I'm considering planting around the chicken run to provide shade. The run is southern orientated, but luckily has the large barn on one side. So from morning until just after noon, that run gets nailed with the sun. The chickens hide in the coop panting.
I would like to avoid a tarp, just because of water collection and just plain looks. ((The coop and barn are pretty much the centerpiece to the whole property))
So I'm torn between planting a vine or just buying a kennel shade cloth. Might even do a little of both. It is just too darn hot here to not have plenty of shade. Trees are out of the question, because the goats and cows would make short work of it and if planted on the side where I hope to plant the vines, it would just plain be in the way. (About 30 feet of the run has goat/cow pasture on the side, the adjacent side it the barn wall, the back of the run is the coop, and the front 6' is the door and about 4' of fence-which is the only protected planting side)
So.. Any suggestions for a non-toxic, fast growing vine, that will die off when the frost hits it? I prefer an annual, just for control measures. Honeysuckle and grapevines, just run rampant here and if allowed to take hold, are only killed off by constant trimming, hacking, poisoning, and burning. Also, if it dies off in frost, the sun gets to work it's magic in winter when it is more than welcomed by the chickens.
So I want a fast growing but not something that I will regret for years to come. It's a full sun location and gets plenty of water.
Shade is the primary goal. Beautication comes second, so something that looks good and/or smells nice is a plus, but not necessary.
I would like to avoid a tarp, just because of water collection and just plain looks. ((The coop and barn are pretty much the centerpiece to the whole property))
So I'm torn between planting a vine or just buying a kennel shade cloth. Might even do a little of both. It is just too darn hot here to not have plenty of shade. Trees are out of the question, because the goats and cows would make short work of it and if planted on the side where I hope to plant the vines, it would just plain be in the way. (About 30 feet of the run has goat/cow pasture on the side, the adjacent side it the barn wall, the back of the run is the coop, and the front 6' is the door and about 4' of fence-which is the only protected planting side)
So.. Any suggestions for a non-toxic, fast growing vine, that will die off when the frost hits it? I prefer an annual, just for control measures. Honeysuckle and grapevines, just run rampant here and if allowed to take hold, are only killed off by constant trimming, hacking, poisoning, and burning. Also, if it dies off in frost, the sun gets to work it's magic in winter when it is more than welcomed by the chickens.
So I want a fast growing but not something that I will regret for years to come. It's a full sun location and gets plenty of water.
Shade is the primary goal. Beautication comes second, so something that looks good and/or smells nice is a plus, but not necessary.