putting fresh chicken poop on seedlings and plants

[GodofPecking]

I went and searched about this and there is a big group of links that fall into two categories, one says it's too 'hot' but doesn't say if that's temperature or chemical and the other says nitrogen will suffocate things without any example. They are ALL in the category of just parroting stuff they obviously heard somewhere else, and I can't find any actual example at all. Not one.

Sounds like the Y2K bug to me. Lots of talk and in the end a BIG FLOP.

Well, to the horror of the internet trolls who shall no doubt wail and shriek "won't somebody please think of the seedlings ( children ) " I figure to just continue adding the fresh poop to my plants in the hope of finding anything other than positive effects. I want more information, has anyone found it to be nonsense also? because I want to do more pots to plant things in, and am thinking of just putting mostly rubbish soil mixed with a little poop on top of a lot of poop at the bottom of the pot so that as the plant grows, there is a lot for it to eat.

What I really wanted and started my search with was something like a list of plants and which ones love it and which ones react in a sensitive way. Couldn't find a thing.

I wasn't planning to dump the contents of the jurassic deleted dinopoop scene to each seedling, but probably a bit less.

 

[JadedPhoenix]

You need to let the poo sit before putting it on crops, particularly seedlings or young plants. I've seen first hand what poo can do when my chickens were free-ranging in the same location for too long. I've had dead places in the yard from the poop. I usually wait to put a little bit in the bottoms of planters once the litter is at least 6 months old to a year. Then I have great growth rates.

 

[sarahandjay]

Fresh chicken poop need to sit before it is safe to use on plants normally between 6 months to one year. If used fresh it will burn and kill your plants. When referring to hot its not temp but what is found within the poop.
Chicken manure fertilizer is very high in nitrogen and also contains a good amount of potassium and phosphorus. 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. Composting chicken manure mellows the nitrogen and makes the manure suitable for the garden.
When used fresh its too much of a good thing if that makes sense. The nitrogen content is to high for plants to thrive. Letting it sits stabilizes those numbers to ranges that become beneficial instead of harmful to the plants.

Duck poop on the other hand does not have to sit before it can used.

 

[BBQJOE]

I predict complete failure.
Please let us know how this works out for you.

 

[Ridgerunner]

You want an example. I killed tomato plants by putting bedding (wood shavings) with a fair amount of fairly fresh chicken poop too close to the plants. I tried to restrict it to in between rows but it got too close. The excess nitrogen caused the plants to turn yellow and sort of shrivel up. I knew the fresh poop was dangerous from growing up but got careless. Dad also said cucurbits (squash, cucumber, etc.) and melons were also highly at risk but I didn’t kill any of those.

 

[AK Chick]

Thank you for the great information! I have a question for you, though. This winter I gave the chickens extra straw in December, without removing the old straw, thinking we would have our regular cold snap. We did not, and the litter is 2+ feet deep, clean stuff on top. Do you think this under layer would burn my poor, depleted strawberry bed this spring? Which for us is May. If so, would it be better to put it on top of the snow before it melts? Thanks for any tips!

 

[Ridgerunner]

If your strawberries ripen in May you are probably close to zone 6 or 7. If you are so far north the strawberries don’t leaf out until May, I have no idea how far north that is. I’m on the border of 6/7.

When I empty my coop on the garden I normally do that in November or early December so it has most of winter to break down. I don’t know if you have enough time now or not to try that. Another thing to consider is how much poop is actually mixed in with your bedding. If it’s mostly bedding and not much poop that’s not as bad as the other way around. And how thick is it going on?

As far as I am concerned it’s not an exact science. There is a lot of “it depends” involved.

 

[AK Chick]

Sorry for the misunderstanding, but I'm zone 4, borderline zone 5. My strawberries ripen end of June til the end of September. I think I'll put a small amount on the plants and watch. Thanks for your answer I'll try your advice about covering them with the litter in the fall, though. That makes much better sense. We have a spring break-up where everything gets flooded, so I thought I might get away with it this spring. We still have a lot of snow and ice.

 

[lazy gardener]

I don't want to rain on your parade, but I'd not be putting any poop that is not thoroughly composted on those berry plants this spring. Think about the bacteria that will wash up on those ripening berries! I'd be less concerned if it was a veggie crop that grows off the ground, and is cooked before being consumed. But would not want raw manure on any veggies that are normally eaten raw. General rule of thumb is a minimum of 90 days for manure to break down before it's safe for veggies consumed raw.

 

[GodofPecking]

You want an example.

Thank you for the great information!

You want an example. I killed tomato plants by putting bedding (wood shavings) with a fair amount of fairly fresh chicken poop too close to the plants. I tried to restrict it to in between rows but it got too close. The excess nitrogen caused the plants to turn yellow and sort of shrivel up. I knew the fresh poop was dangerous from growing up but got careless. Dad also said cucurbits (squash, cucumber, etc.) and melons were also highly at risk but I didn’t kill any of those.

I know the cucurbits family, they're awesome. Give a kid zucchini seeds ! They can't fail to impress themselves with their great skills at gardening. 8^)


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Originally Posted by Ridgerunner

[....] Another thing to consider is how much poop is actually mixed in with your bedding. [...]

As far as I am concerned it’s not an exact science.

(I) [..] would not want raw manure on any veggies that are normally eaten raw.

I'll probably be banned for mentioning that it won't be a problem for me as I lick the strawberries clean first, so that they are safe to eat.

I haven't seen anything in the way of dead patches or burn marks, but I have no lawn to speak of in a way. I find there is nothing that the chickens can come up with that citrus trees cannot handle and would probably recommend planting them in the chicken coop. I would definitely recommend them in pots in the coop.