Manure

[deb4o]

And no Iam not full of it, as some might think lol

I have a question for all you wonderful gardeners.

We have rabbit, cow, and chicken, poo.

I have read several gardening books and watched alot of shows on the tube, and there seems to be two different views on application.

First-dry and till it in and then spread as needed,

Second- bag it in a cloth bag and sink into a container of water to make a "tea" and apply, when needed.

So Iam thinking (there I go again)of the second method.

Thoughts please and thanks for input.

 

[()relics]

use care with the chicken manure...Its very "Hot" and will burn most plants unless it is left to age for awhile. I like rabbit manure. It is just right...not too hot but yet full of the natural good stuff...I have a few rabbits in the barn and I let their droppings accumulate all winter under the cages. The manure is picked up early spring and spread on the ground then lightly tilled in...Incidently, when the my son has any "fishing worms" left I throw them into the pile of manure under the cages in hopes that the worms or at least their casings will also make the soil in the spring. I use horse manure around the base of the trees in the yard both to control weeds and for whatever fertilizer leaches through to the roots...In a dry summer the straw in the manure serves to keep some moisture near the tree trunk as well.

 

[freemotion]

The most commonly accepted way of using manure in a garden is to compost it first. This works best if you have a mixture of manure and dry veg matter, such as the bedding you used for the animals, along with leaves, grass clippings, etc. It will heat up as bacterial action breaks it down, then it will cool and look and smell like rich dirt. Then you can spread it and turn it under, or lay it on top, or mix a bit into the soil in each planting hole when transplanting.

I put 3" or more on each veggie garden each year and turn it in. I throw forkfuls of very well composted manure onto my flower gardens every fall after the plants die back. Not three inches, though, or many of the plants would be buried too deeply.

 

[patandchickens]

It's not either/or -- it is very useful to add manure to the soil (usually is best to compost it first, or let the plot rest for at least a few months before planting anything there, but there are a bunch of exceptions) AND it is useful to make manure tea (to be watered in, or used as a foliar feed, depending on the situation).

Do both But intelligently -- more is not always better

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[old fashioned]

As Relic mentioned, chicken poo does need to age or compost. If not it can burn your garden, so let it "rest" awhile before using.

And as Pat said, use it both ways. Till some in before planting, then use as tea as a feed later in the season.

If it were me, I'd till in the chicken poo about a month before planting time and let it sit. Then just before planting, till in the rabbit and cow poo. Any more poo's that accumulated (sp?) would be the start of a compost pile and add in any shavings/litter, grass clippings, leaves, newspaper, coffee grounds, citrus peels, wood ashes and more poo.
My idea for compost is-if it came out of the ground, it can go right back in.
In a couple of months, the garden will have used alot of the nutrients that was tilled in and is ready for a boost-manure tea from the compost pile or fresher cow/rabbit poo. And do the "tea" feedings every few weeks during growing season. When harvest time is over, you can spread your compost on the garden and maybe plant a cover crop to keep the soil from growing too many weeds thru the winter.
In truth you'd have a few compost piles going at different stages of decomp year round.

Good luck!

 

[SKR8PN]

Our chicken poo goes into the compost pile, sets for a year, then gets tilled in every spring.
About every other year, I get a couple of truck loads of well composted horse manure, and top dress the garden and all the raised beds, a couple of weeks before we plant in the spring. Every fall I throw any extra leaves that I didn't have room for in the compost bin, on the garden and let them lay all winter to be tilled under in the spring. The garden plants and any unused or leftover veggies also stay on the garden to decompose during the winter. I also use composted leaves for mulch around the garden plants when they get big enough and the ground is warm enough.

I have only ever made a "tea" for watering stuff one time. I thought it was rather time consuming for the results that I got and I ended up tossing the manure used to make the "tea" on the garden anyway. I wasn't to impressed so I went back to what gives me the best results, good old rotten stuff tilled into the soil!

 

[Wifezilla]

Here is one way to use "poo tea"

http://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=146829&p=1

 

[lupinfarm]

We make poo tea lol works great with our ducks because they make it for us already in their pond, and then we drain the pond into buckets and use as needed.

We like to top dress in the winter with composted horse manure, one year we did this and we had flowers well into November and the early part of December!

 

[big brown horse]

I've been collecting horse poo for a while and I plan on burning it and then using the ashes in the garden. ('Sept for the potatoes.)

ETA: http://www.sufficientself.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=973

 

[Organics North]

We have rabbit, cow, and chicken, poo.
First-dry and till it in and then spread as needed,
Second- bag it in a cloth bag and sink into a container of water to make a "tea" and apply, when needed.
So Iam thinking (there I go again)of the second method.
Thoughts please and thanks for input.

Both!
On compost:
I aerate my compost piles (Turn often and monitor internal temp. Another words I use a hot compost method. Pile is done cooking in a few weeks and ready to use 1.5 months. I put the bird manure as layers and plugs around the plants. Let the plants roots grow to the strong powerful nutrient source. I would compost the other stuff and turn it into the soil and let it rest a month or so.
On Tea:
2 or 3 times a season I will use a tea. (I often use earthworm casting tea.) Generally earlier in the season I use the teas.)
It is my opinion a well aerated tea is safest and best. So you need to have the pail bubbling, using a cheap aquarium pump will work. Add a little molasse to the tea to get the good bacteria super charged. Bubble one or two days with decent temps, look for foam thats when you know it is ready.

To see the benefits (IMO) do not use any synthetic fertilizer (They kill the soil bugs that transform manure into plant food.)

Again IMO aerate teas and composts when making them. It makes for Aerobic conditions which creates healthy soil life. Not aerating makes for anaerobic conditions, which breeds bad bugs for the soil. (And it stinks!) Good tea and compost should smell like fresh earth..
Walla......Organic gardening X10

ON