I use Holly Tone. Its great but on the expensive side.

Scott

Scott, when I looked at hollytone, it lists 4% nitrogen, only 0.3% of which is ammonical nitrogen. To me that indicates the remaining 3.7% is nitrate nitrogen, as papers I have read include urea under the category of "ammonical". Have you looked into that, or have better info on the nitrogen composition?

charina,
I believe 2.5% of that is sulfur-coated urea.

It's true that urea is converted to ammonium in the soil, but fertilizer companies still make the distinction among all three.

Blueboy uses MicroLife Azalea 6-2-4 and other MicroLife products. I bought some for next year. You can also use Cottonseed meal. As it is acidic. I use a manure compost that is in peat, that tends to knock down the basic nature of some manures. I also have used Hollytone. i'm out right now.

I have had good success with cotton seed meal. I put down 2 handfuls around my plants and they sure seem to like it, lots of healthy growth. The nice thing is its slow release and will not burn the plants if you over fertilize, plus its cheap, I paid $22 for a 40lb bag.

Any opinions on whether composted cow manure is appropriate? (I've had the same question, but with the added problem of a dog who likes to eat most organic fertilizers- he's gone so far as to dig up new plants to get to the fertilizer- at least he keeps the deer away.)

I use Dr Earth's Acid Lovers fertilizer, and I'm very happy with it so far. It provides enough acidification that I don't need to add acid to my municipal water.

To answer your original question, I no longer buy big box poultry manure since I try to garden as organically as possible. Here is a NYT article on what other might be in factory produced chicken manure:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/05/opinion/kristof-arsenic-in-our-chicken.html/?_r=0

I stopped using cotton seed meal last year. I read online about arsenic containing pesticides used in cotton field.

I am planing to use soybean from grocery store as fertilizer since I can't get soybean meal. Soybean from some grocery store ($1/lb) is actually cheaper than most organic fertilizers.

"Any opinions on whether composted cow manure is appropriate?"

It might be OK small amounts, but you run the risk of raising soil pH if you use too much of it.

"To answer your original question, I no longer buy big box poultry manure since I try to garden as organically as possible. Here is a NYT article on what other might be in factory produced chicken manure..."

Seven Springs Farm in VA sells a a composted poultry manure product called Symphony that comes from a certified organic layer farm in NY. I feel more comfortable using it for a variety of reasons. Alfalfa meal is another good option, and, if you're concerned about pesticide residue, etc. there are certified organic options on the market.