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Due to its valuable properties and organic origin, bird droppings are often used as soil fertilizer. It contains a lot of organic and mineral substances necessary for the development of plants: magnesium, potassium, calcium, phosphoric acid, nitrogen. In terms of their content, raw materials are in no way inferior, and in some cases even surpass expensive mineral products.
Principles of use
Fertilizing the soil with bird droppings significantly improves its properties, stimulates natural biological processes: growth, flowering, the appearance of an ovary, fruit ripening. With proper use, poultry raw materials are easily absorbed by crops, its substances are not washed out for a long time, maintaining the necessary concentration for plant nutrition and growth. Despite the obvious benefits of bird droppings, its improper use as a fertilizer can cause significant damage to the growth of fruit and vegetable crops.It is necessary to use poultry raw materials taking into account the following recommendations:
- fresh manure is quite toxic – getting on the greens and roots of plants, it can cause burns, so before applying it must be mixed with other organic materials: peat, straw, sawdust;
- it is necessary to fertilize the soil with litter a few months before planting crops – it is ideal to do this in the fall;
- fertilizer with poultry raw materials for trees and shrubs requires special care – when applying, care must be taken that the litter does not fall directly on the roots;
- when introducing bird droppings into the soil, it is necessary to observe the measure – oversaturation of the soil with nitrogen can lead to too intensive growth, and then rapid inhibition of plants;
- when preparing fertilizer, the dosage of the components should be strictly observed – weak solutions of bird droppings are ineffective, too concentrated ones have an aggressive effect on crops.
Video “Using bird waste in the garden”
Informative video on the use of chicken waste in soil fertilization.
What plants are combined with
Traditionally, poultry raw materials are used as fertilizer for fruit and berry crops and vegetables. For garden trees, grapes are an ideal top dressing and a valuable source of useful elements. Vegetable crops: tomatoes, cucumbers, eggplants, cabbage are also very fond of this fertilizer. Compost can be fertilized in spring with soil intended for growing these vegetables. During the growing season, cultures are watered with infusion several times at the rate of 5-6 l / sq.m.
When watering vegetable crops with bird droppings, it is necessary to adhere to the measure. Frequent watering can lead to increased leaf growth at the expense of the ovary. If the tops have grown strongly, watering must be temporarily stopped for about 10 days. Cucumbers, zucchini, pumpkin should be fed for the first time at the stage of 2-3 leaves, then before flowering, and once more during the fruiting period.
For plants that consume a lot of potassium: potatoes and other root crops, poultry raw materials are not entirely suitable. With intensive saturation of the soil with manure, these crops receive less potassium, and in addition, a lot of nitrates can accumulate in them. Garlic, green onions and other greens can be fed only once at the beginning of the growing season, since bird droppings, like manure, strongly stimulate the growth of green mass. Within a week after watering, the beds with greenery will literally come to life.
How to prepare fertilizer
The processing of raw materials for fertilizer can be carried out in several ways:
- liquid solution. For its preparation, it is recommended to dilute bird droppings in a ratio of 1:10 with water, then insist for several days. The output should be a solution of the color of weak tea. A more concentrated product, before fertilizing the soil, should be slightly diluted so as not to burn the roots.
- Dry bird droppings can be used as a fertilizer base. In this case, bird raw materials and water must be taken in equal quantities (1: 1). After infusion, a highly concentrated fermented solution is obtained, which must be diluted to the desired consistency. This processing allows you to fertilize crops as needed throughout the season.
- In autumn, you can fertilize the soil with dry, or fresh bird droppings mixed with any organic material. For this, poultry raw materials mixed with other components are distributed on the soil surface. Processing manure in this way allows you to get high-quality soil by spring.
How to collect and store litter
Many poultry farmers use special flooring made of dry organic materials in the chicken coop to collect bird fertilizer. Straw, corn stalks, peat, dry grass, sawdust are suitable as bedding. When mixing bird droppings with any of these components, a valuable organic top dressing for soil and plants is obtained.
When collecting fertilizer, precautions should not be neglected. Fresh litter contains a large number of helminth eggs, so you need to collect it only in an impenetrable suit and rubber gloves.
For preservation, bird droppings are harvested by quick drying, or composting. Processing manure by drying or granulating is the most suitable option for long-term storage. During the drying process, manure completely gets rid of pathogenic larvae and harmful substances that are present in fresh raw materials. In addition, dry fertilizer is easily dosed, has no characteristic odor, and retains its properties for a long time.
Composting is another way to harvest bird droppings. For compost, raw materials can be used in any form: fresh, liquid, mixed with bedding material. Preparing compost is quite simple – you need to mix (lay layers) bird manure with any organic material in warm weather. Then sprinkle the resulting pile with earth a little. It takes 1,5-2 months for the raw materials to rot, after which the soil can be fertilized with compost. Experts advise making compost in the fall so that it has time to overheat during the winter and get rid of excess nitrogen.
Video “Preparation and use of top dressing”
Video review on the preparation and use of feeding from chicken waste.
