Sheep Manure

[rswyan]

rockin'

I printed out the CDC page on Q-fever and will take it with me when I got to visit the neighbor in the next couple days. Thanks much !

 

[gsganzer]

I thought I'd pass this along FWIW. My 80 year old neighbor told me that sheep manure is sterile for weed seeds, unlike cow or horse manure. It has something to do with the digestive tract of sheep.

He also told me that the sterile manure was part of the reason for the "cattle/sheep wars" on the old frontier. Not only did the sheep graze the grass much shorter, but there was limited reseeding of the sheep grazed areas due to the sterile droppings.

 

[rswyan]

gs,

Very interesting - be real nice if that turns out to be accurate. The less weeds the better. The pile has weeds growing all over it but I'd imagine that that they could be from windblown seed.

I went up today and picked up three heaping trailers of sheep manure - probably 10K or 12 K lbs. The manure is four years old - it was from the first time they cleaned out the barn after he brought the sheep in .... and he wasn't sure how he was going to get rid of it, so they just piled it outside. He's since been having a local landscaping place come in and clean out the barn once per year and truck off the manure to their operation - they were supposed to haul this stuff off but never got around to it.

My neighbor thought the entire pile would be very dry .... and it was on the outside - the inside wasn't though ..... it was extremely wet, very stinky, and had a pretty strong ammonia smell to it. There's probably another 10 loads up there ..... I'll be going back tommorrow, if it isn't raining, for more.

 

[PineRidge]

Randy you'll be surprised how fast that manure changes your plot once it's tilled in. You'll have nice veggies next year. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[seapea]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( That last doctor was grasping at straws is my first thought.)</font>
He might have been just been hoping the placebo affect would solve the problem. Some ailments are all in your head. Even those that aren't can be "cured" with the placebo affect. Just thinking that the problem has been solved changes how you feel, and when you feel better mentally, you are actually healthier and better able to fight diseases.

My wife had streppe once. Her first test came out negative. After 3 more days of 102/103 fever and getting rather depressed, I took her to the doctor again. The doctor (a different one) said she didn't need another test and could tell she had steppe based on her symptoms. She gave her an prescription for an antibiotic. My wife almost felt cured just having the prescription in hand because she knew her misery would end soon. In this case she really was sick, but just knowing that a cure was on it's way made her feel much better.

I guess this is a bit OT. Back to sheep poo. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[rswyan]

Mike,

I'm sure it will make a world of difference in the tilth of the soil ..... I'm really looking forward to it. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

The dirt is (field) topsoil ..... kinda loamy with a good bit of clay in it ..... but I think it's lacking in organic matter ........ although when I opened it up this spring it had quite a strong smell to it .... almost a bit of a stink .. the wife smelled it and thought it was either septic or the sheep (I don't think it's either - there's no septic drainage into these areas and the sheep no longer come back to this end of the neighbor's property) I've smelled it over the last year in other places around the property where I've been digging and noticed the same smell ..... it's interesting ....... don't ever remember noticing it before (and I grew up here)

Everything is really taking off in the last week or two ..... think hitting the plants with the Miracle Grow is starting to kick in. And the corn is looking real nice /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif I've gotten some zuchinni, cukes, and a couple of yellow crooknecks in the past several days.

The rain this afternoon will really help .... you should have got a good dumping .... it was heading right for your place from here. We got a huge soaking .... probably lasted 1/2 and hour ..... a real gully washer ........ the ground was so dry it didn't even run on the law ....... I got stuck out in the shed and was watching it from the doorway .... the lawn just sucked it up completely.

 

[rswyan]

seapea,

I think there is alot of truth in what you are saying ... dunno if it's applicable in my neighbor's case or not .... but for many, not all maladies are physical in nature. Unfortunately the medicos aren't quite as good with this end of things as they are with fixing a broken bone or suturing up a cut.