Manure for nitrogen

[TheMan419]

So we have an 18 acre horse farm. So I have plenty of horse manure. I have an area I need to till up to get rid of the clover that has taken over and plant some grass.

I know I need to get soil tested but the fact clover took over everything means I値l habe to add nitrogen. Since I have it laying around in the manure what is the best way to use it?

I do not have a spreader. However I could take it over by the FEL full and spread by back dragging and then using the chain harrow.

I am thinking I should do that after I kill the clover w 24D but before I till yes?

 

[Billrog]

Horse manure is full of seeds unless it's been composed for a few years so maybe till it in with the clover and spray later when the rest of the weeds come up ?

 

[mcfarmall]

Worst thing about horse manure it that its full of weed seeds. Also are you using the manure as *fill Dirt* for the area in question?

If you back drag with the FEL, do not extend your curl cylinders very far or you might bend them. Dump the bucket about 10-15 degrees past level and then back drag.

See the thread *kid snapped the loader arms* on TBN

 

[prichard]

Actually if you till clover in when blooming it will add nitrogen to the soil

How Much Nitrogen Will Clover Put in the Soil? | Home Guides | SF Gate

 

[TheMan419]

Worst thing about horse manure it that its full of weed seeds. Also are you using the manure as *fill Dirt* for the area in question?

If you back drag with the FEL, do not extend your curl cylinders very far or you might bend them. Dump the bucket about 10-15 degrees past level and then back drag.

See the thread *kid snapped the loader arms* on TBN

No it will not be fill. Just a source of nitrogen. I produce the manure already so it is 吐ree? I understand the back drag issues.

Weeds I can deal with. Some Grazon will take care of that.

 

[CADplans]

My DIY manure spreader,,,

Before;

during;

after;

After spreading manure, it grades the gravel on the driveway!! :thumbsup:

 

[oosik]

I don't think there is manure spreader around that does the job your little unit accomplishes. Makes a guy think that it could be beneficial to drag a set of tire chains or a drag harrow behind his manure spreader.

 

[TnAndy]

I do not have a spreader.

Easy fix.....just find a rusted out hunk of junk like I did for price of scrap metal, then spend a month or so of spare time putting more metal back on it than the dadgum Oliver factory ever thought about using, beef up/replace all the bearings, put in a new white oak floor, paint/decal the whole thing, and you'll have one.

(Wish I'd taken a 'before' pic...it was really pitiful)

 

[teejk]

I've always heard that "horse apples" were highly "concentrated" and needed to be blended with milder stuff to avoid burn. Any truth to that?

 

[oosik]

Holly Cow - if I had something that nice - I'd only be running flower petals thru it. Andy - do you have any idea how old it is?

 

[Billrog]

Chicken manure is very high in nitrogen and can burn plants but never had any problem with horse manure just weeds.

 

[TnAndy]

Holly Cow - if I had something that nice - I'd only be running flower petals thru it. Andy - do you have any idea how old it is?

Early 50's I think. Steel must have been scarce, or they were just cheap. Finally thought I'd found a decent pc in it where the main wheel bearings (long worn out and gone) mounted, only to find what I thought was 1/4" was really two 1/8" pcs welded on the edges together....unbelievable.....would have thought the labor to do that would be more than if they'd just bought 1/4" plate ! The cross pieces underneath were simply folded sheet metal....most of which had rusted away long ago. I replaced with actual steel channel. I guarantee ya the thing weighed several hundred pounds more when it left my shop compared to the day it rolled out the Oliver factory.

By the way....I didn't need it, just rebuilt it for fun. Sold it to a horse farm in Georgia, they drove all the way up here and got it.

 

[bunyip]

Hair is a source of nitrogen, people have cheated at Ag Shows using it in soil to grow monster tomatoes (that I have heard are almost inedible).
Your local barber may donate some off the floor.

 

[Jstpssng]

One man's weed is another man's horse forage. I question if you are going to get anything that you don't want. You are looking to get a horse pasture, not a vegetable garden; the only thing that's in the horse manure is going to be what they have already eaten.

 

[japody]

So we have an 18 acre horse farm. So I have plenty of horse manure. I have an area I need to till up to get rid of the clover that has taken over and plant some grass. I know I need to get soil tested but the fact clover took over everything means I have to add nitrogen.


Clover does not mean you need nitrogen. Clover absorbs nitrogen from the air and stores it in nodules on its roots. When the clover dies, it releases the nitrogen into the soil, where other plants, such as grass are able to utilize it. Around here, clover is a very desirable legume.

 

[TheMan419]

So we have an 18 acre horse farm. So I have plenty of horse manure. I have an area I need to till up to get rid of the clover that has taken over and plant some grass. I know I need to get soil tested but the fact clover took over everything means I have to add nitrogen.

Clover does not mean you need nitrogen. Clover absorbs nitrogen from the air and stores it in nodules on its roots. When the clover dies, it releases the nitrogen into the soil, where other plants, such as grass are able to utilize it. Around here, clover is a very desirable legume.

The pasture mix I planted was something like 3% clover. It absolutely took over one section and choked all else out. Yes I realize it fixes nitrogen but everything I have read says if it dominates you are light on nitrogen.

 

[Jstpssng]

The pasture mix I planted was something like 3% clover. It absolutely took over one section and choked all else out. Yes I realize it fixes nitrogen but everything I have read says if it dominates you are light on nitrogen.

You probably should talk to your Extension office, and get a soil test as you stated in your first post. You also might want to check this bulletin out about problems in horses caused by one type of clover which is common in forage mixes, ( alsike clover ) as it may apply to you. Purdue Forage Information

 

[TheMan419]

You probably should talk to your Extension office, and get a soil test as you stated in your first post. You also might want to check this bulletin out about problems in horses caused by one type of clover which is common in forage mixes, ( alsike clover ) as it may apply to you. Purdue Forage Information

Interesting. I値l have to check the mixture. I have actually talked to the guy that wrote that article about proper forage to plant. We also had one yellow weed growing predominatly in our property and had trouble killing it. He pointed me in the right direction. Finally hit with roundup and 24d and then tilled it under. Little ******* is coming back in some areas.

EDIT- Does not look like we have that kind of clover.

 

[tcreeley]

My experience with fresh and year old horse manure in shavings is that it is not fully decomposed. Even though the pile may be steaming when you spread it, it still has a way to go. Once it is mixed in after spreading, it sucks the nitrogen out of the soil to finish decomposing. In the garden you see this in leafy vegetables (tomatoes) without fruit. We always have 3 piles going, - fresh, -working on 2 years, - working on 3 years. After 3 years it is nice, dark compost.

We usually throw some pumpkin seeds or squash on the newer pile and they grow fine. No weeding needed.
We'll stick potatoes in the two and 3 yr old piles and they grow fine.When we till in the fall, the manure goes onto the garden.


- using herbicide anywhere ? Why? Just adding a poison to the dirt that kills beneficial bugs and birds. - Control weeds by mowing before they flower, Works well.