Goat manure for fertilizer

maroun.c

Omono
Messages
1,109
Reaction score
482
Location
Beirut Lebanon
Any pros or cons for using goat manure for fertilizer? Can it help.with bacterial population of soil for newlybrepotted trees ?
Any other thing to help with bacteria population in new soil as I notice organic fertiliser not getting consumed.
Thanks
 

Bnana

Chumono
Messages
641
Reaction score
672
Location
The Netherlands
USDA Zone
8
Bacteria is soil and bacteria in a goats gut are very different communities so that won't help but it's also not an issue. If the conditions are right the bacteria will be there.
What do you mean with "organic fertilizer"? There's a lot of different things all called organic fertilizer.
 

Shibui

Imperial Masterpiece
Messages
7,639
Reaction score
15,416
Location
Yackandandah, Australia
USDA Zone
9?
Most of organic fert is not nutrients. Typical analysis could be something like 5:2:1. That means 5% N, 2%p and 1%K makes a total of 8% nutrients by weight. The remaining 92% is 'Other' - not nutrients. Some might slowly break down and be converted to plant available nutrients over years but is usually leftover in the time frame we are looking at.
The nutrients will be leaching out whenever you water, usually for a month or so then the available nutrients will be gone but the 'other' will stay sitting on the surface of the pot for the rest of the year or until you remove it. You cannot see the N, P or K dissolving so you won't notice or know when those nutrients are dissolving or when they are all gone.
 

maroun.c

Omono
Messages
1,109
Reaction score
482
Location
Beirut Lebanon
Understood, thanks for the info.
Any advantage using goat manure or not really, theres a farm close by and they can provide easily.
 

Bnana

Chumono
Messages
641
Reaction score
672
Location
The Netherlands
USDA Zone
8
If it is only faeces without urine it probably has relatively low N- levels. Could work and actually be quite good as a fertilizer but hard to say without analysis.
 

Bonsai Nut

Nuttier than your average Nut
Messages
12,470
Reaction score
28,085
Location
Charlotte area, North Carolina
USDA Zone
8a
I use composted chicken manure and recommend it. There is a huge difference between "fresh" manure (goat or chicken) and composted manure. Fresh manure may still have live pathogens in it (think salmonella) that will die/be eliminated in the composting process. I did a quick search on chicken manure, and interestingly, one of the first articles that popped up was comparing chicken manure to goat manure:

Chicken versus goat poop for your garden
 

Shibui

Imperial Masterpiece
Messages
7,639
Reaction score
15,416
Location
Yackandandah, Australia
USDA Zone
9?
Goat manure is an organic source of plant nutrients. Like most manures the nutrient content varies with what the goats eat, time of year and what type of goat. Typical NPK values for goat manure are around 1/2 - 2 N: 0.3-1P: 1-3K and a range of trace elements as well. Probably fairly similar to the organic fert you are currently using.
Positives for goat manure as a fertiliser for bonsai: Raw goat manure comes in convenient, easy to use pellets. It is slow release.
On the down side, Raw goat manure may also have zoonoses (human transmittable diseases) but you probably won't be licking your fingers after using it and won't be eating the trees either so transmission would be low with normal hand hygiene. Nutrient levels will be low and variable so you won't know exactly what your trees are getting but by observing growth you should be able to supplement with another source of nutrients if necessary.
Some growers express concern that the sludge left over from decomposing organics may filter into the pot and fill soil spaces leading to problems.
 

Wires_Guy_wires

Imperial Masterpiece
Messages
6,453
Reaction score
10,724
Location
Netherlands
Salmonella lives in all kinds of water containing material. Coliforms (like E. coli) are more pathogenic and do get killed mostly if there's air around.
Then again, garden soil hosts a lot of dangerous crap, like C. difficile, heliobacter, and in some parts of the world still amoebas with living black plague inside of them - if memory serves me right there are gophers or ground hogs in the US affected by it. The only stuff I would never touch is rodent or predator crap. The stuff living in there is insane.

Goat manure would be a good source of fibers that feed out microbes. But.. The manure can also contain seeds. Chickens, like other birds, use rocks to grind those seeds to pulp in their stomachs.

I'm using a mix of poultry and cow waste. There's some cool stuff going on when microbes and plants get extra keratin, the protein which feathers (and finger nails) are made from.

Anatomically, goats and chickens differ a lot. Goats don't pee from their crapper, chickens do. Goat poop contains more ammonia, but loses it and faster than most chicken poop.
Dry the crap out of that crap, and it should be fine as long as people don't use it in excess.
 

maroun.c

Omono
Messages
1,109
Reaction score
482
Location
Beirut Lebanon
Wow thanks all for the great info. My main orientation to go for the goat manure was that I thought it was much stronger than organic mixes we use (was wrong )
And to help with microbial activity, Ryan niels apparently puts a lot of emphasis on this especially for newly potted trees in inorganic mix.
I'm also seeing some residues of organic fertilizer stuck in the pumice lava and clay balls mix I'm using so thought manure would solve better (wrong again )
I tried using those fertilizer baskets but can't find enough and they tend to be expensive for a lot of trees.
Not sure if I should switch to inorganic fertilizer which would be dissolved better or maybe liquid fertilizer which will be more expensive and get a lit waisted as it goes straight through soil or just keep doing what I'm doing with organic fertilizer.
 

Bnana

Chumono
Messages
641
Reaction score
672
Location
The Netherlands
USDA Zone
8
Liquid fertilizer is very cheap, just buy the standard stuff and not fertilizer that's important from Japan is crystal flasks.
The NPK values are important and it should have micronutrients the rest is irrelevant.
 

sorce

Nonsense Rascal
Messages
32,912
Reaction score
45,593
Location
Berwyn, Il
USDA Zone
6.2
Liquid fertilizer is very cheap, just buy the standard stuff and not fertilizer that's important from Japan is crystal flasks.
The NPK values are important and it should have micronutrients the rest is irrelevant.

I like this.
However, the idea of not using imported, is quite the same as not buying anything at all yes?
Why is it ok to take one step out of locally available, but 2 is too far? Namean?

The dude with the best trees uses the soil under his feet and the fert that is free.

Then again, I have been wanting to get a goat to take to the the park to climb the rockwall with the ... kids.

So it may just be that correlation that has it making sense to me for you to use goat pellets!

I was thinking compost em too.

There are a large number of thing better than fert holders, tea bags, or pvc cups to hold fertilizer.
You could roll a turd in some goat hair and fold it in some drainage screen.

Sorce
 
Messages
1,964
Reaction score
1,405
Location
Coastal S.C.
USDA Zone
8b
How about Guinea pig dung? I’ve been dumping in the Bedding in the compost for now, but I was thinking some pellets wouldn’t have to much salt since they are vegetarian.
 

Bnana

Chumono
Messages
641
Reaction score
672
Location
The Netherlands
USDA Zone
8
It also has less fibre so should be fine. But Guinea pigs are weird; like there ridiculously high vitamin C needs.
 

Leo in N E Illinois

The Professor
Messages
11,339
Reaction score
23,278
Location
on the IL-WI border, a mile from ''da Lake''
USDA Zone
5b
I read a number of warnings about poultry manure for blueberry growers. Poultry manure, especially from laying hens, is high in calcium. If you are raising crops like blueberries, that dislike excess calcium (calcifuge), too much poultry manure is not a good thing. On the other hand, Calcium and Magnesium are essential nutrients. If you live in an area of volcanic derived soils, and have low calcium water, poultry manure is an excellent supplement of Calcium.

So a lot depends on where you are growing and what you are growing.
 

AZbonsai

Masterpiece
Messages
2,486
Reaction score
5,335
Location
AZ
USDA Zone
9
Compost tea might be an alternative with your goat manure. Cheese cloth-5 gallon bucket-aquarium air pump. Put you goat poop in the cheesecloth-put that in your bucket filled with water-put the airhose in the bucket and let it steep for a couple of hours. Boom....compost goat tea. Works great with worm castings as well. Some supplement with seaweed.
 

Wires_Guy_wires

Imperial Masterpiece
Messages
6,453
Reaction score
10,724
Location
Netherlands
I tried using those fertilizer baskets but can't find enough and they tend to be expensive for a lot of trees.
Try old coffee filters or tea bags. Old socks will work fine too, and they can have a cool pattern.
Pantyhoses work well too, but trust me, get a lady to buy them for you. I don't want to get into any details, just trust me.
 
Top Bottom