Dioclese wrote:
"David Hare-Scott" wrote in message
...
Dioclese wrote:

Chicken manure is okay if you leave it exposed to the weather for
one season, and use it where the soil is high on the alkaline side.

Some of the nutrients in fresh chicken manure are quite volatile and
others are very soluble in water. Leaving it out exposed will
release these into the environment, which will indeed reduce the
chance of burning plants due to excess. However these useful
substances will be wasted, unless you want the grass downhill from
the heap to be nice and green. A better solution is to mix it in
with compost where at least some of the nutrients will be absorbed,
or dig it in when preparing a bed and leave it a couple of weeks
before planting. I am not sure why you are saying to use it where the
soil is too
alkaline. I cannot see that you would be adding enough to alter the
pH of soil very much (especially clay-based soil) and I would expect
it to raise rather than lower pH.

David

My parents turned virtually all-caliche soil to something viable for
St. Augustine grass that thrived on it by using the rotation method I
mentioned. Exposed to weather/sun chicken feces tends to stay put
unless there's a downpour from my own observations. The chickens
tend to spread the fresher stuff around as well while ranging. (ever
get any animal poop between your toes?). Beneath the soil surface,
earthworms abound on the stuff and break up the soil. Earthworms
don't normally inhabit this type of caliche. The type of caliche
they had was the virtually bright while and color, and you could draw
on the sidewalk with it. At least that' what we saw. Regardless, I
can't argue the results with "science" as the results speak for
themselves.

I would not dispute the result that you observed - in science evidence
always trumps theory. It may be though that the method added organic matter
and nutrients which over time improved the texture and growing properties of
the soil not a change in pH. But not having worked with caliche that is
just a theory :-)

David