For cucumbers to give a good harvest, they must be properly fertilized. And one of the best and most affordable fertilizers is ordinary chicken manure. I regularly use it on the beds - and so far this top dressing has never let me down.
The qualities of chicken manure as top dressing
The main feature of poultry droppings is the high content of urea in it: birds do not have a bladder, and they excrete all substances in the droppings. However, urea is a substance that contains a lot of nitrogen, which is not good for most plants. Fortunately, cucumbers are one of the rare exceptions.
Advantages of manure as fertilizer:
- Complexity. It contains nitrogen, a lot of phosphorus and potassium, zinc and magnesium. All this accelerates the growth of the green mass of plants, which is exactly what is needed for cucumbers.
- Good solubility. This top dressing does not spoil the soil structure.
- Antifungal effect. It is poorly expressed, but where I fertilize with droppings, mold and fungal diseases of cucumbers are almost not found.
- Efficiency. The droppings are easy to digest, and one "charge" of the soil is enough for 2-3 years.
However, I honestly warn you - there are disadvantages:
- Chickens bite on everything (especially if they, like me, on free grazing in the yard) - so do not be surprised if weeds sprout. Their seeds easily pass through the stomach and intestines of birds.
- There is a risk of infecting the soil with salmonella or worm eggs. I vaccinate my chickens and regularly worm - but the danger remains.
- If you use droppings, you will have to give up lime, saltpeter, ammophos and other mineral fertilizers. They weaken each other.
Chicken droppings come in two flavors:
- Dry granules. They are usually prepared by farmers or poultry owners. This droppings are accurately treated for worms or pathogens, they have a long shelf life - but they are quite expensive.
- Fresh droppings. I use it myself, because I not only garden, but also keep chickens. It is not stored for long, it smells bad - but it is absolutely free. Moreover: by fertilizing them, I also solve the problem of cleaning the chicken coop.
How to apply chicken droppings
I warn you right away: droppings (even granular, even fresh) are introduced only in the form of an infusion. Pure droppings will simply "burn out" the cucumbers. Granules can still be scattered over the area in the fall before digging, but clean droppings are not suitable for this - during the winter all the urea will evaporate.
I prepare an infusion of granules as follows:
- For seedlings and young plants before flowering - 1 kg of droppings per 5 buckets of water. I put the droppings in a fifty-liter barrel, mix thoroughly, let it stand for a day - and use 1 liter per bush for feeding. After that, I water the garden with clean water.
- For flowering and setting cucumbers - everything is the same, only the concentration of the infusion is half as much, 0.5 kg per 50 liters of water.
I use my home litter differently:
- Fermented mixture. I pour chicken excrement with water in a ratio of 1 to 20 by volume, then put it in a dark place (and away from home - it will stink strongly!) The mixture begins to ferment. When it stops giving bubbles (it will take 2-3 weeks), it can be filtered and used to water the bushes (about 300 g per plant). Suitable at any time.
- Infusion. Good for the early stage, when you urgently need to expel the green mass. I fill in the last year's rotted droppings with water and insist for 2-3 days. The proportions here have to be guessed by eye: the finished liquid should be in color like poorly brewed tea. If the liquid is too dark, I dilute it with clean water.
- Liquid solution. I collect fresh excrement and immediately fill it with water (500 g per bucket of water). Let it stand for 4-5 days - and you can water the seedlings.
When to feed
With "chicken gifts" I fertilize cucumbers in several stages:
- The first time - when transplanting into the ground. I spill the holes with the solution, transplant the cucumbers and immediately water them abundantly so as not to burn the roots.
- The second time is at the stage of 4 true leaves. I pour it in a thin stream strictly at the root.
- The third feeding is during flowering. First, I lightly water the ground with clean water, apply fertilizer, then - 2 liters of clean water.
- The fourth is when the first cucumbers are tied. I pour it not at the root, but between the rows, and then water it abundantly.
The fifth time is usually not necessary, but sometimes I feed it, if there are ovaries, but the fruits do not appear.
Chicken droppings are a powerful tool for gardeners. If you use it wisely, avoiding an overdose, the yield will increase many times over.
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#chicken droppings#cucumbers#fertilizer for cucumbers