cow manure

[Bennz]

I'm in the process of converting my entire farm system to certified organic, and playing around with various possibilities for growing media. My original idea was to chip forestry prunings and compost them with cow manure, and use this as the basic potting mix. Then I got to thinking that cow manure is about the best natural compost there is, and I went out chopped up a few patties with a spade,  and potted 4 or 5 Archontophoenix cunninghamiana and Rhopalostylis cheesemanii in it.

To my surprise at around 2 weeks these palms are not dead (my expectation). They even look like they have grown a little.

This is interesting. Both these palms are 'rainforesty' types, both from areas with high humus soils, but not necessarily true rainforest as such. Possibly they are capable of handling a much richer soil environment than I would have previously expected. Natural soils in forest often have a fairly high C/N ratio due to the amount of undecomposed surface litter, while dried cow manure ratio would be a lot lower, I would expect (haven't actually tested either theory).

Any predictions about what will happen to these palms? Will they survive this soil condition, or is their end in sight?

[merrill]

Hi, Bennz:

One caveat: Beef producers feed the cattle excess salt,

therefore their manure is  too salty for many plants.

merrill

[ruskinPalms]

Why feed the cows salt ???

[merrill]

Hi, Bill:

When steers are fed salt, they drink more water, which raises their weight.  Salt probably increases their apetite; it may do that in humans.    merrill

[Bennz]

Hey, I said I was an organic farmer! Feeding  salt to cattle ONLY makes sense if it is seawater supplying essential trace elements.

Some of these farm systems that peform atrocities like that should be shut down. I have never heard of that particular trick, but it is appaling. It's bad enough some of the other things that go on like hormones etc.

[Kris]

Dear Bennz  

Here we get cow dung manure for free or very cheap price..from our milk vendor.

But i have noticed that during our wet winters & high humid coastal climate throughout the year breeds earth worms & in summers it breeds white ants..leading to termite grouth in the stem,trunks of our plants..so i have stopped using these organic manures,since using them creates a situation where i have to dust or spray ant power or harsh chemical pesticides..which iam seriously allergic to..interms of my respiration problems.

So have stopped using cow dung manure(dried form).

love,

Kris  

[Nigel]

I was brought up on a dairy farm, and cows are given salt licks but in that case its its nothing to do with meat production. Maybe its a trick with beef animals, I dont know.

Without salts the cows will ultimately die, the salts they need are rarely available in an enclosed pasture, if the cow is producing milk it must have salt.

[fastfeat]

Ben--

I agree that salt content of cow manure (however or whether the bovines need it or not) is likely the limiting factor. If you're planning on going organic, you've probably got labs nearby that could test the manure for its sodium (and other salts) content.

I'm sure there are guides available for acceptable levels of sodium for use in soil mixes as well.

[palmmermaid]

Since I use horse manure, I'll throw my 2 cents in.  My horses have access to salt licks in their stalls.  Like us, they need some salt and all the trace elements, not found in their feed - grains and hay.  I've noticed that they eat (lick) more or less salt depending on the hay.  I suppose that means their bodies can tell when the hay is not as rich as other times.

I do use the manure on everything in my yard.  I have had no adverse effects from it, even on plants with no salt tolerance.  I know cow manure is different but I would think the salt would be the same.  I know, growing up, we used the cow manure for fertilizer and our cows had a salt lick.

[Tad]

Lack of sodium in humans and livestock is quite serious.

lack of sodium in cattle and horses and humans is characterized by loss of appetite,retarded growth,loss of weight,rough coat,lowered production of milk, and a ravenous appetite for salt.

the salt licks and mineral blocks are fed free choice, as in the cow,horse,human, can lick as much or as little as the individual wants, the blending of salt into rations of feed is also done, but its not like the feeders are oversalting ...thats just as bad as no salt.

there is the unethical practice of "tanking" which is to pen a group of anials and feed them a ration which is high in salt content but without access to water, then the next morning before you take them to sale you allow them to drink as much water as they want, so that added pounds of water will cause the animal to weigh more when it goes across the scales.  easy to spot by the bloated looking condition of the animal.

I would seriously consider aging the blend your refering to for a few months just to be safe, it really sucks when you get a couple thousand palms going and then they all start having problems because the potting mix is off.

by aging I think you will get a better product.

if you have the space you can windrow the blend of chippings and dookie and flip it a few times over the period of say 4 to 6 months watering regularly. you should have a top notch blend in just a short while.

sorry to drag on about salt, poo and compost.

I use goat poo myself.

[xerophyte_nyc]

a pot is vastly different from the ground.  organic materials degrade rapidly and will result in compacted soil with poor aeration and low oxygen.  unless you intend on frequent repotting, your results will be quite poor.

stick with coarse materials for potting: conifer bark chips, perlite, pumice, gravel, turface, haydite, granite chips...these will last indefinitely, except for the bark which will degrade very slowly.  Avoid peat, it decomposes quickly and should not be used in high %'s

supplemental fertilizer will be needed