Cow and horse dung from the fields around my home...

[Herbsandveg]

I live quite near a lot of open farmland, and as well as that we get quite a lot of horses around around here (All, I hasten to add, with people riding them) so I have a fair bit of access to their...errr....little 'deposits' that they leave behind...(He means cow and horse muck....Ed)...

Given that I've absolutely no assurance that any of these 'deposits' (Horse and cow muck...Ed) are guaranteed to be strictly organic ie they (the depositing animals) are probably fed chemically enhanced food, how likely is it that any 'deposits' used would render my organic garden project totally useless, and how long would it take again to clear out any chemicals from the soil?

Should I totally exclude the use of this in my growing plans given that I can't be sure of the actual make up of the muck?

[zazen999]

How long is a piece of string?

[Darwin.]

Well for starters you need to ask the people that own the land if it's ok to go around collecting it. They could decide it's natural fertiliser for their fields and want to leave it there or they may just not want people wandering around their land.

As for their food being chemically enhanced, it seems unlikely to me and it's even more unlikely this would make their dung unsuitable for use in an organic garden.

[VirginVegGrower]

How long is a piece of string?

Depends where you cut it.

[out in the cold]

How long is a piece of string?

Twice the distance from the midpoint to one end

[out in the cold]

Would you not need to store it somewhere to decompose a bit prior to using it?

I live quite near a lot of open farmland, and as well as that we get quite a lot of horses around around here (All, I hasten to add, with people riding them) so I have a fair bit of access to their...errr....little 'deposits' that they leave behind...(He means cow and horse muck....Ed)...

Given that I've absolutely no assurance that any of these 'deposits' (Horse and cow muck...Ed) are guaranteed to be strictly organic ie they (the depositing animals) are probably fed chemically enhanced food, how likely is it that any 'deposits' used would render my organic garden project totally useless, and how long would it take again to clear out any chemicals from the soil?

Should I totally exclude the use of this in my growing plans given that I can't be sure of the actual make up of the muck?

[Hazel at the Hill]

If you are being strictly organic, you cannot use the manure as you do not know enough about where it has come from.

If you are just trying to grow a few things to eat whilst being as 'green' as you can, get collecting (with permission from landowners first, of course). I'd leave it to rot down for at least one year, if not two.

Why don't you phone around the local stables to see if you can get hold of manure which is more of a known quantity?

[rustylady]

they (the depositing animals) are probably fed chemically enhanced food, how likely is it that any 'deposits' used would render my organic garden project totally useless, and how long would it take again to clear out any chemicals from the soil?

The big worry with animal manure is not "chemically enhanced food" which is extremely unlikely, but the fact that they may be grazing on land that has been treated with weedkillers (esp aminopyralid). Even if the grazing land is not sprayed, feed bought in may have been.

[SarzWix]

Exactly what RL said above. The only manure I use on my plot now comes from the stable that my lottie neighbour works at, and she questions every supplier about what has been sprayed on the fields which produce fodder and/or straw. If you haven't the time to do all that leg-work, then you'd have to test it all yourself before spreading it on your plot, and if it turned out to be contaminated you'd have a fight on your hands to get it taken away again...

[zazen999]

The question is - does your soil need anything else; and if so - what?

Isn't it best to find out the nutrient content first and add what you need rather than all this guesswork?

[Herbsandveg]

Would you not need to store it somewhere to decompose a bit prior to using it?

I would, wouldn't I? Thank you...

[Herbsandveg]

The question is - does your soil need anything else; and if so - what?

Isn't it best to find out the nutrient content first and add what you need rather than all this guesswork?

I suppose it is. Would I need to get a soil test kit for this?

[Two_Sheds]

I wouldn't: I gather that the cheap testing kits aren't very good (registering vinegar as "neutral", for instance.

If your plot (and I can't remember what you're working with) is growing weeds, then it will grow veggies.
I get a bit frustrated with this belief that soil must be "improved" before it can be planted. I guess it's come from the gardening "industry" that tries to sell us all manner of lotions & potions and tubs of stuff, that make it all very confusing (not to say expensive).

Improvement is an ongoing thing. Your plants take goodness out of the soil: you return it by composting those plants