Have you ever used horses' shit and cows' dung as fertilizers? Is it actually still considered organic gardening if one uses that? Yes, I'm throwing this question because I have never used 'em ( I'm one of those "hobby" gardeners okay? not a certified farmer so there are many things that I still don't know.)and in doubt that it's okay to use them.
I was happily weeding with my husband in our veggie garden when one of our gardening neighbors paid our garden a visit. She was amazed with the growth of the zucchinis. She looked around and saw the malnourished aubergines which I actually planted pretty late than it's supposed to.
She told us that the heap of that stinking mix of horse shit and compost that's left on the corner was actually for us. Hub and I looked at each other because at the speed rate the weed are growing - we both can't imagine putting those on the soil and working on it later on - specially that I sometimes take my gloves off. We told her she may have it. She chirped that it could make the plants grow faster and guarantee fruiting.
I kid my husband, we talk to the plants very often so he doesn't have to worry about fruiting. Besides, we've already had our first abundant harvest earlier on. We could barely eat them all.
Weeks passed by and I saw my friend's plants grow faster and bigger indeed and somehow I was starting to regret that I didn't try using them animal feces as my plants' vitamin sources. I guess that's human nature to look at what your neighbor has and feel sorry for whatever "seem smaller" you have eh? Just like here in Steemit. (Stop checking another person's wallet and just be happy for what others have achieved! Be grateful for what you have and you'll be more blessed!) I was however, taking it into consideration to use it when all is done and the soil is resting and recovering - some time in November. Plus I was worried that the horse and the cows were not fed organically. Is that an issue? - am not sure.. am not an expert to this.
I just learned however, when I asked many years ago about the difference between organic chicken and those that are not and what I was told was that - organic chicken are fed organic food, grown organically and are allowed to freely roam around - making them 100% organic. I guess, it's hard to hush my mind with the thought of - "what if .. the horse and the cows were not fed organically?" Is that a big deal .. yes, but only if they were fed with poison sprayed grasses but maybe am overthinking right? That's why I threw you that question above.
Anyway, I did not use them animal feces. What I did was place the weed on top of the plant's soil to ensure it would provide them enough moist since the summer heat back then was really unbearable and I could only water my plants at night. That means they're being fried all day long. Having the pulled weed there keeps them moist(at least .. I thought) and would provide them compost in the long run. After a week or two of the heat spell, rain and sun must have had a conversation and decided to take turns displaying their powers so watering the plants was no longer necessary and weeding was made a lot easier, too.
What comes after that is an explosion of growth, harvest and abundance. I guess, you really get what you wish for, think about more often and want - horse shit or no horse shit.
Nowadays, my friends could tell what we're having for lunch - zucchini, pakchoi, spinach, etc - all from the garden. In fact, am already fed up and mad at the zucchinis because they keep growing, my neighbors and friends as reinforcement are no longer enough to help us consume them.
Look at the size! We go to the garden to harvest a few and they still have tiny ones but a few days later when we get back they look like anacondas nested on the ground. Sometimes, they leak and rot from the inside because the snails got into them first.
The freezer is already full of 'em and I can't imagine where am going to put the pumpkins. I am overly fed up but don't get me wrong - am ever grateful.
There wasn't a day we go home with our bike bags full of harvests aside from the boxes that are loaded on the back. There's only abundance from that garden and still growing.
The fruits were a success and they barely needed tending.
These grapes are a part of our morning ritual now and though am not a fan of them black berries but my husband is enjoying them every morning.
Mother nature has provided us enough rain and shine and a very very rich soil with all the bugs and the birds working together to keep them fruits and veggies growing in abundance. It wasn't all just a success. We had an epic fail on many other things, too.
My watermelons and African melons tried their hardest to grow and fruit. Unfortunately, the heat wasn't enough to push those fruits to grow bigger. The African melons didn't manage to fruit at all but they did bear flowers.
Oh well.. it was just too cold and wet when it bloomed not to mention that the berry thief decided to pay them all a visit, too.
The broccoli are going bald because a cute lil' rabbit has found its way to them. It's funny though, he munched the rest all bald and left the leaf with the caterpillars on it. Even animals recognize respect and boundaries I suppose.
I guess gardening is like crypto - some gives you an abundance of gain and some - an epic fail cause you should have sold them right on time instead of waiting for a speculated price increase. Wait! I thought this is a gardening post! It is!!
Have you on the other hand ever used them animal feces to boost the growth of your garden?
Is it still considered organic gardening if we do?
When is the right time to use them - animal feces?
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When my mom (born in 1922) was a little girl her parents used to send her out onto the street with a shovel to pick up the horse shit! She told me that it was highly embarrassing!
For sure it works well but I hate the smell!
The produce form your garden looks amazing!
Thanks!
Oh.. so it's been so even before .. yes, I can't breathe every time I pass by 'em smokin' heap of horse's shit and weed. I would probably feel the same if I have to also go out on the street but in the public garden - everyone does it so it's no biggie just the stink would kill you
Thank you for posting @englishtchrivy.
Lovely post topic....lol....and photographs....loads of photos...sweet. ^_^
So glad to hear you have had a really lovely harvest after all the work you did weeding the garden and planting.
When it comes to manure of any kind.....be it from chickens, goats, horses or elephants......lol.....you are going to want it to be weed free and also aged.
The recommendation is to work it into your soil in the Autumn whilst the soil is in rest mode.....and then come Spring....it will have attracted the beneficial worms and given nutrients to the soil.....something like that.
Wishing you and yours all the best. Cheers....Mon Ami....
thank you!
yes, we've got much this year - too much :)
okay got it - autumn is the best time then thanks you very much
I guess I'd do that when we've pulled most of them off the ground then :)
they stink a lot you know
and stink so much while burning - ewe..
but .. does that still make it organic gardening if we use it - specially if told that those animals were only fed organic grasses?
Everyone seems to have different degrees of purity for the word.....'organic'......however bleujay thinks the method of using manure from grass fed....pasture fed....animals...even if they have additional grains should be considered organic. Most pastures are not chemically sprayed or fertilised......bleujay has never heard of such practice.
The unpleasant aroma should only last a couple of days....the more aged it is....the less it smells....honest. ^_^
All the best to you. Abientotlater....Mon Ami...
~thank you very much~ ^_^
I see.. I believe you!
hmm.. that's true, they don't really spray grasses here
they grow and outgrow veggies like lightning strikes :D
that fast!
okay .. I didn't know that the smell vanishes cause i just saw the heap in a day
it was waiting for us to use 'em
free from the organic gardening committee so kind right?
I should have brought a sack the next day and just sacked em :D
thank you for the tip!
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Excellent gardening but I also admire your articles layout.....chicken shit is awesome fertilizer too!
thank you!
chicken shit ey? aw thank you for the tip!
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I use chicken manure on my flowers! The only other fertiliser I use is a special formula for my chili's. Without it I would never get any kind of harvest in this climate. You have some spectacular caterpillars. My daughter would love seeing them!
You also do like reddust does? hmmm.. okay then .. will try in Autumn
I do, it makes quite a difference. I think if the climate were better I wouldnt but the climate is rubbish and I think the healthier plants can resist bugs better
you can plant marigolds to resist munchers :)
just beside the plant they are compatible with almost every plant
I will have to give that another bash. I did it a couple of years ago but they were poorly. I don't know what ailed them!
I am from a farming background, so know little about this - we had a couple of acres of a vege patch's - I am littl erusty, but from what I remember about fertilzing ( we had abundance of all kinds ) . when planting and getting them growing - poultry fertilizers , as they are higher in nitrogen content, then non poultry fertilizers later for better fruits/bushiness.
Too much nitrogen at that stage can screw thing up, production wise.
The plants want to just keep growing, up an up, and puts its energy into that, rather than producing fruits quality.
Hope that helps
thank you ..
am only aware that they contain much nitrogen so I've never used it
thanks for the tip about the chicken shit being the best :)
I appreciate it a lot!
apparently chicken shit if too close, can 'burn' young veggie growth, - or something like that. ( I was too busy war gaming,not gardening, so knowledge a bit patchy)
don't worry, I grow the baby veggies in my baby veggies green house :)
and just transfer them when they've grown enough to resists some critter's chewing :)
Wow, so nice to see your garden producing so many zucchinis!! I love it and already bought four for making a vegetable soup.
I love your funny writing and comments to your photos "Why do you look so shocked, woman?" Ahah :)
Thank you!
I love zuchini soup too but I'm craving for something else now haha too much
I must prepare my soup tonight! I know someone will be craving for it tomorrow or just after!
Did you have a spiralizer? I'm willing to buy one (not sure when or where). Since I saw a bolognese recipe with spiralized zucchini instead of spaghetti that I'm craving for that! It could be an alternative for you!
good luck with your soup!
yes, I have a spiralizer and have made zucchini spag :)
in many different sauces
have you tried the alfredo version - it's more yummy than the normal spag
but i love them both
Thanks! While I was preparing the soup I realized it was the same soup I entered once in SCC (guess it was the first one you lead). I just had some old carrots to use.
So cool!! I'm not sure which kind of spiralizer I should buy. I've been looking to them for more than a year...but haven't made my decision yet.
The only time I heard about Alfredo sauce was when preparing a @gringalicious recipe (Alfredo chicken with lemon and rosemary). I don't see how it can go with a Bolognese recipe (zucchini or spag)...
oh wow .. that's awesome ^ ^
I just bought the one that's manually operated - very easy to use
it's an Italian word - for a pasta sauce with garlic and something more I suppose , it's common in my country cause we have international food there
too much of them actually
I love organic!, how I wish I have the same like yours.Nice article.
bahay kubo na dali
kaya mo rin yan :)
oo nga kabayan....kahit munti,na inspire tuloy ako:)
eh di magtanim ay di biro na po
hahaha ginawang karaoke ba ito?
so many veggies !! I've never used horses' shit and cows' dung as fertilizers, but some friends of my father sometimes used them and I think also my father (in the past) used them. ^_^
yes, quite an abundant :)
I feel like a farmer and I love it!
I've never used any of it either :)
I think the words in 3rd and 4th picture are bit too small even on laptop screen.
I agree!!! but it's alright :)
It was cow dung that were used when we were kids, not just to veggie plots but also to our rose garden. As for being organic, most probably they were.
Pssst..can i join next harvest? What's wrong with putting ur produce outside?Anyone can take their pick ;)
sure you may :)
punt aka rito!
we did that, too but people are too shy to get :)
I'm glad I have plenty of them peeps that I know of .. my friends live far away I can't often send them any
Ay magsabe ka para i can bring sako hehe
Sarap siguro mga yan..fresh na fresh.
I'll consider becoming a vegetarian..fry ko.
ikaw isasako ko dyan hahhaa
uu masarap although super dami
am not a vegetarian - half lang
cause I still eat white meat and seafood
yum yum
Sayang naman ang steak if di eat.
Di mo ko luvs, feel mo pa ko isako.
Am on nites lola.
an drama mo hahaha
Ahahaha labile moods ang peg lola...pls check inber's and ogoowinner's posts. need nila boto mo. wag ka mainis.
That is some great harvest you have got there!
ya! super veel jammer dat je te ver woont :D
Is nog geen 3 uur met de trein. ;-)
wij gaan wel ;)
maar.. wanneer?
het wordt weer donker en koud
Alle tijd. ;-)
Komt ook wel weer voorjaar. En herfst kan ook prachtig zijn.
Nice garden you have there! Animal feces is the best organizer according to my granny. :-)
I always want to plant my own fruits and veggies because I always aim for organic eating. I mean it's not hard to buy some in the local farmers market, but the achievement and excitement you get when you see your plants bloom is thrilling. And you can't get that feeling when you bought it from the farmers market. lol!
Thanks for leaving a comment on my blog. Followed! :-)
Thanks
exactly! it's also hard work but you just forget all of it during the harvest season!
Yup, the hard work pays off when you see them growing and your friends will envy you for having green thumbs. :-)
Hello dear friend @englishtchrivy, I love your post, I want to start by congratulating the great harvest that you have had in your garden, I love the idea to start eating grapes, it is something that I wish long ago, I am about to decide and Buy a plant.
As for the manure, here in my province some people maintain old traditions and we use cow or chicken manure, these animals are fed to fresh grass and corn phase, WE DO NOT USE ESTIRCOL OF HORSE these are fed alfalfa and fresh grass, For what my grandmother said alfalfa does not contribute anything to the land, another thing we use a lot is the hangover, the hangover is achieved in the forest, this mixture is made up of leaves and sticks that have fallen from the trees and with the Over time they spread by mixing with the soil making them rich in vitamins to fertilize the soil.
Again I want to congratulate you for the great work done, there is no better satisfaction than eating the fruit of your planting.
I wish you a beautiful week surrounded by family and friends
thank you
you mean compost? I think its what you mean with "hang over" anyway , I get it
yes, no sweat and hard work compares to an abundant harvest :)
nice post..
thanks for share
The grapes really look yummy
I always enjoy your fantastic food photography!
STEEM ON!!
thanks a lot!
Please follow back, resteem and upvote me :)
Thank you.
I suggest that you stop this
this is the kind of spam comments that could get you flagged
Bravo, beautiful garden and thank you for all this information.
I congratulate you for your pretty article
lol do you know i saw your 6 months old comment :D you was giving coffee to gamer00 :D remember ? :D
lol :D
Beautiful pictures and well written article. I have also stayed away from animal faces in my garden. Maybe one day I'll try it.