Can anyone tell me how long dry (chicken manure) has to set before it can be used in the garden? …..I've heard it's good for the garden, but I don't want to burn my plants.
Thanks for the help!
Glenda
Chicken manure question....
I just add mine to my compost pile . In the compost pile it can cook and breakdown with all the other stuff until it's useful. Mine won't be used for atleast 6 mos maybe longer.
I'm not sure what the "official" time frame is for it to be non-burning and safe to use, but I'm sure someone will come along that does.
Julie
I believe it would have a lot to do with how thick you put in on.
I put on some juicy stuff this spring, before planting. Worked it with the tiller, and planted. Everything in that area has done well, of course I have been watering during the dry spell. It would be just like putting too much fertilizer on.
If you don't want to have a compost pile, you could put it between the rows. But not if your putting it down an inch or two thick.
I just got another garbage can full from a neighbor that their son raises chickens for a 4 H project. That I spread on an area that I plan to incorperate into the garden next year. That is if I get that tree cut down. One that lightning hit and killed. Zow Zap it blew slabs of bark clear over the house, about 75ft away. Any way That is the plan, since My SiL gave us 2 five gallon buckets of iris risomes, that I put in another part of the garden, which took up quite a space. It was kind of a catch 22. It was late fall, I didn't have another spot cleared and ready. And yes I like iris and wanted them some place, I could see them, and find out which was what color. Oh sorry that has nothing to do with chicken poo.:o) Just don't put it on too thick. After all if a chicken poops in the garden I don't think it will kill the plant it lands beside. LOL
Glenda, there's a good article here on using chicken manure. I compost mine too so it never goes on the garden until it's aged.
http://poultryone.com/articles/manure.html
Note this:
Manure Safety Tips. Fresh chicken manure may contain disease organisms that could contaminate root crops (carrots, radishes, beets) and leaves (lettuce, spinach), so DO NOT spread uncomposted manure on the soil in your vegetable garden. The following “Safety Tips” are summarized from the Stewardship Gardening Program provided by Washington State University:
· Apply only aged or composted manure to your soil.
· Always wear gloves when handling livestock manure.
· Thoroughly wash raw vegetables before eating.
· Do not use cat, dog or pig manure in compost piles.
· People who are susceptible to food borne illnesses should avoid eating uncooked vegetables from manured gardens. Those who face risks from food borne illness include pregnant women, very young children, and persons with cancer, kidney failure, liver disease, diabetes or AIDS.
from here
http://www.seattletilth.org/resources/articles/compostingchickenmanure
Hart; Thanks I will use it with caution. I have been getting the manure from caged show chickens. I know that they are well taken care of. However it does pay to use caution. So I think I will add it to the compost pile instead. I also use Horse manure. I usually will put that on in the fall and till it in along with a little sawdust and leaf mulch. The night crawlers love it, at least they get big and fat. I also pump some of the water out of my fish pond, to the garden. Then too I try hard to get all the grass clippings I can, to mulch between the rows. and it all gets tilled under in the fall. Then again in the spring just to kill what weeds have appeared, and loosen the soil a little.
How does that horse manure work out for ya? I have been thinking of starting a compost pile of all of ours (since we seem to have it everywhere these days). I was told there was too much nitrogen in the horse manure to use, but I wanted to use it in the garden. I am planting tulip bulbs this fall, and our soil is so bad that I need to come up with something! Any ideas?
Horse manure, will do fine in a compost pile. In fact I think it would aid the break down of every thing else in there. However I don't like handling it twice, so I just spread it in the fall and till it in. It does its thing and I have a lot of night crawlers, that help the process along.
I am getting another area ready for next year. I did put down some chicken manure, that had dried I have since found that I should not have put it on direct like that. But with the aid of the winter, and night crawlers, I think it will have time to break down nicely. I am running tree trimmings and weeds with no seeds through my chipper schreader, and spreading that over the same area. I know all the wood chips will still be there next spring, but there won't be that many that would bother.I will also clean out my composter, and spread that over the area too. Then hopefully I will till it all under, so the crawlers will have a chance to work on it some before winter sets in. I have also spread some fill sand on the other part of the garden just to loosen up the clay a bit. I'm have having a problem with my photo program or I would post a pic. However my tomatoes, in the cages are over 6' tall and are loaded with nice looking green maters. I have a bunch of san marzano that have started producing. I had to can some as we couldn't eat them that fast. so now I have some salsa put up already. I'm realy anxious for the other maters though. I prefer the flavor of almost all of the larger tomatoes. My pepper plants are 3' tall and were weighed down with big peppers and when we got rain two of them bent over. We have had one muskmelon so-far that was ready, and we savored every bite. Store bought just can't compare to the flavor of vine ripened. So I think it has been working out pretty good for me. have also put up 40 quarts of pickles. and they are still produceing. I may have to carry a shot gun so people don't turn me down when I offer cucumbers, chuckle chuckle.
The sweet potatoes are running way beyond where I had allowed extra space for them. I'm not sure if I should cut them back or not. Some do but I haven't heard very many positives on that so have never tried that.
Well thats quite wordy but with no pics,- - - - - Oh well I like to yack anyway :o)
Oh my! Sounds like you have it all going on! I am jealous. This is my first year without a garden...since we bought 20 acreas, and built a new house (the main house isnt being built for 3-5 more years) so I dont know where to put a garden that wont end up getting torn up later. I want to find a pull behind tiller for the 4-wheeler. I am going to start collecting the manure I think, then this fall I will till in under along with anything else I can collect (might need a spreader too!) Great job on the garden! WOw...you are the closest person to me that I have found! Only 104 miles away!
mc; I just went out to the garden plot with the horse poo that was tilled under. I picked a 4 an a half gallon pail full off the 6 banana pepper plants there the main stalk of the plants are a good 1/2" thick. I looked at the garden spot I'm using on the church yard that I mow. the same pepper plants are about 1/4" thick and not as many peppers per plant.
Not as many leaves either. Of course they haven't fallen over from the extra weight of the rain , like the larger plants with all the peppers.
This is the second time I picked peppers from those six. I am going to have to freeze them as my tomatoes aren't producing fast enough yet. I have some san marzanos that I planted in bales. they are doing ok and are giving us a little more than we can eat in salads and BLT sandwiches. I like to can peppers and tomatoes and onions together. for chilli and and or loose meat sandwiches or whatever. The ones I picked up at the Iowa RU, are not in the garden with the HP they are in the other one. But they are loaded. I think that next year I won't use the one in the church yard. I think if we don't get a full time minister, I'll seed it to grass. I will try get some pics of the garden if I can get this silly photo program to work. I've loaded pictures in it. but can't seem to find them when I use the browse button on DG. I have too many pictures I wanted to keep and I don't have a CD burner. Guess I'll just have to weed them out a little and put what I can on floppy disks. To clean house so to speak.
It is nice to to not have to consider what the climate difference is If you want to offer some advice as to whether something will grow and when to plant if they are a 1000 miles away. I know that normaly you would get a little more rain and snow than we would right here. But we are almost in the same climate. We are just far enough north that peaches don't do well. When I was little we lived in Shelby county. We could grow them there.
Well I dont have a TON of gardening experience, although the things I have planted have always done well. I just moved here (into the Loess Hills) last spring from South of Des Moines. The soil out there was amazing...and anything would grow...here everyone says that nothing will grow, and I just havent had time to try to find out if that is true. Since we are still trying to find out where our main house will be built I am just so reluctant to plant a real garden. I need to get the tulips in the ground around the end of Sept...or October, then next spring I plan on more of a garden. I have a lot of farming family around S. Sioux City...so I know that our climates are nearly the same. I do know one thing...I could grow enough sweet corn to feed a small country! The stuff just comes up everywhere....you dont even have to plant it...just throw it out and watch it grow! No care...no work...and the horses love to eat the stalks at the end of the year!
Well we are in the loess hills too. Our address is Hornick but we live about 8 miles North and east a little, The town is Climbing Hill.
We have been here since 79, so I have had time to amend the garden spot. I didn't garden every year as I worked on the road. Construction equipment mechanic, everything from the pickups to the big scrapers and paveing equipment. Spent many weeks away from home. and try to get home on the weekend if the job site was close 75 miles or so.
I think it was 80 that I plowed it the first time. then skipped a few years.
But since 90 I've had a garden every year since. It is easier to keep up now that I have retired. I've used just about anything natural to amend the soil. Leaves, grass clippings, sawdust, sand, hog poo bedding. rabbit droppings. and wood ashes from burning the brush and trees that I have cleared from our lot as well as some from the then vacant lot next lot south. It had been let go for 10 years. and all those Chinese elms were really out of control. and every spring those little seeds were clogging the filter of our little pond. and I think every seed that found dirt sprouted. So I had a good supply of ashes. Then of course the Horse manure and now some chicken poo. This spring I spread some lime on it and some grub control. I also have some castor beans growing in the garden as last year I got hit with a few too many voles. when I dug up the sweet potatoes I found a few too many hollow ones. You could see where they chewed into the tuber, then they would just hollow it out.I haven't seen any sign of them this summer. I think they know by the smell or something that they better leave those roots alone. Next year I think I will surround the garden on three sides with them, just to be sure those little rodents don't try to outsmart me and work their way around the single row. Oh well That is what I've done Haven't spread the poo every year but usually do the leaf and grass clippings. That's about it. Wish you well and happy gardening.
Maybe next spring you guys can make it to the Iowa round up. for a big pot luck and plant swap. We have gone 2 years now. and and have made a few more gardening friends, to trade plants bulbs and the like with.