What to add to horse manure?

12 years ago

I'd like to put some raised beds into the large yard of our new place. My plan is that this will be the year for building and getting things started with most of the planting to start next year.

So, we run a horse boarding facility. Currently, we have 17 horses living here. We have a mountain of manure and a tractor to move it. The manure has some bedding materials in it too - sawdust and pine shavings. I know that composted horse manure is great for gardening, but I have enough of it that I could fill my beds completely with manure.

So, my question is, with all this manure, what else do I need to add to create the best soils for gardening? After it ages and composts, can I just use it by itself or do I need to "dilute" it a bit?

Thanks!

Sarah

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Comments (7)

Kimmsr
12 years ago
Add 3 parts vegetative waste, total, to the manure and compost it and then add enough of that to the soil you will have so you end up with 5 to 8 percent organic matter in that soil.
dawncols
12 years ago
You might want to read the FAQ article on composting. I included a link at the bottom.

I would recommend layering the manure with "browns"--staw, shredded paper, cardboard, wood chips etc and let it age. In the right mixture with the right moisture, it will mellow and break down.

Best wishes!

Here is a link that might be useful: FAQ Introduction to composting
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toxcrusadr
12 years ago
How that manure/bedding will compost depends on the ratio of manure to bedding. Hence dawncols' advice to read the FAQ. If it composts very hot and smells bad, it needs more browns. If it's slow and the wood shavings don't go away, it needs more nitrogen (greens).

If you get the brown/green mix right, mature compost is pretty much the same regardless of what you started with. Once you have good finished compost (it can take as little as 3 months or so if properly balanced) you can till that right in.

If you're making raised beds you'll have to add some soil and not just pure compost, because it will continue to decompose and the beds will shrink on you.
tn_gardening
12 years ago
I happen to think the Mel's mix stuff works pretty good, so
I'd add compost, peat moss & vermiculite to the manure and pile it high in those beds.
bi11me
12 years ago
We used sawdust from a commercial sawmill for bedding for our horses, and it made a lovely compost. Sawdust from woodworkers is much finer. The more variety of ingredients you can get, the better the end result will be.
snoggle75
Original Author
12 years ago
I actually have a lot of vermiculite left over from using Mel's Mix at our last house and Peat Moss is easy to find. Great idea to use the Mel's Mix.

Actually the manure is composting pretty well already with the sawdust that is in it, so we're good there. I just didn't know if I could use the composted manure straight.

Thanks for the tips!
tn_gardening
12 years ago
I can't say that I've got any clinical studies or research that proves anything, but if it's composted, why not?

What to add to horse manure?

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Kimmsr

dawncols

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What to add to horse manure?

Comments (7)

Kimmsr

dawncols

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toxcrusadr

tn_gardening

bi11me

snoggle75Original Author

tn_gardening

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