Raised bed gardening and chicken poop

[drinkoj]

Is there a problem if I add chicken poop to the soil of the raised bed? Should I turn the soil with the chicken poop or let it sit on top to dry?

We we do a little raised bed gardening in troughs and don't grow in the fall/winter months and begin gardening March/April. We scrap poop boards and end up with small buckets full of the poop, which I tend to throw into the run or into the leafy woods behind our property.

I know not to add chicken poop directly to the garden when plants are growing, but didn't know about during non growing seasons.

 

[cmom]

We put the poop in a compost pile and in the fall here we put the compost on the garden beds and I till it in. We rake it out and prepare the beds then plant. We have a different planting season here because it's too hot to have a garden in the summer.

 

[TropicalBabies]

I personally don't see a problem with that as long as you don't get too heavy handed and don't add too close to your planting season, and I would definitely turn it under. Have you thought of starting a compost pile or getting a tumbler? It would keep you from putting poop in the run (i'd never do that) solve some questions about the heat and nitro and would be a garden treat. Seems a shame to not take advantage of ALL that nice chicken poop.

with kitchen, garden scraps, used nesting material and poop. Let the girls dig the bugs out after it has cooked into soil.

It is a good process. If using a tumbler make sure it has heated up enough for your chickens to dig through.
Best of luck and happy veterans day!

 

[Sally PB]

I must have been a plant or a chicken in a former life because that compost looks yummy!

If you have too much poop to use for yourself, put the word out to any neighbors who might be interested. I found out a former coworker just dumps their chicken poop in the woods. I wanted to cry. Another possible outlet could be a garden club.

 

[TropicalBabies]

I must have been a plant or a chicken in a former life because that compost looks yummy!

Maybe a bug or a microbe a good one of course!

 

[rosemarythyme]

I bury some towards the bottom of the bed when starting out a bed, doesn't seem to hurt any that way. Otherwise I compost it in bins on the side. My compost for next spring looks so good already, really dark and crumbly.

 

[Acre4Me]

Chicken poop is HOT with nitrogen and can burn plants, so that is why it needs to compost for awhile before going into the garden. However, overwintering in a fairly mild climate (as far as winter goes) in SC should work out well.

The BIGGEST concern is pathogens. There are pathogens in chicken poop that can harm humans, so that is another reason to let it age, heat up, and let the pathogens die. I’m not sure if letting it overwinter achieves the time and temp necessary for that. This is one reason chicken poop (even a small amount that would not burn the plants) should not be directly added to garden soil. When it rains, the chicken poop with potential pathogens can get splashed back up onto the edible parts of the plants.


If you can create a compost bin to age it with kitchen scraps, yard trimmings or even with some straw and hay that could work out better. If you always toss it into the same place in the woods, just create your compost pile there.

 

[cmom]

Here are a couple of the compost piles.

 

[drinkoj]

I have composted in the past but with my Australian Shepherd puppies that run the fenced backyard, just don’t want to do a pile. I might try to take a corner of their run and build a pallet box to compost like @TropicalBabies suggested

 

[TropicalBabies]

I have composted in the past but with my Australian Shepherd puppies that run the fenced backyard, just don’t want to do a pile. I might try to take a corner of their run and build a pallet box to compost like @TropicalBabies suggested

Puppies!!!!