Knowledgebase

Chicken poop for garden wintering? #757417

Asked June 21, 2021, 10:56 AM EDT

Hello - I've been doing online research for this question but getting mixed answers. I'm a new chicken owner, and each time I clean their pen I'm dumping the waste (poop + wood chips) into a bin. I know that chicken poop is too hot to put directly on my plants. However, in the fall I tend to winter my beds with sheets of cardboard and piles of leaves. Could I instead spread a layer of chicken poop waste from the bin this coming November, then cover with cardboard and leaves, and then let sit for 4+ months? Would that be enough poop-aging time that I could then plant peas/veggies in the early spring? Basically I'm looking for a way to put all this chicken poop to use for the coming season, rather than having to let it sit for an entire year in the bin to age first (plus I'll keep adding to the pile all year, so it's hard for me to use only the fully aged stuff). Thank you!

Washington County Oregon

Expert Response

Here is a link to a publication from the University of Idaho Extension about using poultry manure in the home garden.  If you scroll down to page 3, they have a section on sheet composting in which raw manure is applied directly to the garden in the fall.  According to the publication, you can apply the raw manure as long as there will be at least 120 days until you start harvesting produce in the spring.  That 120 day waiting period is to safely avoid pathogens like salmonella and e coli, but it doesn't necessarily mean that weed seeds will have been killed, or bulky materials will have broken down completely, though it should be enough time for salts to leach away with the winter rains. 

Here's another article about sheet mulching from OSU Extension.  This article states that it can take six months (or longer) for material in sheet mulching to reach a state where the area would be ready to plant.  Waiting until November to start may be a bit late for early spring planting. 

So, starting in November and planting in early spring is safe pathogen-wise, but it won't necessarily have broken down to a state where it is ready to plant.  You could use this method in areas where you will be planting warm weather crops rather than early cool crops like lettuce and radishes or you could start earlier in the fall after harvesting this year's produce that is finished by September.  Another option if you have the space is to start a second bin so that you can stop adding fresh material to the first one and allow it to compost completely while the second one is takes all the new raw manure.

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