Most often, summer residents use cow dung, of course, to grow garden crops. However, in some cases it is more advisable to use the same bird. There are several types of such manure. For example, many gardeners sometimes use chicken droppings. But in some cases, quail can also be used to fertilize the beds. The properties of this type of manure are somewhat unique even.
Features
The value of quail droppings as fertilizer is simply enormous. Cow in terms of its rich chemical composition, for example, it surpasses almost four times. Nitrogen in it is 30 times, and phosphorus is 8 times more than in horse manure.
Quail litter, the use of which can be useful for most garden crops, if used improperly, is able to "burn" the roots and green mass of plants. That is, it differs in approximately the same properties as chicken. It is believed, however, that quail manure is even slightly superior in nutritional value.
Composition
Any bird manure, including quail manure, contains the following trace elements useful for plants:
Main advantages
The quail litter as a fertilizer has earned excellent feedback from gardeners primarily for its rich mineral composition. Also the advantages of this type of dressing are:
the presence of special substances that impede the development of pathogenic microflora in the soil;
long term beneficial effects on the soil (about 3 years);
ability not to lose its properties even with very long storage.
You can buy quail litter in packages at specialized stores without fear. There will be no less nutrients in such a fertilizer than even in fresh ones. The beneficial substances that are part of quail manure are absorbed by plants much better than those that enter the soil when using artificial, industrially manufactured compounds.
When using quail litter:
significantly increases the degree of soil fertility on the site;
ripening time of root crops is reduced;
significantly increases the yield of plants.
Fertilizer disadvantages
The only harmful substance to plants that is part of quail manure is uric acid. “Burns” on the leaves and roots of plants are the main unpleasant consequence of the incorrect use by beginners of such fertilizers as quail droppings. How to use this top dressing with the greatest efficiency and at the same time not harm the plants - we will deal with this in full detail below. Perhaps the information presented in the article will help some of the summer residents to avoid annoying mistakes when using this fertilizer.
In addition to being part of uric acid, a drawback is that the litter contains very little potassium. This substance is useful for the growth of potatoes and some other root crops. Therefore, when using quail litter as a top dressing for such crops, gardeners have to additionally apply other types of nutritional compositions. Most often, in combination with such manure, wood ash is used. Sometimes, plant compost of the last decomposition stage is also used for this purpose.
Composting
The main purpose of processing quail litter is to remove uric acid from it. Gardeners usually do not have to perform any particularly difficult actions to cleanse this type of manure from such a harmful component. To get rid of uric acid, the gardener only needs to wait a bit. Quail manure burns out about as much as cow manure - within a few months.
Drying this type of fertilizer at home is not recommended. With this method of processing, many useful substances, including nitrogen, “erode” from the mass. Before use in the garden, quail droppings are usually not dried, but composted.
This operation is performed in several stages:
a large barrel is washed with clean water;
a litter with a layer of 20 cm is laid at its bottom;
30 cm of straw are laid on top;
manure is again filled up.
Thus, the barrel should be filled to the top. Straw during composting of quail manure is necessary to absorb excess moisture. Instead, if desired, you can use ordinary sawdust. Quail manure in a barrel will turn into humus in about three months.
Since in the process of composting the stored mass is very hot, all harmful microorganisms and protozoa die in it. Therefore, fertilizer is obtained, including safe in terms of infection of plants with any infectious or parasitic diseases.
In about this way quail litter is prepared as fertilizer. How to apply such compost? The answer to this question, of course, is also of interest to many summer residents. You can use the quail humus processed in this way to feed garden crops at any time. However, most gardeners believe that the greatest effect of the use of this type of fertilizer can be achieved by applying it to the soil in the fall - for digging.
Sometimes quail droppings are also used in spring. However, some gardeners still believe that the application of this type of fertilizer to the soil in April-May may adversely affect plant productivity.
Another way
Composting quail droppings, like chicken, is possible not only in barrels, but also in trenches. In this case, the mass is usually simply mixed with a small amount of earth. Then the trench is covered with something from above and left until the next year. You can use humus cooked in this way in the same way as processed in a barrel.
How to prepare liquid top dressing
Quail manure compost is a very good fertilizer. But the process of its preparation usually takes a lot of time. Therefore, gardeners often use another type of top dressing made from such a litter - liquid. The technology for preparing such a fertilizer is as follows:
a clean barrel is half filled with droppings;
water is poured from above to the edges;
everything is properly mixed with a stick;
the barrel is covered with a lid.
In this form, the quail litter should be kept in a barrel for about a week. Before applying to the soil, the fertilizer thus prepared is diluted with water in a proportion of 1:20.
Strengthening plants and increasing their productivity when using liquid top dressing can be pretty good. We will talk about how to fertilize garden crops with quail litter, processed in this way, below. It is important for any summer resident to know, however, that such a solution cannot be considered a full-fledged fertilizer. They use it to feed plants usually only in summer - in order to provide additional nutrition.
Is it worth buying industrial-processed litter?
Quail in their suburban areas are far from all summer residents. However, to refuse such an effective top dressing in the absence of this variety of poultry in the yard is not worth it. You can purchase quail litter in a specialized store. This type of top dressing is relatively inexpensive. The useful substance in the industrially prepared quail litter contains no less than in the "home" one.
This type of manure is processed at enterprises according to special methods - by drying under the influence of very high temperatures. In this case, all useful substances are fully preserved. Such manure is used on plants, since it is processed in compliance with the conditions of bacterial fermentation, and usually has a more pronounced beneficial effect than "home".
How to use quail droppings for indoor plants
Lovers of indoor flowers as a top dressing for them often use formulations designed to fertilize garden ornamental crops. For example, cow dung is sometimes added to pots with plants. Therefore, many flower growers are interested in whether quail droppings can be used to feed indoor decorative crops. Unfortunately, this is not recommended. For home plants, the fertilizer is in most cases too “strong”.
Quail droppings as fertilizer: how to apply
Even if diluted with water, this type of fertilizing can “burn” plants. Therefore, it should be used carefully. Watering the beds is allowed only between rows. At the same time, 10 m 2 of landings should use no more than 6-8 kg of diluted litter. After the beds are fertilized, they must be additionally shed with water from the hose (in order to wash off the rest of the solution from the leaves and stems).
Too much of this fertilizer can not be used for feeding. Overdose can lead to depression of plants and slow their development.
Useful advice
Quail litter is a truly effective fertilizer. And therefore, in the market this type of top dressing is actually very much in demand. Consequently, summer residents who contain quail in homestead households and farmers who grow large quantities of this bird can get a good profit simply from the sale of litter. Such fertilizer costs about 2-3 rubles. per kilogram. Some farmers mix quail manure with peat before selling. You can store the litter directly in the barn. He has almost no smell.