Guess what we did this weekend!  Go ahead and guess.  I’ll wait.

We scooped poop.  A lot of it.  We had to clean out the chicken run and, because of one thing or another, we were running a bit behind schedule.  It really should have been done at least a month earlier, but this was actually good timing because my veggies will love it.

After all the scooping, I remembered some notes that I had jotted down in the back of one of my gardening books.  I honestly don’t know where the original source was from or I would credit them.  It was probably a book from the library or a magazine that didn’t hold any other lasting interest for me.  Who knows.  Anyway… the notes were on the chemical content of different organics for use as fertilizers.  The three main chemicals you will see on bags of fertilizers are nitrogen (N), Phosphorous (P) and Potassium (K).  Obviously, there is more in compost when you have added all sorts of veggie scraps and lawn trimmings or in composted manure than just N,P and K, but that is what is in the chemical non-organic fertilizers that are sold so that is how fertilizers are labeled.   The ratio is usually somewhere around  5-10-5 these days but  you can find it as high as 15-5-10.  I wouldn’t go there.  That is just too high and with chemical fertilizers, most of that will wash away into our rivers lakes and streams anyway.  That is one of the reasons I like organics so much more – because they release so much more slowly.

Here is what is in some of the organic options.

• Alfalfafa 3-1-2 It also has a lot of vitamin A and trace minerals.
• Blood Meal 12-1-1 Nasty stinky stuff and it can burn plants if used too much, but it makes a good deer repellent.
• Bone Meal 2-12-0 Good source of calcium also, but it can raise the pH of the soil.  Make sure that’s what you want.
• Cow Manure 2-1-1 You have to compost it first to kill weeds and get rid of the stink.  It’s pretty easy to come by – just stop off somewhere you see cows and ask.
• Corn Gluten Meal 9.6-0 This is a great natural weed control because it inhibits seed germination but it makes a good natural fertilizer too.
• Earthworm castings 1-0.1-0.1 This adds beneficial bacteria to the soil along with trace minerals, humus and earthworm eggs (THAT’s the real benefit!)
• Fish Emulsion 5-2-2 Foliar food that also helps with insects – but it stinks!  The plants love it, but don’t use it the same day you have company coming.
• Green Sand 0-2-5 Contains potash and trace minerals but especially iron.
• Molasses 1-0-5 It also contains sulfur.  Great food for the microorganisms in the soil.  I add it to water as a drench or foliar feed to spray on the plants.
• Rabbit Poop  3-2-1 This is great stuff!  You can use it directly without even composting it and the plants love it.  I get mine from a lady in Lewisville that raises rabbits now that we don’t have rabbits anymore.
• Chicken Poop 5-3-2 Great stuff, but you have to compost it first.  Mine has wood shavings mixed in as well since that is what we line our coop and run with.
• Liquid Seaweed 1-0-1 Makes a great foliar spray, but also stinks.

OK, I know there are a lot more things out there, but these are the ones I have used.  There are also things like Bat Guano (never used) but I don’t have the notes on those or the time to look for it.  I’m sure they are out there somewhere.  Hopefully this helps a little.