Making compost & horse manure

[Gorsty]

Hi folks

Hope to get going with veg in the spring and have been attempting to create compost to help improve our clay soil.

We have access to stables nearby but the stuff they put out is more shavings than manure. Had read that too many shavings is a bad thing as it takes ages to compost down and the nutrient value will be low.

The stable muck pile doesn't half steam - should we just collect bag fulls off the steaming muck pile OR offer to muck out and just collect the droppings from the stables???

What do you think?

[Jeanied]

Hiya Gorsty - if I were you I'd go and investigate the muck piles a bit - you may find, like I did once, a couple of very old parts to the pile and it was rich, dark, worm ridden stuff - clearly perfect for using straight away. As for the steamy stuff - well that shows it is working. I have built a compost bin of just horse manure for the winter, topped with one of my compost duvets - it is working away and I'll see what I get next spring. On a cold day, even mildly working compost looks steaming as well. You will have to make a choice about topping up with pure droppings based on your investigations of the piles and how far they are successfully composting on their own.
Hope this is helpful.

[Glutton4...]

I'm sure if you supplied the plastic bags one of the 'mucker-outers' would put the dung in straight from the stable for you - well I would! I bag all my stable manure, and dispose of the shavings separately. My muck is then stored in its plastic bags for six months, during which time it has sweated and rotted down a treat. There's no harm in asking!

[PAULW]

You could try digging trenches filling them with the muck/shavings mix, then put half the soil back then another layer of muck/shavings then the rest of the soil on top of this then in the spring before you plant dig this area over again giving it a good mixing, lots of donkey work but it should help break up the clay.

[Gorsty]

Unfortunately the muck heaps are actually in a trailer which gets emptied pretty regularly so no time for anything to rot down - think it gets put into a muck spreader & just spread around the fields.

But thanks for the tip anyway - will have a scout around & see if there are any hidden muck piles.

[Gorsty]

Composting Muck

Thanks for all your tips

Unfortunately the muck heaps are actually in a trailer which gets emptied pretty regularly so no time for anything to rot down - think it gets put into a muck spreader & just spread around the fields.

Will have a scout around & see if there are any hidden muck piles though.

[QUOTE=Glutton4..I bag all my stable manure, and dispose of the shavings separately. My muck is then stored in its plastic bags for six months, during which time it has sweated and rotted down a treat. There's no harm in asking! [/QUOTE]

This sounds alright - I have done this with loads of leaves which I hope will rot down in due course.

Do you do anything with your bags of droppings - or is it simply fill them up, seal and wait patiently. Do the bags need to be in the sun to make them sweat or will they be ok hidden behind a shed or under trees?

The trench suggestion is what we've already attempted to do but were worried that there were too many shavings & they wouldn't rot down in time for planting next year.

Thanks again

[Glutton4...]

I just leave 'em stacked in a (fairly) neat stack in a corner of the yard. Then, when the Nags go back out at night again, and I stop mucking out, I drag Mr. G down there and he loads the bags onto the trailer for me. By Autumn the muck is usually black and slimy, but doesn't smell at all.

During the summer we clean the paddocks with a fab 'poo-sucker' vacuum thinggy, which is soooo much easier!