Chicken manure is considered one of the best organic substances used to fertilize the soil. It contains macronutrients such as magnesium, calcium, potassium and phosphorus, as well as microelements such as manganese, zinc, cobalt and copper. All of them are necessary for rapid growth and good yield of cultivated crops. Having figured out all the intricacies of how to use chicken manure as fertilizer How to dilute it and what to mix it with, you can well enrich the soil for two or even three years.
Chicken manure contains a fairly high amount of uric acid, so direct application of it to the soil in fresh form can result in burns to the roots of cultivated crops. To avoid such an undesirable consequence, fertilizer is carried out in other ways:
- add chicken manure to the ground in dry form,
- prepare humus or add it to compost,
- They make a liquid fertilizer based on it.
Direct application of fresh droppings is best avoided. Dry chicken manure is fertilized in the fall, after mixing it with triple the amount of sawdust, leaves, waste paper or straw. At the same time, fertilizer is produced with humus and compost. And the use of liquid fertilizer is most advisable in spring and summer, since the active components from droppings diluted in water decompose faster, providing plants with the necessary nutrients that they so need during this period.
Liquid fertilizing is used in spring and summer Stages of preparing liquid fertilizer from chicken manure
Some people prefer to apply chicken manure immediately after diluting it with water. But higher quality and safer liquid fertilizer can be obtained in another way, which will take one to two weeks. It consists of two stages:
- Making an infusion. The bucket or barrel must be half filled with droppings, after which the container should be filled to the top with water. It is necessary to infuse the mixture for two weeks, although some believe that 7-10 days will be quite enough.
- Dilution of infusion. Fertilizing the land can only be done with a diluted infusion. To do this, each liter is diluted with 10 liters of water, and for complete safety, take one and a half or two times more water. The fertilizer, which can be stored all summer, is ready. When the infusion is exhausted, the droppings remaining at the bottom can be diluted again with water, resulting in a less concentrated, but still beneficial for plants, liquid.
How to properly fertilize the soil with diluted infusion
Fertilizer diluted with water should be poured strictly at the root, avoiding contact with the tops. Some experienced farmers consider it preferable to add fertilizer between the rows. This procedure can be performed twice a year, with about 0.5 liters of diluted infusion per bush of crop.
Avoid getting fertilizer on the tops Fertilizer with diluted chicken manure is done only after rain or abundant watering. Otherwise, most of the nutrients will not be absorbed by the plants. It is best to fertilize after sunset, and it is recommended to complete the process with additional watering.
Countless summer residents have become convinced of how practical it is to use chicken manure as fertilizer. How to dilute the waste product of chickens to prepare liquid feed is a question that should not be neglected. If you want to increase and not ruin your harvest, it is important to strictly adhere to all recommendations.
Those summer residents who, according to reviews, use chicken manure as fertilizer, have noticed that it is enough to apply fertilizing once every three years and it works throughout the entire period. This is due to the high percentage of nutrients.
The advantage of organic fertilizers
Organic substances, including chicken humus as a fertilizer, according to reviews, have a beneficial effect on the soil. You can use organic matter without mineral mixtures, but mineral fertilizers deplete the soil over time.
By using only salt forms of minerals, it is possible to reduce the number of beneficial bacteria in the soil that produce humus, the main element of fertility. Humus is humic acids, which are a by-product of the vital activity of microorganisms.
Even to process organic matter - green manure, for example, it is necessary that earthworms, yeasts, nitrogen-fixing and lactic acid bacteria live in the soil.
By processing organic matter, colonies of bacteria multiply, increasing the amount of waste. Thus, the fertile layer begins to grow. In this case, acidification and salinization of the soil does not occur. The soil reaction is maintained in the range from neutral to slightly acidic.
In organic matter, microelements are present in quantities optimal for plant nutrition. Using mineral mixtures, you will have to additionally purchase trace element concentrates and add them separately.
Organic matter does not contribute to the accumulation of nitrates and phosphorus compounds in fruits, so the risk of poisoning with such feeding is lower.
Composition of chicken manure
The majority of nitrogen substances in chicken droppings is about 2%. For comparison, mullein contains half a percent. The composition closest to chicken manure is horse manure. It contains 0.6% nitrogen substances.
The value of chicken fertilizer in stock large amounts of phosphatites– organic phosphorus, which is exactly three times more than all other types of manure.
Video: Bird droppings as fertilizer
The first most important microelement is calcium. It is 2.5% in the litter. For comparison, in other species it is from 0.1 to 0.4%.
Storage methods
Regularly using bird droppings as fertilizer, you need to know how to properly store the substance in order to preserve all those beneficial nutritional components that were described above.
It is recommended to compost chicken manure with peat or straw so that the plant residues absorb the liquid that is released during the process of overheating. With this method, more nutrients are preserved and there is no loss of microelements.
There are storage methods:
- Cold, in which chicken waste is placed in a pile on a drainage layer of peat or soil in layers. They compact well. A layer of peat or soil on top to prevent evaporation. This method is considered the best and leads to the least nitrogen loss.
- Hot. Used for quick preparation of compost. The substances are folded without compaction so that there is free access of oxygen inside the pile. After burning the compost, all pathogens and weed seeds are destroyed. The disadvantage of this method is that it causes large losses of nutrients.
- Liquid. The main thing is to prevent nitrogen from escaping from the liquid. To do this, after preparing and stirring the slurry, close the barrel tightly with a lid.
Chicken manure in coated granules, according to reviews, is the most suitable storage method, but is not used in private households. The Orgavit trademark produces fertilizers in this form. Firstly, the specific smell disappears and bird droppings can be kept at home for indoor plants. Secondly, the shell of the granules dissolves only when it gets into the ground.
It is not recommended to store chicken manure outdoors: the humidity decreases, and with it the amount of nitrogen. Rains wash away the fertilizer and it begins to sour and ferment. Fermentation also removes nutrients needed by plants.
Preparing fertilizers - recipes
The most popular way to use chicken manure as fertilizer is in a liquid solution. Most gardeners do it as follows:
- Fill a bucket or barrel one third with bird droppings.
- Add water and stir well.
- Further Take 1 liter of concentrate per bucket of water.
It is used for watering at the root of vegetable, berry plants, fruit trees and flowers.
Fresh, fresh from the chicken coop, droppings with bedding are dug up in the fall with soil. This should be done after harvesting. For perennial crops, for which autumn application of nitrogen fertilizing is contraindicated, this method is also suitable.
Because the decomposition of organic matter takes time and active substances are formed by spring. It is harmful to use instant mineral fertilizers, which immediately enter plant tissues and stimulate them to grow.
The third way is to take fresh manure and 3 weeks before planting scatter around the area. Some people still do this in the snow and that’s good. Nutrients enter the soil along with melt water.
Do not mix chicken manure with substances such as:
- Wood ash because it is an alkaline substance. In combination with acidic droppings, they neutralize each other and the plants will not receive any benefit.
- Phosphorite flour. Also an alkaline mineral fertilizer. The effect is the same.
Superphosphate or potassium sulfate is sometimes added to chicken humus. Although, with a high percentage of phosphorus, plants do not need this. An exception may be the preparation of soil for young seedlings of fruit trees, bushes of ornamental plants or grapes. After planting in the hole, these crops are not fed for 3 years until they have used up all the nutrients.
Use in the garden
Vegetable crops - eggplants, tomatoes, cabbage, potatoes - respond well to fertilizing with a solution of chicken manure. Other root vegetables do not like it very much, since it stimulates the growth of tops, and the fruits lag behind in development. Carrots overfed with droppings will be small and tasteless unless the amount of potassium and phosphorus is increased.
“Lovers” of nitrogen can apply the solution at the root up to 3 times per season. For root crops 3 kg per square meter only for autumn digging.
For green crops - salads, onions and garlic, the bed is also prepared in the fall, so that the nitrogen decomposes and evaporates as much as possible. During the growing season, onions and garlic can be fed with the solution once in June.
You can use different types of organics at the same time, mixing everything you have: mullein, sheep and rabbit droppings, pig and horse manure.
More and more gardeners and gardeners are abandoning “chemical” fertilizers in favor of natural fertilizers for soil and plants. Manure from various farm animals is becoming increasingly popular. In particular, farmers often prefer chicken manure as a fertilizer.
The composition of chicken manure is such that the content of useful elements in it is not inferior to most chemical fertilizers. For example, it contains 33 times more nitrogen and 8 times more phosphorus than horse manure. It was discovered in the 18th century by the German scientist Liebig. Unlike other types of manure, chicken manure:
- accelerates the flow of biological processes in the soil layer;
- increases productivity, accelerates ripening;
- inhibits soil mold;
- contains nitrogen in a form suitable for absorption by plants;
- the beneficial effect persists for another three years after application;
- plant roots are able to extract up to three quarters of the nitrogen in the droppings;
- lasts longer in the soil than artificial analogues.
Biological effect: substances contained in chicken manure accelerate photosynthesis and supply plants with nutrients. In practice, this leads to faster growth, an increase in the volume of tops, leaves and fruits. However, it increases the formation and growth of tubers slightly.
Specifics of use
The unparalleled concentration of beneficial microelements in chicken manure has a downside. It can only be applied fresh, undiluted in microdoses; it destroys the root system of most cultivated plants. Even liquid fertilizer from kuryak needs to be applied between rows or holes in the beds; watering the plants themselves with it can damage their root system.
Video - Preparation of fertilizer from chicken manure
Chicken litter
Chicken coop litter is very useful in crop production. It contains all the beneficial substances of chicken manure, plus straw. Chicken owners can take care to make the litter even more beneficial for the plants. To do this, it is enough to use plant-friendly substances to line the chicken coop. You will have to give up sawdust - they are of little use.
It is best to use peat. Straw or old hay is also acceptable. You can add a little ash, mixed with rotting plant residues and excrement, it will complement their effect.
In gardening practice, chicken litter is either composted or used to fertilize the following crops:
- Mulching berry bushes.
- Fruit trees. The litter is poured into the tree trunk circle at the rate of 1-2 kg per tree.
- Application under cucumbers, zucchini, pumpkins and melons. Fresh litter is mixed in half with soil and applied before winter to the beds where these crops will grow.
Although the litter is usually a mixture of excrement and plant matter, it should not be placed on bare roots, only on the soil.
Application of fresh litter
Contrary to popular belief, you can also use fresh chicken manure to fertilize your garden. But we must take into account that compared to animal manure and humus, it is extremely concentrated. Therefore, the doses should be smaller.
You can add no more than a glass of fresh or 2/3 glass of dried manure per square meter of bed. At the same time, there is no need to sprinkle it directly under the roots.
In order to more evenly distribute droppings over the entire area, it is often mixed with sand, ash, peat and other organic and inorganic substances that are useful for this type of plant. You can also mix fresh droppings with garden soil in a 1:1 ratio, but even this mixture should be used with caution.
Liquid fertilizers
For these purposes, fresh chicken manure is taken and diluted with clean water. There is no consensus among experienced gardeners about concentration. There are options from 1:10 to 1:20.
How to make liquid fertilizer (option 1)
Step 1. The solution obtained by mixing chicken manure with water in a ratio of 1:10 to 1:20 (the concentration varies depending on the plants and the gardener’s goals) is thoroughly mixed until smooth. The color should resemble weakly brewed tea.
Step 2. Keep the solution for two days in a dark place.
Step 3. Shake until smooth.
Step 4. Dilute in half with water and use for watering at the rate of 1 bucket per 2-3 sq.m of bed.
How to make liquid fertilizer (option 2)
Step 1. Fresh droppings are diluted half and half with water in a large closed container, for example, in a barrel or garden bucket with a lid.
Step 2. Close tightly and leave for 3-5 days.
As a result, a concentrated liquid fertilizer is obtained. It cannot be used undiluted. To ensure that the solution does not damage the plants, but stimulates their growth, pour 2 cups of concentrated infusion onto a bucket of water.
How to make liquid fertilizer (option 3)
This recipe is suitable for watering plants that do not like excessive acidity.
Step 1. Two parts of the litter are poured with one part of water, and left without stirring for two days. For convenience, you can use a fabric bag, so that excess moisture does not have to be filtered separately after the droppings have settled.
Step 2. After this, the water is carefully drained if you did not use the bag, otherwise, simply remove the bag from the container - the excess water will drain off on its own.
Step 3. Then, 1 liter of the resulting slurry is stirred in 20 liters of water and left to ferment, uncovered, for a week. There is no need to re-dilute this tincture with water before use.
Sequence of preparation of fertilizing - option 3
Feeding with any manure infusion should be done after watering or heavy rain, which has well moistened the soil. This will help the nutrient liquid to be evenly distributed in the soil layer and prevent excessive concentration, which is dangerous for the root system.
All infusions can be used from the moment of planting; they are finished using them 2-3 weeks before harvesting. If some parts of the plant are eaten all the time, like lettuce or parsley, then these plants are not watered with manure infusions. The application rate is 1/2 -1 liter per plant.
Humus
The easiest way to prepare humus from manure is in a compost pit. A layer of any plant waste (this could be garden weeds, sawdust, peat, straw, etc.) and droppings is alternately placed in the pit. It is acceptable to combine it with other “varieties” of manure, especially horse and cow manure. The height of the layers should be approximately 20 cm. There is no need to make thicker layers of excrement, as this may lead to a fire. If the manure is excessively dry, the compost pit must be moistened. The pile is covered with greenhouse film, oilcloth, or otherwise prevents the access of atmospheric air. After 3-4 months the compost is ready.
It’s easy to tell if a litter has rotted. If the smell of ammonia, which many compare to ammonia, persists, then the process of overheating has not yet been completed. The stronger the smell, the “fresher” the droppings. Rotted compost should not smell different from regular compost.
Granulated
Granulated, or, as it is also called, dry litter, can be bought in agricultural stores or markets. Some gardeners are suspicious of it, considering it “chemical”. This prejudice is not true. No third-party additives are used in the production of chicken manure.
The technology is simple. Fresh litter, cleaned of dirt and impurities, is heated to 600 degrees. This rids it not only of moisture, but also of odor, and also kills weed seeds, bacteria and microorganisms. After heating, the dried litter is formed into granules and packaged.
In addition, recently, a new technology of low-temperature dehydration has been used, which makes it possible to obtain dry litter without heating to high temperatures, i.e. with 100% preservation of nutrients.
There are no disadvantages to granular litter; the advantages include: absence of odor, bacteria and weed seeds.
How and when to fertilize
The options for using litter are not very diverse, but there are some nuances, and you need to know them. Chicken manure is a very concentrated and potent remedy, the improper use of which can cause great harm. Here are some basic rules that apply to all application options:
The maximum number of applications per season ranges from 1 to 4 times. It is impossible to fertilize plants more often with manure and fertilizers based on it. In addition, application rates differ in autumn and spring.
Autumn application
In areas with heavy soil, it is useful to apply rotted chicken manure in the fall, when the crop has already been harvested. After application, the beds are dug up for the winter, this allows the fertilizer to be evenly distributed throughout the soil. During the winter, soil bacteria decompose the droppings into their components; as a result of this activity, useful microelements go into the soil layer, from where crops will feed on them next year. Nitrogen is partially decomposed into its components, which removes its excess.
The recipe is simple. Rotted semi-dry droppings are taken at the rate of 1 kg per 1 hectare of land. If it is dry, its weight is taken less, if it is damp, more. If you are going to add more sand, ash or humus to the bed for certain crops that you plan to plant in this bed in the spring, you can simply mix it all with the manure and apply it together. All this is evenly scattered over the future bed and dug up. If you do not practice autumn digging, you can simply leave the fertilized beds undug.
Spring application
Spring application of chicken manure is indicated for light soils. This is done either before the spring digging of the garden and marking the beds, or after that and before planting crops. In the first case, rotted droppings in the same proportion (1 kg per 1 hectare of land) are distributed in an even layer over future beds and dug up. In the second, it is mixed with straw and laid out between the rows.
For tomatoes
Even a one-time application of kuryak can increase the yield of this crop by increasing the size of the fruit. Like all members of the nightshade family, it responds well to this fertilizer.
In the spring, a one-time fertilizing is done with fertilizer (rotten dung), placing it around the planting holes at the rate of 3-4 kg/m².
During the growing season, tomatoes are watered with manure tincture at the rate of 2-3 liters per bush. If the stems and leaves begin to thicken excessively, stop feeding.
For cucumbers
If there are a lot of barren flowers in the cucumber beds, using an infusion of chicken manure will help solve the problem. Cucumbers are watered with it in the spring until flowering at the rate of 3-4 l/m².
Cucumbers are sensitive to uric acids, so precautions must be taken:
- Before use, leave the infusion or solid mixture in the open air for several hours.
- Do not allow fertilizer to get on the roots.
After flowering begins, fertilizing with droppings is not carried out.
Video - Fertilizing cucumbers with fertilizer based on chicken manure
For potatoes
Chicken manure is also good for potatoes. It does not directly affect the increase in the number of tubers and their growth, only indirectly. Firstly, strengthening the bush and supplying it with the nutrients necessary for the “building” of root crops. Secondly, it increases potato resistance to fungal diseases and late blight. However, manure cannot fully provide this crop with all the necessary nutrients, so it is combined with other fertilizers. For example, to 10 parts of humus add 1 part of potassium chloride.
It is best to apply humus prepared in this way in the fall before digging at the rate of 50 kg per hundred square meters, or into the hole when planting. At the beginning of summer, young bushes that have reached a height of 15 cm, but not exceeding 20 cm, are fed with liquid droppings. This is done strictly once.
For fruit trees
Fertilizing with tincture of droppings from fruit trees, especially apple and pear trees, has proven to work well. This is done 2 times a year, before flowering and after harvesting the fruits.
A wide shallow groove is dug around the tree, coinciding with the projection of the crown. Fill it with tincture of droppings at the rate of 8-10 liters per 1 sq.m of area of the entire resulting circle. You can take a tincture prepared according to any of the above recipes.
For strawberries
This crop is fed with manure tincture in the spring, when young leaves begin to appear. The bushes themselves are not watered. A wide and shallow furrow is made between the rows, into which the infusion is poured and sprinkled with earth. This cannot be done after flowering has begun.
A one-time watering at the beginning of the growing season is enough for the plant to receive the supply of nutrients necessary for the development of large and tasty berries.
If the strawberry bed is located on clay soils, it is permissible to line the rows with rotted droppings at the end of autumn.
Flaws
Like any other fertilizer, chicken manure has its drawbacks and contraindications for use.
In addition, chicken manure cannot be used as biofuel for greenhouses. It releases large amounts of ammonia, which depresses plants.
Bird droppings are considered one of the most valuable organic fertilizers. It contains potassium, phosphorus, magnesium and other chemical elements, and their concentration is several times higher than in other animal fertilizers, for example, cow manure. The effect of the litter is similar to the principle of complex, mineral supplements. After penetration into the soil, beneficial substances are gradually released from it, which feed the root system of various fruit plants for a long time.
Bird droppings as fertilizer - application features
Chicken manure is an environmentally friendly type of garden fertilizer that is much cheaper than various chemicals and more effective than some of them. The composition and presence of certain useful components directly depend on the breed of bird, its region of habitat and diet. In gardening, chicken or quail droppings are most often used.
Among the main advantages of this fertilizer, experts highlight the following:
- low total toxin content in the composition;
- the ability of nutritional components to remain in the soil structure for a long time;
- providing an organic nutritional balance for almost all popular garden crops;
- increase and acceleration of productivity;
- An excellent prophylactic agent that strengthens plant immunity.
Instructions for use allow the use of bird excrement only in dried and processed form. Since the fresh, unpretreated composition contains a large amount of uric acid, which literally suppresses the development of seedlings and “burns” young plant roots.
To reduce the number of harmful substances in the droppings, it is mixed with water in a certain proportion, then left to dry in the open air or indoors at low humidity for several weeks. They also add special chemicals. This allows a large concentration of urea to evaporate and the mixture to be used for its intended purpose. Various fermentation, composting and aging technologies are also used before using the original product.
Before applying the finished fertilizer, additional mineralization of the soil must be carried out. To do this, dilute the soil with peat, fresh straw or sawdust. On alkaline soils, you can add a little river sand to the garden.
General and recommended application rates are approximately the same for different types of plants. The dosage of prepared manure in dried form is no more than 250-700 g per 1 square meter. m area, in liquid form from 300 ml to 1 liter for the same measure. The frequency of application is also adjusted depending on the season and the requirements of a particular vegetable crop.
Average indicators according to the norms are 1-2 times every 10 days for 1 month. It is not recommended to pour liquid droppings into holes or deep under the young roots of a plant. It is enough to pour the required mixture between the rows of plantings and do this better after heavy watering or rain.
Composting fresh fertilizers at home - description of technology
The excrement produced by birds is most often turned into high-quality compost. The procedure for preparing useful fertilizer is called composting. As a result of such processing, all toxic and harmful compounds are removed and only nutrients remain.
A moisture-absorbing layer is first laid on a suitable area. It is made from leaves, dense grass and other leftovers. Fresh chicken droppings (at least 20 cm) mixed with peat and straw are placed on top. All this is moistened with water and left in a relatively dry and cool room or in the fresh air for 3-4 months, but be sure to make a little shading in the summer.
Inside such a heap, an active reaction will occur at high temperatures. It is thanks to the high intensity of the process that bird cages are not heated in winter, since constant fermentation releases a sufficient amount of natural heat.
The resulting compost and humus are used in the spring, a few days before sowing fruit crops, in combination with sorbent elements - sawdust or straw. They will absorb excess liquid with residual harmful substances, and all useful components will gradually penetrate into the soil.
Fermentation and preparation of liquid solution for feeding
The method of fermenting bird droppings is actively used in large factories and poultry farms. However, with the advent of special products that help speed up the fermentation process, you can prepare liquid fertilizer at home.
The technology is based on the chemical reaction of catalysis. To implement it, a wooden pallet is placed in the cage with the birds, on which the initial products from the birds will accumulate. Gradually, a certain amount of sawdust or small straw is poured onto the pallets with the pile, which are pre-treated with special chemical accelerator compounds.
Every week, pallets with the resulting products are cleaned and thus form piles, which are then watered with EM substances. The finished mixture is exposed to the open air in special containers or other suitable containers in a semi-open form for 2-3 weeks in the summer and for a month and a half in the winter, since the reaction rate at low temperatures slows down significantly.
An easier way to make liquid feeding is to use purchased biologically active material in the form of granules or a dried product, which is diluted with water in the recommended proportions (500-600 g per 10 liters of liquid) and kept for 2-3 days.
To ensure that excess ammonia completely evaporates, the water is changed every day with new water. Most manufacturers' granules have already been pre-treated, so they can be placed directly into the top layer of soil. Gradually, the soil will be enriched with useful microelements.
With the help of such dry, granular mixtures, you can pre-soak the seeds and plant them at the roots of young seedlings as an effective feeding. Apply both dried and in the form of solutions with water. Fertilizer based on chicken manure in liquid or dried form is suitable for almost all plants, with the exception of potatoes or cabbage. It is especially good to use this fertilizer for various vegetable crops of the Solanaceae family, and, of course, for tomatoes.
Instructions and application rates for various garden crops
Organic fertilizer for tomatoes is introduced during the growing season of their growth, 10-15 days after the application of mineral fertilizers with phosphorus and potassium. Dry composted manure is used to fertilize the beds at the rate of 3-4 kg per 1 square meter. m area. Liquid infusion from rotted manure is watered between the rows in a proportion of 5-6 liters per the same measure. The frequency of fertilizing according to generally accepted standards is 1-2 times every 10 days for a month.
After the first two approaches, pay attention to the condition of the tomato bush. If its growth is too rapid, the active development of green mass begins, and any, even organic, fertilizing should be stopped so that the tomatoes devote all their energy to the fruits.
Cucumbers are fed immediately after the first 3-4 true leaves appear. For this purpose, mineral complexes with ammonia, nitrogen and potassium fertilizers are used. And the next approach should include chicken droppings, which will promote the formation of ovaries and push the plant to more active growth.
Fresh liquid mixture should be diluted at the rate of 1 kg of manure per 20 liters of water. The infusion is kept in natural conditions for 10-15 days, then a little superphosphate and wood ash are added and the vegetable rows are carefully watered, trying to prevent droppings from getting on the green parts of the plant. In this case, fertilizing is carried out only after heavy watering or heavy rain.
To fertilize grapes at a distance of 50-60 centimeters from the base of the vine, small grooves up to 15 centimeters deep are dug between the bushes. They are filled with diluted or composted bird droppings. The use of fertilizers is possible only during the growing season. After some time, additional foliar feeding of the leaves is carried out with a solution based on wood ash, and before adding organic matter, the plant is fed with superphosphate and potassium mineral complexes.
Treated chicken manure is also successfully used as an organic feed for roses and other flowering plants of the family. The solution is prepared from 200 g of the original product per 1 sq. m landings. The infusion is kept for a week, then the near-trunk part of the soil is watered. Dry or granular droppings are placed under the top layer of soil and moistened with a small amount of water on top.
Strawberries, greens, bell peppers, and eggplants also respond well to the addition of such organic matter both in spring and autumn. It is important to use only fresh, pre-treated litter in combination with mineral fertilizers and follow the recommended proportions.
Using other types of bird droppings - advantages and disadvantages
In addition to the “traditional” chicken manure, pigeon manure is actively used in gardening. The rules for using these products are similar; they are not recommended to be applied fresh, but can be processed in various ways - composting, soaking, fermenting, etc.
It is important to use only the droppings of domestic pigeons, which are fed exclusively with natural grains and cereals. City pigeons eat junk food, and their waste products contain huge amounts of unprocessed toxins.
Quail droppings are effective and beneficial for all garden plants and fruit trees without exception due to the feeding habits of quails and their higher body temperature. And goose manure contains an even greater amount of useful microelements.
In the process of cultivating vegetables, fertilizing is important. Among gardeners, granulated chicken manure is popular among natural organic matter. It is also used in growing cereals, legumes, fruits and garden berries.
Efficiency of chicken manure
Chicken fertilizer is used as an organic feed for almost all vegetable and garden crops and when growing cereals and legumes, but it is not always available in the required quantities. A replacement for conventional poultry fertilizer is chicken manure in granules, produced by manufacturers in concentrated form.
Poultry fertilizer that has undergone a granulation process during production has many advantages:
- affordable price;
- balance of the set of nutrients necessary for cultivated plants;
- versatility and ease of use;
- naturalness and environmental friendliness;
- no unpleasant odor;
- Possibility of use on all soils.
It is economically profitable to use granulated chicken manure as a fertilizer because it is less easily washed out of the soil layers compared to synthetic fertilizing fertilizers, which ensures the preservation of nutrients for plants.
The use of granulated chicken manure requires taking into account a number of restrictions, because... the concentrated form can be harmful to vegetable crops.
Chicken fertilizer in concentrated form increases yields by 20-40%, accelerates the ripening process and ensures the quality characteristics of vegetables.
Unlike fresh, naturally obtained food, it does not contain weed seeds that are acquired during the life of chickens, and does not retain larvae and eggs of pests that are harmful to plants and pose a danger to vegetable crops.
Chemical composition
The use of granular bird droppings provides a concentration of useful substances that does not require prolonged infusion and dilution with water.
It is diluted in the proportion prescribed by the instructions.
Granulators include:
- 62% organic;
- 1.5-5% nitrogen component;
- 1.8-5.5% phosphorus compound;
- 1.5-2% potassium;
- 0.3% iron;
- 1% calcium;
- 0.3% magnesium.
The benefits of natural fertilizer for vegetable crops are also ensured by a set of microelements, including sulfur, manganese, copper, molybdenum, boron, cobalt and zinc.
The granular fertilizer complex contains crushed sunflower husks, which mulch the soil layers, improving biological processes in it, improving soil composition and promoting the development of humus.
The effectiveness of the fertilizer complex is increased by its combined use with mineral compositions containing potassium.
Instructions for use
Feeding solution: 0.5 kg of fertilizer is diluted in 10 liters of water.
Apply the working solution to each plant, 1 liter per bush. For local use, the concentration of the working solution must be diluted, reducing the dose by 1/3.
Specifics of application for different crops
Fertilizer is used for almost all crops grown in a summer cottage: strawberries and raspberries, tomatoes and potatoes, eggplants and carrots, zucchini and cucumbers. Gardeners use chicken manure in pellets when growing flowers and fruit trees.
Dosage instructions:
- for zucchini, tomatoes, cucumbers and root vegetables - locally in dry form, 50 g per root, followed by watering throughout the season;
- for fruit trees and shrubs - scatter granules on the surface of the soil followed by abundant watering; you can also water the near-trunk area of berry and fruit trees and shrubs. The consumption rate of working fluid is 5-7 l/m²;
- to feed raspberries, strawberries and garden flowers, make furrows between the planting rows and water the plants at the rate of up to 7 liters per 1 running meter; the best option would be to feed in the spring with repeated application of fertilizer when picking berries;
- when planting potatoes, granules are added to the hole in 1 handful (25 g);
- The use of granulated chicken manure for garlic and onions begins in June, from the beginning of the growing season.
To improve the condition of vegetable beds, it is useful to add granulated chicken manure during the digging process. The dry preparation is mixed with soil, digging to a depth of 10 cm. The application rate is 15 kg per 1 sq.m of sown area. After applying bird fertilizer, the area is shed generously with water.