It's hard for me to get far enough out in the country to get real
chicken manure. I did just get a bag of Black Hen which claims to be all
organic derived from composted chicken manure and 2 3 2.

The 232 makes me think there is more to it than just chicken manure,
otherwise I would think this would have a lot more N.

I've been told to be careful of applying chicken manure too close to
growing tomato plants as it will burn them. But this seems like a more
muted product.

Any precautions? I'd like to give a sock to the garden, I understand
that cucurbits are heavy feeders and I'd like to move beyond the pricey
fish oil emulsion.

First cukes and a summer (straight neck) squash are on the way, the
leaves are monsters (over a foot square). Just one small tomato, but
many flowers. Nothing yet on the cantalopes and honey dews but the vines
look good. Watermellon lagging (2' or so of vine), but I think OK. So
far, better than last year.

Jeff

In article ,
Jeff Thies wrote:

It's hard for me to get far enough out in the country to get real
chicken manure. I did just get a bag of Black Hen which claims to be all
organic derived from composted chicken manure and 2 3 2.

The 232 makes me think there is more to it than just chicken manure,
otherwise I would think this would have a lot more N.

I've been told to be careful of applying chicken manure too close to
growing tomato plants as it will burn them. But this seems like a more
muted product.

Any precautions? I'd like to give a sock to the garden, I understand
that cucurbits are heavy feeders and I'd like to move beyond the pricey
fish oil emulsion.

First cukes and a summer (straight neck) squash are on the way, the
leaves are monsters (over a foot square). Just one small tomato, but
many flowers. Nothing yet on the cantalopes and honey dews but the vines
look good. Watermellon lagging (2' or so of vine), but I think OK. So
far, better than last year.

Jeff

For numbers, I've got
Manure Chicken Diary cow Horse Steer Rabbit Sheep
N 1.1 .257 .70 .70 2.4 .70
P .80 .15 .30 .30 1.4 .30
K .50 .25 .60 .40 .60 .90

Manure Alfalfa Fish Emulsion
N 3 5
P 1 1
K 2 1

I've seen higher numbers for chick-poo than this but it all depends on
dryness and what else may be included. That's y excuse, and I'm sticking
with it. But as far as side dressing, I'd use 1/4 lb per plant, and then
wait and see what happens. You can add more in a month if this goes
well. When the proteins breakdown, they release ammonia (NH3), which is
a gas and can float away. I'd cover the manure with dirt and wet it down
to help hold the ammonia long enough for soil bacteria to mineralize it
(NO3--).

Cucurbits like high N, and medium P & K, so if you can find horse or
steer they sound like good choices too.
--
- Billy
"Fascism should more properly be called corporatism because it is the
merger of state and corporate power." - Benito Mussolini.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Arn3lF5XSUg
http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Zinn/HZinn_page.html

Billy wrote:
In article ,
Jeff Thies wrote:

It's hard for me to get far enough out in the country to get real
chicken manure. I did just get a bag of Black Hen which claims to be all
organic derived from composted chicken manure and 2 3 2.

The 232 makes me think there is more to it than just chicken manure,
otherwise I would think this would have a lot more N.

I've been told to be careful of applying chicken manure too close to
growing tomato plants as it will burn them. But this seems like a more
muted product.

Any precautions? I'd like to give a sock to the garden, I understand
that cucurbits are heavy feeders and I'd like to move beyond the pricey
fish oil emulsion.

First cukes and a summer (straight neck) squash are on the way, the
leaves are monsters (over a foot square). Just one small tomato, but
many flowers. Nothing yet on the cantalopes and honey dews but the vines
look good. Watermellon lagging (2' or so of vine), but I think OK. So
far, better than last year.

Jeff

For numbers, I've got
Manure Chicken Diary cow Horse Steer Rabbit Sheep
N 1.1 .257 .70 .70 2.4 .70
P .80 .15 .30 .30 1.4 .30
K .50 .25 .60 .40 .60 .90

Manure Alfalfa Fish Emulsion
N 3 5
P 1 1
K 2 1

I've seen higher numbers for chick-poo than this but it all depends on
dryness and what else may be included. That's y excuse, and I'm sticking
with it. But as far as side dressing, I'd use 1/4 lb per plant, and then
wait and see what happens. You can add more in a month if this goes
well. When the proteins breakdown, they release ammonia (NH3), which is
a gas and can float away. I'd cover the manure with dirt and wet it down
to help hold the ammonia long enough for soil bacteria to mineralize it
(NO3--).

Cucurbits like high N, and medium P & K, so if you can find horse or
steer they sound like good choices too.


That makes sense. I think what I will do is save the fish emulsion
for the cucurbits, that will give them extra N to support those big
leaves. I'll rake in the Chick Poo to get more N. I saw somewhere that N
losses for not doing it are about 25% of total N.

Something here on N in Chick Poo:

http://www.idigmygarden.com/forums/s...ad.php?t=30872

....

Some may be unfamiliar with what poultry litter is. It is poultry manure
mixed with the bedding (wood shavings, rice hulls, etc.) that is scooped
up when the houses are cleaned. The nutrient content of the litter can
vary tremendously depending on the house clean-out technique, storage
methods of the litter and other factors. We recommend testing the litter
for nutrient content.
Prescribed burning
Click image to enlarge

Without testing, we use an average nutrient percentage content of 3-3-2.
This means an average ton of poultry litter contains 60 pounds of
nitrogen, 60 pounds of phosphate (P2O5) and 40 pounds of potash (K2O)
per ton of litter. Poultry litter also contains some amounts of all the
other essential elements for plant growth, but the amounts are usually
small. It is also a source of organic matter for the soil. If the litter
has not been composted (most is not), there may be some small-seeded
weeds, like pigweed, in the litter.

Since most of the elements contained in poultry litter are in the
organic form, they are not all available the first year. Also, some of
the nitrogen will be lost as a gas if the litter is not incorporated. As
a general rule, assume that about 75 percent of the P and K will be
available the first year and the remainder will become available the
next year. That means that about 45 pounds of phosphate and 30 pounds of
potash will be available the first year the litter is applied.

If the litter is surface-applied and not incorporated into the soil,
about 25 percent of the nitrogen in the litter will be lost. Of the
remainder, about 75 percent will be available the first year. So, if
litter is applied to the soil surface and not incorporated into the
soil, you will probably get about 30-35 pounds of nitrogen per ton of
litter the first year.

....

Exactly what you said.

Whatever else is in the "Black Hen" is giving it 2.5% Calcium and .5%
Mg. That sounds like a good choice for tomatoes.

I was down at Lowes today, Many of the tomato plants they had, had
fruit on them. Almost all showing signs of blossom end rot. So much for
their watering...


Thanks,
Jeff