How can grass be turned into fertilizer after digestion?

[matt the rat]

I don't understand how grass can enter an animal like a cow, have nutrients extracted by the cow and then be excremented as fertilizer? My point is that if i got the same grass, soaked in water and added it to plants without removing any nutrients it would be a useless fertilizer. How come you ca take the same grass that has been robbed of nutrition and the result is an excellent plant fertilizer? The cow cannot add nutrients of its own or it would e entually starve of the nutrient. Please explain.

 

[DrClaude]

My point is that if i got the same grass, soaked in water and added it to plants without removing any nutrients it would be a useless fertilizer.

What about compost?

How come you ca take the same grass that has been robbed of nutrition and the result is an excellent plant fertilizer? The cow cannot add nutrients of its own or it would e entually starve of the nutrient. Please explain.

Why are you assuming that nutrients for cows are nutrients for plants? What is the source of energy for a cow? What is the source of energy for a plant?

 

[matt the rat]

because that's what cows eat? where else do they get their nutrition from? Please answer question to be helpful. Thankyou

 

[matt the rat]

grass compost is never as good as fertiliser, in my experience, and often has lots of dirt added

 

[DrClaude]

because that's what cows eat? where else do they get their nutrition from? Please answer question to be helpful. Thankyou

I want you to think about the question. This is what we do here at PF!

My point is that there is no reason to expect that a nutrient for a cow will be a nutrient for a plant, so it makes sense that the cow nutrient be transformed by the cow into something that becomes a nutrient for a plant.

And I will ask again the last question: what is the source of energy for a cow? What is the source of energy for a plant?

 

[matt the rat]

Sorry I am not a scientist in any way. I know I am seeing this in simplistic terms. Here is my best effort without research. The cow probably eats large volumes of plant material to produce some manure therefore it may be somewhat concentrated. Something occures in the cows internal organs that converts the plant material to a product that is more readily available to plants receiving manure. Any nutrients removed by the cow does not rob the plants as theydo not need those nutrients

 

[Bystander]

Sorry I am not a scientist in any way.

Perhaps you could tell us a bit more about your background?

 

[Bystander]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nutrient_cycle
Does this help?

 

[matt the rat]

Back ground avid grower of chilli plants

 

[Bystander]

Asbestos tongue, eh?

 

[matt the rat]

Yes bystander that does help

 

[matt the rat]

Growing the worlds hotest chilli and othe varieties, chillies can be hard to grow, and eat.

 

[Asteropaeus]

Plants get energy from the sun, carbon from the air, and nutrients from the soil. If the cow removes the energy and the carbon from the grass, whatever is left is still usable for a new plant, since plants don't get energy or carbon from fertilizer.