Are Guinea's the Answer?....

Picture Source:http://www.frogholler.net/garden_guineas.jpg

I have been contemplating Guinea's for quite a while now, driving my poor wife mad with Guinea conversation and propaganda. I, as you probably can tell from my past blogs, am an information junkie when it comes to something I'm interested in. I research it, ask questions, read magazines and books, anything I can to properly inform myself and at the same time, lessen any surprises.

Picture Source: http://www.moonlightmileherbs.com/guineasgfba.jpg

So when I read about Guinea's, a whole world of ideas came storming through my head as to how to best utilize them. We've all heard that they're magnificent at tick predation or being good watch dogs. All of that sounds great, but the thing that most interests me is garden patrol.

You see, unlike chickens, Guinea's don't scratch. They're always looking for the next tasty bug to eat. My thinking is to set up a test garden, with appropriate fencing. Build a roosting/nesting site on one corner of the garden and let them loose. I would like to see the difference in a Guinea patroled garden vs a organically maintained one.

I would certainly like to nail this one. To me, the less I have to spray organic pest control, the better(plus it saves money). Even if it is organic. The only thing I will need to worry about is - will they eat any leaves on the garden plants? Don't quite know the answer to that one, hence the reason for the test. I'll certainly post the results when this happens.

Here is an interesting link about Guinea's if you're interested:

http://www.motherearthnews.com/Sustainable-Farming/2003-10-01/Go-Ahead-Get-Guineas.aspx

Quote:
The many great gardens of the world, of literature and poetry, of painting and music, of religion and architecture, all make the point as clear as possible: The soul cannot thrive in the absence of a garden. If you don't want paradise, you are not human; and if you are not human, you don't have a soul.


~Thomas Moore