Had 80 Cubic Yards of Poop delvered today.

[Pete Judd]

I live close to the county fair grounds, about 4 miles, and they are having problems getting rid of the compost left from all the horse shows, and other things that go on there. It is a mix of mostly horse, and straw and wood chips. Almost no smell, but still steaming when it was delivered. I will post a pic of the pile. Need to get the loader on the tractor as soon as possible. Putting in the garden for next year, soil is mostly clay, and planning about putting it down around 8-10 inches deep, then plowing it in then tilling it in. Should help to build up the soil, let the chickens take care of most of the weeds.

Any thing wrong with my plans, for a 60x100 garden?

 

[Johndeere3720]

I too got some horse manure, I got 4 truck loads from my grandpa's horse stables. Used my skid steer to get it in a big pile, I will turn it over every few weeks (once the ground dries out so I can turn it over). I will probably end up spreading it in the area where I am getting the land leveled out so eventually the grass will grow again, but in the mean time since I don't have a bush hog I need to make sure the grass wont grow until I get one. :laughing: You will defiantly want to turn it over with a FEL, and you will also find out that a bigger bucket will make turning it over a lot easier. If you have it piled up in an area that was once grass or just dirt you will also notice that the ground underneath the pile will hold moisture and be muddy almost year round.

 

[284 International]

I think I would try ripping furrows first, and then pulling the compost into the furrows until they were full. I think that would get a head start at working the material deeply into the ground, rather than just having a pile on top. While you don't have a loader yet, or one isn't mounted, I honestly think it would be quicker to use a box blade to pull the material and smooth it out anyway.

80 yards is quite a bit. It will add 4 1/4" or so in height to a 60x100 foot garden. Will that affect your irrigation or runoff at all? (Maybe you don't need to irrigate crops up there.... :laughing

 

[charlz]

If you go ahead and compost it you will kill off any/most weed seeds. I get similar stuff from some stables down the road once in a while. I put it in a big windrow (usually kinda that way with loads dumped in a row), get it really wet (I have a 1.5" hose off my pond) then back into it with the tiller from both sides. This flattens it out some, wet it down real good again and windrow it back up with the tiller. Do this about every 2 weeks and about 3 times. Once it has cooled considerably you will know it is about done. Will reduce down to about 1/3 of original volume.

Since it is now mostly sterile if you leave a cap of it over the garden it will be effective mulch and you should get little to no weeds if it is thick enough.

 

[bp fick]

Because horse manure is notorious for weeds, you've got a couple of choices.
Spread it out now and allow the weeds to sprout. Mechanically kill them by tilling.

Or, leave it cook for another 4 months. If it is hot enough, many weeds get sterilized but not all. It's a choice. I'd still employ the sprout and till method even on fully cooked horse poop.

Whichever way you decide, do NOT bury the good stuff down 10-12 inches. Leave it nearer the top 4-6 inches. Your plants aren't going to go seeking the benefits down a foot. Your top 6" is your prime grow zone. The nutrients will perk down eventually. No sense putting them down there to start. Just some thoughts.

 

[RobertN]

As others have mentioned, let that stuff compost/cook. It will get hot enough to kill all the seeds in it(remember, horse/cow does not digest seeds).

Need to get my wife to video-cast her Master Gardener composting class... She talks all about this.

 

[284 International]

I should have been more careful in what I said, and I'm glad bp fick pointed it out. It's not a good idea to tear the ground up a foot deep and fill the hole with the compost, then bury it. I was thinking more along the lines of 1.5-2" deep furrows (Just deeper than a 2x4 is thick) that could then be tilled and mixed, to loosen the upper 6" or so of the new garden plot, since the compost itself will add over 4" in depth.

I interpreted the material he received to already have been composted, too. If it's not composted already, it's smarter to let it bake first. Wood chips can acidify the soil, and also reduces the availability of nitrogen for plants to uptake, if they aren't already composted.

 

[Pete Judd]

I should have added that the poop, has been composting for over a year at the fairgrounds before it was delivered, but not turned over very often. I was just down at the pile and shoveled into it and it has no poop smell at all, so I think that it has about cooked itself out. Thanks for all the advice, I think I will just break the sod with a middle buster down to about 6 inches, spread it out on top and then till it in. Get the fence up, and bring in the chickens to keep the weeds down until next year.

 

[magicheater]

considering the average commercial dump truck today is a 15-17 yarder, THAT is a lot of poop!

 

[Creamer]

Not a bad plan since it has been piled for a year. Take to heart the nitrogen needs of decaying wood chips. Having some chickens to help supply nitrogen is important. Wood chips directly into a garden really detracts from the available nitrogen for the plants.
If the soil is heavy clay this will really help the tilth of the soil in the long run. Having some chicken manure in another year will make it much more fertile.