Looking at fertilizer

I am bringing this over from the Sept. Hoyas thread...

I really like the MSU fertilizer as it has a good dose of calcium/mag (for cellular growth and health). I even converted Ted Green to it!!! Another fertilizer I use is chicken manure, especially on those living outside, which I add to the top of the pot about 4 times a year. Those pots also have nutricote in them...so they get all the nutrients. The chicken manure just waters IN with watering...and even tho' I do apply it in the greenhouse, the sharp smell dissipates very quickly...and the plants love it. My growing season only slows down a smidge in the winter...so I do continue the chicken manure all winter applying around now and then again in late January when the days start getting longer.

I've never used chicken manure on my house plants as I about gag when they put it on our farm land. But our pastures look wonderful after they are spread with manure from the chicken houses in the area. They are now composting the chicken manure in our area and creating a "chicken manure tea" that doesn't smell at all...I may sneak some from my husbands stash and try it out on my hoyas. What is nutricote?

Carol. What exactly is MSU? Also, Im just re levelling part of my land....been a long time with permits etc, but its happening , and all that old goat **** that I hauled out of the old stables 2 years ago knowing I shouldnt chuck it, is being dispersed over the new top soil Im having laid.
In the other corner.....by now you might realise I bought an old farm house ( finca,) I have tons of aged chicken ****. in my other stables. What to do with it, I do not know, other than I shouldnt throw it away. Ms Burton has already said it is the best fertiliser ever, but from another source I have heard that if it's fresh it is lethal???Mine, I know , is at least 3 years old as I dont have chickens and made sure the old farmer here before me did actually take the scragly, unhealthy, poor specimins that were here when I first surveyed the place, with him ( otherwise, if he'd left them, by now theye would be spoilt, fat and with absolutely no possibilty of being slaughtererd if Id kept them chickens.!!!!) ..
I have dissolved this **** in water for a few weeks the watered my oleanders with it........It stank something aweful (and when I say awful I mean nauseaous ) and I darent use it on my beloved hoyas ( Oleanders were another story ), but, the Oleanders didnt die. .......So, Carol. What would you do with a mountain of chicken **** ? exactly how would you use it ?

Dominic

Nutricote is a slow release pelleted fertilizer...with a life span of about 9 months. The little 'beads' are grey. There is another one...cheaper and colored yellowish called, I think, Dinacote. I had bad luck with the latter which is not very stable and starts and stops and is not dependable.

Dom...I would take some of that old chicken**** and lay it out in the sun to bake and bake and be dry!!! Then I would put it on my hoyas. I put about an 1/8 of a cup on my 6" pots...more or less whether bigger or smaller. It probably stank in the stuff yu put on the oleanders because it sat in water for a long time and the bacteria began to grow in it. I would dig it into all the beds (or let it work itself in) Chicken *** is only lethal when it is hot (=fresh) as are all manures. Goat stuff is good too...did you find tons of fleas in it when you first dug it out?

Dominic, I am laughing so hard just imagining all that chicken ****!! I agree with Carol, it probably smelled awful because of sitting in the water for so long. Sounds like you have enough of that aged Chicken Dung or Chicken **** that you could go into business selling it. ^_^

Dom...I would try to send you some MSU...but I think, with the weight, you would rather spread the chicken poop than pay the postage.

Sometime the simple things are best....

:)) Im 3rd generation Irish from a farming background but have lived most of my life in London. Having bought this place and kinda having gone back to my roots, its a case of instinct knowing one shouldnt throw this stuff away, but another thing knowing exactly how I should use it without burning plants roots. I have many friends in London who would simply freak with the prospect of so much dung around them, but I know better deep down. So, like putting crushed egg shells onto the medium to increase the lime content, you would suggest putting a little of the chicken **** on top and letting it slowly work in with each watering, as opposed to making a noxious solution to water in?

LOL, I'm 4th generation Irish but my ancestors must have owned Pubs or something because I don't have a clue where my love for playing in the dirt came from.

Dom...Are you talking large scale or small scale? Chicken **** is only burning (HOT) when it is fresh. It is acidic. Hoyas enjoy an acidic environment (6.5-5.5). A little goes a long way.... we put it on everything...trees etc. and we also add Dolomite (ground up dolomitic limestone which contains calcium AND magnesium). Egg shells are calcium and certainly can;t hurt as you probably don't have so much available. Crushed coral is also calcium. Both the coral and the egg shells have forms of calcium which is slowly made available to the plants...vvveeerrryyy slowly. You can add Epsom salt for the magnesium (like our own bodies, the mag. helps the calcium to be made available to the plants).

Now...if you are going to plant a specific crop or plant... the best thing to do is to get a soil analysis to find out the pH, and the NPK of your soil. Then test the pH of your additives...especially the old poop. IF it has been out in the rain it may have nothing left in it! Then adjust the pH and the NPK to suit that crop or planting.

If you have a nice high pH...consider growing asparagus!!!! It is so easy!!!

For the Eriostemmas...they love the C**** and you could put a little piece of coral in the pot too for the cal.

The chicken poop is at least 3 years old....in the old hen houses, soon to be my work studio, where it dosent rain. The Goat poop was in the other stables, soon to be half my salon.thats already been distributed over new top soil Ive had laid due to some terracing Ive done. Ill check all that out re the pH. Im in the UK in a couple of weeks and Ill pick up a kit ........ Exciting times....Love Asparagus...:))