (before I was born), my mum kept 12 goats for milk and yogurt. She still tells us the stories of how mischievous and cheeky they were. She started with one goat when weaning my brother. Thinking about it, that makes me smile. Most of us would buy goats’ milk from the shop if needed, but her reasoning must have been “need goats’ milk for the baby? Get a goat!”
Such a great story.! Buying a goat for the milk for the baby. Wonderful . I did have goats once but they were a menace and I very quickly sold them on. I do like the idea of running them with cows though. For pasture management. Maybe one day someone will give me a very old lazy goat!
If you do I’d suggest a Nigerian Dwarf wether. They’re small and don’t climb and are great browsers. Just remember they need goat minerals. They’re also quite affectionate.
Those pigs must be happier than pigs in s—-, er, poop.
Probably won’t though! 😂
I wonder how many side-eyes you’re going to get from Boo what with his PopPop and turkey challenges ahead? I imagine he will do an excellent job with all his charges because that’s what Boo does. The Charlottes have been given a gift of the best life as they grow to size by being on the farm. Cleaning the Mad Kings Garden must be heaven for them.
Boo is thrilled to be given permission to move the turkeys on! He likes everyone to be in their proper places does our boo!
I totally agree with Boo, but he does give the best side-eye I have ever seen from a dog 🙂
Lucky Charlottes, clever Boo, cheeky poppops and pooey turkeys, lovely farmy tales.
Pooey Turkeys!! 😂
It really is a pig’s paradise, or a very man king’s!
He can’t garden like he used to so this is a good result I think. He plants but never weeds so you can imagine!!
And yet, it is still a magic garden.
My John used to love to plant, weeding – not so much. I now have raised beds, about 2′ high and they’ve made things unbelievably easier.
I think it will help him too. Glad you are finding the raised beds easier!
The pigs will have a field day! 🙂 They are such intelligent animals although they don’t look like they would be. Herding dogs are amazing, talking about smart. We had a Blue Heeler/Australian shepherd mix decades ago and he was a natural with my mother-in-law’s cows!
Sounds like a great dog! I think Boo is crossed with Heeler and an Aussie Sheep dog. Boo is incredibly intuitive. Such a help on the farm.
the Kings Garden looks a bit like my idea of a secret garden. Heaven for pigs.
Yes – it was meant to be something like that but then the weeds took over. If you turn away for 5 minutes here the weeds grow a foot!
Lucky (or unlucky) with all that lovely rain.
It is official. In my mind you are the ‘pig whisperer’! xoxo
Pig whispering. What a lovely name for a job. This dedicated townie who’s only relationship with a farm and pigs is vicariously through Cecilia, once met a huge, wild Kune who terrified all who saw him, particularly when I was in charge of the toddlers. It was not at all like Cecilia’s Kune Kune.
you are amazing
Hi Cecilia. Today I tried to leave a comment on substack but was told that I had to be a paid up member. Do I have to be a paid up member on substack as well as TKG
Judith Baxter E: Judith@judithbaxter.net.nz T (64) 021 797400
No you don’t! That is simply not the case. And you don’t need to be a paid member of TKG AT ALL either. The blog is free. Which post were you trying to leave a message on? I will write to substack.
Hi Cecilia. I was trying to comment on lock up the pigs. I have a payment made when the person supporting Wai pulled out and it will continue. .I presume this makes me a paid up member of the flock.