Dirty litter from your chicken coop is life to your garden. Read to learn how best to use it.
Did you know that chicken manure is high in nitrogen, phosphorous and potash? So when you clean out your coop, don’t throw the litter away! Use it on your garden and you will reap wonderful rewards. In order to understand everything I am about to say, please go to www.backtoedenfilm.com and watch the video. This is the simplest method of gardening I think I have ever been made aware of. If you have your own chickens, it gets even better.
If you are like many other gardeners, you have already started prepping your garden beds. If you haven’t yet – STOP – and read this. Don’t till your soil. Step one in making your gardening life simpler is to throw away your rototiller. Think about a forest floor – does it need to be tilled? Your garden doesn’t need to be tilled, it needs to be COVERED. Covered ground is rich ground. If you doubt, the Back to Eden Film will convince you so take a coffee break and watch it now.
So now do you see why chicken litter is so awesome for the garden? Dirty litter from your chicken coop has both manure and wood shavings. When you spread this over your garden patch, the nutrients will work their way into the soil every time it rains or you water.
Chicken coop litter should not be your only source for covering your garden. Make sure you cover your garden in a healthy layer of wood chips as the video shows. Chicken manure is a “hot manure” meaning that as it breaks down it will burn what is around it. That is why you don’t want to till it into your soil. It will burn the roots of whatever you are trying to grow. However, as additional covering for your garden, you are getting a lot of bang for your buck. You add nutrients from the manure and you add more wood chip covering every time you clean out your coop.
So get back to garden bed prepping, but do it in harmony with how nature works and you will see your best crop yet!