"FarmI" ask@itshall be given wrote in message
...
"Billy" wrote in message
"Zootal" wrote:

There is a bark place down the road that sells mushroom compost and steer
compost. Is this stuff good for the garden? Can I use it like compost and
heap it on the ground around plants and trees?

Manure should be at least six months old before use.

I disagree strongly with this. I use manure pretty fresh and always have.
It just depends on where you use it.

I think that the taboos about manure stem from old books (mostly from
Europe) which all talk about "aged manure". I suspect that most people
believe that without ever having tried it really fresh.



I agree. I live in the midst of cattle country and we run horses as well.
Manure from either can be used within a few weeks of date of plop when it has
dried somewhat.

Manure from birds (chickens, turkeys etc) is another matter altogether as the
content of nutrients is much higher. It must be diluted and/or composted
and/or aged before use. I prefer diluting and composting in with other plant
material as these help to retain the nutrients as just leaving it lying in a
heap will allow the soluble nutrients (especially nitrogen compounds) to leach
away. This usually results in great growth of grass downslope from the pile
which may not be what you want.

As for the neccesity of hot composting and sterilizing I think the risk of
picking up a pathogen from the manure of a herbivore is greatly over
estimated. Sure there are E.Coli and other pathogens that can live in humans
in their guts but we all live in a microbiological soup. The air, the water
and every object we touch is covered in microbes by the gazillion. Living
isn't something you can do sterile.

There are a great many people in the western world who live in big cities who
are horrified at the thought of anything that has come out of the arse of a
living creature. [I always knew that a boiled egg is the work of the devil]
I have had people ask me "where do the horses go to the bathroom?" When I
replied "where ever they please" they were horrified.

You have only to look at the vast market for fancy surface cleansers, coloured
stuff to put down your toilet etc, most of which is entirely pointless, to see
how this fear is reinforced by vested interests. Much of this squeamishness
is based on the fear that one spot of fecal matter on ones skin will
automatically result in an illness. You wash before eating don't you? You
have an immune system don't you? But you are a bad parent whose children
ought be taken away if your whole bathroom isn't sprayed with Zeppo Ultraclean
daily.

I would say changing the dirty nappy of an infant is far more dangerous (not
to mention unpleasant) than spreading barrows full of not fully composted cow
manure.

David