Horse manure compost/soil ammendment

15 years ago

Well, I've been reading alot of previous threads regarding the use of horse manure in the garden. I never thought it would be such a passionate subject!! I guess, I'm just hoping for some further clarification, as it applies to my situation. I built my first raised bed last May. In June, my husband proudly brought me home a pickup load of supposedly 'aged' horse manure from who knows where. I was equally excited about it, thinking I could just dump it in the bed. Then I read some posts here, and got a bit apprehensive. So, I go out to the pile, start digging around in it, thinking I might be able to figure out exactly how aged it really was before applying it in my veggie garden. I quickly realized that the whole pile was loaded with beetle grubs, so nixed it's use. But, it's not like I could just load it back up and return it, so I piled it up in a far corner, where it's been sitting since last June. I did finally layer some of it in with my compost pile late last summer. Long story short, I'm wondering if I could use the poo this year on my veggie garden. I was thinking I could dig a bit into the top of my bed now, since I won't be able to plant until Memorial day. This would give everything some more time to do whatever it's gonna do. Is it better that I use the stuff that's been composting in the bin with all the browns and veggie scraps, or take the manure straight out of the pile for my veggie bed? Can I use the aged manure on my perrenial beds? I hope all this makes sense, I tend to ramble, any advice is welcomed. Also, I haven't really got out there to dig around in the pile or bin, so I have no idea what the status is on the beetle grubs, I'm assuming the winter may have taken care of them? Also, I did take a peak in the door at the base of my compost bin, it appears to be infested with pillbugs, are they harmful? Thanks so much!!

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Comments (6)

tsugajunkie z5 SE WI ♱
15 years ago
I'm a big fan of composting manure first, so that is my first choice for the veggies. But, if there is no smell of amonia, I'd use the uncomposted manure in the garden. As for the beetle grubs, they may have overwintered. I'd spread the manure on the garden and let it sit for a day or two and let the birds clean it up. Then work it in. Pillbugs can hurt some plants (strawberries come to mind) but they generally are happy with leaf litter and other small bits. If they stay in your compost they are no big deal.

tj
Kimmsr
15 years ago
Any beetle grubs you found in that manure last year will have evolved into adult beetles, although they might have come back after mating and laid eggs that could have hatched into new grubs. Since that manure has been sitting around for about a year you can use it, just keep in mind that most of the nutrients that might have been there are probably gone now, evaporated or washed down into the the ground water as happens with any manure pile.
Far better would have been to compost all that manure, and better for your soil would be to use that compost you did make as well as that manure.
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First off I'm not a gardener. Were your existing large bins filled as batch or continuous? If batch, I am going to expect a 50-60% reduction in volume by the time it's finished. If continuous, not so much reduction as some has already taken place. Is your garden for vegetables? I've heard that veggies are more demanding of nutrients and stuff. Do you till a lot? As it is your bins have a volume of 16 CY or so if filled. Shrinkage could take that down to as low as 8 CY or so but more likely into the 12 CY range. To cover a garden of your size with 1 inch of finished compost you would need just over 13 CY of finished compost. One inch doesn't sound like a lot but it should be sufficient if the compost has decent numbers and the garden soil wasn't dead to begin with. And with 5 of 7 years having compost added I would suspect your garden is in pretty decent shape. I don't think even 2 inches would cause any harm but it might be more than you require. Your compost ingredients sound fine to me with the caveat that the HM came from healthy animals. Lloyd
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dchall_san_antonio
15 years ago
Grubs are very common in compost. I think that is one reason commercial compost is screened before selling it.
gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
15 years ago
If the manure has been sitting around for a year, it is perfectly safe to use. It has in effect been composted over this period of time but the process is more like a static or cold compost. Despite what others would have you believe, it DOES contain nutrients and will make a very good amendment to any planting area.

Unless you are able to ID the critters specifically as bad guys, I would not necessarily be overly concerned about beetles or their grubs being present. Most ground beetles are considered garden beneficials and these are also the types that tend to populate piles of dung or manure as well. Pill bugs tend to feed primarily on rotting organic matter - that's why they like your compost pile - but they can also eat the roots of tender young plants. I wouldn't be concerned about them either unless you see them in high numbers in your planting beds.
dchall_san_antonio
15 years ago
Unless you are able to ID the critters specifically as bad guys, I would not necessarily be overly concerned about beetles or their grubs being present. Most ground beetles are considered garden beneficials and these are also the types that tend to populate piles of dung or manure as well.

Excellent point.
digdirt2
15 years ago
Unless you are able to ID the critters specifically as bad guys, I would not necessarily be overly concerned about beetles or their grubs being present. Most ground beetles are considered garden beneficials and these are also the types that tend to populate piles of dung or manure as well.

dchall beat me to it but the point is well worth repeating.

The manure, if it had truly already been well aged shouldn't have been "nixed" because of the beetle grubs. Just something to keep in mind for the future.

And tenderkat - please do us all a favor and included some paragraph spacing of some kind in your posts. Massive chunks of text like this are really, really hard to sort through for the relevant info/question. Thanks. ;)

Dave

Horse manure compost/soil ammendment

Comments (6)

tsugajunkie z5 SE WI ♱

Kimmsr

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