First off this is my very first post to the Garden Web. I too have been looking for a soil amendment here in NJ. I am trying to grow organically, so I have done quite a bit of research in the past week. First I would like to direct you to a movie on Vimeo entitled Back to Eden. It is over an hour and a half long and a little preachy but it it is full of good advice. This guy used free wood chips to build his soil. I know this works as I have spread wood chips around my woodshed a few years ago. Let me tell you, when you pull back the remaining chips, there is nothing but fluffy black soil full of life. You may need to amend your soil in the first year before you add a layer of chips. I am steering away from most composted commercial manure as I do not see any test results for the presence of pharmaceuticals even though it may be certified for organic gardening. According to a recent dialogue with a rep from a testing facility that certifies amendments as safe for organic use, the waste from conventionally grown animals may be present in said amendments. According to the USDA, 20-70% of antibiotics administered to conventionally grown animals is passed through their urine and feces. Not sure if your shooting for organic or not. I am sure what you really need is a good compost not a fresh manure for, as another poster indicated, fresh manure is "hot" and will burn your plantings. Give Coast of Maine's Quoddy Blend lobster compost a look. It is actually made from composted lobster and these folks claim that their manure producers do not use antibiotics on their animals. There is about 21 Coast of Maine dealers on Long Island. I will be starting a post about bagged compost soon hoping to get some feedback on safe, bagged amendments. Sorry if I went on too long. Here is a link that might be useful: Back to Eden

Hi andrea - Did this article explain how or why this supposedly works? And did it stress composted manure rather than fresh stuff? I have used chicken manure in my compost for years and that compost gets added to the garden of course. But adding straight CM directly would seem to be awfully hot and high in N for tomatoes. Definitely so if it is fresh. Not to mention the smell and fly attractant problems it has. ;) Dave PS: I thought I had read somewhere that V. Wilt wasn't a problem in CA. Is that true? According to the article is this supposed to work for other soil-borne diseases as well? ******************* hi dave, we do have verticillium wilt here in california. the article did not say HOW chicken manure works to reduce the incidence...i imagine that it probably promotes some sort of fungal or bacterial activity that attacts the v-fungus. they didn't say to use composted poultry manure...but i thought that was just good common sense ;) . i'm wondering though...for people who add the chicken manure in the fall, i garden year round. i plant cole crops in the winter. will i still have the benefits of chicken manure if i add it in the fall or will my cabbage and chard suck up the nutrients before i set my tomatoes out in spring?

The best advice can only come from someone who knows what your current soil is like and what it lacks. But here are some differences between the amendments. Mushroom manure adds organic material without a lot of nutrients, so you might say it is fairly "nutrient neutral". It would be good in most soils, particularly if they are either sandy or full of clay and in need of additional organic material. You would then add other amendments or fertilizer to balance any nutrient deficiencies in the soil. The risks are low and it is helpful for many soil types. Lifestock manure when well composted also adds organic matter but is also high in nitrogen. So it is like adding compost + a high nitrogen fertilizer. It is a good choice if you need the nitrogen. But the manure has to be well composted before you add it to the soil. If you add horse or cow manure directly to the soil the ammonia and salts that are released as it begins to decompose can be too much for your plants and burn them. It can take 9 months to a year before the manure has composted down to the point where it is safe. So find out how it was produced. Chicken manure is livestock manure on steroids. It is higher in nitrogen, which can be a plus if that is a deficiency you need to address. Again, it has to be composted (or "aged") before it is safe to add to an active garden. In short, if you don't know your soil shortcomings, mushroom manure is always the safe bet - especially if you are going to use a specific rose fertilizer to supply nutrients. If you are going to fertilize anyway, then the potent livestock or chicken manure may be overkill.

I have a suppressed immune system caused by Lupus and then again by the treatment, Hydroxycloroquine which is always referred to as Plaquenil. I use well aged and composted horse manure in my veggie garden. Lots of it. I dig in 3 inches to raw clay and add some each year. But I do it with a little thought. It's old, The pile I'm working I've been working for a couple years and nothing has been added. It's maybe 20 feet high.... on an angle. I grow root crops in soil that I prepared the year before. 6 months before I plant in it. Same with low growing plants. Lettuce and Spinach. I wouldn't eat fresh lettuce with splashed manure. But then again my corn is up 2 to 3 feet so I don't worry about it there. I don't worry about drugs in the manure as I just don't think they use them many times in a year. And I've been led to believe that leaving the manure in the sun will minimize that problem, but I wouldn't argue that point. I've never had problems with seed germination or growing problems, quite the contrary I get lush plants with great crops. As far as manure tea I figure the manure in the soil will make it's own tea, but I'd let the chicken manure age and compost at least till spring. My 3 x3 x3 foot pile of part horse manure part mushroom manure has been cooking this month it's January and it's cooking in PA.