Content
Goat manure for the garden as a fertilizer is still not widespread. This is explained by the fact that it is usually not sold. Goat owners prefer to use fertilizer on their own plots rather than sell it externally. The reason for this shortage is quality. Goat manure is on a par with horse manure, which is considered the best natural fertilizer.
Benefits of goat manure for soil and plants
The main advantage of this type of fertilizer is the small amount of moisture in the feces. True, it is also a disadvantage. Due to the lack of moisture in the nuts, goat manure contains more nutrients per kilogram than any other type of farm animal feces.
Goat nuts can be placed under most plants without fear that they will burn the roots. Although goat manure is classified as “hot”, for complete overheating it also requires bedding soaked in urine. “Clean” pellets will decompose slowly, without overheating the soil and without immediately releasing the entire supply of nutrients.As a result, the plant will be “provided” with the necessary elements throughout the growing season.
Composition of goat droppings
Apparently, due to the disinterest of large farms in goat breeding, serious research into the composition of goat manure has not been carried out. And private owners of these animals do not need to submit samples for analysis. In any case, all their manure will “go” into the beds. Only this can explain the strong discrepancies in data on the chemical composition of manure. But the nutrient content largely depends on which variety was analyzed.
On average, humus contains:
- nitrogen 0.5%;
- potassium 0.6%;
- phosphorus 0.25%.
Some elements are inevitably lost during overheating. If humus is done in violation of technology, the losses will be even greater.
Comparative data of different types of manure are presented in the table:
The data differs from the above. But if we take into account that in the first case the indicators are given for humus, and in the second for “clean” excrement, then the picture changes. Fresh goat nuts contain much more nutrients than humus. They are superior to cow and pork in most respects. Although, if you “squeeze out the water” to the same levels, it turns out that cow manure contains 3 times more nutrients. It’s just not possible to remove moisture without loss. And goat - ready-made “pellets”.
Pros and cons of using goat manure in the garden
“Clean” “nuts” have undeniable advantages over any other types of manure except rabbit manure:
- no unpleasant odor;
- a unique bacterial composition that allows you to use goat manure fresh;
- almost complete absence of eggs of worms dangerous to humans;
- suitable for many garden crops;
- improves soil structure.
Fresh manure mixed with bedding can be used in greenhouses. When overheated, it releases a lot of heat. If you place it under greenhouse beds, you can plant plants in a greenhouse without fear that the roots will freeze.
Otherwise, too high a temperature during overheating can burn the tender roots of young plants.
One of the disadvantages is the difficulty in preparing humus. Due to low humidity, goat manure does not rot well in the pile. Some sources indicate the need for frequent application of fertilizer to the soil as a disadvantage: every 1-2 years. But other experts say it's all about quantity. If you add enough manure, its effect will last up to 5 years. Such contradictions make us wary of this type of fertilizer.
What plants can goat manure be applied to?
In this case, it is easier to say for which plants goat manure cannot be used as fertilizer: bulbous flowers and garlic. Flowers do not tolerate this type of feeding well. They begin to rot and stop blooming.
Hyacinths do not favor goat fertilizer, either fresh or rotted.
Even rotted goat manure should not be added to the garlic. Perhaps, due to specific intestinal microflora, the plant begins to hurt. Productivity is low as a result.
Having transferred some of the nutrients to other plants, the manure becomes suitable for garlic. Bacteria living in the gastrointestinal tract of animals also have time to die. As a result, with this “second-year” fertilizer, garlic grows very large and even.
Cucumbers and tomatoes respond very well to the application of fresh goat manure. Their productivity doubles. Onions react well. It turns out large and not bitter.
It is better to apply rotted manure under root crops. When planting potatoes, many gardeners do not fertilize the entire beds, but put humus directly into the hole.
How to use goat droppings
As a fertilizer, goat manure is used in two forms: fresh and rotted. The first one is convenient to use for digging in the fall and in greenhouse farming. The second is placed directly under the plants when planting. It can also be added to the soil in the spring when preparing outdoor beds.
Fresh
It can be really fresh if you collect the goat “nuts” right away or half-rotted. The latter happens if the owner cleans the goatskin in the spring and autumn. Sometimes only in the spring. It is beneficial to keep goats in winter on deep, rotting bedding. It is dry enough so as not to damage the animals' feet, and hot enough to provide heating for the room.
When cleaning the goat's rue in the spring, the owner will receive a half-rotted mass. Moreover, below there will be almost ready-made humus, and on top there will be completely fresh excrement. This type of goat manure is suitable for applying under beds in a greenhouse.
Dry
Dried manure from any animal is suitable only as mulch. Or as fuel in treeless regions. This is especially true for goat and horse manure, which are already drier at the exit than any other types of excrement.
Humus
For better rotting, goat manure is recommended to be mixed with compost.This is due to the small amount of “product” produced by goats and its low humidity. The finished pile must be periodically watered with water, but not allowed to become waterlogged.
Manure for humus is prepared in two ways. The first is frequent cleaning of the goat hen and briquetting. The second is keeping goats on deep bedding and removing waste 2 times a year.
As the briquettes are filled, they are placed in a pile or left for long-term storage. In this case, the workpieces are laid on a dense bedding and covered with hay. If it is necessary to make humus, the briquettes are crushed, diluted with water to a paste-like state and made into a pile. Plant waste and straw are added to the manure. It will take about a year for the fertilizer to mature.
The second option is to make a pile 2 times a year from the entire mass of manure at once. In the spring, goat excrement cannot yet be mixed with compost, so superphosphate and soil are added to the pile. Industrial fertilizer will enrich the organic mass with nitrogen and accelerate the maturation of the pile.
The ripened mass is introduced into the ground when digging up the garden in spring and autumn.
Aqueous solutions
Preparing an infusion for irrigation depends on what kind of manure will be used. In any case, it will be fresh, since it is more advisable to add humus to the soil. But “pure” goat pellets are very different in hardness from manure mixed with bedding.
Manure with litter is preferable because it is looser and enriched with nitrogen. It needs to be held for less than just goat feces. To obtain the infusion, 1-2 days are enough.
“Clean” goat “nuts” will have to be kept in water for 7 to 10 days. In this case, the infusion will lack nitrogen.
In both cases, you need to take 1 part manure to 10 parts water.It is better to insist in a warm place so that the process goes faster. A greenhouse is well suited for this procedure.
This solution has almost no odor. For watering, the resulting infusion must be diluted additionally: add 10 liters of water per liter of fertilizer.
Goat “nuts” are good to use for preparing a water infusion, if you can collect the required number of pellets
Norms and dosages for applying goat manure
A very interesting topic, since the difference of opinion here is even greater than in the data on the chemical composition. More or less everything is clear only with the construction of greenhouse beds.
It is most profitable to arrange such warm beds in the northern regions of Russia. It is goat manure that has no competitors in this area. Due to its low humidity. You can’t just mix fresh fertilizer with the soil. A number of operations are provided for arranging beds:
- first dig a trench 0.5-0.6 m deep;
- a layer of fresh manure about 20 cm thick is placed on the bottom;
- cover with soil so that there is 30-40 cm above the organic fertilizer.
Young seedlings can be planted on a ready-made bed in a greenhouse. Due to the low humidity, goat manure will not cause mold growth. And due to the fact that it warms up well during decomposition, the soil in the garden bed will be warm. With this regime, the waste from the goats will be rotted within 1-1.5 months. By this time, the roots of the seedlings will grow to the layer of manure and receive ready-made nutrients.
There are serious disagreements regarding the periods and rates of applying rotted manure to open ground. Some goat breeders advise adding 5-7 kg per hundred square meters, others say that 150 is not enough.But they agree that everything depends on the method of applying fertilizer to the soil.
When spreading over the entire area, you need at least 150 kg per hundred square meters. In this case, it is necessary to fertilize again after 3 years. If the norm per hundred square meters is 300-400 kg, then the period will be 5 years.
A goat is a small creature and does not produce much manure. Therefore, gardeners often add “goat” humus only to the holes under the plants. In this case, 5-7 kg will really be enough per hundred square meters. But you will also have to fertilize every year.
Fertilizer sprinkled on top of the soil is of little benefit, since the nutrient content in it decreases under the influence of natural factors
Conclusion
Goat manure for the garden is usually used only by goat breeders themselves. Due to the low amount of waste. But if this fertilizer is available, it is most advisable to use it in a greenhouse. The consumption there will be relatively small, and the return will be as high as possible.
