Chicken manure as fertilizer: how to apply

The article describes chicken manure as a fertilizer: how to apply, application features, timing, application methods.

Chicken manure as fertilizer: how to apply, general information

Chicken manure as fertilizer: how to apply

Gardeners today strive to completely abandon chemical additives and fertilizers in favor of natural and safe organics. Animal manure is gaining even more popularity today, since it contains a large amount of nutrients, and at the same time is completely safe. But, of course, manure should be used correctly so as not to harm the plant and the soil.

In this article, we will dwell in more detail on how to use chicken manure, what are its most important advantages over other types of organic fertilizers. We'll explore why modern farmers prefer manure and poultry manure to the many other supplements available at specialty horticultural stores.

Chicken manure as fertilizer: how to apply, advantages of features of use

Chicken manure as fertilizer: how to apply

The composition of chicken manure is very rich in various components, and therefore it is absolutely in no way inferior to many chemical fertilizers that the gardener sometimes acquires in specialized stores. For example, chicken manure has 33 times more nitrogen, 8 times more phosphorus than horse dung, although it is considered the same organic matter in demand. This was discovered back in the 18th century, and to this day, droppings are considered one of the most effective organic remedies. Unlike many other types of manure, chicken manure also:

- is able to accelerate many biological processes that take place inside the soil
- increases the level of productivity, and can also accelerate the ripening processes of some vegetable and fruit crops
- soil mold is suppressed, which reduces the risk of fungal diseases
- chicken manure contains a nitrogen component, which has a very good effect on plants
- after the chicken manure has been introduced, the effect of it persists for another three years, so sometimes this introduction is generally sufficient for subsequent years
- plant roots can extract one third of the nitrogen component contained in droppings
- chicken droppings can persist in the soil layer for much longer than many other chemical artificial analogs, and this is a huge advantage.

As practice shows, the litter contains so many substances that, in general, the gardener does not need to use a large amount of litter for feeding. It is generally notable for its causticity and oversaturation with some components (for example, nitrogen), so you should not use undiluted chicken manure, as this can only harm the plant, weaken its root system. Chicken droppings contain a sufficient amount of substances that affect photosynthesis, accelerating it. Also, the plant receives a sufficient amount of nutrients, the volume of its green part increases, and the fruits become larger and richer. But it is still worth noting that the formation of tubers and their growth from the use of chicken manure practically does not change, although immunity to various kinds of diseases increases, which is also a huge advantage.

The concentration of substances contained in chicken manure has absolutely no analogues with other substances. But there is also a downside: if the gardener decides to use fresh chicken droppings, then it is recommended to take micro doses so as not to ruin the root system of the plant. Even in liquid form, top dressing must be applied at a distance from the root system, preferably between holes or between rows. Watering the plants themselves is strictly prohibited.

The use of peat is also recommended, since straw or outdated hay should not be taken, these mixtures will not be effective at all. You can also add some wood ash, which is mixed with residues or manure, to complement its effectiveness.

In practice, gardeners use the litter either as compost, or use it for further feeding of some type of crops.

Among them:

- berry crops - the bedding is ideal for mulching bushes
- fruit trees - you can simply pour the litter into the trunk circle
- the introduction of bedding under cucumber and squash crops, as well as under pumpkins and some other melons and gourds, which helps not only to feed them, but also to protect them from some pests. The litter can also be mixed with soil and then applied to the beds where the crops will grow. Although the litter is predominantly made up of chicken droppings and some plant matter, it should not be sent directly to the root system, but the litter should be placed exclusively on the soil itself.

Overall, chicken manure is by far the most popular organic fertilizer today, but it should be used with extreme caution. The thing is that if you do not follow the agrotechnical rules for feeding a plant, then it can be very badly burned, especially its root system. For this reason, it is necessary to make the most necessary concentrations of chicken droppings, and also monitor how the plants themselves react to feeding, since sometimes with the first feeding the plant can receive a sufficient amount of organic matter, and subsequent feeding will lead to excessive oversaturation. As a result, the plant will begin to ache due to the fact that an excessive amount of substances was introduced into it, and their "overdose" became the impetus for the development of various diseases or deviations in development.

Either way, there are gardeners who use fresh chicken droppings. But here they themselves emphasize that if we compare chicken droppings with the manure of other animals, and also if we compare the droppings with humus, then it has the strongest concentration. Therefore, the doses should be minimal so as not to harm the plant.

Chicken manure as fertilizer: application, forms and proportions

Chicken manure as fertilizer: application

For a more even distribution of chicken manure over the entire area, it can be mixed with components such as sand, ash or peat, as well as other organic and inorganic substances that will be useful for various types of plants and crops that grow on the site.

You can also mix fresh chicken droppings with garden soil, the ratio should be one to one. But even in this case, it is necessary to use this mixture very carefully, as it can easily harm the root system, just burn it.

You can prepare a liquid feed based on chicken manure, for this it is mixed with clean, settled water. Experienced gardeners did not agree on the concentration, so the gardener should independently calculate it, relying on which crop this liquid top dressing will be used for. Usually the solution is thoroughly mixed and then infused for several days. Next, it should be shaken well to obtain a homogeneous mass, and then mixed with water again to form a watering solution.Concentrated fertilizers, in principle, must be constantly diluted with water, since undiluted it can cause irreparable damage to the plant and destroy it. If everything is done correctly, then the solution will stimulate the growth of the plant, and also significantly increase its immunity.

Top dressing with any manure solution and, in particular, a solution based on chicken manure, must be carried out after watering or after a heavy rain has passed. The soil should be well moistened, as moisture will give additional concentration, and the product will adapt and assimilate even better and faster inside the soil.

Humus - it is easiest to prepare it from manure in a compost pit specially prepared for this. A layer of any plant waste, as well as droppings, is put into the pit. Garden weeds, sawdust and peat, straw are used as plant waste. You can also combine chicken manure with other types of manure, especially horse and cow manure. The height of the layers is no more than twenty centimeters. You should not make thick layers, as this can lead to a burning effect, which will make humus not work at all. If the manure is too dry, then it is recommended to additionally moisten the compost pit, and the heap should be well covered with a greenhouse film. In about three to four months, the compost will be completely ready and can be used as a complete fertilizer.

To understand if quail chicken droppings are enough, you need to listen to its smell. If ammonia is felt, then the overheating has not yet been fully completed. If the smell is very strong, then this indicates that the droppings are still quite fresh, and it is not recommended to use it. As a rule, sufficiently rotted droppings practically do not differ in smell from ordinary compost.

Granulated chicken manure can be purchased on the markets, and some gardeners still treat the granules with suspicion, believing that they are more the result of chemical processing, and there are practically no properties from chicken manure. But it is worth saying that this opinion is far from reality: in granulated chicken manure, practically no third-party additives are used, it is absolutely pure and very useful.

How and when to fertilize

Important questions that gardeners and gardeners ask: when and how to fertilize the site using chicken droppings. There are not so many options here, but there are some subtleties that should be remembered so as not to cause any harm to the plants. Chicken manure is a very concentrated preparation, so if used incorrectly, it can harm the plant rather than benefit it.

There are several universal ways to introduce chicken manure for various crops as top dressing:

- the soil should be fertilized with a poultry-based product only when the weather is cloudy or the sun is out - for example, in the evening, after sunset, or in the morning - before the sun rises
- if fertilizer based on manure is added to the garden, then before that, a sufficient amount of water should be added to it, then it will create an additional concentration of the manure, and it will be absorbed much easier and faster
- it is impossible for dry chicken droppings to fall directly under the roots, as this can lead to their burns and, accordingly, illness or death
- after the gardener has watered the plant with a tincture based on chicken droppings, he must remove the excess that could remain on the leaves or on the fruits.

In areas where there is heavy soil, you can bring chicken droppings in the fall. The crop has already been harvested, and some manipulations can be made with the soil.For example, after the chicken droppings have been applied, the soil is very well dug up for the winter, due to which the fertilizer is more evenly distributed in the soil. During the winter, bacteria are well absorbed, they decompose chicken droppings into active components, so their activity becomes more and more visible. Most often, nitrogen also decomposes into several components, which makes it possible to prevent an excess of it.

In spring, chicken droppings can be applied to lighter soils. This can be done either before the spring digging of the soil, or after some crops have been planted in open ground. In the first case, before digging, 1 kilogram of droppings are introduced per 1 hundred square meters of land, and in the second case, the droppings must be mixed with straw, and this mixture must be spread between the rows in the beds.

You can also consider how chicken manure is introduced for different crops:

- tomatoes - even if you add fertilizing only once, then this will be quite enough for the yield to increase significantly. In general, tomatoes, like any members of the nightshade family, respond well to chicken manure as fertilizer. In the spring, make a one-time top dressing, laying it around the planting holes
- cucumbers - if a gardener noticed a large number of barren flowers on cucumber beds, then tincture of chicken droppings can very quickly and effectively solve this problem. The solution should be very carefully watered with cucumbers until they begin to bloom. It is worth remembering that cucumber crops can be very sensitive to uric acids, so you should be very careful when fertilizing. Before using the tincture, you must keep it warm for several hours. Do not allow fertilizer to get on the roots of the plant, otherwise it will cause burns.
- potatoes are another crop for which chicken manure is an excellent nutritional supplement. But this organic element affects the growth of tubers more indirectly than directly. Chicken manure perfectly strengthens the bush, supplies it with the most important nutrients and components, strengthens the plant's immune system.

Also, it becomes much easier for potatoes to tolerate various fungal diseases and attacks from pests and bacteria. Nevertheless, manure cannot meet all the nutrient needs of potatoes, so experienced gardeners recommend combining it with additional nutritional supplements. For example, in humus, you can add a certain amount of potassium chloride, which stimulates the action of nutrients, excellently affecting the growth and development of potatoes.

Top dressing demonstrates its beneficial properties very well if used in relation to fruit trees. To a particular extent, experienced gardeners recommend using chicken manure for feeding apple and pear trees. Top dressing is usually done no more than twice a year, just before the tree blooms, and then after the crop has been harvested from the beds. In order to more effectively apply top dressing, it is necessary to dig a small groove around the tree, which will coincide in projection with the width of the crown. A tincture based on chicken manure is poured there, which the gardener can prepare in accordance with any of all available recipes, adding additional components there, if he deems it necessary.

You can also use chicken manure for strawberries. Processing is carried out in the spring, when the strawberry produces young fresh leaves. The bushes themselves should not be watered, as this can provoke burns. it is recommended to make small grooves between the rows of strawberries, and tincture is already poured into them. You can sprinkle it on top with a small amount of earth, but after flowering has begun, it is best not to carry out such processing, otherwise this can lead to the fact that flowering can stop abruptly, since no one can predict the reaction from the plant itself. The gardener is advised to play it safe and not to cultivate extensive strawberry plantations, otherwise you can lose the entire crop as a whole.

Of course, like any fertilizer, especially organic, chicken manure also has its drawbacks.

Among them, experienced gardeners distinguish the following:

- it is best not to use chicken manure as an organic fertilizer during the period when the grower is already harvesting, as well as when growing greens - onions, parsley and dill. Their taste can completely change, acquire a specific aftertaste due to the use of chicken manure
- if the chickens were raised in free grazing, then their droppings may contain eggs of microorganisms and worms, therefore it is necessary to completely reheat this droppings, making humus out of it, then all microorganisms will die in such a long period
- the droppings contain arsenic in small doses, therefore, in general, this concentration is not enough to get poisoning, but you should still carefully monitor these. If you store such droppings for a long time and do not have measures in its use, then there is a high probability that arsenic will begin to accumulate in those vegetables or fruits that are just being processed and fed.

Overall, chicken manure is one of the most sought-after fertilizers and is popular with gardeners. They say litter is one of the most effective organic supplements out there and can be obtained for free. But in order to get the most out of chicken manure, you should follow some rules for its preparation and subsequent use.

Chicken manure as fertilizer: how to apply