pelleted chicken manure

[steve76]

 Hi all
Due the the farmer now charging £90 for 4 tones of manure that only covers one third of my plot a friend has said to use 6x, at £20 a 20kg sack,
                   The question is do i spread it over winter like you would manure or just use it as a top dressing when the plants are in?? and would it be as good??? has any one used it before

Sorry for all the questions.

Thanks Steve.

[steve76]

[queenbee]

Steve, I used it once on my veg plot and my flower garden, I must have used too much as some of my garden plants did not flower that year. So watch it with beans and peas and any other veg and fruit that flowers. Weigh it out as the packs say and not a wild guess as I did.

[Duke Ellington]

I have used 6x with good results on my allotment. Follow the instructions over application would be wasteful as the product is concentrated.  I applied it about a 7/10days before planting but made sure it was well dug in.
The only thing is....I am not sure if it's any better than Blood Fish & Bone ???
Duke

Ps ...were you getting pelleted chicken manure from the farmer? Why is this topic titled pelleted chicken manure?

[lottie lou]

Hi all
Due the the farmer now charging £90 for 4 tones of manure that only covers one third of my plot a friend has said to use 6x, at £20 a 20kg sack,

Hells bells, whats in his manure - gold dust?

[RSJK]

The price of muck is so high because of what the farmers have to pay for straw now days it is no longer 50p a bale

[bazzysbarn]

We get our muck for £50 for 10 tons and £2.50 for a bale of straw

[steve76]

just to clear things up, we use to get ordinary farm manure for £40 for 4 tonnes, and as said he now wants to charge £90 for the same amount he says to cover the cost of fuel and feed etc as its all gone up,
  a friend of mine suggested this 6x stuff that at its most he says is £20 for 20 kg and he says a little goes a long way i was just after other peoples opinions on it as well.

thanks for all the replies so far
   Steve.

[caroline7758]

What is 6x made from? it's not clear on the website. I use pelleted chicken manure (B&Q or Rooster) a lot and get good results, but I've hardly ever used any other type of manure so don't have anything to compare with.

[steve76]

  Sorry 6x is another pelleted chicken manure been around for years so I'm told, was also told it is heat treated so kills of all the weed seeds the chickens may eat as not all pelleted chicken manure is heat treated so I'm told...
Its organic as well..

[ceres]

Fertilisers like 6X or pelleted chicken manure do a different job to 'fresh' manure.  The nutrient levels in manure are quite low compared to concentrated fertilisers.  Manure is used primarily as a soil conditioner - by adding organic matter which helps to open up the texture of heavy soils or to increase the water-retaining properties of lighter soils.  Pelleted fertilisers don't do this, they just add nutrients.

[artichoke]

I'm interested to learn about 6x. I suppose adding a lot of home made compost to soil plus 6x would have a similar effect to using farmyard manure, with extra nutrients?

Is 6x any different from the usual pelleted chicken manure?

[pansy potter]

So when would you spread the pellets on a flower bed that you were planning. Would 2 weeks be fore be ok?

[ceres]

I'm interested to learn about 6x. I suppose adding a lot of home made compost to soil plus 6x would have a similar effect to using farmyard manure, with extra nutrients?

Is 6x any different from the usual pelleted chicken manure?

Yes homemade compost would do the same job as manure and you could top it up with fertiliser.  6X are a bit coy about saying what it's made from.  The NPK levels are pretty close to pelleted chicken manure.  6X is certified as organic, not all chicken pellets are if that matters to you and I'd guess they're hugely more expensive than chicken pellets being a brand name.

There's a really good page on nutrient levels in different types of fertilisers here.

Pansy, all their website says is to use it when you prepare the bed so whenever that it I suppose then occasionally throughout the growing season around the base of the plants.

[lottie lou]

just to clear things up, we use to get ordinary farm manure for £40 for 4 tonnes, and as said he now wants to charge £90 for the same amount he says to cover the cost of fuel and feed etc as its all gone up,

I know this might sound stupid and I am aware I might not be the sharpest tool in the box but I always thought that manure was the waste you got from animal husbandry.  Why should the extra cost of feed, bedding etc be borne by allotment holders as the cost of keeping his animals would be the same - I am assuming that he is rearing his animals is for his own financial gain.  If he can't get rid of his manure to people who are willing to pay, then I would assume that he would have to pay to get rid of it.  The only extra cost that he could morally increase is fuel and I bet he uses red diesel when he delivers.

[Kleftiwallah]

Get down to Homebase - NOW ! bargains to be had.    Chicken manure pellets. Cheers,    Tony

[antipodes]

Lord, I have to pay 18 euros for 1m3 of cow manure (delivered)! That's 6 to 8 barrowfuls! You guys seem to get things so cheap for your gardens!
Ok i can get stable waste for free from the pony club but I have to get it myself in bags in the boot of the car  :(  and it does have a high straw:horse poo ratio. Great mulch though!!!

[Deb P]

I have used 6x in the past (I must be odd as I really like the smell of the stuff!) but it's expense compared to chicken manure pellets which I hoe in as a top dressing means I no longer use it.

If you need to improve your soil generally (like my heavy clay) then as Ceres points out, 6x will not help you much as you are not adding any bulk to improve the humus layer of your soil. Manure or mushroom compost is much better for that purpose.

At the moment we pay £25 for a tractor load of cow manure from a local farm, which is usually enough to cover my plot and a half where I need it. Last year, I had it delivered early in October and put about half of it on the plot before the weather turned...I was left with a frozen lump that did not defrost until March! ::)

[steve76]

Get down to Homebase - NOW ! bargains to be had.    Chicken manure pellets. Cheers,    Tony

Thanks for that 15kg for £4.99 just brought 4 sacks,  ;D

[chriscross1966]

Sounds like the farmer is pulling a fast one.... he has to pay to have manure removed if he hasn't got a composting licence (and the council seem to be checking that a bit mroe than they used to)

chrisc

[banksy]

Get down to Homebase - NOW ! bargains to be had.    Chicken manure pellets. Cheers,    Tony

Thanks for the heads up, just been in and bought a 15kg bag for £4.99  ;D