SA gardener
Songster
Chicken manure is a good source of nitrogen for plants in the garden. It also has reasonable amounts of potassium and phosphorus.
But it is too strong in its raw form and must be composted first for the nutrients to be in a safe form and concentration for plants to benefit.
Another consideration is the bacteria that reside in it. Amongst the thousands of types only a handful or so can cause serious illness. These bacteria include pathogenic strains of Salmonella and E.coli
Taking this into account simply composting the manure is not enough.
Hot composting is required to reduce the concentration of these bacteria to low levels. Many sources say 9-12 months of composting is required
Does anybody have experience composting chicken manure using the Berkeley method which is a hot composting method that takes 18 days, at least 16 days of which the compost pile will be between 45 and 60 degrees Celsius ? 9- 12 months of composting is a long time to wait , and is not practical for most people considering that you would have to have multiple piles of compost all composting at once.
But it is too strong in its raw form and must be composted first for the nutrients to be in a safe form and concentration for plants to benefit.
Another consideration is the bacteria that reside in it. Amongst the thousands of types only a handful or so can cause serious illness. These bacteria include pathogenic strains of Salmonella and E.coli
Taking this into account simply composting the manure is not enough.
Hot composting is required to reduce the concentration of these bacteria to low levels. Many sources say 9-12 months of composting is required
Does anybody have experience composting chicken manure using the Berkeley method which is a hot composting method that takes 18 days, at least 16 days of which the compost pile will be between 45 and 60 degrees Celsius ? 9- 12 months of composting is a long time to wait , and is not practical for most people considering that you would have to have multiple piles of compost all composting at once.
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