What did you do in your garden today?

[Okiepan]

Fell in the mud .

 

[CrealCritter]

So we both played in the mud today, I guess that makes us Mudmen

Yippee for Major 7ths

Jesus is Lord and Christ

 

[Trying2keepitReal]

So all the goodness in my chicken run (dirt, broken down wood chips, decomposed grass and leaves, and chopped straw), it has been in there almost a year can I add it to my gardens this spring or is it still considered too hot? I will be doing a clean out at the end of March/early April and wondering if it go directly mixed in to the beds or if it needs to cook some more?

I bought seeds starter and dug out the trays of cells starting some tomatoes, squash and melons in about 2 weeks. Cold sowing peas this weekend.

 

[Mini Horses]

Well fresh manure will be most concentrated under roosts. You might want to take a layer off there and toss in a pile of leaves for a while. The rest I would use -- have used such -- in the garden and tilled into row area. Since chicken manure is stronger than others, use sparingly! Work into the soil...hoe etc if you don't till.

What newer additions are in the larger area of coop gets mixed as you labor to shovel it all out. So long as you don't use the golden clean out toooo heavily on the garden, you should be fine. Think work it in or side dress lightly...to prevent new plant burn. Side dress heavy feeders in season.

As you prob know, rabbit and goat pellets can be used fresh. I have a lot of chicken and goat poo...mini horse, too. No fertilizer buy here. . Good thing as prices went up as much as gas!! My friend is waiting anxiously for her share of my coop!.

 

[flowerbug]

So all the goodness in my chicken run (dirt, broken down wood chips, decomposed grass and leaves, and chopped straw), it has been in there almost a year can I add it to my gardens this spring or is it still considered too hot? I will be doing a clean out at the end of March/early April and wondering if it go directly mixed in to the beds or if it needs to cook some more?

I bought seeds starter and dug out the trays of cells starting some tomatoes, squash and melons in about 2 weeks. Cold sowing peas this weekend.

anything with fresh manure on it i would use by mixing it in and topping that area with a layer of fresh dirt. that way any splashes are not getting fresh manure moving around. i don't know about how potent the stuff is since i don't keep chickens so i'd go by what @Mini Horses has said as that makes sense.

when i use fertilizers in my garden (worm compost) i only use it in the gardens where i'll be planting my heaviest feeding plants. the rest of the gardens are rotation planted into soil that has had previous worm compost amendments so there is some residual nutrients and plus whatever is in there from before. so far it seems to be working just fine for the amount of plants and gardens we have.

 

[Trying2keepitReal]

Yep it is the stuff in the run, not the coop so constantly being turned (by me and the chickens), fresh items added and such. There is some fresh but very little compared to under the roosts. Also has some corn cobs, and probably broken down veggies in there too. I was going to clean out the run and use that in the gardens, move the stuff from the coop to the run and add some woodchips and start all over.

Thanks for the input @Mini Horses and @flowerbug

 

[Hinotori]

Squash don't care if chicken litter is fresh. Many other plants will die.

I have to put a bunch in the new areas I'm tilling this year. Last year it was all old chicken pen spots that lay fallow a year.

After Mom saw the monster squash plants I grew in the planter the one year she's wanted more chicken litter. Those plants were in half potting soil half chicken litter because I couldn't afford more soil at that point.

The year we put down 6 inches of aged horse manure in Mom's garden she had a jungle out there. No one in the family has horses anymore.

 

[flowerbug]

Squash don't care if chicken litter is fresh. Many other plants will die.

I have to put a bunch in the new areas I'm tilling this year. Last year it was all old chicken pen spots that lay fallow a year.

After Mom saw the monster squash plants I grew in the planter the one year she's wanted more chicken litter. Those plants were in half potting soil half chicken litter because I couldn't afford more soil at that point.

The year we put down 6 inches of aged horse manure in Mom's garden she had a jungle out there. No one in the family has horses anymore.

road apples are some good stuff!

 

[R2elk]

road apples are some good stuff!

Road apples are good. Urine soaked bedding is very hot.

 

[Hinotori]

Back when horses were main transport, road cleanings from cities were used on fields just outside town.

Horse was considered the best fertilizer because it had less weeds.