Horse manure

[leicestershirelass]

Hi - we've been offered some free horse manure, but as quite new to growing our own we're not sure which we should be using for what??

Any recommendations please - we've been offered manure with straw and manure without straw ... hopefully you experienced growers will be able to tell us how best to use it.

Thanks

[FionaH]

I use the stuff without straw. But its got to be well rotted. Stuff I got had been sat in a pile in the field for about two years. It was black, full of worms and not smelly
I have dug mine into my new veg beds ready for spring planting.
Apparently horse manure is not good for root veg though. Im new to this and Im sure a more experienced vine will be along soon.
Horse poo is great on compost heaps too.

[Gwyndy]

Many of the more experienced allotment holders have told me not to use horse manure on the basis that a horse does not "process" what it eats as well as a cow. A cow has four stomachs and the theory is that weed seed, etc. is well digested and destroyed by a cow but passes straight through a horse!! (That's the polite description!)

I have also been told that if you do have to use horse manure, make sure that the animals have been bedded on straw and not on wood shavings which take much longer to rot down and, if too fresh, will strip the nitrogen from your soil.

I must emphasise that I have no experience of using horse manure - I always use cow - and offer the above comments based on what I have been told by others.

All manure needs to be well rotted. I try to keep mine for 12 months before using it. Don't plant root crops in freshly manured ground - roots will fork.

Hope this helps.

[Hazel at the Hill]

I've always been advised to use the strawy manure from the skip (we have it delivered from the local stables) as the straw lets the air circulate and rots down more quickly.

As I understand it, the wood shavings stuff is more 'sour' - the shavings rot down more slowly than the straw, and they rob nitrogen from the soil as part of the rotting process, I think.

Personally, I bung a whole load of strawy manure on what has been this year's roots bed as soon as I've lifted the last of the beetroot and carrots - it will be the potato bed next year, and they will love it. It's pretty fresh when it goes on, but it's got a few months to 'mature', and the worms will do the digging for me.

(Of course I still have the parsnips in this years roots bed till Jan/Feb, so the that's the part of the bed that will be used for maincrop spuds which go in a bit later, which means I can pull the parsnips and still leave the manure to work it's magic for a couple of months or so)

[leicestershirelass]

thanks for the tips ... will get OH to ensure it's well rotted ... lol

[Lavenderblue]

This may sound bonkers but where are you getting it from? I am desperate for some manure but have no idea where to get it from in bulk. Plus I have a new car and am a bit precious about it - I don't want poo in my car

[grasser]

hi while youre on the subject of manure,ive got new raised beds bout 15 inches deep ,
i have got enough cow manure [2 yrs old] to fill them with, being brand new to this game will i have to mix it with soil? any help any one can give me will be much appreciated
many thanks john

[burnie]

Grasser,without having seen the muck,I'd suggest you play safe and put a layer of soil on top,at least 3 or 4 inches deep.

[grasser]

thanksburnie will do that

[Skotch]

This may sound bonkers but where are you getting it from? I am desperate for some manure but have no idea where to get it from in bulk. Plus I have a new car and am a bit precious about it - I don't want poo in my car

Hi there - I'm on an allotment in Leicester and we have the phone numbers for at least 3 farmers who will come and deliver manure by the trailer load. It's about 3 tonnes per load and the farmers won't deliver until it's nicely rotted, so you get decent stuff. If its too much for one plot, perhaps there are other plotholders who may want to club together to buy a load. I'll try to remember to get the numbers and will PM you next week - the numbers are in the shop which only opens at the weekend

Skotch

[Lavenderblue]

Hi there - I'm on an allotment in Leicester and we have the phone numbers for at least 3 farmers who will come and deliver manure by the trailer load. It's about 3 tonnes per load and the farmers won't deliver until it's nicely rotted, so you get decent stuff. If its too much for one plot, perhaps there are other plotholders who may want to club together to buy a load. I'll try to remember to get the numbers and will PM you next week - the numbers are in the shop which only opens at the weekend

Skotch

That would be fab! We are out at Countesthorpe so I hope they don't mind delivering out in the County. Our plot is quite big and I am sure other folks would like a pile of manure so I will get Simon to email them all. Blimey, I never thought i would actually be a bit excited at the thought of shovelling tonnes of poop, but I am

[leicestershirelass]

This may sound bonkers but where are you getting it from? I am desperate for some manure but have no idea where to get it from in bulk. Plus I have a new car and am a bit precious about it - I don't want poo in my car

Hi - getting manure from a friend who has a couple of horses.

Are you a member of local freecycle? It's surprising what you people give away!!

[shallotman]

Scotch. Any chance of your farmers coming to Essex with the manure,

[Skotch]

Scotch. Any chance of your farmers coming to Essex with the manure,

You could always ask

Lavenderblue - I'm sorry I haven't got you the phone numbers yet, but we have just taken delivery of a new dog and I didn't get around to going to the allotment. I'll definitely get there this weekend and will PM you

Skotch

[Dibbler]

...anyone have any good sources of manure who will deliver around Mansfield?