in my warped world ...

in pots you use POTTING MEDIA ...

and until you train the chicken to poop in the pot.. manure is not media ...

can you.. predict how it will effect drainage??

predict water retention???

predict what diseases/problems it might carry .. or encourage in a pot .... damping off/gnats/mildews/fungi ..

etc????

what it will do in the pot in regard to media structure ... is much more important than whatever benefit you might get from the low fert ...

in my world.. success in pots is all about predicting how the media will respond ... and when you start adding variables ... is when you start having problems ...

all that said.. try some in a FEW POTS ... but do the vast majority in sterile potting media .... and then report back as to the result ....

the only way to truly learn.. is to experiment.. but dont bet the retirement on your theory by doing the whole project with such ...

but again.. that is my warped world ...

ken

Hi Emyers,

I think if you're going to use chicken manure for fertilizer, you would need to compost it first (see link below).

BTW, a point that might be of interest to you is that your manure analysis (1.8/2.4/1.3) would be approximately equivalent to a commercially purchased fertilizer of something like 1.8/5.45/1.56 (except of course the commercial fertilizer would normally contain secondary and micro nutrients as well).

The reason for that is because fertilizer companies always report the middle number as P205 (which is phosphate not actual phosphorus). The last number is reported as K20 (which is potash not actual potassium). To get the actual phosphorus percentage, you'd have to multiple their number by .44 and to get the actual potassium, you'd have to multiply their number by .83

Art

Here is a link that might be useful: Chicken Manure

One usually starts seeds in a potting media made up of perlite and peat, maybe with some sand mixed it. It is not until the seeds have germinated and are actively growing that a very diluted fertilizer is added to the water. Little seedlings are very fragile and the roots will burn easily if the fertilizer is too concentrated. You would be best off to compost your chicken manure, age it well and then use it as a top dressing once the plants are set out in the vegetable beds. Manure is not a balanced fertilizer but a very good humus to condition your soil to make it airy and retain water and help the microscopic creatures that change the fertilizer (nitrogen, phosphorus and potash) into compounds that plants can absorb. For a healthy productive vegetable garden, you still need to add fertilizer. Organic fertilizer is best since it doesn't burn the soil as synthetic fertilizers can. You can buy organic fertilizer or make up your own batch. If you need a recipe for an organic fertilizer I can send you a list of the ingredients.
Good luck!