How about one of those plastic storage containers and you just put it in the back of your car and drive it over? Line your trunk with plastic.

Cher

5 gallon buckets? Lots of legwork, but free.

Two 33 gal. garbage cans on their sides will fit in my trunk. I spread a large piece of plastic on the bottom of the trunk, letting it extend outside and over the bumper. Put the garbage cans in with tops open. Shovel manure into cans. You will be able to fill them more than half full. Drive to where you want to dump, and shovel it out of the cans. Worked good for me.

Your garbage cans. I often use my garbage can to fertilize my garden. After filling the can with gallon jugs to see how much water it holds I write in a permanent marker right on the can the # of gallons and a fill line. Whenever I want to fertilize my garden I fill the can with water up to a fill line and then I know how many gallons I have so I can figure out how much fertizer I need to use according to the instructions. Once I've thoroughly mixed in the fertilizer I just dip in my watering can and water those areas that need feeding.
With the fertilizer you should just be able to rinse out the can using a hose when your through transporting the manure. (may need to air them out too)

Here is a link that might be useful: my webpage

Oh I should mention my garbage can has wheels.

how does it happen that none of you cans have holes in them? Mine are either cracked on the sides or have holes in the bottom from dragging them down the driveway.
Get that manure home anyway you can, pails, banana boxes from the grocery store inyour car, plastic grocery bags - you would need alot but they are free) getting manure IS alot of work, but well worth it. With the tarp or garbage can, don't overload the tarp, make more trips and it will save your body in the long run.

Up to a point, holes in the garbage can are OK. If you are just using it for garbage and trash, or storage, the holes provide drainage and prevent that nasty fluid accumulation in the bottom. If you have unwanted holes, line the can with a plastic trash bag. You can also line it with a drop cloth or plastic sheet - don't overlook the mattress or furniture store for large sheets of plastic that the merchnadise comes wrapped in.
Aurore, you website is stunning! Thanks for sharing! I would like to point out that most garbage cans come in specific volume sizes - saves us the trouble of filling and measuring them ourselves!
And if you leave the GC one third or so full of manure, fill with water or(even better) let the rain do so, and then feed your plants with this tea, you will have to jump back quick!
Nik

jeez, i was going to say use my fave, the sled from the trash, but i guess you don't find those in the trash much, in texas! ok, do the cheap blue tarp in the car trunk, shovel away- it works fine!

Thanks for all the input!

Need to clarify some stuff that might have not been clear in the original post.

1. I'm on Foot. (no car)

2. Dragging a tarp isnt really an option due to terrain (part of my trip is on the shoulder of the highway).

3. I supposed to lift no more than 15 lbs.

LOL! I know it's not imposible but definately a challenge!
nuffsed
ana

Then go with rubbermaid boxes/free bananna boxes on a moving dolly/cart. Ask someone who works in an office if you can borrow the moving dolly for one day.

OR do you have a friend whose child owns a wagon? I appropriated my kid's wagon and they just laugh when they see me hauling stuff all over the farm. They even use it for their chores.

I have a cart(?) made with two 26 in. bicycle type tires that I can haul as much as 5 bales of hay on it at one time. It is easy to pull as it does not tip over like a one wheel wheelbarrow. It has a dump gate on the end so when you get to where you want the manure or whatever all you have to do is to remove the end, tip it and all will dump out. Mine was pretty costly when I bought it but have seen it in many sales since then in the $50 range. Mine is now about 15 years old and is one of the best buys I have ever made.

Patsy

Ana, how about arranging for someone with a car/truck to transport for you in exchange for some type of service you could provide, like babysitting, plant wattering, or whatever you could do. No money spent and two happy people.

Carrie

My mom lives in a community for people who are aged 55 and over. They all have had similar problems because their yards and walkways are so narrow there is no room for a wheelbarrow...plus they must cart things up and down small hills and stairs...and most of the folks are in their late 70's or 80's.
So we designed several different "cart" tools that they all share.
One is a series of small boxes tied to a luggage cart. Someone else actually uses an old suitcase with the built in cart (from the thrift store). Baby buggies & shopping buggies have also been employed as well as carts made out of a slab of plywood wood with a thin band of edging (so boxes won't fall off) - and wheels of baby buggies, lawn mowers, kids toys etc. We didn't buy anything at all, just found or scrounged the stuff.
Hey, where there's a gardener's will...there's a way!!

GGG

If you have one of those rolling cars for groceries one buys, it's tall, usually they fold-I had one in the city-anyway, you could put a square or two square plastic garbage cans in it, fill a flower pot, dump in bottom garabage can, etc til full, then place next garbage can on top, do the same, then wheel it across the street. It just dawned on me last year to use this cart in my garden, with some "S" hooks I can also hang some garden tools off of it....

I have arthritis and carpal tunnel, so when I'm carrying heavy soil on foot I never overload and never drag, push or pull anything. I use 3 gallon plastic pots and a small trowel. I have to make more trips, but it's worth it. If the manure has been composted and is relatively lightweight, you could carry two 3-gallon pots at the same time, one in each arm. Alternatively (again, only for well-aged, dryer manure) you could use a concrete trough (sort of like a kitty litter box only larger - you can get this at Home Depot for about $4-5) and carry it on one hip. Switch hips on alternate trips to avoid later back pain. Without a car or other wheeled vehicle this is going to take you many more trips, but don't we all need the exercise? One benefit of carrying such small loads is that you can put them right where you need them and don't have to use a shovel, which usually ends up causing back pain.

If you are younger and less prone to back pain, you could re-use empty 40-pound soil bags. Fill them about half full, or as full as you can comfortably carry. Doubling the bag might be smart, especially if the manure is still wet.

girlgroupgirl reminded me of one of my "make-do" items...i needed a cart to drag around a really big flea market, so i got an old luggage cart (from a flea market!) and bungee-corded on a milk crate. you could just line it with plastic for manure hauling. mine has maybe 4 inch wheels, and i've dragged it thru fields, parking lots, campuses- not dead yet!

I seriously need an edger, loppers, pruners, and a wheelbarrow. Well, I'm not going to buy all of these things, and the wheelbarrow as usual, will not get bought. So I have read these suggestions with great interest. I do have a luggage rack with bungee cords. I can put one of those big 5 gallon paint cans to transport compost from the back yard to the front yard, dirt from the front yard to the back yard, leaves, cement bags, bags of sand, etc.

Thanks all for your hints.

Rose

rose- check the flea markets and yard sales. i have bought several pairs of wonderful pruners, that just needed the edges re-sharpened! some i did myself, with a hand held diamond edge sharpener. a couple i had my husband do on the bench grinder- they were the ratty ones. the old pruners have much better quality steel in them than the new cheapos. you can get things sharpened at a reasonable price by finding where construction guys take saws for re-sharpening and cutting.

cherylm, I do plan to do that because I've seen tools in garage sales, and in fact went to an estate sale yesterday that had a wheelbarrow in their front lawn. It looked pretty old and rusty but I figured it would be okay--but they had a sign in it that said "Southern Living wheelbarrow - $20.00"- HAH. It was very rusted out with cracks in the bottom, and I worried it wouldn't hold up even if I wanted to haggle for it. I told the lady I needed a functional wheelbarrow and she hurried to say oh, it still works... But I wouldn't pay anywhere near $20 for such a compromised wheelbarrow. I hope I didn't pass up a bargain??? I'd rather use the luggage rack.

Rose

I used my plastic laundry baskets and lined them with garbage bags. Just be sure to get the dry manure when you do this or it'll be so heavy it'll break the baskets, or maybe your back! The baskets stay clean, and as long as the manure is dry, you can reuse the bags too. I used to go to a local stable to get manure and this was the only way I had to get the stuff home. You can probably get three or four average sized baskets in the trunk of your car, and kid, that's a lot of manure. Cheryl

Yes you can use a tarp or some old sheets --just tie the corners together like a hobo's knapsack and pull on a rope!

IMNSHO, frugal gardening is almost impossible without a good wheelbarrow....they go hand-in-hand.

Brian

Maybe your neighbor with the manure has a wheelbarrow or other device you can use?
If he is kind enough to share manure he will probably share a barrow.
You can always line it with a cut trash bag to kep it clean.

I sure do wish I lived close to you ana. I don't have a truck but I use my old car for everything. How many times I covet a truck but I better be grateful for what I have as I see others have it harder.....
I am going to pray that some one with a truck comes YOUR WAY with a mind to help out.
:)
Sunny days to all...
Sunny

How 'bout an old baby stroller? People are always throwin' those out around here, or, if your not fortunate enuf to get one at the curb, so many tag sales have baby stuff. Sometimes I think the strollers have started havin' babies themselves, there are so many around. :-)

Donna in NY

Hey lovely people. i'm so glad my question has helped other people. That situation is long gone (was last year in fact) and I've moved 200 miles away.

My lifestyle has changed as well. I'm no longer desperately poor, but alot of my constraints are still the same. I must be frugal. the new bf doesnt like to carry anything dirty in the back of his car. (getting him to bring home 2 bales of straw cost me lots of work with the vacuum). I still dont have a wheel barrow.

But he does like the idea of buying me a small truck... but I dont know when that's planned of if it's just a 'someday' sort of thing.

fortunes change
(took some pain to get here tho)
stay hopeful
ana

How 'bout a few neighbor boys. Give them a few bucks each to haul it for you. Jim

Thanks for the update, but did you ever get your manure? I think people need to know!
Nancy

Where in Texas do you live. I have a truck and need manure - we could work together - you get your manure delivered and I get some manure.

Thought I posted this, but the neighbor /had/ a wheelbarrow and let me borrow it. I think i posted that to the soil forum actually. ooops.

And again, I've moved 200 miles away to north texas so it's no longer relevant and I have access to a truck now (yay!)

Thanks again! I'll let you all know if I find any more manure!

Thanks for the update, when reading these forums I get so involved. You sound like an awfully hard worker. Hope your new B.F. appreciates you.
Nancy