Raspberry Plants & Chicken Manure

The deliciously sweet-tart raspberry is rich in vitamin C, antioxidants and phytonutrients. It is ideal for making jams, jellies and baked goods or frozen for winter use. A gardener who raises chickens has a ready supply of rich fertilizer in poultry manure, that can be useful when growing a raspberry crop.

Function

Raspberry plants are grown in rows, in raised beds or in a spacious portion of your garden. The plants are purchased from a reputable grower as bare-root or potted canes. Supports are built to keep the heavy laden mature canes from bowing to the ground or breaking.

Planting

chicken image by John Hofboer from Fotolia.com

A bed or plot should be chosen in a sunny area to establish a raspberry crop for several years. Raspberry canes should be planted in a hole with the base of the cane at 2 to 3 inches below the soil level. The raspberry plant requires fertilizer to boost the soil nutrients that are available.

Effects

Chicken manure is rich in nitrogen, phosphorus acid and potash. The manure must go through the composting process before being incorporated into the soil, or the ammonia in it can burn the plants, causing serious damage. Poultry manure should be aged at least six months or be put through the hot compost process to be heated to 150 degrees.

Considerations

Use fully rotted or composted chicken manure for fertilizer in your raspberry rows. Till composted manure into the deep soil when planting raspberry canes. After the first growing season, use no more than 7.5 pounds of composted manure for 10 feet of raspberry plants.

Warning

Chicken manure should be used only as a fertilizer. It should not be used as a mulch around the plants on the surface of the soil. Distribute tea made from chicken manure-based compost with a watering can along the ground away from the canes and greenery of the plant. It should be allowed to soak down into the soil to feed the root systems.