Organic Turkey Manure

Organic Turkey Manure and Flowers

Geo Growers, which is located in Texas, has developed several living soil mixes incorporating certified organic turkey manure.

Regular analysis and full mineralization results in superior soils that are a prime choice for a variety of needs, predominately flower cultivation.

Geo Growers’ Ranch Rose mix is a combination of turkey manure compost, composted rice hulls, granite sand and gypsum. This mix works well for roses, azaleas and flower pots.

The popular Double Thunder is an offshoot of Thunder Garden soil mixed with the turkey waste to create an ultra-rich blend that beautifully enhances existing soils.

You can also purchase the turkey manure compost itself, which boasts high fertility and NPK. This makes for a quality soil amendment and is recommended for occasional use to enrich existing gardens.

Talking Turkey

While some farmers have used and appreciated the high quality of organic turkey manure for fertilizer, the high cost must always be factored in as a negative. This is particularly true in these times of uncertainty for smaller farms.

Of course, a greater cultivation of organically raised turkeys will yield ecologically sound manure, and the greater availability will drive down the cost. It can be hoped that the popularity of the heritage turkey movement will continue to increase, thus resulting in two environmentally-friendly industries entering the mainstream.

The heritage turkey movement allows consumers to order birds essentially from the egg and grows breeds that would otherwise go extinct, thanks to the rise of the agribusiness. The supposed preference for turkey breast has led to disturbing breeding practices, resulting in a bird with such an enormously large breast that it can’t even walk. Consumers who are willing to fork over the substantial cost of a heritage bird discover they can really taste the difference.

Should this appreciation multiply, the quantity of birds and thus manure will grow exponentially. When both farmers and individual gardeners see the benefits of the manure in the quality of their plants, the use will expand even further.

Better Nutrition, Better Nutrients

When expressing concern about the high cost of much certified organic manure, as well as the high cost of raising certified organic poultry to create that manure, it can be easy to forget that the benefits of organic agriculture, like the benefits of organic foods, range far beyond the merely financial.

While it’s true that raising turkeys organically is more expensive than the battery method of cultivation, a bird that is given better nutrition and a happier life yields a more nutritious meal. Likewise, the bird’s improved nutrients make for a more nutritious soil without the need for additives. In turn, this yields finer plants.

Thus, the current higher costs must always be balanced against the greater gains. If turkey farmers and gardeners continue to persevere with organic farming, not only will the real costs decline, but the immense benefits well beyond the merely fiscal will increase exponentially and both the population and the planet will be healthier.

Other Cost and Health Considerations

Several farmers using organic manure have reported another useful benefit: the decreased need for commercial herbicide. Not only does this pay off in real terms immediately, but means less wear on the soil and thus greater yields from that particular field over a longer period of time. Less herbicide, of course, also means less interference with the end product.

Organic farming is very much about going back to the earth, and treating the earth well. And that’s something that can be taken straight to the bank.