I’ve tried just about every type of fertilizer there is in my garden over the years, but regardless of what I use throughout the season, every spring I always try to work in a generous amount of animal manure around my plants.
I like to work it in with compost, some of the existing soil and sand for great results. But if you use animal manure, you need to realize that, like other fertilizers, it can burn your plants if you use too much of it.
I found that established trees and shrubs can take a little more than tender perennials and annuals. And I like manure because, when I apply it, if I’m a little heavy-handed, it’s more forgiving than conventional chemical fertilizers and the results can be astonishing.
The type of manure I use in my garden depends on what I’m trying to accomplish. If I want to build up the soil by adding more humus or vegetable matter, I’ll use something like horse or cow manure. If I just want to increase the nutrients, I may use something more concentrated like poultry or chicken manure.
You can’t believe how chicken manure greens up my hedges — there’s almost three times as much nitrogen in it as there is in cow or horse. Whatever manure you use, you should always gently work it into the soil around the plants and never apply it directly on them. And just like any other fertilizer, you want to make sure to water it in after you apply it.
If you use this stuff directly out of the barnyard, you can expect weeds, so you may want to use some of this filter fabric and then cover it with a generous layer of mulch. And always make sure it’s well rotted and aged. Fresh manure can contain some of the same dangerous E. coli bacteria that can be found in undercooked beef. That’s why I like to get it aged, put it in my compost and heat it up, so it reduces the chance of any getting any on my vegetables — especially some of those that I eat raw, like lettuce.
Now if you’re planning on using compost with manure in it on your lawn or your ornamental flowerbeds, you obviously don’t have to worry about the bacteria.
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