gardening with poo?

I just plowed my garden with a 2-bottom about a week ago. I am now wishing that I would have put manure down before hand. Would there be anything wrong with putting it down now and just leaving it on the surface until spring? In the spring I will probably till it with a walk-behind tiller. I have people around me with a variety of animals that I could probably get manure from... cows, horses, goats, pigs. I have heard that pig manure is the worst, but what is the best from the rest of the choices? Thanks.

By the way, I am fairly new to gardening but so far I have been trying to grow swwet corn, tomatoes, cucumbers, watermelon, pumpkins and other vegetables.

You'll get a variety of opinions, but of course, put the manure on and then let it winter over. That's exactly what we do. Disc it up in spring. Perfect. Chicken/rabbit is the best manure and I'd rate horse at the bottom, given that weeds tend to pass through a horse, in our experience.

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I've heard that leaving the manure on top will allow ultra violet to go to work on pathogens and possibly allow exposed seeds to sprout be killed when you disc it later on.

Since you are new to gardening, you might want to get a soil test first to see where your N-P-K levels and pH level is at on your garden site.

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Originally Posted by Fossil Farm

Since you are new to gardening, you might want to get a soil test first to see where your N-P-K levels and pH level is at on your garden site.

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This really is probably good advice, I have been meaning to do this. When I bought this house the part of my yard that I am trying to grow the garden in had been a corn field just a year or 2 earlier so I assumed it was good soil. I have not been able to get sweet corn to grow worth a darn for the last two years, thought the tomatoes and cucumbers have done alright. Where is the best place to get this test done? Thanks.

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Originally Posted by cqaigy2

I've heard that leaving the manure on top will allow ultra violet to go to work on pathogens and possibly allow exposed seeds to sprout be killed when you disc it later on.

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I don't quite understand this... are you saying it is bad to leave it exposed because weed seeds will grow, or is it good because they will be killed when discing?

Weeds have been a problem since I started this. They really do get ahead of me sometimes. I waited until the stuff kinda dried out then went around with a torch and burned as many seed heads that I could find before plowing. I am sure I will keep fighting weeds for years to come but have vowed (to myself anyway) to try to make more time for weeding in the future, maybe eventually they will slow a little. I am not even sure if the burning is effective, I have heard both sides or that story.

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Originally Posted by mikehaugen

I don't quite understand this... are you saying it is bad to leave it exposed because weed seeds will grow, or is it good because they will be killed when discing?

Weeds have been a problem since I started this. They really do get ahead of me sometimes. I waited until the stuff kinda dried out then went around with a torch and burned as many seed heads that I could find before plowing. I am sure I will keep fighting weeds for years to come but have vowed (to myself anyway) to try to make more time for weeding in the future, maybe eventually they will slow a little. I am not even sure if the burning is effective, I have heard both sides or that story.

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Sorry, those were supposed to be the benefits. Kill pathogens. The weed seeds need light to germinate so you get them to germinate at a determined time to kill them off instead of when you plow, bringing the ungerminated seed to the surface to germinate when you are planting.

Contact your county extension office about the soil test. Some extension offices still do the testing or they will have a list of labs that do soil testing.

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Originally Posted by cqaigy2

Sorry, those were supposed to be the benefits. Kill pathogens. The weed seeds need light to germinate so you get them to germinate at a determined time to kill them off instead of when you plow, bringing the ungerminated seed to the surface to germinate when you are planting.

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In college, we did germination tests in dark rooms. Plants need light for chlorophyll production, but I do not think they need light to germinate.

leaving the manure on top allows the nitrogen to turn into gas and float away in the air. Till it in right away to save it, tilling also keeps runoff to a minimum.

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Originally Posted by Ed of all trades

leaving the manure on top allows the nitrogen to turn into gas and float away in the air. Till it in right away to save it, tilling also keeps runoff to a minimum.

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These are good points as well. I believe it's the ammonia (NH3), typically from urine, that evaporates out of manure but the non volatile nitrogen compound remain. Runoff of manure can be a problem as Ed said So you have to weigh your options.