Cow Manure

[pukka.tukka]

Hi

Does anyone know of a farm/farmer who delivers cow manure in the Warwickshire area? We get horse manure delivered to our Lotty, but people have been asking for cow manure, as they say it is better and the horse manure needs time to rot down. We are willing to pay.

Many thanks

[chriscross1966]

You can use horse manure fresh.... cow definitely needs rotting down..... plus with the aminopyralid problem ATM I'm only using horse manure I cna collect off the field myself (the pasture I get it from hasn't seen a weedkiller in a decade, the ecology is great)

That said well rotted cow manure is great as long as it doesn't have a nasty surprise courtesy of Dow chemicals.... and I'd have though dairy farmers are more likely to use broadleaf weedkillers than the horsey set....

chrisc

[screwbylil]

i thought all manure had to rot down before use, at least thats what all the seasoned guys on our site tell me, but.... if it can be used fresh what a bonus as ive only just aquired my first lot of horse manure

[Madasafish]

I use cow manure from the adjacent field but leave to compost for 6 months.

[rana]

I have looked at cow pats in grassland and question how long it needs to stand before useage. A fresh pat very quickly envigourates the growth of grass, evidenced by lush dark circle of grass around the perimeter of the cow pat. This ring gradually expands and the central 'burned' area recovers so rapidly that a raise clump of dark vigorous grass usually results. This leads me to suspect that cow manure needs little standing time before use and fear of burning plants is just commonly believed hearsay.

[teakdesk]

I... question how long it needs to stand before useage. A fresh pat very quickly envigourates the growth of grass, evidenced by lush dark circle of grass around the perimeter of the cow pat.... This leads me to suspect that cow manure needs little standing time before use and fear of burning plants is just commonly believed hearsay.

Grass is a different species to the plants I want to grow in my veg plot.

When I want to turn my raised beds into lawn I'll maybe remember this thread.

Until then I'll rot manure before giving it to my tender plants.





PS - you can buy lawn weedkillers that kill many plant species but not grasses around them which florish into a lush lawn. By your argument I should be using this weedkiller on my veg plants!!!!

[rana]

you can buy lawn weedkillers that kill many plant species but not grasses around them which florish into a lush lawn. By your argument I should be using this weedkiller on my veg plants!!!!

In which case it would be good for the sweetcorn patch.

Maybe I'll borrow a cow and do some experiments

[glallotments]

That said well rotted cow manure is great as long as it doesn't have a nasty surprise courtesy of Dow chemicals.... and I'd have though dairy farmers are more likely to use broadleaf weedkillers than the horsey set....

chrisc

I'm afraid that this year many reports to my website have come from people who have had contaminated manure from stables/horse owners or friends who keep horses etc. The contamination can come via hayledge or hay used in bedding bought in. Herbicide may also have been used for spot weeding e.g. for ragwort.

[SarzWix]

I know a couple of dairy farmers, and one with a beef herd. None of them are parting with their slurry, it gets spread on their own fields!

Neither horse muck, or cow muck should be spread unrotted on beds with plants in them, and even spread on empty beds may take nitrogen from the soil while rotting down. I've had good results from putting a layer of cardboard down with fresh muck spread on top of it, but only on empty beds

[Stew]

Horse or cow manure should be left to settle for approx 6 months prior to using, as it eats up the nitrogen from the soil when used fresh.

[jacob marley]

pukka. tukka there is a chap who advertises in the Coventry Telegraph gardening section who delivers so he might be the chap for you he sells Topsoil as well....jacob