Interesting article about using fresh chicken manure as tea on plants.
http://c.ymcdn.com/sites/www.echoco...-4DDE-8AB1-74D9D8C3EDD4/Chicken_ManureTea.pdf
I had to save file and use adobe to open.
The method of preparation of chicken manure tea that was most efficient in terms of recovery of nitrogen was to
soak 20 or 35 pounds of fresh manure in burlap bags placed in 32 gallons of water for 3 weeks. The greenhouse
experiment showed that in a three month growing period, manure tea could perform nearly as well in the
production of tomato plants as a chemical fertilizer. This was true in all media: redwood chips, redwood
sawdust and sand. Laboratory analysis showed that raw poultry manure tea is not a complete fertilizer solution,
but that nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium and zinc are at adequate levels in the solution. Nathan suggested a
further experiment might look at the possibility of using dilute seawater to provide some of those
micronutrients.
Also note the use of wood chips in potting medium:
GREENHOUSE EXPERIMENT WITH TOMATOES
In order to evaluate the efficiency of the manure tea beyond just mineralogical analysis, it was used as a
fertilizer solution in an actual growing situation using tomato seedlings (Cal Ace variety). Each plant was
grown in a separate 5-inch deep wooden lug of the type used in the table grape industry. The fertilizer solution
was delivered to each plant by an inverted hard plastic milk jug. The mouth of each jug was fitted with a plastic
cap which had a flat piece of corrugated plastic attached by a ringshank nail. Three holes were drilled through
the piece of plastic and the cap so solution could flow into the tray. Each time the level of solution dropped
below the depth of the plastic spacer (about 5 mm) in the mouth of the jug, air would bubble into the jug and
more solution would gurgle into the tray. This assured a constant supply of both fertilizer and moisture.
A total of 24 plants were used. Half of the plants were fed a chemical hydroponic fertilizer solution (Bridwell
mixture) while the other half were fed the manure tea. Three different growing media were used: sand, sawdust
and woodchips. These served as models of the kind of media that might be available for rooftop gardens in the
Third World. Plants were arranged in a complete randomized block design and standard statistical tests were
run on the results.
The author (Duddles) believes it was unfortunate that the Bridwell mixture was used as the standard hydroponic
formula for the greenhouse trials, because it is quite low in micronutrients. Nevertheless, the concentrations of
nitrogen, potassium, phosphorous, calcium and magnesium were near ideal.
Conditions in the greenhouse and the season were sufficiently unfavorable (low light and cool temperatures) that
tomatoes had only reached the blossom stage when the experiment had to be terminated. Growth in woodchips
was superior in every case, including greater height, superior root mass, higher blossom/bud count, and fewer
nutrient deficiency symptoms. Plants in sawdust were very spindly with malformed stems and widespread
chlorosis of the leaves. Plants grown in sand differed visually from those grown in woodchips primarily in
height.
Roots were concentrated near the surface with sand or sawdust media, suggesting that the inferior performance
was due to insufficient air reaching the lower parts of these media. The coarser texture of the woodchips
prevented water saturation and allowed more air to reach the roots. It should be noted that a type of wood less
resistant to decay than redwood would likely have begun to decay and tie up micronutrients, resulting in
deficiencies.
It appeared that the chemical solution gave slightly better results in all measurements (dry weight, nitrogen
concentration, root proliferation and blossom/bud count). However, this was not significant at the 0.05
confidence level. The only significant difference in the concentrations of nutrients present in plant tissues was
that plants grown with manure had more sodium. The micronutrients must have come from the growing
medium (i. e. wood chips, sand or sawdust).
