Chicken manure pellets

JEN22

Are these any good to use on my roses?


Are they as good as using manure

bertiewhite

I used to save my chickens' "product", dry it out and then sprinkle it sparingly.

I don't have chickens anymore but I seem to remember that volume wise, it was as good as or better than horse manure and you didn't have to leave it for months like you should with horse manure.

madjackslam

One of the benefits of manure, particularly, say, horse manure, which will be mixed with straw, is as a soil conditioner, adding bulk, organic matter, and generally making it feel lovely and welcoming to your plants. It also adds nutrients to the soil, although depending on the type, the amounts can be variable. There's a breakdown in an old Geoff Hamilton book I've got, but here's something I found quickly online.

Chicken manure pellets (I assume you mean the buckets sold in DIY sheds, etc) - because chicken manure is very concentrated - are used like a fertiliser, ie, they will give a boost of nutrients to your plants and make them grow more strongly as a result, but they won't do much for the soil health. Bird manure has long been a source of fertiliser (see here for more on the history)

Ideally, you're looking for a combination that provides bulk and fertility.

JEN22

have you any ideas

Farway

JEN22 wrote: »

have you any ideas

In the absence of real horse poo you can get bags of rotted stuff from gatrden centres, 6x & FYM spring to mind

But if only a few roses then just top dress with some cheapo general purpose compost from the the likes of Lidl [now ready this week], Morrison's [just bought a bag this morning] Both of these are 5p litre, so two quid 40 litre bag

No need to fork in, the worms will do the job for you

andrewf75

you can also buy special rose feed, although as with the chicken pellets it will only give the nutrients not help the structure

madjackslam

The annoying thing about the really good stuff, eg, rotted horse manure + straw, is that it's difficult to moneysave on. I have a friend who keeps horses, so is happy for me to take stuff from her pile, but I have to drive and get it, and don't have a trailer, so have to bag it up, take a few bags at a time, etc, etc. Really time-consuming for the amount I get. OR, you can buy well-rotted bags, approx, 50 litres, from the garden centre or other source, for £4 of £5 a pop. OR at the allotment we had a farmer who delivered a decent bulk load for £20 each, but have lost touch with this. But when you hear about "great" gardens they've put tonnes of stuff on the soil.

Misslayed

I've had great results with chicken poo, as a general fertiliser not a soil improver. It's in Aldi at the moment, I think it was £4.99 for a huge tub (same size tub £7.99 in garden centre today). But a word of warning, a vet friend has told me that some dogs have died through eating soil dressed with it. I've never met a soil eating dog, but thought it worth mentioning. We bought 6 bags of horse poo today as an attempt to improve our clay soil. Ours was £6.99

Datchet

Chicken pellets - It's been described to be as "too hot" I've too powerful for some plants. So I use very sparingly. Esp as I get freebie horse manure!

Silvertabby

I've had great results with chicken poo, as a general fertiliser not a soil improver. It's in Aldi at the moment, I think it was £4.99 for a huge tub (same size tub £7.99 in garden centre today). But a word of warning, a vet friend has told me that some dogs have died through eating soil dressed with it. I've never met a soil eating dog, but thought it worth mentioning. We bought 6 bags of horse poo today as an attempt to improve our clay soil. Ours was £6.99 Posted by Misslayed

Please don't use cocoa shells mulch if you have a dog. The shells smell of chocolate, and dogs have been known to eat them - with sometimes fatal results.