What did you do in your garden today?

[Alaskan]

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.

I plant in my chicken poo filled greenhouse (they get the greenhouse all winter) ..... for the greenhouse i do a deep full soak about 3 times. Then I plant only seedlings and the seedlings get planted in "clean" dirt (poo free whatever, usually compost). I usually use a 4 inch diameter hole.

My Oma (my dad's mom) with her huge garden, would have me clean out the chicken coop which was poo and straw, and place it directly on the paths between the rows. So yes, we walked on chicken poo hay.

 

[Alaskan]

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.

I would think cow patties would have fewer viable seeds than horse...

Hummmm

 

[Alaskan]

Ha!

Gotta love the internet!

Great article:

The Poop on Manure

Stored manure is often referred to as “rotted manure.” It has no unpleasant smell, and its texture has changed since it was produced. Rotted manure is a fantastic soil amendment. Ideally it will retain some of its natural nitrogen, but not to the extent that it causes burning or excessive foliar...

www.westcoastseeds.com

Towards the bottom of the page it compares poo from various animals.

And yes...more seeds in horse verses cow.

 

[NH Homesteader]

most people here don’t want horse for fertilizer because it has more seeds- but my DH grew up on a horse farm and thinks it’s one of the best fertilizers out there, though I don’t know that he’s ever compared weeds with the two fertilizers lol. I have sheep gold now, couldn’t believe how well things grew with sheep manure and hay last year!

 

[Hinotori]

I was refering to what the article I'd read said. It was written well over a century ago.

Of course I have a gardening book from the 40s that highly recommends use of several nasty banned chemicals.

 

[Alaskan]

I was refering to what the article I'd read said. It was written well over a century ago.

Of course I have a gardening book from the 40s that highly recommends use of several nasty banned chemicals.

Odd that it would be off on weed seed germination.

But yes.... the chemical comments would be expected.

 

[Hinotori]

I need to find that thing just because I can't remember the chemicals now. I remember being horrified reading them.

 

[CrealCritter]

While we're on the subject. Looks like I found a new profile pic

Jesus is Lord and Christ

 

[flowerbug]

I need to find that thing just because I can't remember the chemicals now. I remember being horrified reading them.

i'm horrified now. most fields around us are sprayed repeatedly - it smells like a chemical factory for a week and a half.

i have a dream of being rich enough to buy up all the land around us and turning it back to natural farming methods. weeds and rotational grazing and fallowing and ... *sigh*

 

[Trying2keepitReal]

I got one jug of cabbage started as a cold sow on my lunch today, along with taking off 1/2 of the layer of straw on my garden boxes-it was so warm!