Many gardeners use pigeon droppings as fertilizer in their areas. It refers to organic fertilizers in which the nutrient compounds are of animal or vegetable origin. Using natural substances for plant nutrition, you can not worry about your health. In addition, such a fertilizer can be prepared independently without spending money.
Scientific research
People have long identified the benefits of bird droppings and actively used its properties to increase productivity. Many scientists have tried to research this material. It is known that in the 18th century in Germany, the chemist Liebig studied pelicans and cormorants. He found that their litter contains 33 times more nitrogen than horse manure. This trend is characteristic of all birds. Nitrogen is extremely important for plants.
Unique composition
In the pigeon litter, the phosphorus content is 8 higher than horse manure, and nitrogen 4 times. On average, one adult pigeon produces three kilograms of waste per year. If you consider that they live in packs, then after them you can collect an impressive amount of organic matter. Using pigeon droppings as fertilizer, it is important to follow certain rules.
How to prepare: drying
The main point is the mandatory drying of natural substances. In its initial state, it does not fulfill the function of fertilizer, since it can not decompose in the soil for a long time. Due to the chemical composition, fresh droppings cause burns to the root and stem of the plant, which leads to further decay. Quick drying is preferable, as more nitrogen is retained. It can be carried out in dedicated ovens. The resulting concentrate is pulverized. The resulting one part of the fertilizer is diluted with ten parts of water several days before watering. Mixtures are better to give time to brew.
How to store and apply
If, for some reason, drying is not possible, composting can be used. To preserve dry bird droppings as fertilizer, it is mixed with sawdust, peat, straw. With a fairly warm air temperature, all this rots out in a month or two. Compost prepared in this way is scattered on the ground in early spring or late autumn. It is recommended that autumn, because during the winter the excess nitrogen will go away, moreover, the mixture will decay completely. When making compost in early spring, it is quite possible to increase the growth of green mass and slow down the formation of root crops.
How much
Plants are well absorbed by nitrogen found in bird waste. That is why pigeon droppings are effective as fertilizer. When diluting the concentrate with water, it is important to comply with the recommended dosage. Exceeding it will bring much more harm than a disadvantage. Most feeding is carried out in early spring, when new buds are laid on the trees. At the very beginning of growth, crops such as cucumbers, tomatoes, squash are watered with a mixture. Fertilizer with bird droppings beneficially affects garden and indoor flowers. Root crops need more potassium. If you increase the feeding of manure, then the vegetables will have more nitrates. To prevent this, ash should be used as an additional source of potassium.
Properly applying pigeon droppings as fertilizer, you can grow environmentally friendly vegetables and fruits.