Quote:
Originally Posted by bencelest
Richard:
Are you talking about the steer manure that you buy at HomeDepot for 99 cents a bag? Are they safe to add to your newly transplanted plants as a conditioning for your soil? And if so what is the proportion between native soil and steer manure?
I have always not sure if what I am doing is right. There's always some doubt in my mind if adding it to the soil for new plants is OK.
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By
soil conditioner I mean an ingredient used to improve the properties a soil before planting. For example, in preparing a vegetable bed in loamy soil, you could rototill 2 inches of cow or steer manure into the soil a week or so before planting. For clay soils, you would also need an additional 2 inches of 1/4 inch pumice, 2 inches of ground coir or hardwood, and a 13+ horsepower rear-tine rototiller to mechanically turn the soil and mix the amendments together.
A
fertilizer usually refers to a nutrient applied before and especially during plant growth on the top of the soil. The N-P-K of
composted steer manure is about 0.7-0.3-0.5. You can apply up to 3.5 cubic feet (26 U.S. gallons) per plant per year to a medium size banana or fruit tree.
Composted cow manure is weaker and has a higher percentage of phosphorus, with an N-P-K of about 0.2-0.1-0.2. You can apply up to 8 cubic feet per tree per year of it -- that's 59 U.S. gallons!
For a bit more information, see
The Scoop On Fertilizers