Sallygarden Smallholding - The Forum For Sustainable Living

Hi all

I have in the past used well rotted horse manure which I have found fantastic for the garden, both in and out of the polytunnel.

I have heard various reports on the use of chicken manure and would like to hear anyones experiences. This manure is from our own birds, organically fed, is mixed in with wood shavings and has been composted for the past 12 months.

I also have goose manure, collected from their house, which is currently composting. Is this simular to horse manure as they eat the same things?

Would it also be worth collecting and using the pig manure? Does it need to be well composted before use?

I'm sure there is a lot of people out there with mountains of chicken manure, what do you use it for??

I am planning ahead for the winter and peoples thoughts would be really helpful.

Thanks

Hi Diz,

We composted all the waste from the chicken shed last year as well as grass clippings and the result, after approx 12 months, was amazing.
After a couple of years of disaster in the veg. plot we built a series of raised beds earlier in the year and mixed all the compost in with the soil and the results have been bountiful.
I was gifted a load of horse manure a month ago (well rotted) and it will be interesting to use different manures in the different beds for next year and note any results.
We just leave the pig poop in the fields as I believe this is a way of putting back what the pigs take out of the soil (this activity would also reinforce the "mad pig lady" label that my friends have stuck on me!)
I believe pig poop can be dried out like the turf and used for burning.

Morag

What type of vegatables did you grow in your chicken manure? I have heard that it is fantastic for foliage but not so good for root vegatables, so would be interested in what you had success with.

I have tried an experiment to test the above, with some carrots. I have split the row in half and mixed chicken manure into one half and left the otherside as it was, then planted the carrot seed. I will update later.

I have been really pleased with the results from the house manure, I have some huge onoins (as big as a saucer) and the leeks are looking tasty! We also have a friendly farmer with a huge pile of the stuff they want to get rid of, happy to oblige.

Carrot seedlings are up, but it's looking neck and neck at the moment. Will update soon.

Has anyone else got any experiences with using chicken manure?

Hi Diz

Manure is a great thing to add to the compost heap, it acts like a booster and speeds up the composting process, not to mention adding heaps of the 3 main nutrients (N, P and K). I wouldn't use fresh manure on plants as it can actually diminish nutrients from the soil during the rotting process. Comfrey on the other hand can be chopped and dug directly into soil.

Pig manure is high in potash (K) especially, and Phosphorus so suits root crops such as your carrots. When we have pigs I would often go and collect a few shovel fulls of manure to pop in the compost. Pigs are clean creatures and tend to 'toilet' in one area, so collection is easy. Chicken manure has the highest measure of the 3 nutrients.

We put all manure we can find into the composts around the farm, though we find that anything with wood shavings needs 2 years rather than 1. You shouldn't be able to decipher any shavings when you look through it before use and it should be sweet smelling.

Don't discount humanure either, though it needs special treatment, nothing complicated. It just needs leaving in the heap for 2 years to ensure any pathogens are dead, the high temperatures of thermophillic composting ensures this. To read more about compost toilets and tree bogs read my new post here http://sallygardens.typepad.com/sallyga ... oilet.html and try to get your hands on a copy of the Humanure Handbook, my local library ordered it in for me. Humanure is the ultimate in recycling your waste and minimising your impact on the environment, I defy anybody who has '1. read the book and 2. used a compost toilet', to think anything different.

Compost is a lovely craft. Enjoy it and reap the benefits.