Using used pine shavings with manure

[LynnTXchickenmom]

I want to make sure I’m doing this right. I live in N. Texas, which has long, dry, scorching summers, a few periods of torrential rain, and mild winters. Gardening is year-round; I have vegetables or herbs growing in all seasons. Ex: It’s Jan and my basil, planted last March, is still alive because we haven’t yet had a freeze (I need to pull it; it’s mostly seed). We will have a freeze soon, but despite this onions are planted mid-late Jan. So garden plots are never really empty for months at a time — a key technique for those of you who add manure/shavings in the fall and then plant in the spring. So I have to be sure that any manure/shavings I add do not need to age in place.

Given that, I have piles of pine shavings/ manure that have been sitting outdoors for 18 months. I have not actively composted them. Would it be ok to add them to raised beds now in early Jan (which are mostly empty), but will be planted in Feb? Will the pine shavings themselves adversely affect nitrogen uptake in the plants? Thoughts?

 

[Debbie292d]

By manure, are you talking cows or meaning chicken poo?

I would definitely add some, but be more cautious of the amount you add due to the manure regardless of whose it is so it's not too hot.

We use horse bedding pellets in our coop and every spring it's pretty much turned to sawdust and dehydrated poop. We spread that in the garden and rototill it in with good results, but too much will change the texture of the soil too much.

We spread some around trees and bushes and in the flower gardens too.

 

[SueT]

I think it will work just fine, I have shavings/poop partially composted in the bottom of my raised beds, as well as rotten branches, etc, and layers of soil on top.
You might like this thread on Hugelkultur raised beds:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/hügelkultur-raised-beds.1604433/

 

[BigBlueHen53]

OP, would it be practical to rotate your beds in some way, or even to bury your shavings between beds and then plant in the old shavings every other year (if this makes sense), to give the shavings a year to compost down into the soil? I think this is what I will do as we have a mountain of shavings from the electric company and a small amount of chicken poop to mix with it. Just need a way to mark the different "hot" spots from year to year.

 

[aart]

Will the pine shavings themselves adversely affect nitrogen uptake in the plants?

Likely yes.
If you want to make garden soil from chicken (or other) manure best not to use wood as a 'brown'.

 

[LynnTXchickenmom]

By manure, are you talking cows or meaning chicken poo?

I would definitely add some, but be more cautious of the amount you add due to the manure regardless of whose it is so it's not too hot.

We use horse bedding pellets in our coop and every spring it's pretty much turned to sawdust and dehydrated poop. We spread that in the garden and rototill it in with good results, but too much will change the texture of the soil too much.

We spread some around trees and bushes and in the flower gardens too.

It’s old chicken bedding.

 

[Sally PB]

I use pine shavings in the coop, usually 2-3 bales over the course of a year. In the spring, I dig probably 6ish cubic feet of fantastic compost out of the run. Then, I clean all the shavings (and whatever poop that was in there) out of the coop and dump it in the run.

I put a new bale of shavings in the coop and start anew. I add another bale about August, and another in November-December to make the floor nice and soft and comfy for the winter.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

I use pine shavings in the coop, usually 2-3 bales over the course of a year. In the spring, I dig probably 6ish cubic feet of fantastic compost out of the run. Then, I clean all the shavings (and whatever poop that was in there) out of the coop and dump it in the run.

I put a new bale of shavings in the coop and start anew. I add another bale about August, and another in November-December to make the floor nice and soft and comfy for the winter.

Sounds good! But - do you use this compost in your garden? And how do your plants like it?

 

[Sally PB]

Sounds good! But - do you use this compost in your garden? And how do your plants like it?

All my compost goes on the garden. The plants sure seem to like it.

By the time I'm scooping the compost out of the run, you can't see pine shavings in it.

Actually, since the shavings are a light color, the run looks a lot brighter when I empty the coop. By the end of the summer, you might find shavings in a corner of the run, but really, they're all mixed in within a couple months.

I also add a bunch of dried leaves in the fall when we rake the lawn. You can still identify pieces of leaf in the spring.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

The shavings the electric co-op brought me are mixed. Some cedar is included. I don't normally use shavings in the hen house, but I'm wondering if it would be a bad idea to use these, mixed with the paper shreds we normally use. The chickens are already scratching in these mounds of chips anyway.