In my post the other day I forgot to mention another reason that I wanted rabbits besides for the angora wool -- for their wonderful manure! My huge multi-family garden can use a little more help.
Chicken manure is a "hot" manure and has to be aged, which means it has to sit a year before it can be spread onto the garden. It means handling it twice. Once to get it onto the pile that cures for the year, and then a second handling to throw it on the garden. In my case all done with a pitchfork and wheelbarrow. .....I'm getting too old for that. (Enter kids doing that part now.)
Rabbit manure however, is a "cold" manure and can be spread directly on the garden! .....well, some people might disagree with that and would rather see it composted first, but just as many people throw it right on.
Guess which group I'm in?
The cage the kids got me to go along with the bunny was hand built by the seller. It is a "double decker". The bunny can hop down a ladder to a caged in lower level. We will be putting the cage directly in the garden and just moving it around. (Yes, I'm lazy)
A Billy Story
The first couple times I cleaned the cage I decided to throw the bunny balls near my rhubarb coming up.
I caught Billy (our golden retriever) smelling around it one morning before his breakfast. "Get out of there!" "Come on...let's eat!".....it was if he said "just a minute". He then proceeded to mark the rabbit manure and peed all over my rhubarb!!!!
Anybody up for some rhubarb wine??
.....dr momi
Linked To: Homestead Barn Hop #59
Rabbit manure however, is a "cold" manure and can be spread directly on the garden! .....well, some people might disagree with that and would rather see it composted first, but just as many people throw it right on.
Guess which group I'm in?
"Bunny Balls" (rabbit manure) are very high in nitrogen and phosphorus, as opposed to many of the other manures which are missing the phosphorus. From what I hear, a garden that has been built up with rabbit manure is one productive plot of land.
A Billy Story
The first couple times I cleaned the cage I decided to throw the bunny balls near my rhubarb coming up.
Anybody up for some rhubarb wine??
.....dr momi
Linked To: Homestead Barn Hop #59
21 comments:
How funny! Guess Billy showed you. We raised rabbits a few years back and loved using rabbit balls on the gardens. These days it is goat berries:)
Too funny.Anyone remember the year before last ,our winter started abruptly,no notice or time to get rid of leaf bags ,all snow covered till spring,yuc,what mess to clean up but very warm spaces for wild bunnies I found. The ground under the deck was covered in " cocoa puffs"
One of my gardening friends used fresh rabbit poo in her garden last year, she did one row with, one row without, as a test. All I can say is WOW!! There was a BIG difference!
ha ha!
i'm glad i don't have rabbits or a garden. :)
Simply Scaife Family....I used plenty of goat manure back in the days also. I always aged it, but I'm not sure I had to. (I read somewhere that any manure that is pelleted probably didn't need to be aged.) Goat and horse manure around the drip line of my fruit trees was a GOOD thing!
judy....I hope you used your "cocoa puffs" on the garden! :-)
Candy C. ....see...that's what I've heard! I do believe I will need a few more rabbits to make a dent in my big garden though. Guess who's section of garden the rabbit manure from my one rabbit is going? :-)
Tex....Haha....yes, lots of work!!
Very funny! Still lovin' that bunny. :)
I once "Mulched a small patch of Indian corn with 3 INCHES of rabbit manure fresh from under my hutches. The plants were tall, and the ears were huge!
Jill....I'm still lovin' him too, that's a good thing :-)
Gorges....I'm lovin' all these testimonials -- I can't wait to see what is grows tall in MY garden!
We've got "getting meat rabbits" on our to-do list for this year. Trying to decide where to put them. I'm having to put these smaller animals up closer to the house to safeguard them.
Rabbit poop is a commodity around here.
So now I have to start saying Holy Bunny Balls rather than Holy Moose Poops!...:)JP
I keep hearing good things about rabbit pills being great for the garden, with no composting! That's wonderful! What a green thing to do!
As for the rhubarb wine, sounds terrific. I'm working on my wine today but not starting rhubarb wine. I sold 6 strawberry-rhubarb pies at our farm market yesterday. My family missed out so today I made them s-r cobbler as a peace offering today. So, hmm! There goes any thought of rhubarb wine! :/
I love your blog for you do all the things I'll never do - and I get to see the anyway. sandie
Our livestock guardian dog "field tests" all manure piles by rolling in them for us. Just to make sure they won't burn any plants. he takes his job seriousy :) Stevie@ruffledfeathersandspilledmilk.com
River Bend Farm....now you have me wondering if I should bring the rabbit closer to the house. My husband thought he saw a coyote track in the garden yesterday!
A Quiet Corner.... LOL..I've never heard of either saying :-)
Chatty Crone....and I'm glad you're along for the ride. Hey, and I would never be able to compile all that clean humor. I love following your blog -- a guaranteed laugh!
Steve Taylor....oh!!! I hate it when my dog "field tests" the manure piles! LOL
I was sure Billy was going to taste-test some of the bunny treats. :)
Ronda....(how did I miss you before?)....wow on sellig 6 rhubarb strawberry pies! How are you ever going to keep up??? (it's a good problem)
Nancy....It's my guess he HAS already taste tested when I haven't seen him. EEEwwwhhh!
I put rabbit manure on my flowers one year and had the most beautiful flowers I've ever had..Sorry you are still having so many frosts.. I'm equally sorry for the fruit this year..It'll probably be sky high at the stores..have a good day..
Rabbits are great little manure makers. I will start scooping it up and throwing it into the garden now
: ) That rhubarb is going to need a good rain wash now.
Susie....with all these wonderful testimonials, I am so excited to see those little bunny balls do their thing on MY flowers and garden!
Michaele....A good rain wash, a good wash when I pick it....then I'm hoping alcohol (in rhubarb wine)will sanitize it the rest of the way!
Your bunny is gorgeous! Is it a German Angora? I notice it doesn't have the hair on it's face like mine does. That facial hair is a problem and when I got her the other day it was matted. She doesn't like having her face touched so it was very difficult to cut it off!
Sharon....Yes "Sherman" is 40% German -- he doesn't pluck, we have to shear him. I can see where the hair on the face could be a problem! She is so cute though!
Post a Comment