A vital factor in land stewardship is adding plenty of nutrients to your landscape. Manure is a great soil amendment helping you to return all the nutrients to the soil. It makes the soil effective to grow plants. There are definitely plenty of advantages and disadvantages in utilizing manure as a source of nutrients. There are various kinds of manure that you would find from animals and they also have various levels of nutrients, therefore they should be composted adequately in order to achieve effective use preventing the plants from being damaged with excessive nutrients.
In terms of plants, I always believed that excessive love will kill them for instance excessive water, excessive manure. Everything in proportion will keep your plants healthy and green throughout the year. Let’s look at the various types of animal manure that are available and which one is good for your garden.
You can receive manure from almost all animals however they are not all alike. If you’re looking at breaking down and killing a seed effectively it must reach a particular temperature minimum of 150 degrees Fahrenheit for a consistent amount of time. Now this time will differ as it depends upon the kind of animal manure being used. For example, dog manure or cat feces has to be composted for a span of 2 years, you cannot apply them to the food crops directly.
Domestic livestock
Traditional livestock manure may also contain different levels of nutrients. They must be utilized in different methods and times. The most popular kind of manure that is utilized regularly for gardening is;
- Pig
- Goat
- Sheep
- Horse
- Cow
- Chicken
As we discussed earlier manure have various proportion of nutrients in them so you must always be careful while applying them to your plants.
Manure for plants
The best and ideal manure that is most popularly used in many gardens is chicken. It has increased the level of nitrogen, and as we know plants have an increased requirement of this. However, you must always make sure that it is well composted as well as aged in order to prevent the roots of the plants from burning. This manure can be applied during spring or fall as it is extremely rich in nutrients.
In the same manner cow manure also must be composted prior to applying them to your plants in order to achieve optimum results. If you are considering sheep manure then I must also mention that it is high in nitrogen but it also has a decrease ratio in terms of macronutrients. Horse manure is also utilized by many but it definitely takes an increased amount of time. It has a similar kind of content like cat manure but the manure takes a very long time to compost and age.
If you’re looking at the best animal manure to composed then I must say you will have to make the best of whatever you have at hands. I have discussed the various manure available and the best way you could use it. The above varieties will definitely be helpful to your soil. The most important thing that you must not forget is that it has to age and compost completely for a minimum of six months. If you keep it longer the better. Happy composting!