Food plot experiment

[Football Hunter]

8pts or Better offered me 100 lbs of chicken litter to try out on my food plot,so of course I went and got it.He said that would cover roughly 1/10 of an acre.So I picked a plot on a ridge top,and roughed out an area 4000 sq feet.

Hope fully I got it spread right.It did ok using my Moultrie spreader,but had to keep messing with it to get it to spread right,but it did ok.

About the time I got it all out,buzzards hovered all around,must have been at least 100,whew,it did smell.

Will post some pics after green up,see how its doing,gonna put a cage on the chicken litter part,and the other part of the plot so I can see how well it does.Will post some pics later as green up happens.

 

[primos32]

Be interesting to see the results!

 

[8 POINTS OR BETTER]

I hope it does good. This might be good for those food plots that have poor soil that you can't get a regular spreader truck in. The best I can tell it should be equal to about 40-30-30 fertilizer. Plus you also get organic matter that you don't get from regular fertilizer.

 

[BowGuy84]

Sounds like a well laid out experiment. I'll be interested in the results

 

[NBF7240]

Chicken litter is hands down the best stuff to use to build soil.

 

[Football Hunter]

Chicken litter is hands down the best stuff to use to build soil.

looking forward to green up

 

[Jarred525]

Sweet smell of future success

 

[BowGuy84]

Ive got 7 chickens here and we have been saving the droppings to add to the garden here once I get it tilled in the next week or two. Id love to get a truck bed full (probably use a tarp to line it first) to put on my plots!

 

[8 POINTS OR BETTER]

I will try to get a picture tomorrow of a clover, winter Rye, and wheat plot that I put chicken litter on about half of.

 

[8 POINTS OR BETTER]

I don't know how well this picture will show the difference but I planted this plot around the last week in Aug 2010. Around the first week of Oct. I put around 300 lbs. of chicken litter on about .3 of an acre on the west side of the plot (right side in the picture). I really didn't not expect much is I thought the plot would not make it due to lack of rain. The part where I put the chicken litter has a good stand, where I didn't put the chicken litter did not make it. The part that did not make it had the best soil.

 

[Football Hunter]

I can tell a difference,how much would the 100lb bags cost?

 

[8 POINTS OR BETTER]

I can tell a difference,how much would the 100lb bags cost?

I don't know yet. Probably around $8 or $9 per 100.

 

[richmanbarbeque]

Keep me updated on this as well. Any down sides?

 

[Football Hunter]

Keep me updated on this as well. Any down sides?

YEAH 100lb bags are HEAVY Actually ,it doesnt sptead great with a Moultrie spreader,Im thinking on how to fix that.

 

[Football Hunter]

Keep me updated on this as well. Any down sides?

Maybe Quailman will see this and answer,but I dont think so,he uses it a lot if I remember right.

 

[Football Hunter]

I can tell a difference,how much would the 100lb bags cost?

I don't know yet. Probably around $8 or $9 per 100.

For that,Ill probably be looking to get some mome Id say.

 

[Quailman]

Keep me updated on this as well. Any down sides?

Maybe Quailman will see this and answer,but I dont think so,he uses it a lot if I remember right.

Be careful not to over-apply chicken litter. It is high in phosphorus, and can cause nutrient loading in the soil over time (If applied at too high of a rate or applied for several years when not needed). Also, make sure it's fairly clean litter (hard to imagine clean litter!). One year we applied it, and we had chicken bones laying all over our fields. It worked fine, but we had buzzards circling the farm for a few weeks! :grin:

 

[Football Hunter]

Nutrient loading?

 

[Boone 58]

I put C.M. on my garden plot last year.....awesome results!

 

[Quailman]

Nutrient loading?

FH, nutrient loading is typically caused by over application of fertilizer, primarily with N & P. Most people apply chicken litter for Nitrogen, and because it has a high amount of P, it can normally cause a couple of problems. If the soil already has an adequate amount of P, additional applications of litter will cause P to be stored in the soil because only a certain amount can be used by the plants growing there. High amounts of P in the soil can negatively affect plant growth. Also, if there are excessive amounts of P present it can be leached into nearby aquatic systems, posing a whole new set of problems.

It's not really anything to be worried about, as long as you periodically collect soil samples to make sure proper amounts are being applied. Remember, more is not always better.

 

[stryker]

I like all the good info. Keep it coming,it's always good to have some different things to try.

 

[Football Hunter]

Nutrient loading?

FH, nutrient loading is typically caused by over application of fertilizer, primarily with N & P. Most people apply chicken litter for Nitrogen, and because it has a high amount of P, it can normally cause a couple of problems. If the soil already has an adequate amount of P, additional applications of litter will cause P to be stored in the soil because only a certain amount can be used by the plants growing there. High amounts of P in the soil can negatively affect plant growth. Also, if there are excessive amounts of P present it can be leached into nearby aquatic systems, posing a whole new set of problems.

It's not really anything to be worried about, as long as you periodically collect soil samples to make sure proper amounts are being applied. Remember, more is not always better.

Yeah,I have a hard time with " more" not always being better .Gonna wait till mid summer to check,but I suspect my plots ph is at a minimum of 6.7.

 

[8 POINTS OR BETTER]

Keep me updated on this as well. Any down sides?

YEAH 100lb bags are HEAVY Actually ,it doesnt sptead great with a Moultrie spreader,Im thinking on how to fix that.

It spreads pretty good if just pored lose into the spreader. The problem I had with the 100 lb bags was I'd let the bag rest on the pellets I already had in the spreader. I started putting less in the bags also that I would not pack it in the spreader and it did a lot better.

 

[SALTMAN]

8pts. ? Where can you buy in bulk ? I have heard lots of good stuff about it , but up here in WestKY it's all sold before it hits the ground. Can't find a place to buy it in bulk .

 

[Football Hunter]

Update,dont know if you can tell in this pic,but the clover is almost glowing green,guess its the chicken litter,and all the rain.

 

[8 POINTS OR BETTER]

Wow. Look at the difference in the cage from the first picture to this one.

We put out 10 tons a couple weeks ago. 3 tons per a acre on one plot that we're going to put Eagle soybeans in.

 

[Football Hunter]

Wow. Look at the difference in the cage from the first picture to this one.

We put out 10 tons a couple weeks ago. 3 tons per a acre on one plot that we're going to put Eagle soybeans in.

I didnt even notice that myself,what a big difference in a couple of weeks

 

[Football Hunter]

Latest up date,this is the best looking plot by far,and keep in mind this is a ridgetop plot,looks better than my bottom plots.

Even the fruit trees in the plots,that got the chicken litter are farther along than trees that didnt.