Would like to hear any information on putting horse manure in vegetable
gardens as opposed to commercial fertilizers. I would like to apply it
now? thanks hlb

"HL B123" wrote in message
...
Would like to hear any information on putting horse manure in vegetable
gardens as opposed to commercial fertilizers. I would like to apply it
now? thanks hlb

I use horse manure on veg beds as I seem to recall does David H-S.

I use it in all stages from very fresh to old and rotted, but it depends on
the stage of the year and the plants I'm putting it on as to how fresh it
is. There are some major cautions on the use of horse manure and it's
sources that relate to where on the planet you are and also some seasonal
hints. You don't say where you are on the planet and what season you are
having so I won't go on without that info.

I am in Arkansas U.S.A. thanks hlb

It is freezing here

HL B123 wrote:
Would like to hear any information on putting horse manure in
vegetable gardens as opposed to commercial fertilizers. I would like
to apply it now? thanks hlb

I use it all the time. As well as supplying nutrients it improves the soil
texture. I raise roses that grow to twice the expected height and pumpkin
vines that envelope small buildings and slow animals. However if it is
freezing cold nothing much is going to happen until spring. It takes warmth
for your veges to grow and for microorganisms to get working to break down
the manure. Why do you want to apply it now?

David

In article ,
(HL B123) wrote:

It is freezing here

Night time temps below freezing for the next 8 days.
--
- Billy
"Fascism should more properly be called corporatism because it is the
merger of state and corporate power." - Benito Mussolini.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MyE5wjc4XOw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_vN0--mHug

HL B123 wrote:
Would like to hear any information on putting horse manure in vegetable
gardens as opposed to commercial fertilizers. I would like to apply it
now?

Do you know what amendments your garden needs? That's the key to a good
decision process.

Una

In article ,
(HL B123) wrote:

Would like to hear any information on putting horse manure in vegetable
gardens as opposed to commercial fertilizers. I would like to apply it
now? thanks hlb

Now would be a good time to apply fresh manure to a garden or a compost
pile. Normally, you want your manure to be 4 to 6 months old when you
apply it, which it will be when planting time rolls around. The manure
breaks down slowly to release its plant nutrients. Chemical fertilizers
(chemferts) are water soluble and run off with the runoff, polluting
ground water, water tables, and waterways. Chemferts are responsible for
a giant "dead zone" in the gulf of Mexico at the mouth of the
Mississippi. In "organic" gardening, the idea is to feed the soil, and
let the soil feed the plants. Chemical fertilizers kill the soil and
cause erosion, but I'll save that for another time.
--
- Billy
"Fascism should more properly be called corporatism because it is the
merger of state and corporate power." - Benito Mussolini.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_vN0--mHug
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MyE5wjc4XOw

Billy wrote:
In article ,
(HL B123) wrote:

Would like to hear any information on putting horse manure in vegetable
gardens as opposed to commercial fertilizers. I would like to apply it
now? thanks hlb

Now would be a good time to apply fresh manure to a garden or a compost
pile. Normally, you want your manure to be 4 to 6 months old when you
apply it, which it will be when planting time rolls around. The manure
breaks down slowly to release its plant nutrients. Chemical fertilizers
(chemferts) are water soluble and run off with the runoff, polluting
ground water, water tables, and waterways. Chemferts are responsible for
a giant "dead zone" in the gulf of Mexico at the mouth of the
Mississippi. In "organic" gardening, the idea is to feed the soil, and
let the soil feed the plants. Chemical fertilizers kill the soil and
cause erosion, but I'll save that for another time.

I am not positive on this one. I know there are laws of some sort some
where.
Are their laws for commercial food crops for WHEN to put down animal manure
down for crops. Like: cannot put manure down 30 days before planting? Or 90
days before picking? Do not put down manure on snow or after it rains?

Trying to find such information on the net, but get bogged down by tons of
legalese reading. Not just treating manure.

--
Enjoy Life... Nad R (Garden in zone 5a Michigan)

In the United States, for Certified Organic growers there is a standard
from the National Organic Program. The NOP standard allows application
of fresh manure under most circumstances. Note that NOP defines fresh
manure as any manure not subjected to controlled aerobic decomposition.

Early winter is an excellent time to apply manure.

Una

Billy wrote:
....
Now would be a good time to apply fresh manure to a garden or a

no it wouldn't. the ground is frozen.

anything on top is likely to wash away.

if you can't bury it i'd wait.


songbird

In article ,
"songbird" wrote:

Billy wrote:
...
Now would be a good time to apply fresh manure to a garden or a

no it wouldn't. the ground is frozen.

anything on top is likely to wash away.

if you can't bury it i'd wait.


songbird

Might depend on you soil micro environment. All we ever did was toss
it about in fall and work the soil in spring light tillage. Shit breaks
down due to other like forms. A small pile is gone in no time. And we
don't have any scarab beetles.
I grew up watch Ott's /Disney time lapse photography. Sure it was
beautiful to see a plant sprout but so was a mouse being taken apart by
maggots. Talk about team effort!

--
Bill S. Jersey USA zone 5 shade garden

"Always tell the truth and you don't have to remember anything."
--Mark Twain.

Bill who putters wrote:
songbird wrote:
Billy wrote:
...
Now would be a good time to apply fresh manure to a garden or a

no it wouldn't. the ground is frozen.
....
Might depend on you soil micro environment. All we ever did was toss
it about in fall and work the soil in spring light tillage. Shit
breaks down due to other like forms. A small pile is gone in no
time. And we don't have any scarab beetles.
I grew up watch Ott's /Disney time lapse photography. Sure it was
beautiful to see a plant sprout but so was a mouse being taken apart
by maggots. Talk about team effort!

if the ground wasn't frozen it
would be a different answer from me.

if it weren't frozen i'd dig trenches
and bury it (preventing run off pollution,
wind erosion and giving the soil microbes
the most surface area to work on).

and i agree that it is fun to watch
nature at work. i've often watched ants.


songbird

In article , (Una) wrote:

In the United States, for Certified Organic growers there is a standard
from the National Organic Program. The NOP standard allows application
of fresh manure under most circumstances. Note that NOP defines fresh
manure as any manure not subjected to controlled aerobic decomposition.

Early winter is an excellent time to apply manure.

Una

As Una says,"early Winter", not late "Fall", when you might encourage
late growth, waste of plant reserves, and perhaps kill your plant(s).

The main thing to remember about "fresh" manure is to keep it away from
the edible parts of the plant. You don't want watering or rain splashing
the fresh manure up on the parts of the plant that you will eat.

Then there is that other stuff about not adding too much for fear of
burning the roots of your plants.
--
- Billy
"Fascism should more properly be called corporatism because it is the
merger of state and corporate power." - Benito Mussolini.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MyE5wjc4XOw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_vN0--mHug

Billy wrote:
Then there is that other stuff about not adding too much for fear of
burning the roots of your plants.

Good point. That applies to horse "manure" in the sense of straw or
wood shaving stall bedding. Urine is very high in available nitrogen.
Urine-soaked stall bedding can burn plant roots by delivering a surge
of excess nitrogen.

Horse feces have an ideal C:N ratio and by themselves will not burn
plant roots. Many horse farms and stables pick feces daily and strip
bedding weekly, so by knowing their cleaning schedule you may be able
to select "manure" that has relatively more or less nitrogen.

Una