good king henry

[grannyjanny]

How do you grow GKH. We have just got some chickens & I've read that they love it but don't know anything about it.

[TommyTomato]

As ar as I know it's classed as a herb?

I have just recently bought some and put it in a big pot......

I didn't know chickens liked it......thanks for that info....

[jennym]

I have Good King Henry growing on one of my plots, it's very hardy, dies back in winter and comes back up in spring. Sometimes self seeds, but not a problem plant. The young leaves are ok as an early green to eat.

[saddad]

We have some on our lottie Janet.. if you come down to the open day in June I'll point it out and dig some up for you... had a row but OH wasn't too fussed so we grubbed it out but I let some volunteers carry on..

It's closely related to Mercury or "Fat Hen"  an edible weed... apparently it's like having your poultry on steroids... 

[Ian Pearson]

Yes, indestructable reliable greens early every spring. I would class it as an non-invasive edible weed.
The seed heads are usable as a grain, and would be top-notch chicken fodder.

Have you tried orach - that's even easier, self seeds, and has huge heads of seeds that chickens would probably enjoy. They grow 7ft tall, an annual, so matures later in the year.

[grannyjanny]

Thanks everyone. I knew I could rely on you .

[pigeonseed]

It's closely related to Mercury or "Fat Hen"  an edible weed... apparently it's like having your poultry on steroids

I never knew that was why they called it fat hen! I assumed it was meant to look like a hen or something... clearly I had never thought that through!