Well, Last year, we prepared a Mixed fertilizer containing both chemical and organic fertilizers with a detailed discussion and calculations on how to calculate the total NPK value. For beginners and those interested in these scientific calculations, please check out that article.
Now, we will quickly start the recipe for this well balanced organic mixed fertilizer, you can use for any plant in varying dosage to produce healthy growth, increase flowering and fruiting. We will also total the NPK value of by adding the NPK values of each of these components. For beginners – NPK means Nitrogen, Phosphorous and Potassium which are the Major nutrients required for plant growth.
- COW DUNG: Whatever animal
manure you are using, whether horse dung or cow dung or even goat dung. Note
down its NPK value. Here we are using decomposed
cow dung. So NPK is 3-2-1.
We are taking 2000 grams of cowdung powder.
- COMPOST (
Whether home made compost or VERMICOMPOST): In this recipe, we are adding
vermicompost which also contains many useful trace elements, so no need to add
that micronutrient powder containing trace elements. The NPK of vermicompost is
1.78, 0.77,0.94
We are taking 2000 grams of Vermicompost.
- BONE MEAL POWDER, you can also use any of the other meals like sterameal, fishmeal or bloodmeal. If you are a pure vegetarian, you can use soya bean meals as a substitute for bone meal. So the NPK for bonemeal is 3.5, 18, 0
Here, will add both bone steamed meal
powder as well as coarse bone meal chips powder mixed. This fine powder is just
to make it quicker for release of nutrients.
We are taking 1000 grams of Bone meal powder.
- we shall also add some optional stuff into this for additional fortification which also act as soil pesticides or pest repelling agents, particularly neem cake powder or Karanj powder. Then we will also add Mustard cake powder. We will discuss the benefits of each of these some other time.
Well, the first one Neem Cake Powder: NPK of neem powder is here:
N(Nitrogen 2.0% to 5.0%), P(Phosphorus 0.5% to 1.0%), K(Potassium 1.0% to 2.0%).
N – 2.0% to 5.0%, P – 0.5% to 1.0%, K – 1.0% to 2.0%
We are taking 1000 grams of Neem cake powder +
1000 gms Karanj Powder +
- of Mustard cake powder.
- Optionally, You can add 500 gms of Epsom Salt + 500 Grams of Micronutrient Powder to include those trace elements or micronutrients like Mn, zinc, Fe, boron and many others to safeguard our plants from any deficiencies. Also you can add more ingredients you wish to like used tea powder and any other stuff, because this is a one time mix and you offer this on a periodic basis and only once in 15 days or so and you add almost all organic nutrients and this reduces burden and saves you a lot of time, plus this become a quality mix!.
Nothing to worry about over dosage which is an issue with chemical fertilizers which can cause chemical burns. This is pure organic fertilizer with hardly any adverse effect on over dosage.
After Approximate Calculation, the Total NPK value of this fertilizer mix is:
22, 25,07
Have a look at this equation in the table:
| Ingredient | N | P | K |
| Cow Dung (3-2-1)-2000g | 6 | 4 | 2 |
| Vermicompost -2000g | 3.5 | 1.5 | 2 |
| Bone Meal -1000g | 3.5 | 18 | 0 |
| Neem, Mustard etc | 9 | 1.5 | 3 |
| TOTAL | 22 | 25 | 7 |
Then optionally you can perform a soil PH test and mix either woodash or lime to make your soil more alkaline if its too acidic and if your soil is too alkaline, you can add alum powder into this mix.
And one more important point from storage point of view: you might feel some moisture in this mixture due to some moist ingredients like vermicompost. You can either use completely dry ingredients before mixing or you can dry this mixture in sunlight and then store in air tight containers. It will not loose its NPK value much on drying. Remember to mix the ingredients thoroughly well for best results.
RECOMMEDED DOSE PER PLANT? Depending on the plant, you can use one tablespoon once every 15 days, specially for flowering plants and once in a month for other plants. Make sure you apply this after tilling or raking the top soil and apply around the plant – not directly on roots.
Check out the Best Pure Organic Pesticide Recipe.
Many studies and research articles on goat dung as a fertilizer have been published on international journals. All of them say, Goat manure is one of the best animal manures for healthy soil and plants, specially for backyard organic vegetable gardening. And if you have couple of goats with you for their milk or whatever purpose, you should never throw away their droppings. You will learn a lot of important stuff about goat dung by the end of this video. Please watch it till the end and learn how to use it and how much to use in your home gardening or container gardening.
This is even available online at amazon. You can CHECK HERE.
So lets begin:
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- Goat or sheep pellets are very much Dry compared with cow dung or horse dung. Hence these are very easy to collect or store.
- It is Virtually odourless and hence easy to work with and easy to spread on your soil Directly. You cannot directly apply cowdung or horsedung without decomposing, because this can burn your plants.
- Its relatively Free of insects and maggots unlike cow-dung. But drying in sulight for 2 to 3 days before using or before storing is always better.
- It’s a Cheap and Best Organic Fertilizer for your plants: As I said earlier, the pellets can be used for direct applications to flower and vegetable gardens without the fear of getting your plants burnt.
- Goat pellets contains lots of nutrients, the Major NPK elements – Nitrogen, Phosphorous and Potassium, and many trace elements like Calcium, Magnesium, Iron, Manganese and many others. The Nitrogen value may be higher than cowdung or horse dung especially when these goat pellets are mixed with goats urine, whether by default or by using some goat beds specially created to increase its nitrogen value. In this case, composting this prior to application is recommended.
- This manure Increases Flowering and Fruiting and Promotes overall Plant growth. Goat droppings can be used in nearly any type of garden, including that of flowering and fruiting plants or
- Use Goat dropping in your compost bin. It not only enriches your final compost value, but also it decomposes very faster. This is because pelletized droppings allow more airflow into compost piles, which speeds up composting time as well.
- It’s a Low-cost Pure Organic Fertilizer for your vegetable gardening. You can get it for almost free specially when you visit any rural area or you can also get it for free in cities. You know how I collected these pellets? These were collected during the Bakrid festival where you see lot of sheep brought into the city and homes. You get lots of this to collect and save for the whole year. For me this is the most important benefit. Because I never use any chemicals for my vegetable gardening, not even a chemical pesticide. Well..
- Goat dung is also an Excellent soil conditioner: you can mix it while making your potting mix, similar to how to add decomposed cowdung into your mix. You can watch a related video HERE.
- Mulching: for beginners, A mulch is a layer of material applied to the top surface of soil to prevent moisture evaporation, reduce weed growth like grass clipping, twigs, wood chips, bark chips, dry leaves, hay and so on..
One Caution regarding Fresh Sheep dropping or any animal manure for that matter – Just because goat manure is a natural product doesn’t mean it’s completely safe. They can release disease causing microorganisms into the food chain that can make you sick. So better always sun dry completely for 2 -3 days before application or compost it and then use.
Now How to use and how much to use? This is an organic fertilizer. So you can use it similar to how you use cowdung or horse dung. A handful of this on a container once every 15 days for flowering plants or Once in 30 days for your other general plants. Make sure you Apply this after raking or tilling the top layer of your soil.
So, there we have it folks, that was a short article on goat or sheep dung as fertilizer in gardening.
References:
https://scialert.net/fulltextmobile/?doi=ijss.2007.142.147