horse manure advice needed

[organic fumbler]

Hi all, i need some advice on horse manure, i'v just got my first allotment but the ground has been left for a long time unused, i'v cleared it, but its in dire need of organic matter, now problem i'v got is i can get a limitless supply of ready bagged horse manure 300 yard from my house, but its full of wood shavings, i tried using it in some of my raised beds a few years ago but things didnt grow well, i rotted the manure for a year so i assumed it was the shavings which where still visible, my question is if i pile it up and use plenty of compost activator (ammonium sulphamate ), and turn it regularly, would it break down the shavings in a year or so, any thoughts?

[alldigging]

Is it very dry?

[organic fumbler]

no its quite wet out of the bags, the bags have been piled up for some time so rain has got in and soaked them all

[alldigging]

I meant was it very dry when you got it?
I would stack it in a huge heap where it will break down quicker. Compact it and water on self-made compost activator if it's got lots of sawdust in it.

[Jungle Jane]

I was reading about compost the other day & it was saying to use no more than 30% wood in the growing medium,so it might be that that wood was to concentrated in a raised bed environment,but laid amongst the beds,dug into the soil,it would be less concentrated. You could add grass cuttings & other vegetation to it whilst it rots?

[Bigmallly]

Wood products will rob the soil of Nitrogen if dug in but could be used on top as a mulch. As suggested pile it up along with your other waste matter & the wood content should heat up pretty fast helping the rotting process.

[bearded bloke]

i tried using it in some of my raised beds a few years ago but things didnt grow well,

Can you describe better what wrong with what grew please, have things grown well in the same area since ? I aqsk because it may be a problem with the dung rather than the shavings

[donksey]

I would leave it alone and get some decent stuff from a field.

[Bill Door]

I would not use the manure but pile it up and let it cook, as someone else has said. You could also add more browns and greens to help (human pee is also said to help the process. Turn the heap every three weeks until it stops getting warm.

In the mean time you could sow green manures to over winter. I would also add some blood fish and bone meal to the ground to wash in over winter (not too heavy with the BFB).

good Luck

Bill

[Glutton4...]

I'd spread it over the area, and let ma nature do the work, and fork it over in the spring.

The reason behind this is, that it is already 'old' manure. Whereas if you collect new, you will have to wait for it to rot.

Firstly, however, I would check with the horseowner as to what the horses were fed on. Check that any hay fed to the animals hadn't come from a fertilised field. If it was fertilised, check what was used, and g**gle it! If it contains Aminopyralid, DON'T USE IT!

[jackarmy]

My grandad ( wow just filled up , god bless him ) used to swear it was great on cornflakes and as a child i did actually test it out lol, needless to say grandad got a rollicking off my mam

[donksey]

This shavings and manure will come from a stable I take?
Will that mean it will have been spread out over a newly washed and disinfected floor?
Is that alright to put on the garden with chemicals contaminating it?