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Horse manure for veggies?

South Yorkshire, United Kingdom Gb

I have a little pony who lives with a friends 3, can I start bringing home their winter manure to put in my new veggie plot? How long does it have to rot for? I can bring a bucket of fresh manure everyday, but not sure as I did that in my last garden and just put it on like that and everything grew too much. (Normal trees and bushes that is). So much that I couldnt keep up with the trimming and it all got overgrown. I was thinking it may be too strong for my baby veggies when I plant them out in spring.




Answers

 

You should compost your manure first, it is too strong to use direct. I am hoping soon to do a blog on a hot bed which means you can grow seedlings and plants on top of the composting manure.

25 Jan, 2010

 

so should I bring some home daily and start making a bed? I use a mobility scooter so can only bring home a small bucket between my feet daily. I could throw it in a corner and wait for your blog.....

25 Jan, 2010

 

You can spread the horse manure on land so it decomposes quickly, or compost it and then use it to improve soil quality. The problem with horse manure as a fertilize is that many stables use sawdust or wood chips as bedding for horses. When the stalls are cleaned, the dirty sawdust or wood chips as well as the manure are removed. While the horse manure itself is a good fertilizer, the sawdust and wood chips are not crop friendly. So composting is certainly best if you have this.

25 Jan, 2010

 

Why not use it mixed with straw to make mushroom compost? Apart from a lot of work turning the piles to get it heated up, it's not that difficult and I remember harvesting mushrooms for months once.

25 Jan, 2010

 

Yes, that will be fine. Can you get someone to dig you a hole about two feet deep and a square metre. Line the sides with thick polythene and tread it in hard. Every four inch layer dress with a dusting of lime. Cover with a piece of polythene as you go.

25 Jan, 2010

 

I use gloves and a bucket and sit on the floor to pick up the droppings every morning so they will be pure and woodchip/shavings free. I will get my daughter to dig me a hole when she comes over before I start bringing it home.

25 Jan, 2010

 

by all means put it around your plants, but please rember the old saying all things in moderation,the fresher or stronger the manure the less you use' the rain and the worms will take it in to the soil,this way it will do good and it will be diluted for the plants.

25 Jan, 2010

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