What is the best manure for the garden: an overview of fertilizers

What is the most nutritious manure

Horse and cow dung are leading in their nutritional properties, but horse manure decomposes faster, affecting the land in the year of application; cow dung will take at least 3 years to prove itself. Other types of fertilizers - excrement of sheep, goats, rabbits - show themselves not quickly. The root of the problem is dependence on the level of moisture used for decomposition.

Remember that chickens are counted in the fall, and the nutritional value of manure is fresh. The freshest manure contains a minimum of nutrients and is also dangerous for your plantings. In order for the fertilizer to show itself in all its glory, it needs to be allowed to settle. Also, the type of soil affects the final nutritional value, if there is black soil on your site, then cow dung can also be used, since the soil itself is quite fertile.

1. Horse. Due to the low prevalence of horses, horse dung is the most difficult to obtain, but it is worth it. 1 kg of fresh material contains: about 7 g of nitrogen, 2.5 g of phosphorus, more than 7 g of potassium. Due to its loose structure, it decomposes faster, releasing heat, up to 70 ° C. Horse manure is suitable for all types of soils, especially chernozem, suitable for laying in the soil of the greenhouse. Also contains potassium and phosphorus, which are quickly absorbed by plants.
2. Bovine. With cow dung, things are much easier, since barns are common everywhere. Care should be taken when applying, as too much nitrate will negatively affect your plantings. The substrate of 1 kg of cow excrement contains: 3.5 g of nitrogen, 3 g of calcium, 3 g of phosphorus, 1.4 g of potassium. The amount of nutrients varies slightly with age, sex and feed of the cow. The heat transfer of the material is small (in comparison with horse) - 28-46 ° С, if the soil is black earth. The obvious benefit of using cow feces is the inability to oversaturate the soil and plants with NPK elements, which means that chernozem will not be poisoned with nitrates.
3. Pork. Pig manure is rarely used, which consists of solid or liquid feces with residues of feed, bristles and straw, and also contains the greatest amount of nitrogen. 1 kg of material accounts for: 8.13 g of nitrogen, 7.7 g of calcium, 7.9 g of phosphorus, 4.5 g of potassium. Pork feces - a thinned suspension with a small amount of solids; they are not prone to stratification. Even after processing, it contains a large amount of weed seeds. Usually, pig manure is used along with horse manure to improve humus.

Rabbit. Rabbit feces are much drier than other animal waste and do not contain weed seeds. Comparing with other fertilizers - it contains fewer harmful microorganisms, which allows it to be used without preliminary preparation and processing.Rabbit droppings are often made into a powder that can be used to fertilize flowers at home. 1 kg of material accounts for: 2.2 g of nitrogen, 1.9 g of phosphorus, 1.5 g of potassium, 0.6 g of calcium.

1. Sheep (sheep). The droppings of rams and sheep are least of all in demand as fertilizers, despite the high nitrogen content, they are most often used as biofuel. 1 kg of feces accounts for: 1.8-4.2 g of nitrogen, 2.5 g of potassium, 0.6 g of phosphorus. The unpopularity of this type of feces is due to the complexity of processing and use. They do not mix well with straw bedding, decompose quickly, and give an unpleasant odor that can be removed with peat. Peat is one of the elements of cleaning premises after lamb compost. In addition, the decomposition period is too long, which makes it not the most profitable investment.

Let's go backwards in search of the most nutritious manure. Small livestock (rams, sheep, pigs) produce fertilizers with a minimum amount of organic elements. Often such material is used as biofuel, less often for introduction into clay, loamy soils. Bovine is the most common, but also not very nutritious, moreover, it is light. It remains only to fertilize the soil with horse manure, because it is the most stable in terms of useful elements.

Video "All about organic fertilizer"

Information video about the benefits of organic fertilizer and the rules of its use.

Manure types (by degree of maturity)

The quality and types of compost are determined not only by origin, but also by the degree of maturity. It is important to know when it is better to use humus, what to mix black soil with, what soil to fertilize and at what stage. This will help improve the overall health of the garden.

1. Fresh manure - is used extremely rarely, due to the high content of harmful organisms, nitrogen, weed seeds. Requires careful processing before use in order to show its positive qualities.
2. Semi-rotten fertilizer - applied to the ground in the fall, at the rate of 5 kg per 1 sq. m. At this stage of processing, they are fed with cabbage, pumpkin, spinach, cucumbers, zucchini. It also requires caution in application - it is imperative to dilute the manure, water it around the plant, but not at the very root.
3. Rotted manure - much lighter in weight than fresh raw materials, is usually applied to the soil as a mixture. If you decide to dig up a site, then you will need 10 kg of rotted mass per 1 sq. m of the garden, peat for the base.
4. Humus is the last stage in the transformation of the manure mass. In terms of its qualities and composition, it is the most useful for your plantings. It is used for mixtures (peat and black soil are often used) to improve the soil. Humus is a welcome guest in the holes of onions, radishes, potatoes, tomatoes, herbs. For introduction, you should dig up a vegetable garden in the fall, mix humus with earth in a ratio of 1: 4.

How to fertilize correctly

Correctly fertilizing the soil before planting is an indispensable skill that will increase the yield, plant health, and the quality of the land. Since different types of manure have their own characteristics and characteristics, it is important to know when and what material is best applied to the soil.

For cow dung, the norm will be 7-10 kg per 1 sq. m, but it must be applied once every 3 years, if the soil is black earth; 2 years if the soil is sandy. Keep in mind that light soil will accelerate decomposition, so your greenhouse will need less soil than open areas. Horse manure will require only 5 kg per 1 sq. m of territory. Usually it is laid on peat, and black soil is poured on top. The height of the layer should be at least 20 cm. The humus will warm up your plants, and the peat, as a bedding, will retain moisture.

Pig manure is used only as humus due to the high content of parasites in raw and semi-rotten material. To improve the quality, peat with dolomite flour is mixed with it. When the soil is acidic, it is mixed with lime to increase the salt and calcium content, which are poor in pig manure.

Rabbit excrement is used to feed trees and bushes, at the rate of 1.5-2 kg per 12 liters of water. To feed domestic plants, use a powder with a proportion: 3 tablespoons of soil to 1 tablespoon of manure. Peat is always used as a substrate for the compost to provide a natural moisture trap. Sheep and rabbit feces are suitable for cold soil, because of its density and dryness, it decomposes more slowly. When choosing what kind of manure to use on your site, take into account the above nuances and then your harvest will be rich, tasty, healthy.

Video "On the use of cow feces"

Demonstration video with helpful tips for using cow feces as a soil fertilizer.