Manure and Marijuana 2011

**Nepaljam x Oaxaca** · 11-24-2011, 02:41 PM

Manure consists of three basic elements critical to plant health: nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. Nitrogen allows plants to produce the proteins needed to build living tissue for green stems, strong roots, and lots of leaves. Phosphorus helps move energy throughout the plant, especially important in maturing plants. Potassium aids plants in adapting sugars needed in growth and is especially helpful in root crops. Together, these three elements form that magic formula, N-P-K, the backbone of all fertilizers, man-made or organic. Manure also contains large amounts of humus, a wonderful soil amendment. Humus is simply the bulky, fibrous material that comes from plant fibers and animal remains and is valuable in several ways: it gives better tilth to clay soils; supplies food for soil flora and fauna; preserves moisture during dry spells, while assuring good drainage during wet times; and it is a storehouse for nitrogen in the soil. In short, humus acts like a reservoir, allowing nutrients to work.

Manure quality will vary from farm to farm and from time to time, depending a great deal upon the amount and type of bedding collected with it. Testing manure may be the only way to determine for sure what its nutrient content actually is. So, keep in mind that the references made here to nutrient levels in different kinds of manure serve as only a general guide.

All animals produce manure, but only livestock produce it in sufficient quantity and in a limited enough location to be of use to gardeners. And in case you’re wondering, it’s not a good idea to use manure from household animals like dogs and cats. Their feces are more likely to contain pathogens harmful to humans. Stick with the droppings from barnyard animals like those mentioned above. One note of caution: Individuals with compromised immune systems, such as those with the HIV infection, should talk with their doctors about eating food from gardens fertilized with manure.

Horse and cow manure is humus-rich
Because cows and horses are grazers, most of what they consume is in the form of roughage like grass or hay, which produces a bulky, humus-rich manure, but one with relatively low levels of the three essential elements. Cow manure, depending on bedding amounts, weighs in at a dismal 0.5% nitrogen, 0.5% phosphorus, and 0.5% potassium, low in all three elements. Be sure to cure cow manure by giving it plenty of time in your compost pile.

Horse manure usually scores slightly better in all categories with a 1.5–1.0–1.5 N-P-K rating and a shorter composting time. However, unlike cow manure, you can’t buy it bagged. Although horse manure breaks down faster than cow manure, it still should be well composted before using it on a garden during the growing season.

Sheep and goat manure is easy to handle
Sheep and goats produce better manure than cows and horses. For one thing, they’re neater, producing pelletized droppings that are easily gathered and distributed. And in the case of milk goats, which are often kept in stalls with bedding, the urine is captured along with the droppings, thus greatly increasing the value of the manure by retaining more nitrogen. Both animals produce around a 1.5–1.0–1.8 rating on the nutrient chart. An added advantage is quick composting because the pelletized form of the droppings allows more air into the compost pile and makes for greater surface area and quicker drying. Also, goats and sheep produce a manure that is virtually odorless if gathered in cool weather. And, since it comes in pellets, it is simple to spread and till into the garden.

Rabbit manure scores high in nitrogen
Resembling the droppings of goats and sheep, only smaller, rabbit manure looks like it was made for gardeners. But the big bonus from bunnies comes in the nutrient level, which rates an impressive 3.5% in nitrogen. The other elements are also slightly higher than in manure from goats and sheep. The difference, of course, is quantity. Rabbits, like all herbivores, eat a tremendous amount of food for their size, but for an average rabbit, that might mean 100 lb. of feed a year. You could except somewhat less than that weight to be returned as manure. But because it is twice as nutritious as the other manures mentioned thus far, you get more for your money.

Bird manure is premium stuff
Of all the animals on my farm, birds produce the most valuable manure of all. Pigeon guano, for instance, has been prized in Europe as a super-manure since the Middle Ages when folks kept dovecotes and pigeon lofts atop their houses, growing the squabs for food and using the manure to fertilize gardens and fields. Pigeon manure rates higher than other fowl at 4.2% nitrogen, 3% phosphorous, and 1.4% potassium. It is harder to find and gather than other manures, and is best if composted thoroughly before using.

Let manure mellow in your compost pile
Commercially packaged manure comes composted, but if you collect fresh manure, you’ll need to do some composting before applying it to your plants. How long depends on the type of manure and the season. Add the manure slowly to the compost pile over several days or weeks, allowing plenty of air to circulate in the compost bin. Add other organic matter like grass clippings and leaves to break up the manure and speed curing. Turn the compost regularly as you add more manure. Stop adding the manure two months before you plan to use it in the garden. You’ll know the manure is well composted when it produces no heat and loses most of its objectionable odor when dry.

While it’s okay to add manure directly to garden soil in the fall (farmers do it all the time), I’ve found that cow, horse, and bird manure are best if composted first. On the other hand, sheep, goat, and rabbit manure are easy to spread directly. Broadcast the pellets evenly and work them 1 in. to 2 in. into the soil. Then add another layer on top of the soil. This keeps the manure distributed, an important step in curing manure because it creates a larger surface area and combines the manure with the existing soil. This allows for easy decomposition over the fall and winter months.

**Nepaljam x Oaxaca** · 01-30-2012, 01:30 PM

heres some more on manure, a little review and a little i havent talked about yet.

Many marijuana growers prefer to use bat guano extracts or worm castings instead of traditional manures. Many manures require composting before they can be used. Direct application to marijuana plants may damage the plants from too much manure. Seedlings and young marijuana plants require very little nutrients. Start slowly and begin adding more as your marijuana plant becomes bigger.

Bird Manures - are treated separately from animal manures since fowls don't excrete urine separately like mammals do. Because of this, bird manures tend to be "hotter". Overall they are much richer in many nutrients, especially nitrogen, which marijuana plants require in their veg phase in copious amounts. But not the flower phase.

Chicken Manure (1.1-1.4-0.6) - is the most common available for farmers. It's high in nitrogen, (great for vegging plants not flowering), but can easily burn plants unless composted first. A small amount of dried chicken manure can be mixed in small concentrations directly into soil. Chicken manure is also a common ingredient in some mushroom compost recipes. One potential concern for the budding organic farmer, is the large amount of antibiotics fed to domestic fowl in large production facilities. It is also suggested that some caution should be used when handling chicken droppings, whether fresh or dried.

Poultry Manures (1.1-1.4-0.6) - are often simply chicken shit mixed also with the droppings of other domesticated birds including duck droppings, pigeon poop, and turkey turds. They are "hotter" than most animal droppings, and in general they can be treated like chicken shit.
Animal Manures vary by species, and also depending of how the animals are kept and manures are collected. Urine contains a large percentage of nitrogen and potassium. This means that animals boarded in a fashion where urine is absorbed with their feces (by straw or other similar bedding), can produce organic compost that is richer in nutrients.

Cattle Manure (0.6-0.2-0.5) - is considered "cold" manure since it is moister and less concentrated than most other animal shit. It breaks down and gives off nutrients fairly slowly. Cow shit is an especially good source of beneficial bacteria, because of the complex bovine digestive system. Depending on your location, many sources of cattle manure can be from dairy cows. Recent expansion in the use of bovine growth hormones to increase milk production certainly could become a concern for organic farmers trying to source safe cattle manures. The healthier the cow, and the healthier the cow's diet, the more nutrients its manure will carry.

Goat Manure (0.7-0.3-0.9) - can be treated in a similar fashion to sheep dung or horse shit. It is usually fairly dry and rich and is a "hot" manure (therefore best composted before use).

Horse Manure (0.7-0.3-0.6) - is richer in nitrogen than cattle or swine manure, so it is a "hot" manure. A common source of horse manure is rural stables, where owners usually bed the beasts very well. Horse manures sourced from stables, therefore, may also contain large amounts of other organic matter such as wood shavings or straw with manure mixed in. Some sources of mushroom compost contain large quantities of horse manure and bedding in their mix. So from one standpoint, horseshit's use in herb growing is already fairly well documented. Horseshit, because it is hot, should be composted along with other manures and higher carbon materials. Unfortunately, horse crap also contains a higher number of weed seeds than other comparable manure fertilizers.

Pig Manure (0.5-0.3-0.5) - is highly concentrated or "hot" manure. It is less rich in nitrogen than horse or bird crap, but stronger than many of the other animal manures. Pig shit is best used when mixed and composted with other manures and/or large quantities of vegetable matter.

Rabbit Manure (2.4-1.4-0.6) - is the hottest of the animal manures. It may even be higher in nitrogen than some poultry manures. As an added bonus it also contains fairly high percentages of phosphates. Because of it's high nitrogen content, rabbit crap is best used in small quantities lightly mixed into soil or composted before use.

Sheep Manure (0.7-0.3-0.9) - is another hot manure similar to horse or goat manure. It is generally high in nutrients and heats up quickly in a compost pile because it contains little water. Sheep and goat pellets, because they are lighter, are easier to handle than some other manures.

**Rottedroots** · 01-31-2012, 09:11 PM

NepaljamXOaxaca you are clearly full of shit of as fond of it as I am. I am not completely over the deep end yet but I have a horse farm nearby that has run out of places to dump their dung so I get as many 6 wheel trucks loads dumped off as the guy can get me to take. He would like to bring more but I can only handle so much. The horse manure just get piled up and cold composts for years unless I am planting trees. There is just TOO MUCH damm weed seed in horse puckys as you point out. It takes YEARS for the seeds to lose their viability so DON'T top dress with it.

Give me a good fowl dropping any day. No seed and oh so rich. Just be careful cause that stuff is HOT and will burn anything. I have an open door policy at the local turkey farm and can have all I want and they will even load it with the tractor. It does have a lot of wood chips/sawdust with it but it good!!! He even has a pile where the wood chips are so course it's like bark mulch fortified with stinky gold. I like it more than the neighbors but hell after a couple of rains I can't even smell it. Ha Ha

Nepaljam is you like doo like I doo you will like this. I was ALLOWED (was actually paid)to clean ALL the pigeon shit out of the loft of a barn that had to have had a 20 X 30 foot area a solid foot deep in places with pure unadulterated pigeon crapola. Mixed in with the poop was the desiccated carcasses of dozens of pigeons. The compost pile claimed it all in no time and I had enough browns around that I was able to compost it in months without turning, just watering. I used that stuff up years ago and I miss it. The soil and plants in the garden have consumed it all.

No one can tell me that Fox Farms produces a better product than me HA Ha HA. My finished compost is freakin gold. Mountains of dung, crushed clam and mussel shells, fish boxes of seaweed, loads of browns in the form of fall clean-ups and even fresh cut organic lawn clipping to build up some heat. I was even able to score TWO bait barrels of fish skins a few years ago as well as box after box of what's left after you turn apples into cider. The ONLY problem with all of this stuff is that it is a ton of work aerating, watering and turning. I would and should send a sample out to be tested by the county coop. I am proud of my shit and really would put it side by side with any commercial soil. I will admit that they ultimately defeat me when it comes to weed seeds as well as possible pests. I still don't know how they stay so weed free if they are.