Manure smoothie; How much N is too much?

NietzscheKeen

Well-Known Member
I have a plentiful supply of manure; chicken, horse, cow, and swine. I've chosen not to use the swine manure, but have about a gallon of these manures mixed with rainwater and a small amount of urine. I plan to strain it and use the remaining liquid to feed my plants. I'm very nervous about the amount of N in the solution. I only used maybe a handful of chicken manure because it is said to be very hot with N. I am planning on diluting the solution with about 50 gallons of water.

Can I use a nitrogen soil test to gauge the concentration of N in the solution?
What is the correct amount that can be safely fed to plants?
How can I figure up the amounts for the future?
 

NietzscheKeen

Well-Known Member
Lol, no.. I don't pee on my plants.. It's urine because with pigs.. you get both when you scoop it up; it's all mixed together.
 

Kalyx

Active Member
With a good living soil you will be surprized. I have most experience with a cow manure layer near the bottom of containers. For small veg like 1-1.5 gallons we used about an inch of the revs manure layer and to my surprise the roots loved this layer when examined. We used up to 2-3 inches worth at the bottom of the final transplants in 10-20 gallon smart pots. We were just using the manure as a layer of the pot very near the bottom so the roots grew into it as needed / when they wanted the N etc.
 

NietzscheKeen

Well-Known Member
I've found that too Kalyx. I've been using old dried manure as a bottom layer to prevent loss of soil and to improve drainage. This gives the plant time to mature before hitting the layer of high N.
 

Mister Sister

Active Member
I agree with cloneshipper, dilute your solution 10 to 1. How old are your plants? It might be wise to set some of this manure aside and let it break down a couple of months. You will have a great source of manure compost to make teas from. With this method you can save yourself the worry of nitrogen burn from my experience!
 

AliCakes

Well-Known Member
I don't do manure smoothies, but when building a soil, I am okay with up to 10% of my compost coming from manure. If you do a liquid manure, keep it well diluted and slow down usage if the leaves start to get too dark of a green or begin to curl under.
 
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