A question about pooh...

[lilman]

I'm deciding what kind of composted manure to use in my holes this year..my options are pig, sheep,cattle and horse... chicken is unavailable to me unfortunately. I used sheep last year and it seemed to do fine but i was curious what everybody else used.
I was also wondering about application rate, my holes are about 20 inchs deep and 2 feet across. I dig all the native soil out then i mix 50% native soil and 50% coco, then i add 2 heaping double handfuls of worm castings, a handful of lime. How much composted manure can i add safely ?
I'm very interested to hear what D.S. Toker. MD has to say.

Thanx guys Lm

 

[:-(]

What are your native soil PH, nutrient content, water retention, and soil texture?

Sandy-Loam is the desired garden soil texture.

Horse and sheep manure are said to be "hot" and will burn plants if not well composted.

 

[pearlemae]

If you are using the compost for a vegetable garden as well as MJ. Don't use Swine manure. Swine manure can cross contaminate with humans ie: swine flu as an example. Swine manure should not be use in compost for those reason. If you just have to use it then it must be composted at 160 degrees for as long as a week to kill any pathogens. I suppose for just MJ, swine manure may be fine, but a word of warning it is very hot(high nitrogen) needs to be well composted so the plants don't get burnt.
Good Luck .

 

[lilman]

What are your native soil PH, nutrient content, water retention, and soil texture?

Sandy-Loam is the desired garden soil texture.

Horse and sheep manure are said to be "hot" and will burn plants if not well composted.

My PH is fine...thats what the lime is for =). The local soil is good black earth.. I cut it with coco to give the roots some breathing space..I have all this covered and have for years. I think i want a "hot" manure because that will heat the hole up for the seedling. What i want to know is just how much i can add without burning the shit outa my plants.
Nice chart though.
Peace LM

 

[TokerOftheSouth]

LM,

Im using horse manure myself it is mixed with sawdust at the stables then i mix it half with huge compost pile..sawdust will help hold a little more moisture

is yours gunna be strait poo or stables have sawdust on the floor?

I wud mix up to 1/3 manure in ur holes

Hope this helps and goodluck!

 

[h.h.]

I use steer with many plants. With Mj it tends to release too much N at the wrong time. Soil amended with it should be allowed to sit a few months.
Horse manure and worms are a wonderful thing. I've seen it used pretty much straight with good results after composting around 6 months.

 

[GuerrillaDidgi]

i use poo that the farmers till into thier land before they plant the crops....... its free and a walk away from my location lol

 

[D.S. Toker. MD]

hey lilman and others,

lilman, im biased on this issue. Maybe its my enviroment, but everytime in the past that ive used any kind of manure,(unless it overwinters in the dirt) i get my plants dug up just like when i use organic nutes. Last year, i decided mid june to plant a couple of extra plants. I dug holes, mixed in my ferts and planted. The next week, my whole set up was dug out. I filled everything back in and watered- 4 days later they were dug out again. I was puzzled because i had used chemical ferts, but then i read the fine print on the bag. The nitrogen was derived from chicken shit!!!! That experience greatly reinforced my aversion to shit of any kind.

Bottom line, if you google about the nutrient content of different kinds of shit, you'll find that most of it isnt really all that nutritious and lacks many needed nutrients. Just looking at available nutrients provided by manure, a person using any generic hand full of chem nutes has surpased any nutrient capacity available from poop additives.

Maybe others have had a different experience, but around here poop of any kind is a disasterous development and efficacy is much greater with any cheap chem fert..

 

[IandI]

Hey guys

I have had the same experience with crops being dug up when using uncomposted organics etc, especially blood/bone meal!

Compost it better, mix it thoroughly with the soil and the problem should be minimized... but if you've noticed a propensity for this in your area, I doubt you're ever gonna fully get around it. Maybe a thick mulch would help with the diggin? Mulching is an effective grow aid anyways, no harm in trying it if you're worried... but I don't have any experience with mulching to avoid rodents foraging etc.

If that particular compost/manure works for the farmers, it should work for you no?

EZ