Bunny Lawn Mower

"I can't eat all these!" says Dusty

I first saw Green Faerie Farm's Bunny Lawn Mower a year or two ago, and thought that was a great idea. It's a wheeled cage with rabbits inside, so that the rabbits eat the weeds and fertilize the soil with their poop. I thought that I should have Dusty doing the same thing.

I was once again reminded that I should put Dusty to work after my most recent visit to Green Faerie Farm. Today, I carried his cage from under the patio to a patch with lots of Bermuda Buttercup, another weed that keeps spreading on its own. I have seen Dusty eating this particular weed in the past, so I placed the cage there and removed the bottom trays.

I placed Dusty inside. He was busy sniffing everything for a while before settling down and munching on some weeds. I put a piece of plastic tarp on top of the cage and one of bottom trays on top of it to keep it from blown away. This way Dusty could stay in the shade while he was outside. I shall make a hammock for him like the one they have for Green Faerie Farm's rabbits. I don't expect Dusty to be as efficient as Green Faerie's rabbits since they work as a team of 4 or 5.

Green Faerie Farm's Bunny Lawn Mower has 4 or 5 rabbits inside

Green Faerie Farm Field Trip

Green Faerie Farm is a homestead farm in Berkeley. They raise dairy goats, rabbits, chickens, keep bees, and grow many kinds of vegetables and fruits. This past Sunday, Master Ken arranged to have our Beneficial Beasts in the Garden class to meet at Green Faerie Farm.  Co-owner, Jim, gave us a tour and a list of tasks that he would like our help, including grinding flax seeds, vaccinate the goats, pull out the nasty hay out of the goat barn and add it to the compost pile, chop some bamboos, and treat the rabbits for ear mites.

The goats and kids were quite friendly. They liked to be petted just like other pets we are familiar with. Some rabbits were kept in the same enclosure with the goats and chickens. It was fun to see all the animals living in harmony.

Besides the animals and vegetables, the farm has a wide variety of fruit trees - avocado, plum, grapefruit, walnut, kiwi, pear, orange, thorn-less blackberry, mulberry, etc. Jim has also attended Scion Exchange for some of his fruit tree collection.

Our potluck was quite a feast, including homemade candy cap cream cheese, coconut macaroons, baked yam, hummus, couscous, homemade ranch dressing, cultured butter, several kinds of homemade pickles, and Tara's organic ice cream. Lisa also brought a variety of her award winning kombucha drinks. Her latest flavor is rose kombucha.

It was a fun filled day with a very festive and satisfying potluck at Green Faerie Farm. I made a short video clip to show you what the farm looks like: