Re: Plants for Erosion Control & Geese

Carol Lively wrote:
> My second question is about plants that are safe for geese.
> I was wondering what I could plant around their yard that
> would be safe for them to eat should they decide to take a
> bite of it.  They're in a 400 sq. ft. area that is enclosed
> by a hogwire fence.  

You didn't say what kind of geese you have but is there a way to expand
their area so they can roam around?  Geese like to roam and have routes
that they establish.  Can you let them out now and then so they can
graze?
It's best if you have several areas that you can rotate so one place can
grow back while the other is being eaten and trampled.

I was thinking about planting some
> cherry tomatoes and a Hyacinth Bean Vine up the fence, with
> maybe some pole beans as well, to give them some shade in
> the summertime.  

Haha, they will eat their shade in a flash.  Plant a tree on the south
and west sides of their fence, especially the west end.  My geese didn't
bother Chinese Elm or Crepe Myrtle's that I planted in their yard.  Go
ahead and plant the vines, they will enjoy them.  Add in cucumbers and
vining squash for them to enjoy.  I suggest fencing off the little vines
until they get big or you may loose them in seedling stage.  If they
mess with the tomato plants themselves you will have to remove them. 
The foliage of tomato's are poisonous.  The geese will love the fruit
tho.

In the yard itself, I was hoping to plant
> some comfrey, buckwheat, and sorghum grain grass.

Skip the comfrey, can be toxic in large quantities.  Comfrey is best
used outside the body as a poultice than taken internally.  I plant
comfrey for it's aesthetic value, looks fabulous in the flower bed and
smells wonderful when it blooms.  The grains are fine.  You can add
oats, wheat, barley and rye grass.  In the fall plant winter rye to
cover a vacant area then let the geese in to graze.  You could even
plant wild rice down on your river to attract wild geese and let yours
go down there to feed when the seeds are ripe.  

Domestic geese like greens and will graze like cattle.  They generally
have the instincts to avoid dangerous plants but not always.  They will
also eat the bark of young fruit trees, killing them.  Young tender
grasses and shoots are their preferred food of choice.  You will never
be able to have the ground of their pen covered with foliage however, as
they will constantly keep it tramped down and eaten.  Even tough bermuda
grass will be destroyed.  I actually used my own geese to get rid of
unwanted grasses and weeds by confining them to various areas.  They
also kept the sticker plants to a dull roar by consuming the seedlings.
 
> Can anyone tell me if this would be a safe thing to do?
> There's some good information on the net and in books about
> chickens, but I haven't been able to find a thing on geese.

There's a great book Raising Ducks and Geese The Modern Way.  You can
probably find it at Amazon.com.

If you are feeding your geese commercial poultry feed, please mix it
50/50 with rabbit or alfalfa pellets to more closely resemble their
natural food.  Even better is to use nothing but rabbit pellets, non
medicated.  Also, do you have a swimming pool for them or access to
water where they can bathe?  Geese must be able to bathe and submerse
their whole heads and bodies in clean water or they will get
infections.  If using a portable pool, you ca plant some water loving
perennials such as tall cannas like the King Humberts on the outside of
the fence and dump the pool on them.  Underplant with Louisiana Iris,
bog sage (Salvia uliginosa) and sedges for a gorgeous bog garden.

Have fun!

Linda (who used to have 200 geese, 11 varieties, and 600 ducks)
San Antonio, TX

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