While I was examining the latest rabbit litter, I decided to allow the chickens out for a brief adventure in the drizzling rain. They made quick work of grass snipping and worm removal from my now nearly-naked tomato bed.

Since these big girls can do a lot of damage in a short time, they aren’t often allowed to free range in the yard and instead I bring garden treats to them. This time they were only out for about an hour and managed to till the entire exposed bed and hopefully disturb any weed seeds that were getting too comfortable.

I’m planning to put a cover crop in this bed for the winter to keep the weeds down, but I haven’t decided on what yet. Since this bed is composed almost entirely of rabbit manure and coffee grounds from Starbucks, it doesn’t need a lot more nitrogen, but a big empty fertile bed like that is asking for trouble if left bare.