I have heard that chicken droppings will kill plants unless they are composted first. Is there any turth to this, or any information about it here? My soil is very sandy, and I thought about mooving the chickens and putting my garden where they have been. Last two gardens failed big time. Turnips this fall did really good though. Will compost help that spot? Thanks.
New guy with a question about compost
- Thread starter kyle7630
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OaklandCityFarmer
Deeply Rooted
There is some truth to that!
Chickens produce a high nitrogen dropping that needs to be very well composted because as that nitrogen breaks down it can burn plants. Basically the manure needs to be aged before use (3 months min IMHO)
You could cheat a bit by removing maybe a few inches from the top, moving to compost, digging in the rest really well, and that might work. Depends on how many chickens you got and how much manure is there.
Or... you could scrape most of it up mix with some lower nitrogen rich material and compost for the next 3 months or so. If you do it right you could have usable stuff by March/April, which should be in time even if you live in a warmer climate.
Chickens produce a high nitrogen dropping that needs to be very well composted because as that nitrogen breaks down it can burn plants. Basically the manure needs to be aged before use (3 months min IMHO)
You could cheat a bit by removing maybe a few inches from the top, moving to compost, digging in the rest really well, and that might work. Depends on how many chickens you got and how much manure is there.
Or... you could scrape most of it up mix with some lower nitrogen rich material and compost for the next 3 months or so. If you do it right you could have usable stuff by March/April, which should be in time even if you live in a warmer climate.
boggybranch
Deeply Rooted
Here's a link that "backs up" OC's answer.
http://ezinearticles.com/?Using-Chicken-Manure-Compost-to-Fertilize-Your-Vegetable-Garden&id=4580191
http://ezinearticles.com/?Using-Chicken-Manure-Compost-to-Fertilize-Your-Vegetable-Garden&id=4580191
- Thread starter
- #4
Thanks for the info. My plan was to thoroughly disc the whole area where the chickens are. I guess if I move them soon and add some organic material, the dirt would be ok by spring. I'm hoping so anyway. Thanks again for the info.
Ridgerunner
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Welcome to the forum! Glad you are here! That's probably a workable plan. It depends some on how thick the manure is in that spot, how much of the manure there is really "fresh", and where you are located. Spring means different things to different ones of us. I'd think if you are at least three months away from planting, you should be OK, especially if you disc it in well and mix up the newer stuff pretty well. I guess another consideration is moisture. You don't want it soaking wet since that can turn into a stinking mess, but you don't want it bone dry either. It needs a little dampness to break down. The workable range is pretty broad so you are probably OK on the moisture issue, but not knowing where you are, it might be a consideration. You might be in an extreme area.
Composting can be as complicated as you want to make it or it can be pretty simple. Boggy is one of our resident experts on composting and can answer a lot of questions on it. Technically, I'm not sure that what you are doing is truly composting since it will probably not heat up enough to kill grass and weed seeds but it is a great way to get good organic material into your sandy soil. And sandy soil or clayey soil will be improved a lot by adding organic matter. I think you are on the right track. And again,
hoodat
Garden Addicted
I don't know what part of the country you're in but if you can till it in and have a couple of months before Spring planting I think you'll be fine. Discing may also work if you run over the spot enough to get it mixed well into the soil. Nitrogen is rather unstable and plenty of critters in the soil are greedy for it. There shouldn't be enough left to burn plantings in a few months.
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- #7
I'm on the NC VA border. My dirt is not the best here as I understand it. I was told that this place was farmed hard by a person who took no consideration for the soil, and depleted most of it. I don't have much topsoil, maybe 4 inches. The dirt under that is sandy, and a foot or so under that is clay.I only have 11 chickens and 3 guineas that free range most of the day. They poop alot around the coops, and I shovel most of their night droppings in to a pile, along with their bedding, bark from splitting wood, ash from burning wood, and left over vegies on occasion. I have a ton of turnips I planted for the deer, but they haven't touched them.They will probably make their way to the pile as well. Should I put worms in it? Also, I use cedar for my dogs bedding. I haven't put this in the pile yet, would it be ok to?
