Calculating fertilizer needs per square foot or per plant?

[nao57]

So I wanted to ask about steer manure fertilizer calculations and what you guys think about them?

So specifically, how do you decide how much steer manure (aged and broken up) you put in say a 10 by 10 foot garden space? Do you just go an inch over the top? or do you go more?

If I were going 3 sisters method and larger plants or plants that produce volume it would make sense to say OK I'll do 1 cubic foot of the steer manure where that plant is planted. But someone growing lots of small greens or lots of grain etc or stuff like that that has many mini plants together would probably just do an even spread over the top spread out evenly.

I'm trying to emphasize probably instead of spreading it out evenly to make it last by doing a clump with each plant, with emphasis on plants that produce a lot. I think this way works better for me, because I've got limited space so I have to get lots of plants producing lots of vegetables this way.

But even if I do it that way I could use information on how others decide how much fertilizer they use and spread out in X amount of square foot.

We had a friend brink a load of aged steer manure over for our back yard garden this year. I'm really grateful. But considering what we want to grow and how much, and how we're unable to afford normal grocery prices now I'm worried if that half a pick up truck bed is enough. The soil before the load wasn't that great. And it seems like even with what looks like the back of the pick up truck being fairly weighed down, when you spread it out over a whole back yard, it doesn't go as far as you think. Right?

I'm hoping also by posting this, this will help other people think about this also. Because they need to.

Right now by degrees more and more people are getting to the point of being able to unafford the stuff in the store they need as the prices of food go up. Also only about 2% of the population even knows how to grow food. And even in a family you can have probably only 1 person that knows this stuff while other family members are consumers and not able to produce.

 

[Sally PB]

Hmmm. I don't know anything about steer manure. Here are a couple quick links I found with google.
https://plantcaretoday.com/steer-ma... steer dung is too,you're using fresh manures.

https://extension.psu.edu/wise-use-...to the home,incorporated into the garden soil.

 

[nao57]

Not using fresh manure. I clearly said aged. Aged is fine. I'm not implying fresh. If its aged about 4 months or 3 1/2 its OK to use in a garden. Also its cheaper than potting mix by far. Potting soil is very expensive in comparison.

 

[Chris2018]

Not using fresh manure. I clearly said aged. Aged is fine. I'm not implying fresh. If its aged about 4 months or 3 1/2 its OK to use in a garden. Also its cheaper than potting mix by far. Potting soil is very expensive in comparison.

If your manure is 3-1/2 to 4 months old, it is still fresh and not even close to aged.
Aged manure is over a year-old minimum.

Since you're dealing with fresh manure, I would compost it with yard/garden waste, kitchen waste etc. then add it to the garden at the rate of about 100 lbs. per 10x10 area and turn it into the top 6 inches of soil.

Fresh steer manure is high in ammonia, unwanted bacteria, and can contain herbicides like Glyphosate, Aminopyralid, Clopyralid, Fluroxypyr, Picloram and Triclopyr and is not good for the soil, plants and/or you.

 

[nao57]

If your manure is 3-1/2 to 4 months old, it is still fresh and not even close to aged.
Aged manure is over a year-old minimum.

Since you're dealing with fresh manure, I would compost it with yard/garden waste, kitchen waste etc. then add it to the garden at the rate of about 100 lbs. per 10x10 area and turn it into the top 6 inches of soil.

Fresh steer manure is high in ammonia, unwanted bacteria, and can contain herbicides like Glyphosate, Aminopyralid, Clopyralid, Fluroxypyr, Picloram and Triclopyr and is not good for the soil, plants and/or you.

This is where we'll agree to disagree. You don't need to age it for a full year. Many people have documented 3+ or 4 months being enough. The smell going away from aged manure shows this. You don't smell the ammonia anymore at 3 months.

There's no reason to go a full year.

But I respect you as a gardener even though we don't agree.

 

[Chris2018]

This is where we'll agree to disagree. You don't need to age it for a full year. Many people have documented 3+ or 4 months being enough. The smell going away from aged manure shows this. You don't smell the ammonia anymore at 3 months.

There's no reason to go a full year.

But I respect you as a gardener even though we don't agree.

The term aged manure refers to a manure that is at least a year old, you can use it much sooner BUT it wouldn't be concerned aged.

A manure that sits, un-aerated for 3 or 4 months will contain less Ammonia in it since most of it leached out and wash away in the leachate but, the manure will still contains high levels of anarobic bacteria (bad bacteria that grows in a low oxygen environment) in it and can contain some Glyphosate, Aminopyralid, Clopyralid, Fluroxypyr, Picloram and Triclopyr.

The reason I mentioned composting it is because it would kill the anarobic bacteria/ pathogens if it is aerated, and it would get rid of most of the herbicides.
Not because you couldn't use the manure at 3 to 4 months but because it would be safer.