Should I use manure? and how much of it?

[Lpeek]

I bought some manure called 'Zoo Poo' when I was at a zoo recently, it's a mix of elephant and rhino manure, and apparently great for plants!

But I've not done a lot of planting before, and haven't really read anything about manure/fertiliser. I'm just wondering, does manure help every type of plant? including flowers and trees? or just fruit/veg?

Also, what kind of ratio should I usually mix? equal parts compost and manure? or just a small touch of manure?

Thanks!

[rustylady]

This? Zoo Poo

[Lpeek]

Thats the one

[rustylady]

Aren't there any instructions with it? Looks like a bit of a gimmick to me.

What sort of things are you growing?

[4390evans]

As you know Im no where near even any of the amateurs on here where as knowledge of gardening is concerned so don't quote me on this but I seen somewhere that you use the poo in the Autumn before the next spring, if its for flowers it said you dig your borders out put the soil out of there to one side, put a level of poop in there then put the soil back on the top. Then turn over in the spring when you want to plant or sow flowers. I hope this is of some help xx

[Penellype]

I regularly add sackfulls of horse poo to my compost heap (many riding stables will give this away free if you bag it up and take it away yourself). It can be quite rich so digging it into bare soil in the autumn is a good idea, although I do know people who use horse manure from stables bedded with wood shavings as a mulch for shrubs. Don't use fresh manure around leafy plants as it might burn them, and remember that its the urine, not the faeces that contains the most nitrogen, so don't just pick out the lumps of poo! There will be undigested hay seeds in it, so you will get some grass growing in it if you use it as a mulch.

Not sure about zoo poo - it depends what they feed the animals on.