A few kinks to work out...

[choosewisdom]

We bought a home on 3/4 acre in a suburb of Tulsa, OK, but have a few things to work out.

1. We had to buy in a fairly affluent neighborhood for proximity to a good school and work. It is out of the city limits, so we CAN have a garden and chickens, but everyone else in our addition has inground pools, pool houses, and additional garages, not gardens. We were able to find a home with an empty lot/utility easement on one side which should ease some of the neighbors minds as the chicks won't be too near anyone's home. Should I approach neighbors before adding my garden and chickens?

Also, I am ok with waiting another year to get the chicks. Maybe I can sort of ease my neighbors into having us in the neighborhood?!?!

2. I have dug in several areas of our lot and only get a few inches before I hit rock. I plan to build three raised beds, and think I want to use cinder blocks lined with hardware cloth. How can I make the cinder blocks look best? I have considered staining the blocks...

3. Composting, hmmm... I have a strong feeling I may be ran out of the neighboorhood if this isn't done really well. I have really been liking the idea of using shipping pallets, will they do ok if I put of privacy fence and place them on the south side of the lot against the privacy fence, or would that block too much of our exposure to sun?

TIA, for any advice!! Laura

[JamieCatheryn]

Nicely done gardens shouldn't get anybody mad at you! If you're worried about what they'll think of you, make friends and visit often so they know the real you and don't get carried away with making up things to think. The landscaping plans can be one topic of conversation, but by no means ask permission or go in official notice style to talk about it unless an HOA requires it.

Stained cement blocks sound great for raised bed! Be sure to use non-toxic stain as it could get into your soil and your plants. Mix in edible flowers and decorative salad greens to make a gorgeous and useful garden. Trellis everything that needs it carefully so you don't get any tangled messes. Mulch it nicely.

Don't get a rooster, and check your local ordinances and any neighborhood rules about limits or bans on poultry. Make your chicken coop really pretty as well as functional.

Compost can work in the shade but take longer, the only concern is staying warm enough, not a big problem in OK right? Just be sure to keep your greens/browns ratio right and keep it turned and aerated so it won't stink.

[mattemma04]

I would be polite but not ask permission or *what do you think* type questions of neighbors. Know your laws/codes and get a survey done to make sure your property line is exactly where you think.

You can plant some nice herbs in those cement block holes.

I just have piles for compost not a hot compost.Have not had issues with smell. I never asked neighbors if a chcken or gardens would bother them.I just did it.I did however let neighbors know when I was getting a survey that I planned to put up a fence,and the survey was to make sure I did not encroach on their land. Turns out some encroached on me!

A fence should block out a lot,but first year also consider shrubs and grasses that will grow taller than the fence to block out views into your yard.If you keep your chickens in the yard,and keep a decent coop they might not even know you have them.

I have a front yard garden and no one even knew due to the grasses I planted all over.Have fun and after a while neighbors might add a garden or chicken of their own after watching you.

Lol,I think hanging cloths out to dry gets some people more worked up than a garden would.

[choosewisdom]

Originally Posted by mattemma04

Lol,I think hanging cloths out to dry gets some people more worked up than a garden would.

I know that would get them going because BEHIND our neighborhood there is a home where they hang out the laundry every once in a while, and my neighbors were all up in arms. I think they were trying to get me on the bandwagon one day when she was getting her kids from my house, and it made her distant to me when I said I thought it was great that the weren't wasting energy. I didn't respond the way she had hoped, I guess.

I think we are just going to do a privacy fence and make sure our coop is cute enough it looks like a playhouse if anyone were to look in our yard. There is really so much space between the houses that I doubt anyone will hear my girls laying...

[mattemma04]

That reminds me of a thread I read somewhere where a family lived just outside a newly built HOA controlled neighborhood. Well the family lived as they always had with their farming,live stock,and outdoor laundry.Sure enough after a few weeks the family started getting violation notices from the HOA.lol,I think it kept up for quite a while despite being told the family was not part of the new neighborhood even if it was next to them.

Just follow your HOA rules and you will be fine.I think over on BYC I saw a section of stealth coops.You don't need those,but they are neat to see.

I am putting up a laundry line this year,but I will dry my undergarments on an inside rack.

[choosewisdom]

When we were home shopping we were in a bit of a time crunch. We didn't want to be in a planned neighborhood at all, but ended up in one because it was what was available that had more than half an acre, four bedrooms, etc. One of our NO BEND rules was no HOA. Well, we bent it, sort of. Since our neighborhood was built around a few pre-existing homes that wouldn't sell our to the developer, the HOA is voluntary. LOL, the wording was so loose when we bought that instead of not including homes built before ____ date, it truly was voluntary for all homes in the development, lol.

SO, now that the bylaws have been changed it doesn't affect us as we bought our home before the change. Now, that doesn't mean that I don't want to keep my neighbors happy, but luckily even if they say sorry no chickens because of the HOA, I can smile and say, "I'm not a member."

[AlwaysByMySide]

I'm an "ask for forgiveness, not for permission" type person when it comes to my neighbors. I'm sure mine think my backyard is insane, but unless they feel like chipping in to put up a privacy fence, they are just going to have to deal with seeing my clothes on the line and my 5-gallon buckets of vegetable plants. As long as you are following city ordinances, and you're not in the HOA, then you should be fine.

My down-the-street neighbors (two houses down) have a horse that somehow lives in their front yard and chickens, and I lived here for a good four months before I ever knew they had chickens. I happened to see some when I drove by one day. I think it's cool...doesn't bother me at all.

As far as compost goes, I would recommend going the vermicomposting route with worms. I tried doing a compost pile this year, and my worms have done more in a couple of months than the pile ever did, with a LOT less work.