Chumasande MatiwaneAdding nutrients to your garden is always an important decision to make your garden soil healthy. There are different types of animal manure and all have different levels of helpful nutrients.
What are the different types of manure?
Although we all know that manure comes from animals, it however does not provide the same level of nutrients. Domestic livestock manures contain varying amounts of nutrients and can be safely used on your crops.
Since manure contains different levels of nutrients, gardeners need to be careful and apply it to those plants that need the higher nutrients provided by the manure. The most common types of manure used in gardening are:
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Chicken Manure
Chicken manure is considered best since it has a very high content of nitrogen, which is needed by most plants. This type of manure has a rich source of nutrients and is best applied in autumn after it has had a chance to compost well. It is best not to use fresh chicken manure as it will burn the roots of your crops.
Cow Manure
Cow manure should be composted before use to achieve better results. It is usually well-balanced, readily available, and easy to compost. Additionally, cow manure contains very few weed seeds due to the four stomachs that cows possess. You can either purchase ready-to-use cow manure or compost it on your own.
Horse Manure
Horse manure takes longer and has similar content to cow manure but because of its larger size and the weed seeds the horse digests, it takes much longer to age and compost. This should not be a problem if you compost it as heat will eventually kill the weed seeds.
Sheep Manure
This type of manure has a high nitrogen content but can lack other nutrients needed. However, its pellet size makes it a quick waste to compost. Its organic matter content can be higher than other livestock manure.
Gardeners still use sheep manure because of its levels of high in both phosphorus and potassium which are also essential elements for optimal plant growth.
Rabbit Manure
It may not be easily accessible but rabbits can give many gardeners the best type of manure, especially for vegetable gardens. Rabbit manure is super nutritious, with plenty of nitrogen and phosphorous, and it doesn’t require very much. It is argued that rabbit manure has four times more nutrients than cow or horse manure and can be twice as rich as chicken manure. You don’t need to compost it with rabbit manure you can add it right into the soil of your crops.
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The best manure for gardens depends upon what you can get your hands on easily. Any of the common varieties can be beneficial to the soil. Just remember to allow the manure to compost fully before you add it to your crops.
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