I've recently converted part of the wild field that was my back garden,
into vegetable beds. I dug in a fair amount of last year's compost into the
clayey soil, but I think the soil still needs more organic matter, as it is
still rather sticky. It's also very alkaline due to the limestone shale
substrate.

I have just been given a good quantity of horse stable manure. As there is
still a good few weeks before I start planting, will I be OK to dig the
manure into the soil without composting it? It appears to be predominantly
part-digested hay with some urine-soaked hay mixed in. It all appears to be
a good few weeks old. It's not like the well-digested horse droppings that
you tyipcally find on the road where horse-riders have been.

TIA

Jim

On Feb 6, 2:28*pm, Jim xzy wrote:
I've recently converted part of the wild field that was my back garden,
into vegetable beds. I dug in a fair amount of last year's compost into the
clayey soil, but I think the soil still needs more organic matter, as it is
still rather sticky. It's also very alkaline due to the limestone shale
substrate.

I have just been given a good quantity of horse stable manure. As there is
still a good few weeks before I start planting, will I be OK to dig the
manure into the soil without composting it? It appears to be predominantly
part-digested hay with some urine-soaked hay mixed in. It all appears to be
a good few weeks old. It's not like the well-digested horse droppings that
you tyipcally find on the road where horse-riders have been.

TIA

Jim

You can put it a in certain areas but not root crops with the
exception of potatoes. ie. not carrots parsnips, beetroot etc.
Or you can stick it in the compost heap.

"Jim xzy" wrote in message
. 4.11...
I've recently converted part of the wild field that was my back garden,
into vegetable beds. I dug in a fair amount of last year's compost into
the
clayey soil, but I think the soil still needs more organic matter, as it
is
still rather sticky. It's also very alkaline due to the limestone shale
substrate.

I have just been given a good quantity of horse stable manure. As there is
still a good few weeks before I start planting, will I be OK to dig the
manure into the soil without composting it? It appears to be predominantly
part-digested hay with some urine-soaked hay mixed in. It all appears to
be
a good few weeks old. It's not like the well-digested horse droppings that
you tyipcally find on the road where horse-riders have been.

TIA

Jim

Jim one of my daughters and her then husband, used to breed Arabs in
Staffordshire and they brought a couple with them in a horse box when they
came to visit us on the Isle of Wight.

They cleaned the box out with what was much the same as you described. It
went onto our compost heap and activated the proceeds. Our gardens as has
been reported here sooooooooooo many times are handkerchief size so in no
way could we use the stuff or dig it in straight away.

My advice? Well as is well known I am not the gardener of the house my wife
is, and who am I to argue with well over 50 years of experience? BUT, what
to do? Compost it.

Mike
South East Coast of the snow clear Isle of Wight


--

....................................

I'm an Angel, honest ! The horns are there just to keep the halo straight.

....................................

On 2012-02-06 14:28:33 +0000, Jim xzy said:

I've recently converted part of the wild field that was my back garden,
into vegetable beds. I dug in a fair amount of last year's compost into
the
clayey soil, but I think the soil still needs more organic matter, as
it is
still rather sticky. It's also very alkaline due to the limestone shale
substrate.

I have just been given a good quantity of horse stable manure. As there
is still a good few weeks before I start planting, will I be OK to dig
the
manure into the soil without composting it? It appears to be
predominantly
part-digested hay with some urine-soaked hay mixed in. It all appears
to be
a good few weeks old.

It would be a good filler for runner bean trenches but otherwise I
don't use unrotted/uncomposted manure on food crops.

Avoid putting unrotted manure where you're going to grow root crops, it's
too rich for them and will make carrots/parsmips etc fork and split.

It's not like the well-digested horse droppings that
you tyipcally find on the road where horse-riders have been.

I wonder if you are confusing "well digested" (by a horse) with what
gardeners mean by well rotted, or well composted manure. Which is the very
opposite, from freshly dropped.

In well rotted or composted manure, the droppings and any straw or
bedding should all have lost their original shape and colour and be one
indistinguishable dark mass.

Janet.

In message , Sacha
writes
On 2012-02-06 14:28:33 +0000, Jim xzy said:

I've recently converted part of the wild field that was my back garden,
into vegetable beds. I dug in a fair amount of last year's compost into the
clayey soil, but I think the soil still needs more organic matter, as it is
still rather sticky. It's also very alkaline due to the limestone shale
substrate.
I have just been given a good quantity of horse stable manure. As
there is
still a good few weeks before I start planting, will I be OK to dig the
manure into the soil without composting it? It appears to be predominantly
part-digested hay with some urine-soaked hay mixed in. It all appears to be
a good few weeks old. It's not like the well-digested horse droppings that
you tyipcally find on the road where horse-riders have been.
TIA
Jim

If it's going to be a few weeks before you plant, you're probably safe
to dig it in now. If it was going onto emerging plants, the urine
might 'burn' it. But do check the horses haven't been grazed on fields
that were sprayed with the weedkiller that killed off so many plants in
gardens and allotments a few years ago. I forget its name but the
damage was well-documented.

Aminopyralid
--
Stewart Robert Hinsley

Jim
What you describe is not rotted - horse stable manure, it sounds like floor
sweepings out of some dirty stable or barn and I would not touch it, you
could put it in the corner of your garden and it might rot eventually but
not for some time, Where is the straw, horses are not bedded down on hay. If
you do decide to use it ask if the horses are or have been on any medication
or you could be putting all sorts of nasty stuff on your soil.

kate
..

I have just been given a good quantity of horse stable manure. As there is
still a good few weeks before I start planting, will I be OK to dig the
manure into the soil without composting it? It appears to be predominantly
part-digested hay with some urine-soaked hay mixed in. It all appears to be
a good few weeks old. It's not like the well-digested horse droppings that
you tyipcally find on the road where horse-riders have been.

TIA

Jim