This is what you came here for, correct? How to transform a mediocre harvest into a bumper crop. It all starts with composted chicken manure, but combining it with a few smart gardening practices can level up your results.
So, to begin, it takes good soil structure. Good, aerated soil allows roots to go deep and grow strong. To prevent your garden beds from compacting add organic compost and aerate regularly.
Second, water thoroughly and consistently. Plenty of erratic watering yields blossom end rot on tomatoes and uneven bulb placement on onions. Water in the early morning and try to focus on the base of the plant, not the leaves.
green onions
source: pixabay
Third, mulch. Fertilizing your plants with composted chicken manure also has the benefit of helping keep the soil aerated and saturated, especially when paired with straw or shredded leaves that you layer over your plants to retain moisture, suppress weeds and protect soil microbes that composted chicken manure is good feeding for. Consider mulch the supportive partner your fertilizer needs!
Fourth, support your plants. Caging or staking plants helps keep tomatoes off the ground and aids air circulation, which helps against blight. Air flow is critical to a healthy fungal environment, and a longer harvest time.
And lastly, remember the power of pruning. Pinch off lower leaves and suckers (especially on indeterminate tomato varieties) to focus energy on fruit production. Peppers and onions don’t require nearly as much pruning, but maintaining a weed-free environment will be a boon to nutrient competition.
green and red peppers
source: pixabay
Get Bigger, Healthier and Tastier
If you’ve been ruminating on dwindling harvests or simply want to up your gardening game, composted chicken manure is the business. It’s no-nonsense, organic, and super powerful if used properly. It just provides more of what your plants need to blossom than chemical fertilizers or generic compost will, particularly for heavy feeders like tomatoes, peppers and onions.
Now that I’m using composted chicken manure, my yields have doubled, and even tripled. My tomatoes are heavy and sweet, my peppers are full and glossy, my onions are actually hefty. More productive than buying plants, sure, but also more satisfying. There’s something particularly gratifying about growing food that you are proud of and knowing the soil is thriving beneath the surface as well.
So if you do want to take your garden to new heights this season, don’t sleep on this humble powerhouse. A few shovelfuls of composted chicken manure might be all that stands between a tomato plant’s sad fate and a summer harvest that leaves you handing out baskets to your neighbors. Give it a try. Your backyard will never be the same.
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