Picked up some rabbit manure, it is mixed with straw and wood shaving. what
is best way to use in vegetable garden? can i simply till it into soil? any
advise appreciated.

wrote:
Picked up some rabbit manure, it is mixed with straw and wood
shaving. what is best way to use in vegetable garden? can i simply
till it into soil? any advise appreciated.

I would use it as it is. The amount that you add depends on how much manure
there is in the straw and shavings, rabbit is quite strong when fresh and
could burn plants if laid on too thickly.

Some will tell you that all manure MUST be composted before using it, to me
this is a waste of time that allows nutrients that you want in your soil to
escape into the environment.

David

In article ,
"David Hare-Scott" wrote:

wrote:
Picked up some rabbit manure, it is mixed with straw and wood
shaving. what is best way to use in vegetable garden? can i simply
till it into soil? any advise appreciated.

I would use it as it is. The amount that you add depends on how much manure
there is in the straw and shavings, rabbit is quite strong when fresh and
could burn plants if laid on too thickly.

Some will tell you that all manure MUST be composted before using it, to me
this is a waste of time that allows nutrients that you want in your soil to
escape into the environment.

David

That said, and try not to get any on the edible portions of the plant.
After 3 months, it should just be aged fertilizer.

Manure Chicken Diary cow Horse Steer Rabbit Sheep
N 1.1 .257 .70 .70 2.40 .70
P .80 .15 .30 .30 1.40 .30
K .50 .25 .60 .40 .60 .90
Http://www.plantea.com/manuer.htm
--
Remember Rachel Corrie
http://www.rachelcorrie.org/

Welcome to the New America.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hA736oK9FPg

wrote:
Picked up some rabbit manure, it is mixed with straw and wood shaving. what
is best way to use in vegetable garden? can i simply till it into soil? any
advise appreciated.

no need to till it and scatter it all over
the place. also, no need to leave any of it
on the surface subject to wind and rain.

run a small trench along the row or use
holes to bury some near the planting spots
of select plants. different plants feed
at different levels. this way you can
maximize the effectiveness and not waste
it to the wind or rain.


songbird

On 4/23/2013 9:21 PM, Billy wrote:
In article ,

I see you, snicker. ^_^

TDD

On 4/23/2013 10:22 PM, songbird wrote:
wrote:
Picked up some rabbit manure, it is mixed with straw and wood shaving. what
is best way to use in vegetable garden? can i simply till it into soil? any
advise appreciated.

no need to till it and scatter it all over
the place. also, no need to leave any of it
on the surface subject to wind and rain.

run a small trench along the row or use
holes to bury some near the planting spots
of select plants. different plants feed
at different levels. this way you can
maximize the effectiveness and not waste
it to the wind or rain.


songbird


I have a friend who live out in the country and they have chickens. I
was wondering how long chicken manure has to compost before it can be
used in my tomato garden? They don't have any rabbits, so I thought I'd
ask about the chicken manure.

--
Natural Girl

Natural Girl wrote:
On 4/23/2013 10:22 PM, songbird wrote:
wrote:
Picked up some rabbit manure, it is mixed with straw and wood
shaving. what is best way to use in vegetable garden? can i simply
till it into soil? any advise appreciated.

no need to till it and scatter it all over
the place. also, no need to leave any of it
on the surface subject to wind and rain.

run a small trench along the row or use
holes to bury some near the planting spots
of select plants. different plants feed
at different levels. this way you can
maximize the effectiveness and not waste
it to the wind or rain.


songbird


I have a friend who live out in the country and they have chickens. I
was wondering how long chicken manure has to compost before it can be
used in my tomato garden? They don't have any rabbits, so I thought
I'd ask about the chicken manure.

Same issues as with rabbit, it is a valuable resource but you need to be a
little careful. Fresh chicken manure is "hot", that means it contains
soluble compounds that if applied too heavily will damage plants (ie "burn"
them). Either apply it in small quantities not actually on the plant (in
trenches as Bird says), mix with other organic material (eg sawdust, wood
shavings, straw etc) or compost it first. I favour the second. Generally I
make up a mixture of chook with compost, composting material, lime and other
goodies and apply that once or twice a year. This way you improve the
chances of the soluble and volatile compounds getting into and being bound
by the garden bed soil rather than making the grass grow better downhill
from the compost heap.

David

David Hare-Scott wrote:
Natural Girl wrote:
On 4/23/2013 10:22 PM, songbird wrote:
wrote:
Picked up some rabbit manure, it is mixed with straw and wood
shaving. what is best way to use in vegetable garden? can i simply
till it into soil? any advise appreciated.

no need to till it and scatter it all over
the place. also, no need to leave any of it
on the surface subject to wind and rain.

run a small trench along the row or use
holes to bury some near the planting spots
of select plants. different plants feed
at different levels. this way you can
maximize the effectiveness and not waste
it to the wind or rain.


songbird


I have a friend who live out in the country and they have chickens. I was
wondering how long chicken manure has to compost before it can
be used in my tomato garden? They don't have any rabbits, so I
thought I'd ask about the chicken manure.

Same issues as with rabbit, it is a valuable resource but you need to
be a little careful. Fresh chicken manure is "hot", that means it
contains soluble compounds that if applied too heavily will damage
plants (ie "burn" them). Either apply it in small quantities not
actually on the plant (in trenches as Bird says), mix with other
organic material (eg sawdust, wood shavings, straw etc) or compost it
first. I favour the second. Generally I make up a mixture of chook
with compost, composting material, lime and other goodies and apply
that once or twice a year. This way you improve the chances of the
soluble and volatile compounds getting into and being bound by the
garden bed soil rather than making the grass grow better downhill
from the compost heap.

Thank you, David, for the info. How long do you think it should it be
composted before it's safe to use it?

--
Natural Girl

"Natural Girl" wrote:

How long do you think it should it be
composted before it's safe to use it?

All manure needs to be composted a minimum of one year before used in
a garden. When too fresh it will damage plant roots so by the time it
composts in the ground and your plant roots heal enough that they
would be able to use its nutrients most will have washed away from
rain/watering. The best way to use manure is to have it well
composted, turn it into a weak tea, and then apply judiciously about
once every ten days. Applying fresh manure directly to soil does more
harm than good.

Brooklyn1 wrote:
"Natural Girl" wrote:

How long do you think it should it be
composted before it's safe to use it?

All manure needs to be composted a minimum of one year before used in
a garden. When too fresh it will damage plant roots so by the time it
composts in the ground and your plant roots heal enough that they
would be able to use its nutrients most will have washed away from
rain/watering. The best way to use manure is to have it well
composted, turn it into a weak tea, and then apply judiciously about
once every ten days. Applying fresh manure directly to soil does more
harm than good.

Thanks! I think my friends have a pile of manure that's composting that's
been there a while. They have to put it somewhere. I'll ask them.

--
Natural Girl

Natural Girl wrote:
David Hare-Scott wrote:
Natural Girl wrote:
On 4/23/2013 10:22 PM, songbird wrote:
wrote:
Picked up some rabbit manure, it is mixed with straw and wood
shaving. what is best way to use in vegetable garden? can i
simply till it into soil? any advise appreciated.

no need to till it and scatter it all over
the place. also, no need to leave any of it
on the surface subject to wind and rain.

run a small trench along the row or use
holes to bury some near the planting spots
of select plants. different plants feed
at different levels. this way you can
maximize the effectiveness and not waste
it to the wind or rain.


songbird


I have a friend who live out in the country and they have chickens.
I was wondering how long chicken manure has to compost before it can
be used in my tomato garden? They don't have any rabbits, so I
thought I'd ask about the chicken manure.

Same issues as with rabbit, it is a valuable resource but you need to
be a little careful. Fresh chicken manure is "hot", that means it
contains soluble compounds that if applied too heavily will damage
plants (ie "burn" them). Either apply it in small quantities not
actually on the plant (in trenches as Bird says), mix with other
organic material (eg sawdust, wood shavings, straw etc) or compost it
first. I favour the second. Generally I make up a mixture of chook
with compost, composting material, lime and other goodies and apply
that once or twice a year. This way you improve the chances of the
soluble and volatile compounds getting into and being bound by the
garden bed soil rather than making the grass grow better downhill
from the compost heap.

Thank you, David, for the info. How long do you think it should it be
composted before it's safe to use it?

Zero.

David

Brooklyn1 wrote:
"Natural Girl" wrote:

How long do you think it should it be
composted before it's safe to use it?

All manure needs to be composted a minimum of one year before used in
a garden.

Not true. I have broken this rule constantly for decades and never damaged
a plant or anything else.


When too fresh it will damage plant roots

Only if it is a "hot" compost like rabbit or bird AND if it is applied too
close and too heavily.

I apply "cool" manure to mature plants while it is still warm out of the
horse. The plant all thrive. This supplies digested organics and some
nutrients at the same time.

so by the time it
composts in the ground and your plant roots heal enough that they
would be able to use its nutrients most will have washed away from
rain/watering.

This is completely illogical. How do reckon the solubles leach out in the
garden soil more than spending a year in a compost heap? Ever noticed that
downhill from your compost heap the grass grows extra lush? That's where
half your soluble nutrients go during that year. And a large amount blows
off into the atmosphere as well.

The best way to use manure is to have it well
composted, turn it into a weak tea, and then apply judiciously about
once every ten days.

Fertilising twenty times during a summer growing season is a complete waste
of time when once or twice will suffice.

First you want to lose most of the solubles composting for a year and now
you want to extract the rest into water and apply that. What do you do
with the solid residue - put it out in the municipal waste? What happened
to idea that compost also supplied organic solids which are just as
valuable as the solubles? Oh so you don't toss out the residue you put it
on the garden too. In that case why bother making the tea in first place
when you could have put it on whole? The solubles then have to bind to your
soil somehow if you don't want them leached out, why extract them in the
first place? You would slow the release and save much waste if you quit
this whole rigmarole. You have quite missed the point about compost tea.

This possible takes the record for the most confused, labour intensive and
wasteful system of manure use I have ever heard of.

Applying fresh manure directly to soil does more
harm than good.

Only if you are clumsy and heavy handed.


David

David Hare-Scott wrote:
Natural Girl wrote:
....
Thank you, David, for the info. How long do you think it should it be
composted before it's safe to use it?

Zero.

put it down in several layers for tomatoes
and the plants will have food all season as
they get bigger and send roots deeper. this
also encourages drought resistance.

i make the top layers smaller than those
down deeper. i want to encourage the plant to
grow roots down deep. if you put too many
nutrients up top then the plant will not
send as many roots deeper and be vulnerable
to dry spells.


songbird

"David Hare-Scott" wrote in message
...
Brooklyn1 wrote:
"Natural Girl" wrote:

How long do you think it should it be
composted before it's safe to use it?

All manure needs to be composted a minimum of one year before used in
a garden.

Not true. I have broken this rule constantly for decades and never
damaged a plant or anything else.

Same here. I use both horse and chook fresh but I don't dump either of them
on tender young seedlings. Established bushes don't care aobut either of
them beign put aroudn their bases (so long as they aren't Australian native
bushes).

When too fresh it will damage plant roots

Only if it is a "hot" compost like rabbit or bird AND if it is applied too
close and too heavily.

And even that works wonders on poor 'soil'. We bought in some 'soil' a dit
was THE most pathetic stuff and didnt' gorw anythign well. A good cleaning
of the chook pens had about 5 wheelbarrows full put onto this ghastly stuff
and raked across it . Now the soil really is soil and all the plants
growing roudn the edges of that bed (perennial spincah, strawberries, kale,
rhubarb, silver beet) are lookign much healthier and still gowing despite it
being Autumn here.

I apply "cool" manure to mature plants while it is still warm out of the
horse. The plant all thrive. This supplies digested organics and some
nutrients at the same time.

That's been my experience with horse poo too.

Applying fresh manure directly to soil does more
harm than good.

Only if you are clumsy and heavy handed.

Yup. If I hadn't applied my chook poo cleanings to the bed of bought in
'soil', it'd still be devoid of worms and as lifleess as a slab of concrete.