Chicken pellets

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DIGGER

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Chicken pellets
« on: February 16, 2017, 16:24 »
This time of the year I am usually digging manure in,but this year I haven't got any and to be honest I really can't be doing it anymore.
So I will be giving chicken pellets a go,I will put some in the potato trench to start with.

Now what's best for the rest of the plot,I assume it's use is limited so when is it best to use,prior to planting out,when planting or after. And does it need re doing.

Broad beans will be going in in about 2 weeks.

I know a lot on our site swear by it and someone even suggested stirring in some into a watering can as a feed.

Any advise for digger

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JayG

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Re: Chicken pellets
« Reply #1 on: February 16, 2017, 16:41 »
It's a good general purpose fertiliser, although a bit high on nitrogen to be accurately described as 'balanced', and therefore probably at its best on leafy rather than flowering crops.

Being organic, it's also quite slow to release its nutrients, especially the nitrogen, so it's not a 'quick fix' fertiliser.

Dispersing it in water would help it break down quicker, but it still wouldn't be a liquid feed in the usual sense of the phrase.

How much you need depends on your soil and what you're growing - nutrients disappear very quickly from my sandy soil so I use some before sowing/planting and then some more half way through the growing season of the crop (sometimes with a liquid feed too if I think a quick boost is needed.)
Sow your seeds, plant your plants. What's the difference? A couple of weeks or more when answering possible queries!

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DIGGER

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Re: Chicken pellets
« Reply #2 on: February 16, 2017, 16:46 »
That's about what I thought,so I should perhaps throw some on the broad bean area now and the again when I take the tops off.
Thanks
« Last Edit: February 16, 2017, 16:48 by DIGGER »

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JayG

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Re: Chicken pellets
« Reply #3 on: February 16, 2017, 17:01 »
Broad beans can fix their own nitrogen from the air, so unless your soil is very poor it's a crop you could expect to do well with only the initial feeding to get them started.

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victoria park

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Re: Chicken pellets
« Reply #4 on: February 16, 2017, 17:48 »
I'm one of those that swear by chicken manure pellets now my source of guaranteed aminopyralid free manures has finished. Would be lost without them. Excellent stuff to apply before planting and half way through the season. Sweet corn and brassicas love it of course, but I feel sometimes the unbalanced greenery/nitrogen nature of it is rather overplayed. It's a growing season background insurance for most crops. in moderation and at the right time.
Certain crops that need a bit more oomffff like squash tend to get a heavier hand, along with the home brew composts of course.
I agree with JayG, no need to add too much to legume beds at all, if any. They're fairly self sufficient having their own nitrogen gills. Crops like parsnips also don't seem to need much apart from normal soil management. 

The big loss with a lack of cow/horse manure as opposed to the chicken pellets is the bulk vegetative material. Green manures can sort that no problem. Just a different timing and process to get our old heads around.
« Last Edit: February 16, 2017, 17:55 by victoria park »

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harry

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Re: Chicken pellets
« Reply #5 on: February 18, 2017, 08:19 »
For couple of years now Ive been using 6X and find it very good. ;)
Hurray finally retired
two plots now 31A and 35A

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RJR_38

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Re: Chicken pellets
« Reply #6 on: February 18, 2017, 08:33 »
Every plant gets some bfb in its planting hole and chicken pellets spread over the bed (along with slug pellets grr!). Seeds that are directly down get chicken pellets once they have emerged through the soil. I love it and find it works really well for my allotment. Sometimes I will give a second feed during the season but not usually

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DIGGER

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Re: Chicken pellets
« Reply #7 on: February 18, 2017, 09:14 »
That's decided then. Chicken pellets it is then after many years of manure.

One thing for sure though is that my first ever boss when I was 16 said  I would never be good for shovelling much.
It took until my sixties but I proved him wrong..
« Last Edit: February 18, 2017, 17:52 by New shoot »

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Barry C

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Re: Chicken pellets
« Reply #8 on: February 18, 2017, 16:04 »
Pleased with the comments on this thread ..... I bought a 20 kg bag of pelleted poultry poo last week  :D

Have an area at rear of greenhouse which is a couple of feet or so wide ( not really much use for anything ) so will dig the grass cuttings into this area regularly this year so can add this to bulk up the 'salad patch' and tubs later on!

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candygold1

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Re: Chicken pellets
« Reply #9 on: February 18, 2017, 17:07 »
brought a 10ltr tub of 6x pellets for this year to see how it goes. pleased with what im reading here

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AnnieB

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Re: Chicken pellets
« Reply #10 on: February 18, 2017, 20:42 »
Used to use it a lot but found that eventually I had to add a few bags of common everyday manure, however I also wanted to add a bit more height to my small vegetable patch.

Maybe the addition of pelleted chicken manure and compost simply failed to maintain the soild structure sufficently.

I think it is most useful as a fall back manure rather then the main item and so good for when you need to add an organic manure to maintain the level. Also by the time I buy a couple of bags of pelleted chicken manure it sort of matches a couple of bags of the ordinary stuff. Suppose the advantage is I can throw it on by hand.

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Christine

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Re: Chicken pellets
« Reply #11 on: February 19, 2017, 10:03 »
Used to use it a lot but found that eventually I had to add a few bags of common everyday manure, however I also wanted to add a bit more height to my small vegetable patch.
I use chicken pellets as a top up as I make my own compost which goes down annually at the digging over time of the year. They aren't something I'd use just by themselves.

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harry

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Re: Chicken pellets
« Reply #12 on: February 19, 2017, 11:42 »
On our allotments one of our members does a bulk order of 6x and I have two 1/2 plots one bag to each plot. This year I've built a compost bin out of pallets so will have compost to add next year. ::)

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New shoot

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Re: Chicken pellets
« Reply #13 on: February 19, 2017, 12:23 »
I use chicken pellets as a top up as I make my own compost which goes down annually at the digging over time of the year. They aren't something I'd use just by themselves.

I'd agree with Christine here.  Its 2 different functions.  Chicken manure pellets are a fertiliser and I use a lot, but the other side to the story is soil structure.  For that you need organic matter, which is why manure was always popular - 2 in 1, although the fertiliser value after it has been stacked and rotted is sometimes hit and miss.

I make loads of compost - I have 5 big bins and 2 darleks being filled and emptied in rotation.  My soil is heavy clay, so bulky organic matter is a must  :)



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