Planting a veggie garden in chicken run

[chris783016]

I have an 8X4 planter box that I have used as a chicken run for about a year and have never cleaned it, just added hay to the floor of it if it got muddy. It is exposed to the outside. I was thinking about moving the chickens to the planter box next to it and using the box that they pooped in for a year as a veggie garden. All I was gonna do was mix in some fresh hay and leaves and give it a good tilling. Do you think that would be ok, would it be too much manure and cause burn, do I need to do something else? Any help would be great.

 

[Hillaire]

I let my chicken manure (I use deep bedding method with straw) sit for a year I turn it once every other week. After the year I use it in my garden... chicken manure can burn plants easily if too fresh. from google which I know to be true.. "The high nitrogen and balanced nutrients is the reason that chicken manure compost is the best kind of manure to use. But the high nitrogen in the chicken manure is dangerous to plants if the manure has not been properly composted. Raw chicken manure fertilizer can burn, and even kill plants."

 

[chris783016]

Thanks for the info. So what if I till it with the soil underneath it? The run is exposed to rain and sunlight. There are only 3 chickens in this run.

 

[Hillaire]

how smelly is the manure?

 

[Kellycbf]

I think it would be fine. You only had 3 birds in their and it is not straight up manure, it is manure plus other organic material that has been exposed to the weather, especially rain. It has been composting actively for a year. The chickens have helped it compost by moving it themselves. But, I am a newbie and am learning as I go and am willing to try new things just to see how it turns out.

 

[rosemarythyme]

I would mix in some soil. I let my chickens play in my garden beds until a few days before I'm ready to use them, then mix up the soil underneath with the poop and some composted litter from the run, fence it off, and it's good to go.

 

[ella&clara]

I would add in soil too. If you wanted to wait until fall to plant, adding in the hay and leaves would be fine, but if you want to plant now, the composting process would take away from the nutrients.