Manure is one soil amendment but it should not be used alone. Manure should be used with other vegetative types of organic matter so it will work better in the soil. Most likely you soil in Massachussets will be clay and you will need more than manure to make it workable. Start you project by contacting your local office of the UMASS Cooeprative Extension Service about a soil test for base nutrient and soil pH levels and then dig in to that soil with these simple tests to see what you have there: 1) Structure. From that soil sample put enough of the rest to make a 4 inch level in a clear 1 quart jar, with a tight fitting lid. Fill that jar with water and replace the lid, tightly. Shake the jar vigorously and then let it stand for 24 hours. Your soil will settle out according to soil particle size and weight. A good loam will have about 1-3/4 inch (about 45%) of sand on the bottom. about 1 inch (about 25%) of silt next, about 1 inch (25%) of clay above that, and about 1/4 inch (about 5%) of organic matter on the top. 2) Drainage. Dig a hole 1 foot square and 1 foot deep and fill that with water. After that water drains away refill the hole with more water and time how long it takes that to drain away. Anything less than 2 hours and your soil drains too quickly and needs more organic matter to slow that drainage down. Anything over 6 hours and the soil drains too slowly and needs lots of organic matter to speed it up. 3) Tilth. Take a handful of your slightly damp soil and squeeze it tightly. When the pressure is released the soil should hold together in that clump, but when poked with a finger that clump should fall apart. 4) Smell. What does your soil smell like? A pleasant, rich earthy odor? Putrid, offensive, repugnant odor? The more organic matter in your soil the more active the soil bacteria will be and the nicer you soil will smell. 5) Life. How many earthworms per shovel full were there? 5 or more indicates a pretty healthy soil. Fewer than 5, according to the Natural Resources Conservation Service, indicates a soil that is not healthy These will help you know what you need to do to make that soil into something good and healthy that will grow strong and healthy plants.

Wow. The more I read these ideas, the more my back hurts...and the ground is still frozen, so I cannot even begin to dig! Maybe it is time for the back-story: I am getting a new allotment garden plot at a local site. The ground is heavy clay, not very fertile at all and rather weedy. Everyone knew that the previous renter was leaving after last summer, so they all tossed their weeds and stems and junk on the plot, so it really looks like a mess. My hope is to plant a couple rows of raspberries and strawberries on it next year, so I would like to get the plot improved as quickly as possible this year. I also want to curb the weed problem. My first thought was to fill it up with legumes like peas, beans, etc. to maybe generate a bit of a crop for this year, but mostly to fix nitrogen, break up the clay and generate green manure. I read that fava/broad beans are great nitrogen fixers and also generate tons of greens for compost or mulch, so I was considering planting some of those along with the peas and snap beans. Then I found out about the free horse poop and started wondering if there was a way to get it incorporated heavily into the plot without the neighbouring allotment renters rising up and slaying me because of the smell! That is why I was trying to get around conventionally composting the manure above ground. One thing about these allotment gardens is that they are all sitting about six inches lower than the grass in the aisles around the beds. They have been used up and packed down heavily over the years. Each plot area is 20' by 25', so 500 sqare feet. I would need about nine yards of compost/soil to bring it up six inches to grade, and 18 yards to raise the whole allotment 6 inches above grade. This will be a big job.

While some people think this totally unnecessary and bordering on parnoia the Center For Disease Control, National Institute of Heatlh and the USDA all recommend that animal manures used in gardens be applied from 90 to 120 days from harvest. If you are growing crops that the abvove ground portion is the edible part the manure should be applied not sooner then 90 days from harvest and for those crops where they edible portion is the root (carrots, beets, etc.) not sooner than 120 days. Potatoes should not be planted in freshly manured soil.

In all my years of gardening I never had 'enough' compost as I mostly gardened in cold climates and composting was a slow process. However, the single thing that made the most difference in the fertility of my soil was trench composting or burying kitchen scraps between plants. This not only decomposes quickly and adds fertility but it also feeds the earthworms who provide one of the best fertilizers available, which is worm castings. As long as I fed the worms my soil was fertile. Helps if you eat a lot of vegetables or can scrounge veggie scraps. I've gotten them from produce departments of 2 stores altho not all stores will allow this. Another important factor in improving soil fertility is to always cover soil with mulch, preferably one that will decompose fairly quickly. Mulching spring and fall worked well for me. I always used my 'not-quite-finished' compost as mulch, sometimes mixed with sawdust or shredded bark. Don't agonize over the process of composting, just do it as best you can and you will eventually have usable compost.