Know your sh*t

I saw this on another forum and thought it might be of interest. With thanks to the original poster.

It refers to the percentage by weight of N:P:K in fertilisers.
Remember N (Nitrogen) helps foliage growth. P (Phosphorous) helps root growth, and K (potassium) helps flower and fruit growth.

A typical inorganic fertiliser for acid loving trees and shrubs or general garden fertiliser 6, 3.4, 5.3
A typical inorganic fertiliser to suit fruit trees 10.5, 2.3, 8.3
A typical inorganic fertiliser for flowers and vegetables 5, 5.5, 4.1
A typical inorganic fertiliser for lawns 12.5, 1.7, 4.7
A typical inorganic fertiliser for roses 8, 3.7, 7.1

Cow crap 1, 0.4, 0.5
Chicken poo 2.1, 1.6, 1
Horse sh*t 0.7, 0.4, 0.5
Pig sh*t 1.1, 0.7, 0.1
Sheep poo 1.8, 0.4, 0.5

Chicken poo has 2-3 times the concentration of npk as any other poo. Sadly the jury is out on doggy poo. :D

Blood and bone 6, 7, 0
Bone dust 3, 10.9, 0
Fish emulsion 4.5, 0.4, 1.1

 

with fertilisers it is the proportions rather than the actual lbs/cwt that matter, the % per cwt will determine rate of application
so potato fertiliser will be higher in potash
eg NPK = 8 12 10
and lawn grass for spring growth 11 5 5
grass for autumn feed 8 10 10
farmers would use a high N fertiliser to increase the tonnage of dry matter per acre of grass, but this is not the aim of a gardener who wants a nice green sward, with healthy roots and the ability to withstand the stress of drought and/or trampling.
with respect to % of values in FYM and animal manures, it depends on many factors, there is no average, some cows are fed on hay and bedded on straw [see "all creatures great and small" in the 1950's], so their manure would be very different from cows fed on silage and not bedded at all as in modern high stress farming

[ 02. April 2006, 12:00 PM: Message edited by: Lady Gardener ]

 

I am really confused now Peter, I keep a horse in my back garden, she is fed mainly hay/grass and bedded on chopped straw on top of rubber matting which results in a high proportion straw to sh1T mix. We compost all the waste material and try to sandwich it between garden waste - grass cuttings etc.

I put some rose fertiliser round my shrubs in Spring and mulch with resultant well rotted compost from my darling Verity.

Now you are telling me I need I PHD in science to know which plant needs which mixtures?This info could make life very difficult for me.

I did used to keep rare breed chickens, and when we dug up their old grazing area to make new car park garden, all shrubs/flowers grew amazingly well in first year, so I always suspected my chicks had done a good job.

 

All this has made me glad for the first time that I've been out shovelling mushroom compost all day! :D

 

Many thanks PeterS.
Very informative and useful.

I'm tempted to empty the contents of my study onto the garden as my wife keeps telling me it's a bit of a pigsty!

 

Well that too comes with a set of problems (mushroom compost that is) I have heard it has a lot of lime in it.

 

Waco. I think you are right that fertilisers are over complicated. All fertilisers are just a mix of the three basics - N:P:K. With some trace elements thrown in.

My understanding is that, for garden plants, you want something hight in Nitrogen (N - for green foliage) and Phosporous (P - for root development) early in the season, then something high in Potassium (K - for flowers and fruits) later in the season.

I think that most of the hay and straw, undigested and even digested, in manure, has very little nutrient value - like peat. But all that fibre is a great soil conditioner, giving it more moisture retention and better drainage.