Horse Manure safe?

[Morty_007]

Hi all,
I wonder if you can answer a quick question (or 3) for me please? I have access to some horse manure which I'd like to dig through my garden..

1. I am pregnant, is it safe or me to handle it or will DH have to be bribed?
2. Does it need to be rotted down or is fresh stuff good too?
3. I'm pregnant and can't for the life of me remember what the third question was! (slowly gettting used to this, no doubt it will come back to me later!)

Thanks in advance

[sanman]

Horse manure is normally regarded as being safe to handle. However normally hazards when handling 'stuff' around soil need to be considered especially tetanus.

The stuff that is rotted down is best, it should look like sticky black soil.

[PAULW]

MORTY
1 Its secondhand grass it would be very rare to pick up anything really nasty in it but you could always wear your marigolds.
2 It would be better if you stacked it/put it in compost bins and let it rot down I have used it fresh by collecting it in the late summer and covering any spare ground with it and leave it to over winter before digging it in, the problem with this is it does not generate enough heat to kill the weedseeds that pass through the horses gut especially fat hen and you can find your plot covered with weeds where you never had them before.
3 Sorry cant help with this one

[pigletwillie]

3 - it wasn't me!

[supersprout]

MORTY
2 It would be better if you stacked it/put it in compost bins and let it rot down I have used it fresh by collecting it in the late summer and covering any spare ground with it and leave it to over winter before digging it in, the problem with this is it does not generate enough heat to kill the weedseeds that pass through the horses gut especially fat hen and you can find your plot covered with weeds where you never had them before

Same here. Get over the weed problem by mulching - 6-8" of organic matter - in the spring as the plants grow. Hay, straw, spent hops, grass cuttings (in moderation), fresh or 'cooked' compost, leaves or leafmould, seaweed - whatever you can lay your hands on.

During the year, mulch greedy feeders (potatoes, blackcurrants, rasps, Globe and Jerusalem artichokes, brassica and rhubarb) with it, just don't let fresh manure touch tender stems. And don't put it on growing areas where you plan to sow root veg immediately e.g. carrot, parsnip, salsify, beetroot, or the roots might fork. Grow another crop first.

[nick the grief]

3 - it wasn't me!

or me & I have the word of a surgeon .... otherwise he gets the same treastment minus the anasthetic

[jlottie]

Congratulations Morty.

I'd wear gloves, just to be on the safe side. Farmyard manure bought from Garden Centres have advice on the bags about wearing gloves when handling the stuff.

Well rotted manure can take 3 - 6 months to "mature" it depends on what its mixed with. A good sign is that there is no bedding (straw etc) left visible.

[Earthbabe]

If you pay me in wine I'll help out. Can even get you some gloves.

Can't help with Q.3 though

[srodders]

I'd be more worried about you carrying heavy bags when pregnant rather than the 'dirt' aspect of it. As the others say - wear gloves, but don't lift too heavy a load as that would be the greater risk when pregnant.

[Morty_007]

LOL, thanks everyone.

NTG and Piglett, you can stand down, we know who it was, LMAO!

I have been wearing my faithfiul marigolds whenever in the garden, if only to keep my hands warm if nothing else!

And Earthbabe, I'll swap you a nights baby sitting for some digging in manure...rather you than me!! (Oh and a couple of glasses of wine and maybe dinner, of course!)

[Earthbabe]

You got a deal Morty.

[Morty_007]

Re-read that and thought it looked a bit odd...I meant dinner and wine at our place after the digging not at yours, LMAO.

[Earthbabe]

That's what I understood although the other can also be arranged later in the year. Someone gave me a very nice bottle of Wolf Blass for my birthday which we will celebrating our Wedding Anniversary with. You might even be up for a splash of Moet by then.

[Earthbabe]

BTW pregnancy brain can last for years. That's my excuse anyway. And srodders has a point.

[Morty_007]

LOL, Yes, I know Srodders is very right. I am not good at slowing down, you know that. Trying to ignore the fact that i'm just not able to be as independent at I'd like. Mr M has banned me from getting in the loft, a state of affairs I am MOST upset about!

Pleased you liked the WB...I made an exception to the "choose it by what the bottle looks like" rule, especially for you. LMAO.

Gotta be said, Moet sounds like heaven right now. Mr M opened the most amazing bottle of red last night which he teased me with a sip of and I could have happily drunk the lot. But I must be good! 21+10 on Tuesday so might break the famine then, but only 1 glass, honest!

The 2 of us are going to bed now, babybrain tends to work better with about 16 hours sleep...a luxury I'm already going without tomorrow.

For the record, still have ABSOLUTELY no idea what the 3rd question was, but there must have been one!
Night all, and thanks again
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