Hooligan Hollow Farm

Hooligan Hollow Farm

by Shannon Hutcheson

My aunt has never taken to anything cautiously; she takes everything to the extreme! It was of little surprise to those who know her that she adopted the 10 children she fostered, it was slightly more shocking that she decided to home school them but it COMPLETELY shocked me that she wanted to move her family into a life of sustainability.

Feeding a family of 12 is no easy task. Tips to the grocery store can be taxing on your checking account and frustrating if you are trying to accommodate allergies and sensitivities. The average monthly grocery bill is upwards of $1600. Most of the items purchased at the store can be grown or raised in your backyard. So, my aunt contacted me.

Our goal with Hooligan Hollow Farm is to make the Hooligan family 100% sustainable within ten years. We are starting with a fairly large undertaking: clear a quarter of an acre of land, build a chicken coop/rabbit pen and install rain barrels wherever possible to catch the remainder of our winter and spring rains. These tasks will all be part of our first phase of farming.

Considering the size of the task at hand I have allowed one month to complete the first phase of the project. The construction of the chicken coop/ rabbit pen is coming along nicely, we should have a complete product by the end of the week. The quarter of an acre has been cleared and tilled; all that is left is raking it all down and planting. We have also constructed a composting ditch that is 100 feet long, 4 feet wide and 3 feet deep. All that is left is constructing an edible landscape in the front yard of the house, installing the rain barrels and finding an additional water source for the main garden.

            In this process we have upcycled as many products that we can find. We are turning pallets into vertical planters for lettuces; someone gave us the windows from their house after they had them replaced that will be turned into an upcycled greenhouse, the frame will be constructed out of wood from a neighbors torn down porch; and we are using tires from the local tire shop to grow potatoes, onions and garlic. We are trying to keep our footprint low, our products local and our gardening methods earth friendly and sustainable.

 This year will be a year of trial and errors, heartaches and triumphs but we are all prepared for what is to come. We have a family of 12 committed to being self-sustaining and to simply be good stewards of the earth. SustainaScapes venture into farming has been exciting. Please follow us through our journey to create a legacy of local, sustainable food for Birmingham.

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Chicken Tractor

         Chicken Tractors

         by Hunter Eastis

         First, let’s get something out of the way: chickens can’t drive tractors. They don’t have thumbs. I know, I’m as disappointed as you are. Despite the misleading name, the “Chicken Tractors” are actually pretty cool.
 Chicken tractors are small, mobile chicken coops with open floors and closed sides. They are designed in such a way that they can be easily relocated every few days. These coops can provide several soil enhancing benefits while providing creative solutions to many common problems in the garden.


Best utilized in gardens that employ crop rotation or green manure strategies, chicken tractors can also be put to good use in smaller urban areas. These roving coops, usually built as a type of sled, can provide several useful advantages:


• Insect control


• Weed control


• Fertilization


• Healthy, natural chicken feed


The open bottom design of the roving chicken coop allows the birds to forage freely on the area beneath the structure. By feeding on grubs, pupae, eggs and adult insects both current and future pest populations are reduced. As the chickens forage on seeds from the vegetation, weeds are also kept in check (both in the short and long term). While this diet must still be supplemented with regular chicken feed, it does account for a good portion of their required nutrition. This method allows you to raise chickens in a free-range type environment.


The ability to move the chicken tractor every few days not only provides the birds with new, fresh foraging areas; it also deposits a specific amount of high quality, organic fertilizer in each one of the areas. Small chicken tractors can be placed between rows of vegetables and moved each day. Larger designs contribute to the cleaning and fertilizing of fields before they are prepared. These coops can even be used to keep a laying flock in a small backyard.


Chicken tractors are an effective, easy way to keep chickens in any space while providing them high quality feed, in addition to providing your land with organic weed and pest control as well as organic fertilizer. If you are interested in learning more about chicken tractors or would like a consultation about this method call, SustainaScapes today 205-500-7405.

Self-Reliance in Urban Farming

The cost of food and gas are the two constants in an inflated economy. The more we consume, the more we need; the more we need, the more we consume and the more expensive they both become. The only way we can take control of these commodities is by growing our own food. It is our ultimate revolution, our ultimate feat in self-reliance.

Much of the food we consume today is far removed from the food our parents ate 50 years ago. It is grown for its looks, not taste; its picked long before it is ripe to assure its longevity and these are the ingredients we put in homemade meals. At what point do these “foods” cease to be nourishing food? At what point do we take control of the food we consume?

It is estimated that the average meal in the United States travels 10,000 miles. Be it by train, ship or truck that is 10,000 miles of energy and pollution to put food on your plate that can easily be grown in your backyard. Taking one step in the direction of self-reliance drops your carbon footprint dramatically. Even if this Spring you only grow easy care plants such as: basil, rosemary and cherry tomatoes; that is three kitchen basics that has not had to travel the approximate 10,000 miles it requires to get these items to your plate. The added benefit is that you know where the plant originated, you know if it has been genetically modified, you know how far it has traveled to get to your plate and how it has been grown and prepared.

The benefits of Urban Farming are endless. It is the one thing that we as humans and as communities can do to move towards self-reliance. Now is the time for us to take this step. We can only expect good to come of this movement, let us not delay.