A heap of crap

   / A heap of crap #1  

Bartcephus

Gold Member
Joined
May 6, 2009
Messages
301
Location
Northeast Texas
Tractor
New Holland 1510 fwa with FEL
FIL has a big ole pile of horse manure he has offered to let me take "as much as I need" to improve my soil in my garden. (Wished I'd known it was there before I tilled and planted a few rows.) He said that he really has a problem with grass weeds. Made me wonder, is there anything I need to do (let nature do?) before the sh_t hits the soil? Currently my soil, if it has any moisture at all, will clod and retain moisture like a wet rag. Always seems muddy, takes forever to get workable, except when the drought hit. Turned to dust then. I'm hoping some orgainic material mixed in there might be a solution. Tried adding some sand and what a mistake that was.... :ashamed:

Thanks in advance
 
   / A heap of crap #2  
Sounds like our Black or red clay? I'd go ahead and put the manure in if you could, should help unbind the clay some too. I have heard of people letting it "ferment" or heat up in compost to kill weed seeds, but don't know how practical that is. I have tilled stray and mulched hay into clay with good results the following spring.
 
   / A heap of crap #3  
I've used both horse and cow manure on my garden but whenever I use either, especially horse manure, I always let it sit for about a year, turning it occasionally, to let it compost and kill off any remaining undigested seeds. I'm no expert, I've been told that cow manure is best because cows digest their food better than horses.
 
   / A heap of crap
  • Thread Starter
#5  
Thanks for the replies... I knew someone (Several someones) would be able to steer me in the right direction. This is one of the best sites I visit and the range of advice available is awesome.

Regards,
Bart
 
   / A heap of crap #6  
got this info from my long gone grand father...horse manure is to "hot" as he would say, gotta let it sit for a year , cow manure is good to go anytime...he always said the same thing that letting either sit will kill off any weed seeds..that might be true in a way but i usually get weeds after i use any manure..i don't think it gets them all
 
   / A heap of crap
  • Thread Starter
#7  
Well, hot or not, the horse manure is in the garden. Made a couple of passes with the tiller, and Ohhh it looked soooo gooood! FIL loaded two trailer loads (small single axel trailer) which I had to unload manually with a hand shovel. Wore me out, but the few rows I was able to spread look so much better. I probabbly have another 3-5 loads to finish the garden, but I have some crops in there already. It will have to wait.

Had the most productive weekend. Planted potatoes, canaloupe, squash in the gardens. Weeded the onions, lettuce, garlic, spinach, corn, etc. Planted some peppers in a starter tray for the greenhouse (Green shed? er ahhh plastic shack?) Put a trailer hitch on a golf cart for my FIL and redecked his trailer which I was amazed held up to the weight of the horse stuff. Also tilled some for a couple of neighbors, helped one pull up some fence posts using the bucket. All in all... it was great.

Thanks again for the advice. I wanted to get the stuff before they gave it to someone else.

P.S. The manure had been there awhile as I was getting to the bottom of their "stock." Hopefully that was long enough.
 
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   / A heap of crap #8  
A load of horse manure seems to always have weeds. Horses don't have the same digestive systems that a cow or a chicken do. Still, manure is valuable for soil amending, and it's gold.

I'd spred it on a patch I wasn't going to use for a year, frankly, since you doubt it is fully cooked. Go ahead and "let it sprout" whatever it wishes. Then, I'd till it down every month. One of the best ways to get rid of weeds is to sprout them. Till them before they produce seed of their own. Done.
 
   / A heap of crap #9  
Around my way they always say "aged" manure for the soil. In my area of virginia we suffer from high clay soil and high acid. Manure adds a good bit of organic material as well as compost which helps break the clay and adds nutrients and water retention to the soil. Can't go wrong but was always told not to use fresh, always "aged"
 
   / A heap of crap
  • Thread Starter
#10  
I'm sure I'll probably have to deal with the weeds. But I have a cultivator and tiller for that. I'd rather deal with the weeds than the hard as rock clods/soil that is there. I think this is going to work out well. :thumbsup:
 
 
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