Haha! Jessica, funny that he picked 'mold' to describe it (there is probably some in there but fungi are part of the soil food web anyway). One of the best types of compost is from slow decomposition of leaves, which takes a couple years but makes a fabulous fluffy compost called leaf mold (or mould if you're British). Very old manure can be similar. I once excavated a foot-thick deposit of very old manure compost next to a barn. It came out in bricks almost like peat moss. Great stuff for your soil.

Any time raw organic matter is processed "above ground" there is some loss of carbon and/or nutrient. What is then put back in the ground does not contain all of the same compounds that were present in the raw material. Research suggests that when raw OM is worked GENTLY into the soil that the loss can be minimized as carbon and other essential elements are captured and held in the soil matrix. This would suggest that, in at least some circumstances, direct application composting can be more beneficial overall than is first composting or vermicomposting the raw OM above ground. This, of course, presupposes there are no sensitive plant roots present in the soil that might be damaged by the process and that the OM does not contain high levels of caustic compounds, like salts (there's always a "but"!). For what it's worth, Paul, I, too, like the idea of using a bit of both direct application of raw OM and composting/vermicomposting. As you note, nature uses multiple systems to great effect; perhpas we ought to listen to her. Kelly S

A lot of people think so, I like Ruth Stout no till garden with hay & straw, but the new fad is wood chips, which is okay if you can get them free. We use dry but not rotten saw dust years ago & everyone said it will kill your garden. Never had a problem. I must tell you I am 54 yr. & was raised in the row field type garden. I remember when everyone who was organic raved about the double dig garden fad. Now it is no till, have no ideal about the next fad. But no till works with my asparagus & sunchokes, so it should work for you beans too. I use cardboard in my first blue berry orchard, it worked every well. I still till under compost for my annual garden.

As Patty suggests, the nitrogen from the horse pee might be too strong for tender, young plants. I would add it depends upon the climate, too. I've used many truck loads of stuff right out of the animals over the years in my rose beds, with only passing chlorosis due to the tremendous growth triggered by the "stuff". But, I am in a completely different climate with totally different soil, water and temperatures. What worked well for me in the mid desert, didn't work well along the coast where it was tremendously cooler and wetter. If your heat is high and the manure is kept well watered, it should break down quickly and trigger an explosion of growth which should settle down and look perfect in a few weeks. If your conditions aren't "hot" and the stuff remains too wet, you may encounter less desirable issues. Definitely, in either set of conditions, keep it away from the crowns of the plants. Spreading it from just around the drip lines of the plants and between them would be better than pushing it up underneath the bushes. I would make sure the soil is very well watered before spreading, then water the manure quite well to start leaching the urine (nitrogen) and other salts from it so it percolates through the roil and feeder roots to "fertilize" the plants. As long as the right balance of heat, oxygen and moisture are achieved and maintained, your manure should begin cooking, composting in place and the plants should love it. Much of that is going to depend upon your temps and water.